With Skull and Bones headed to Steam on August 22nd alongside the game’s new season, Ubisoft Singapore is taking the opportunity to to improve the keyboard and mouse user experience since Steam is a PC storefront. The in-house “interview” talks up efforts to make the game “feel more ‘PC'” with its adjustments, discusses the feedback […]
With Skull and Bones headed to Steam on August 22nd alongside the game’s new season, Ubisoft Singapore is taking the opportunity to to improve the keyboard and mouse user experience since Steam is a PC storefront. The in-house “interview” talks up efforts to make the game “feel more ‘PC'” with its adjustments, discusses the feedback […]
Just when you finally got your pirate vessel fully insured, along comes a new ship and cannons to blow up your deductible. Yet look on the bright side of your sinking boat: You get a new Skull and Bones content update on August 22nd. Into the Dragon’s Wake is about to arrive in Ubisoft’s naval […]
Just when you finally got your pirate vessel fully insured, along comes a new ship and cannons to blow up your deductible. Yet look on the bright side of your sinking boat: You get a new Skull and Bones content update on August 22nd. Into the Dragon’s Wake is about to arrive in Ubisoft’s naval […]
When it comes to the best weapon in Ubisoft’s naval combat game Skull and Bones, there is no single definitive answer. The game offers a wide variety of specialized ship weapons, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. The optimal weapon choice will depend on a player’s preferred playstyle and the specific combat situation. BelowContinue reading "What is the Best Weapon in Skull and Bones?"
When it comes to the best weapon in Ubisoft’s naval combat game Skull and Bones, there is no single definitive answer. The game offers a wide variety of specialized ship weapons, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. The optimal weapon choice will depend on a player’s preferred playstyle and the specific combat situation. BelowContinue reading "What is the Best Weapon in Skull and Bones?"
Your culverins and your long guns are going to be a little bit more lethal in Skull & Bones following the game’s most recent patch. Ubisoft’s full set of notes reveals that one of the major updates is a combat rebalance which boosts the per-shot damage of these guns, moves damage reduction from food to […]
Your culverins and your long guns are going to be a little bit more lethal in Skull & Bones following the game’s most recent patch. Ubisoft’s full set of notes reveals that one of the major updates is a combat rebalance which boosts the per-shot damage of these guns, moves damage reduction from food to […]
What a jam-packed weekend we have for you with Free Play Days! Driving and Dragon Ball fans jump in, as Assetto Corsa Competizione and Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 are available this weekend for Xbox Game Pass Core and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members to play from Thursday May 30 at 12:01 a.m. PDT until Sunday, June 2 at 11:59 p.m. PDT.
Ahoy fellow Pirates! Enjoy a full week long trial of Skull and Bones which will be unlocked from Thursday May 30 at 12:01 a.m. PDT until Thursday, June 6 at 11:59
What a jam-packed weekend we have for you with Free Play Days! Driving and Dragon Ball fans jump in, as Assetto Corsa Competizione and Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 are available this weekend for Xbox Game Pass Core and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members to play from Thursday May 30 at 12:01 a.m. PDT until Sunday, June 2 at 11:59 p.m. PDT.
Ahoy fellow Pirates! Enjoy a full week long trial of Skull and Bones which will be unlocked from Thursday May 30 at 12:01 a.m. PDT until Thursday, June 6 at 11:59 p.m. PDT.
Additionally, Call of Duty Modern Warfare III (Multiplayer/Zombies Only) is free for all Xbox members from Thursday May 30 at 10:00 a.m. PT until Monday, June 3 at 10am PT. (Xbox Game Pass Core and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate not required) for Free Play Days for All!
Game Pass Core will give players access to our advanced multiplayer network, a select collection of over 25 games to play with friends around the world, and exclusive member deals! Read more about Game Pass Core at Xbox Wire.
