Last appearing on the horizon way back in 2018, Skull and Bones has officially resurfaced to announce it will be berthing this coming November 8th. Nautical puns aside, though, it’s been so long since anyone had seen or even thought of Skull And Bones that the question on many people’s minds when the game resurfaced was, “what exactly is this?” and honestly, we can’t blame them.
Regardless of how similar the titles may look, Skull and Bones shares very little in common with Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag other than that both games feature boats. In reality, Skull and Bones is far more comparable to playing Sea of Thieves in hard mode than to any of Ubisoft’s existing titles.
While we don’t know everything that Skull and Bones will have in store for us this November, we do know enough to get a feel for the type of game we can expect. Firstly, unlike most Ubisoft games, Skull and Bones has no campaign. According to Ubisoft, Skull and Bones is anything but a storyline-driven game. Instead, it’s aimed to be a “living” game, where you set your own goals and objectives and, through that, make your own story, building a game that people can play for years to come.
The other thing we know is that even though you are welcome to take to the seas on your own, Skull and Bones is essentially a shared world game that can take up to 20 people on one server who can all be teamed up with or hunted down and pillaged.
Another bit of info provided by Ubisoft is surrounding the game’s progression system. Skull and Bones will see each player with their own Infamy track, and as players gain Infamy, they will be able to not only progress to higher-level areas but also captain more impressive ships. According to Ubisoft, they wanted each player’s name to feel like a big deal and to create an atmosphere that very much mimicked the pirate life of old.
The Infamy track is also every player’s overarching goal in the game: To reach the top of the track and become one of the most infamous pirates to sail the seas. As one can expect from an Ubisoft title, cooking and crafting will be a fundamental part of the gameplay. Most materials you collect either through plundering fellow pirates or gathering from the world around you can be taken to the games artisan NPCs, who can then be convinced to turn them into items for your ship.
This brings us to your ship. Objectively the most crucial part of any good pirate game. Skull and Bones is set almost entirely at sea; as such, your ship isn’t just your home and your means of transport but also your most valuable weapon. The game will offer various ships to choose from, and each can be equipped with a plethora of cannons, guns and even flamethrowers.
While little more is known about the game, it looks to be one of the most polished and involved pirate games yet. Proving they can pull it off. What do you think of the game so far, and will you be walking the plank on November 8th? Let us know in the comments section below.