Skull & Bones "November 2022"

[EmpireKicking 155]

Ubisoft has confirmed that Skull & Bones, their long-in-development open world pirate ’em up, will release on 8th November 2022 across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Google Stadia and Amazon Luna. 

 

Set in the vast expanse of water from the coasts of Africa to the tropical East Indies, you’ll venture out as a fresh outcast taking to the waves on your small Dhow and basic spear for fishing, looking to build up your gear and skill to become an infamous pirate. On the way you’ll assemble a fleet of your own, gathering resources, crafting tools and weapons and building your ships to strengthen your position. As your infamy grows you’ll be able to take on bigger and more challenging contracts from other pirates.

 

The game is set on the open seas and you can meet up with other players, taking on jobs in co-op similar in some ways to Sea of Thieves, but the game also includes PvP.

 

You’ll need to opt into PvP servers, so you won’t have to constantly watch your own backs. You will have to keep an eye on your ship’s crew, though. If your ship’s condition falls too low, and you don’t have enough provisions for food and drink, the crew might mutiny. Not only that, but privateers are pirate hunting experts that will want to take you down.

If your ship is sunk? Well, you’ll respawn at the nearest outpost, but you’ll then want to race back to where you were felled to try and quickly snag your cargo. You’ll have plenty of different ship types to choose from, from cargo ships to bruising ships that bristle with cannons and heavy armour.

[Uncrowned Guard 7]

I like a lot about this game already, but I don't like what I am seeing from one of the most core features I enjoy about pirate games... the ship operation.  It looks like they are merely driving the ship around like a car in many of the trailers and crews are all just automated to do what they do.  I guess a lot of that is me mostly wishing for a more combat focused Sea of Thieves, but overall the many details that have been released have yet to impress me very much.  And the "the beta is completely unplayable, but the game will not be delayed" line has me super worried about just one more unfinished game release that my have been great, but will be DOA.