Sea of Thieves

 Xbox One
Metascore
69

Mixed or average reviews - based on 71 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 71
  2. Mixed: 48 out of 71
  3. Negative: 2 out of 71
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  1. Slant Magazine
    Mar 28, 2018
    40
    In short, Sea of Thieves lacks for content. There's no mission variety, despite there being three different factions ostensibly hoping to achieve different goals. There's no enemy variety, outside of the variants of skeletons and sharks and, of course, other players. There are no NPC pirate ships to board, no cities or outposts to pillage, no real PVE or PVP encounters to engage with (other than a random Kraken encounter), and no rare booty to find.
  2. Stevivor
    Mar 25, 2018
    40
    Perhaps the least forgivable aspect for me, given my love of exploration and discovery in games like these, is that all the islands feel the same. For Sea of Thieves to be a truly unforgettable experience for me I’d have liked to have seen islands and archipelagos that feel lovingly crafted with supreme attention to detail. What we have instead is a map that feels like Rare turned “Generate Game” on once and just ran with what the creator spat out. This, more than anything else, saddens me as it makes things feel even less devoid of life. Islands are too spread out, too samey and too uninteresting leaving the player with a, “seen one, seen them all” feeling.
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  1. Ars Technica
    Mar 24, 2018
    The other, bigger problem with Sea of Thieves’ player-vs-player combat is more damning of the game in general: what’s the point? The islands are devoid of anything to discover, the quests are tremendously tedious, there’s no story to speak of, and it’s all in service of cosmetics that aren’t nearly as interesting as some of their item descriptions imply. The Lowly Souls Tankard says it’ll make you drinking buddies with spirits, but really it’s just... purple.
  2. Eurogamer
    Mar 27, 2018
    A limited and simplistic pirate adventure, but one with an abundance of character and a thrilling conviction in its own ideas. [Recommended]
  3. Forbes
    Mar 21, 2018
    The problem is that Sea of Thieves is not a complete game. It just isn’t. It’s maybe 5 or 10% of one, but given what other open world/co-op games can offer you for $60, it’s just astonishing how little Sea of Thieves offers.
  5. Kotaku
    Apr 6, 2018
    Playing Sea of Thieves feels a bit like working in a theater before the set has been completely built. There’s plenty of space to goof around and a few swords in the wings to have mock fights with, but none of its quite ready for show time. A lack of features and polish has frustrated some players, but those willing to meet the game halfway will discover a game that’s exciting and pensive in equal measure. Sea of Thieves is as fickle and changeable as the sea itself.
  6. Mashable
    Mar 21, 2018
    The world is beautiful and rich with promise. There's plenty of room to grow...But there's already a rock-solid foundation here. Sea of Thieves sets out to deliver a particular experience, and it nails that perfectly.
  7. The A.V. Club
    Mar 29, 2018
    Playing Sea Of Thieves alone is far from ideal. It’s not the way the game is meant to be played, and it’s certainly not the way the game should be played, but it’s not unbearable. You just have to know what you’re getting into: a world where it takes an hour to do one thing that you might get killed while trying to do, and in the end, you might not have a ton of fun doing any of it. You’d probably just be better off finding some friends to sail with.
  8. VG247
    Mar 22, 2018
    Sea of Thieves just needs more. It needs more ways to play, more mission variety, more enemy variants than just different coloured skeletons, and more meaningful progression. If these things don’t appear soon, I can see player numbers dropping off substantially after a short while. When it is the players themselves that create the game’s standout moments, potential player drop-off is a huge problem.

Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2018
1
#1 Most Shared Xbox One Game of 2018

User Reviews

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User Score
5.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 2187 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 964 out of 2187
  2. Mixed: 238 out of 2187
  3. Negative: 985 out of 2187
  1. Sideris
    Mar 20, 2018
    2
    For a game about sailing the deep blue seas on an adventure with purpose, Sea of Thieves prefers to stay on the shallow end of the pool. TheFor a game about sailing the deep blue seas on an adventure with purpose, Sea of Thieves prefers to stay on the shallow end of the pool. The game was seemingly shipped devoid of any useful content. Full of fetch quests and boring, repetitive environments, this games best moments are at the start of the game when you’re first learning how to sail properly with your friends, shooting each other out of the cannons, winning your first PVP ship battle, or just simply drinking beer in the inn.

    When the novelty of these “firsts” wears off though, you’re left $60-100 down with an empty shell of a game that has nothing for you to do but collect cosmetics, do chores, or fart around. You could easily call this game “No Mans Sky: Water Edition” and it would be almost entirely accurate. Both shipped incomplete at FULL retail price when they should have cost $30, both have absolutely nothing exciting to do, and the combat for both games (a noteworthy portion of them) is clunky and unfun.

    It’s time to stop rewarding game developers for creating poor, unfinished experiences and time to start demanding more for our money. I had the luxury of playing Sea of Thieves through Xbox’s game pass, but many people spent their hard earned money on this, and that’s a tragedy in itself. No more pre-ordering, no more excuses, no more waiting 6-12 months for them to so “generously” add the rest of the game you paid for. Take a stand.    … Full Review »
  2. GerrickTrier
    Mar 20, 2018
    0
    Game has a nice art style. That's about all I like. The guns and combat feel wonky, and were not the focus. Ships sail okay, but this isn'tGame has a nice art style. That's about all I like. The guns and combat feel wonky, and were not the focus. Ships sail okay, but this isn't getting high marks for making it more difficult to control a ship - you'd be better off playing assassin's creed 4. There might have been some fun buried in this game that was probably easy to get to when you didn't have a bunch of 18 year olds running around griefing you in your ship for an hour after they took your loot, but that's pretty much the size of this. Avoid this at all costs.… Full Review »
  3. fbnaulin
    Mar 20, 2018
    5
    A game that sparks your imagination. Oh, the theme, landscapes, ship physics, sound effects. Sadly, that fantasy does not live beyond theA game that sparks your imagination. Oh, the theme, landscapes, ship physics, sound effects. Sadly, that fantasy does not live beyond the first hours, since there is no content and long-term cycles that support it. I hope Xbox could find their right step in this late phase of current console generation.… Full Review »
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