Skull and Bones is Ubisoft’s AAA pirate game that was finally released after several delays. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn’t do well, and if it’s worth your time and money.
Skull and Bones Review Overview
Skull and Bones Premise
Skull and Bones is set in the Indian Ocean during the Golden Age of Piracy, within the Assassin’s Creed Universe. You play as a pirate who finds himself shipwrecked on an island after a devastating naval battle defeat. You’ve lost everything, but you’re not done just yet. Start from the bottom, reach the top of the pirate world, and become the legendary pirate kingpin you’re destined to be.
Skull and Bones Overall
Having played Assassin’s Creed Black Flag to completion before, this game feels like an incomplete extension of that game that only covers the ship side of things. Even then, the 11-year-old game did things better than this one, such as boarding enemy ships. The complete lack of content outside the ship makes the game feel one-dimensional, and the story and gameplay leave much to be desired.
Skull and Bones Story
Skull and Bones offers players a path from rags to riches where they could become the next great pirate kingpin. You’ll mostly be interacting with NPCs and doing contracts to progress the story. However, none of these NPCs particularly stand out and their dialogue isn’t rich enough to be worth paying attention to. They’re uninteresting, one-dimensional, and aren’t any livelier than the animatronics you see at theme parks. Since the characters aren’t any good, the story isn’t all that good either.
Skull and Bones Gameplay
The only thing I found fun about this game was the combat, which plays out like a vehicular combat game like World of Tanks. Navigation and exploration on a ship aren’t fun, and gathering resources for whatever you need for your contract feels more like an annoying errand rather than a job befitting a future pirate kingpin. Other than combat, there’s nothing fun to do. Some of the stranger features in the game make little sense lore-wise, like needing stamina to make your ship go faster and ships taking poison damage.
Skull and Bones Visuals
The visuals in this game look nice. I wouldn’t call it a AAAA game like the Ubisoft CEO did, but it’s undoubtedly visually pleasing. The environments are detailed, and so are the ships and the character models. I wasn’t really in awe of the visuals, but I ran the game on 1080p, which is what most people would run it with. However, I’ve seen 4K footage of the game and it looked amazing.
Skull and Bones Audio
The sound effects in this game are on point, and the soundtrack fits perfectly, adding to the overall immersion of the game. However, the voice acting sounds unnatural and a bit forced.
Skull and Bones Value for Money
Most people would buy this game thinking it’d put them in the shoes of a pirate kingpin. To some degree, that holds up. However, you only actually feel like a pirate because of the game’s theme, story, and aesthetics. You’ll feel like a pirate on your ship, but there’s much more to piracy than that.
Skull and Bones Review | ARRRegret Buying This Game
Skull and Bones Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Multiplayer Fun Customization Tactical Combat |
Walking Simulator Outside The Ship Underwhelming Cast of NPCs Lots of Loading Screens |
Skull and Bones starts strong with a large-scale naval battle that also serves as a tutorial. You’re escorting a ship carrying precious cargo, but you’re separated from the fleet once the British forces attack. Your ship then gets blown to pieces, and you’re rescued by two crew members who help you in your quest to become a pirate kingpin. From there, you’ll mostly be completing contracts to gain infamy and earn enough to upgrade your fleet.
Skull and Bones is less of a pirate life simulator and more of a vehicular combat game. The combat in this game feels great and is arguably the only strong part of its gameplay. Combat in this game involves shooting cannons, reloading, ramming enemy ships, bracing for impact, and boarding enemy ships. Taking enemy ships out will grant you loot, but being taken out will cause you to lose all the cargo you have on board. These aren’t lost forever though, as you could venture back to where you died to pick up the stuff you left behind, much like in Souls games.
You’ll also be encountering dangerous wildlife in this game like sharks and crocodiles, which you could hunt with spears and then cook for later consumption. There are mythical creatures and sea monsters in this game like the Mosasaurus from Jurassic World that serve as world bosses. Encounters with these beasts are also a blast.
As a pirate captain, you’ll have your fleet of ships. Each ship is customizable to your needs/liking. If you want an armored ship that likes to fight from long distances, you could make just that. If you want an agile ship with shotguns for close-quarter combat, you could make that too. Everything from the design, weapons, and even furniture is customizable in this game. Pick the ship best suited for whatever contract you’re trying to complete. You may want a speedy ship for smuggle runs and armored ships for when you’re taking out sea monsters.
