It’s a pirates life as Rob reviews Skull & Bones on Xbox Series X…(originally published on Rapid Reviews UK)
As some of you know, aside from flying solo here at Geek Culture Reviews I also write for uk video game and tech website, Rapid Reviews UK (click here to check them out!). It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed a game for RRUK and to mark the return to my long absence I was given the opportunity to review Skull & Bones from Ubisoft. For those of you who follow me here at Geek Culture Reviews, I thought I’d publish the review here so you can read it too (although do seriously check out my friends over at RRUK!)
Under the hood and Skull & Bones is quite an interesting game. Initially developed as an expansion to Assassins Creed: Black Flag, the pirate inspired action-adventure soon became a standalone game titled, Black Flag Infinite. As the game grew in scope, and technology advanced, the envisioned MMO that was Black Flag Infinite slowly became the Skull & Bones titles that we see today.
While its setting, structure, and majority of its gameplay has evolved beyond that seen within Assassins Creed: Black Flag, why does playing Skull & Bones evoke strong memories of Ubisoft’s 2013 assassin adventure?
Taking place within an area of the Indian Ocean centred near South Africa, Skull & Bones sets its narrative as a typical “rags to riches” affair. From first creating your wannabe pirate warlord, you’re soon thrust into Davy Jone’s locker as your decked out galleon is lost to the deep. Now needing to start pirate life again, you’ll soon fall under the command of local warlord John Sherock who’ll send you off pillaging settlements, and ransacking supply lines. It’s a dog eat dog world out there and you’ll need your wits to stay afloat!
Considering that Ubisoft have spent years in developing Skull & Bones its story is almost forgettable. Aside from running errands for the local pirate warlord, I had zero clue as to what my character was fighting for. Throw in plenty of forgettable characters and any semblance of the narrative I did have, was swiftly thrown out of the porthole.
While its narrative is pretty lacklustre, it’s more than made up for with Skull & Bones nautical gameplay. For the vast majority of your journey, you’ll be out on the high seas and it’s here where the games strengths lie. The key to success here is studying the games fairly robust economy to take advantage of trade routes to then maximise your gold profits. Nothing is off limits in Skull & Bones, and whether your cargo is earned the honest way - or more nefarious - there’s plenty of vendors who’ll ask no questions. Being a trade expert then gives you the ability to buy blueprints which will give you access to new weapons and better ships to kit yourself out with.
The nautical shenanigans of Skull & Bones never grows tired, across my current game time I never got bored of sinking enemy ships and ransacking unsuspecting outposts. It’s a true battle of cat and mouse as you’ll track your prey to then pounce upon them when the time is right. Open fire on a vessel when their own friendly units see close by, and you’ll soon be battling from multiple sides. There’s also a rudimentary bounty meter which acts much like Grand Theft Auto’s wanted system, where the higher distain a faction has for you, the tougher ships they’ll send out to take you on.
Combat is pretty easy and is as simple as aiming the camera to the fire the weapons within that target arc. Most vessels are able to equip up to four sets of canons (and mortars) which range from dealing exotic damage, to simply destroying the enemy. There’s plenty of variation to what armaments you can equip, and come the games later stages it offered plenty of build variety if you happen to team with other players. Your ship can be customised further with different armour which further adds to your own damage resistance.
Damage is also played out on screen as you and your opponent’s vessels react to the severity of the range they’ve taken. Aside from the big standard health bar which displays your hit points, there’s also cosmetic changes such as damaged a damaged hull and torn sails. While taking significant damage doesn’t offer much in the way of debuffs, it’s a nice indication of near death - especially useful when you’re tackling multiple enemies at once. To aid you further you also have the ability to apply repair kits (which come with a cool down), and feed your crew, which gives additional benefits such as stamina boosts.
For those who long to be the next Captain Jack Sparrow, there’s no mythical beasts such as the mighty Kraken or long-dead ghosts to do battle with. But with the inclusion of seasonal content, who knows what might happen?
Where the nautical side of Skull & Bones is clearly the bread and butter of the experience, the same can’t be said for its landlubbers. Being on land offers a complete different experience which is so lacking it makes you question why it’s even there in the first place. To begin with, the map of humongous. In true Ubisoft style the open-world is jam packed with islands, settlements, various outposts, and hundreds of icons. The downside to this is that you’re either stuck on board your boat or confined to one of the games settlements. You’re never truly able to sail off into the blue yonder. Quite often you’ll be forced to sell goods while routed to the spot, or interacting with a settlement while figuratively shouting at each other.
When you do eventually make land fall the NPCs you meet are so devoid of life they become static quest givers and vendors. Towns feel empty, and the only interaction is with those wishing to peddle their wears, or to send you out on the next fetch quest. Likewise, hunting for buried treasure soon becomes a game of “spot the dog notification”, and if you’re expecting any kind of melee combat, you’ll be sorely disappointed. It comes as quite a surprise as Ubisoft are known for their world building. After all you just need to play any decent FarCry title, or even The Division 2 to see how creating a “lived in world” feels. Yet with Skull & Bones is incredibly basic.
Your progression through the world is measured by your pirates infamy. This hidden meter acts as a typical RPG levelling system where improving your rank will see you rewarded with better blueprints and new vessels. Everything you do rewards you with an amount of experience that goes towards this rank. Completing quests is your quickest way in reaching the end game, but plundering the seas is also a viable - yet slower - option. To reach the endgame there’s a lot of grinding involved. I wouldn’t say it’s as in-depth as the likes of Destiny 2, but for those who really want to tailor their builds to maximise every stat point they can.
With Skull & Bones being a live service game, its future could be a very bright one. Ubisoft at least has the foundations laid for a game that could certainly rival that of other pirate games albeit with a focus on PvE. Yet for now it’s extremely basic experience that’s tacked on to a very forgettable story. However even with these criticisms Skull and Bones does show a glimmer of hope. It’s in game economy is both easy to understand and fails robust, and it’s sea combat is the real jewel in the rough. With the games first season currently underway it will be interesting to see how Ubisoft develops its pirate sandbox in the coming months. But for now, I’d probably wait till this one’s in a sale.
Rating: 6/10
A code was provided for this review
Skull & Bones is available now and can be purchased on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC
Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow us on X/Facebook @GeekCultureRev, TikTok/YouTube @Geekculturereviews, and BlueSky @geekculturereviews.bsky.social
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