Skull and Bones has had a very troubled path throughout its development phase, with several postponements. Finally, Ubisoft’s pirate game has arrived on the market and the sites have expressed their opinion. Expectations for this game were high, but as we can see in the Skull and Bones reviews, not everything succeeded in Ubisoft’s game. Below, therefore, we offer you some reviews, so that you can have an idea of what to expect, in case you have not had the opportunity to try the open beta.
NB: some reviews are currently based on the game’s open beta. We will update the article as soon as full reviews are available.
IGN – In progress
“Though I went pretty hard during this latest beta and even got a sneak peek of the endgame activities last month, I still have plenty of questions about what else Skull and Bones has in store beyond what I played this past weekend. I still don’t know if there are any dedicated PvP options or other activities beyond the single Legendary Heist public event in the beta, which sends you to take down an NPC ship, then fight over the loot with anyone else in the area. And I still have no idea how the planned microtransactions and season model fit into things, since they’ve not been present in any version of Skull and Bones I’ve seen so far. But I have really enjoyed what I’ve played, and since progress in the beta carries over to launch, I’m looking forward to setting sail right where I left off and becoming a proper pirate legend later this week.” [Read full review] – Travis Northup (This review is based off the beta)
Kotaku – In progress
“Maybe I could excuse this dull resource management and the lack of exciting pirate gameplay if the game looked gorgeous and had some impressive digital water. But even the ocean in Skull and Bones isn’t much to write home about; a shame since you spend a lot of time looking at it. Compared to Sea of Thieves and its beautiful water that looks good enough to drink (Editor’s note: don’t drink sea water), Skull and Bones’ H20 is a dirty mess. Visual artifacts dot these waters and pop-in is an issue, too, with trees and rocks looking like they were pulled out of a PS2 game until you get close enough to (sigh) cut them down.” [Read full review] – Zack Zwevien (This review is based off the beta)
Gamesradar+ – In progress
“But that’s very indicative of Skull and Bones. It does well to hide a lot of its more interesting content and quests later into the game. It takes a while to get going, and the on-land stuff – at least from what I’ve seen so far – never evolves beyond what you see in those opening hours. The story gets more interesting, as do the associated quests, I’m just wary that some may get turned off by the slowness of the opening hours. So far, I’m enjoying Skull and Bones as a pirate ship fantasy builder, it’s just missing a lot of the off-ship pirate fun that makes games like Sea of Thieves so alluring.” [Read full review] – Sam Loveridge
Gamereactor UK – 6/10
“Skull and Bones has actually surprised me. I really didn’t have high hopes for this game, but that’s because of its troubled history. A decade of development and a complete reboot for that matter doesn’t do much to inspire confidence, but this game that Ubisoft has created is surprisingly coherent. It’s a broad and sprawling multiplayer pirating action experience, one where you can live out your dreams of becoming an infamous swashbuckler, and in many ways it does this well. However, Skull and Bones is also a game with a metaphorical title, because this is not what we should expect from a full-priced, AAAA game (as Ubisoft’s CEO claims). This is a game that is fundamentally just a skeleton without the flesh that brings something to life.” [Read full review] – Ben Lyons
GGRecon – 4/10
“There are brief windows within Skull and Bones where I can see some remnants of passion. Maybe your crew will break into an unprompted shanty while you’re sailing to your next destination, or maybe you’ll stumble across one of the few unique discoveries worth seeing out on the ocean. Everything else is a chore. A predictable one, considering the game’s delays and development issues, but a disappointment all the same.” [Read full review] – Dani Cross