Unfortunately, that’s where I think the fun stops. While combat is definitely fun, it’s not all the time that you’re shooting at someone or throwing spears at sharks. Navigating the open seas in this game is pretty slow and boring. There are lots of empty areas where you just slowly pass by, and moving fast requires stamina. Why a ship needs stamina to accelerate makes zero sense to me. You’re often sent to go to islands and collect crafting materials, and you’ll do that from the ship, which also doesn’t make any sense. I’ve never seen a game where you could cut down trees from a ship. An easy fix for this could be just you sending your crew to collect the resources, or for you to have the option to just do it yourself on foot.
While navigating the open seas, you’ll come across establishments and cities that you could trade with or attack. Most of these places are allied with others, so if you attack them, chances are you’re getting attacked when you’re spotted in their allies’ territories, making these hostile zones. Safe zones are areas where no combat is permitted, and plunder zones are areas of interest where your crew can go down and rob the place while you fend off attackers who want the prize for themselves.
You’d also be spending time outside your ship, but this just involves you walking around and talking to a bunch of NPCs for quests or purchases. Interacting with these NPCs will show cutscenes complete with voice acting. However, I found these characters to be uninteresting and one-dimensional. The things they say aren’t worth your while, and the voice acting feels unnatural and forced. Because of this, the overall story of the game takes a dip in quality. After all, you can’t have a good story with bad characters.
Pros of Skull and Bones
| Things Skull and Bones Got Right |
|---|
|
Multiplayer Fun Customization Tactical Combat |
Multiplayer Fun
I haven’t gotten the chance to play with a friend, but I could tell that the already good naval combat in this game would be better with company. After all, what’s a pirate without his crew? You could coordinate an attack from two different sides with your friend, or create a team comp where one would be the tank while the other would deal damage from a distance, or launch healing cannonballs (yet another thing that makes zero sense) to provide support.
Customization
As mentioned earlier, customization in this game is great. You could make your ship and character look the way you want, and show off your superior 17th-century sense of style. Moreover, you could make it sail or fight how you want, be it light and fast, slow and tanky, or somewhere in between. With this being a Ubisoft game, I could already see the paid skins coming soon with crazy neon lights on the sails or a futuristic sci-fi-themed deck.
Tactical Combat
The combat in this game is delightful. Whether you’re fighting with long-range cannons, launching a short-range volley of shots, or even ramming your way through an enemy ship’s hull —it’s undoubtedly very satisfying to pull it off. The combat in this game is unique, and if you’re a fan of vehicular combat, then this game is for you.
Cons of Skull and Bones
| Things That Skull and Bones Can Improve |
|---|
|
Walking Simulator Outside The Ship Underwhelming Cast of NPCs Lots of Loading Screens |
Walking Simulator Outside The Ship
Not all the experiences you’ll have aboard your ship are fun, but none of the things you do off the ship is anything close to fun. You’ll mostly be talking to boring, one-dimensional NPCs, and there’s an utter lack of fun things to do on foot. Something disappointing about this game is how you could board an enemy ship, but all you get is a short cutscene of you doing just that. In Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, when you board an enemy ship, you’ll have to take out its crew before you get the spoils of war. This was one of the most satisfying things to do in the entire game and it’s sad to see that Skull and Bones, which started off as an extension to Black Flag, completely lacks this feature.
Underwhelming Cast of NPCs
The dialogue in this game, while definitely fits the pirate theme, lacks the substance to make things interesting. The NPCs in this game just don’t get you invested in the story at all. They’re all one-dimensional, and their voice-acting sounds unnatural. Each vendor is pretty much interchangeable with one another, and even your pirate boss doesn’t have anything wise to say.
Lots of Loading Screens
Entering a new area? Loading screen. Checking out what a vendor has? Loading screen. Docking your ship? Loading screen. Setting sail from an island? You guessed it. While each loading screen doesn’t exactly take ages to load, it definitely slows down the already slow pace of the game.
Is Skull and Bones Worth It?
Yes if You Like Vehicular Combat Games. Otherwise, No.
If you’re looking to put yourself in the shoes of a pirate, there are better options as this game will only make you feel so if you’re on your ship. A pirate’s life at sea is only half of it, as they’re often doing other things rather than just sailing. However, this game features very fun naval combat, which vehicular combat game fans would undoubtedly enjoy. The combat is flashy, and tactical, and can be enjoyed with friends.
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