After ten years of development, “Skull & Bones” is finally launched: We have tested the Ubisoft game in detail and explain why the pirate adventure has what it takes to become a pirate king, but also misses a lot of opportunities.
Ubisoft-Chef Yves Guillemot kündigte “Skull & Bones” shortly before release as a “AAAA” game. In doing so, he justified the full price for a product that had been heavily criticized for years. “Skull & Bones” looks back on a ten-year odyssey and was not only postponed several times, but also pushed from one internal Ubisoft team to the next to get it on track.
This process cost an estimated $200 million. This means that “Skull & Bones” does not reach the level of “Cyberpunk 2077” and “Red Dead Redemption 2”, but it is easily in the upper class of the most expensive productions. But is this effort reflected in “Skull & Bones” or will the million-dollar production suffer shipwreck at launch?
This is Skull & Bones
Before we look at the strengths and weaknesses of “Skull & Bones”, we would like to clear up a few misconceptions: First of all, it should be said that Ubisoft's pirate adventure is not a story game. So, in contrast to “Assassin's Creed: Black Flag” or the most recently released “Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League”, there is no real story.
In the first few hours, the game subtly introduces you to its world before releasing you into the extensive sandbox gameplay and multiplayer options. Of course, characters like Captain Scurloch also appear. But there is no common thread running through the game. In addition, NPCs primarily act as quest givers and have little bearing on the later game.
Land missions, on the other hand, play second fiddle in “Skull & Bones”. At the beginning you explore a shipwreck and later you hang around in towns like St. Anne. However – in contrast to “Black Flag” – you will not explore extensive areas or even fight battles there.
Instead, you spend (almost) the entire game on board your ship and go on a pirate voyage in the game world based on the Indian Ocean. You share these with other online pirates and can interact with each other again and again, for example to support each other in battles. This always creates wild battles that are really impressive thanks to the weather effects and crashing explosions.
A sea trip is fun…
The fact that “Skull & Bones†doesn’t immediately strike a chord with many people is certainly due to the pirate setting and the tough sea battles. The game makes no demands on reality, rather the control of the ships is very reminiscent of “Black Flag”. At the touch of a button you can hoist the sails, look through the telescope or target your enemies with analog sticks and action buttons.
And these fights are actually a lot of fun. When we skillfully outmaneuver other ships, take cover in good time from fire and pulverize weak points marked in red, it just feels wonderfully satisfying.
The impressive presentation plays into this fascination. “Skull & Bones” is quite entertaining, especially in co-op with friends. Because even if it's not a pirate simulation, it's still a humorous action game that definitely requires skill and coordination. Which weapons do I use when? What is the best way to escape enemy fire? Maneuvering in particular requires a lot of experience.
The different ship classes also play a role in co-op mode. Because ultimately there are also MMO-typical focal points such as tanking or support. The fast cutter may not be able to take a lot of damage, but it is ideal for supporting your own fleet
However, your privateering trips have no real consequences. If you sink too many ships from a certain faction, your wanted level will temporarily increase and pirate hunters will give you hell. But as soon as you are back in safe areas or escape far enough, your actions will be forgotten. So it's no wonder that it's not possible to join factions in the long term or to lose it.
And the prey beckons forever
“Skull & Bones” releases you into its open game world early on. However, due to the limitations mentioned, the game does not exhaust all of the scenario's possibilities. And so you either find yourself in collecting and smuggling quests or you have to destroy certain forts or cities or even ships.
The grind starts early and, as usual for a service game, “Skull & Bones” starts quickly before the progression noticeably hits the brakes. This means that the pirate adventure takes about 10 to 15 hours. But that's also because at this point you get the feeling that you've actually already seen everything.
Upgrading, improving and customizing our ship offers a whole range of possibilities and goes far beyond those of “Black Flag”. For example, you specify your weapons and install equipment items, which in turn act as perks and provide passive advantages.
You can also upgrade your armor and make your ship fitter for the next fight. The possibilities are quite diverse, but they first have to be unlocked by finding blueprints.
As the game progresses, you unlock additional currencies necessary for crafting, such as “Monstrous Teeth,” which you receive for the fun hunt for sea monsters.
You can also visually customize your own avatar and the ship. Although you can also find premium cosmetics in the game, the selection of playable content is also plentiful, so you don't have to reach for your wallet straight away.
It's a shame, however, that we're not allowed to inspect our ship – like in “Assassin's Creed: Black Flag” – and, for example, climb into the lookout.
You reach the endgame with experience level 10. As an endgame twist, you have to conquer and hold sectors. This is the only way you can produce the rare goods there, such as rum. The goal here is to create trade routes and thus create maximum income.
However, there are also PvPvE events in which other players can take over your sector. What sounds exciting is ultimately not much more than the previous gameplay with small additions. This way you continue to increase your fame level, which is ultimately just another number to boast about.