How To Start Playing
Find and install the games on each of the individual game details page on Xbox.com. Clicking through will send you to the Microsoft Store, where you must be signed in to see the option to install with your Xbox Game Pass Core or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership. To download on console, click on the Subscriptions tab in the Xbox Store and navigate down to the Free Play Days collection on your Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
Keep The Fun Going
Purchase the game and other editions at a limited time discount and continue playing while keeping your Gamerscore and achievements earned during the event! Please note that discounts, percentages, and title availability may vary by title and region.
Free Play Days (Game Pass Core or Game Pass Ultimate Required)
Assetto Corsa Competizione Optimized for Xbox Series X|S, Smart Delivery Assetto Corsa Competizione is the new official GT World Challenge videogame. Thanks to the extraordinary quality of simulation, the game will allow you to experience the real atmosphere of the GT3 homologated championship, competing against official drivers, teams, cars and circuits.
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 Optimized for Xbox Series X|S, Smart Delivery Go Super Saiyan this weekend with Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2! Immerse yourself in the largest and most detailed Dragon Ball world ever developed: train with all iconic characters such as Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Gohan, Trunks, Cell, Frieza and more to create your perfect fighter and protect the history of the Dragon Ball universe. Join an online hub of up to 300 players from around the world to team up for hard raid missions or measure your strength! There’s never been a better time to jump into Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, now out for Xbox One, Series X & S, and on sale this weekend at up to 50% off. Future Saga Chapter 1 DLC is also available now — read more about it in on Xbox Wire!
Skull and Bones Optimized for Xbox Series X|S Ahoy Pirates! From May 30 to June 6, don’t miss on the opportunity to play for free and save 50% on Skull and Bones! Embark on the vast naval open world in this online action RPG where you rise to become the most fearsome pirate kingpin. Customize your fleet, craft unique ships, and forge formidable weapons to dominate in exhilarating sea battles against your foes, all while expanding your pirate dominion.
During this Free Play Days, you are free to play any content you want, whether it is to progress through the main storyline or tackle challenging content with your friends. And when you purchase the full game, you will be able to keep all the progress you made.
Free Play Days For All
Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® III – Cross-Gen Bundle
Call of Duty Modern Warfare III (Multiplayer/Zombies Only) For a limited time until June 3rd, play Multiplayer and Modern Warfare Zombies in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III for FREE. Dive into Multiplayer in Call of Duty and check out the brand-new 6v6 map Paris, along with additional fan-favorite 6v6 maps such as Das Haus, Stash House, and Rust – playable across five core modes including Demolition, new to Season 4. Plus, the free access offer includes Modern Warfare Zombies. It’s time to see what you’re made of.
Don’t miss out on these exciting Free Play Days for Xbox Game Pass Core and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members! Learn more about Free Play Days here and stay tuned to Xbox Wire to find out about future Free Play Days and all the latest Xbox gaming news.
Přes vlažné přijetí a velkou kritiku Skull and Bones pokračují vývojáři v plánu a postupně rozšiřují hru. Do pirátské multiplayerové akce dorazí druhá sezóna, která přinese boj s novým bossem, nový typ mořské příšery, novou loď nebo nové zbraně a brnění.Součástí druhé sezóny bude také lepší vylepšování lodí, nové režimy pro sólovou hru a PvE, lepší vyvážení nákladů při výrobě předmětů a pohodlnější správa flotily.Druhá sezóna dorazí do Skull and Bones v červnu. U této příležitosti vývojáři poděk
Přes vlažné přijetí a velkou kritiku Skull and Bones pokračují vývojáři v plánu a postupně rozšiřují hru. Do pirátské multiplayerové akce dorazí druhá sezóna, která přinese boj s novým bossem, nový typ mořské příšery, novou loď nebo nové zbraně a brnění.
Součástí druhé sezóny bude také lepší vylepšování lodí, nové režimy pro sólovou hru a PvE, lepší vyvážení nákladů při výrobě předmětů a pohodlnější správa flotily.
Druhá sezóna dorazí do Skull and Bones v červnu. U této příležitosti vývojáři poděkovali hráčům za jejich podporu a obrovskou odezvu na sociálních sítích a streamech.
Skull and Bones vyplulo na širé moře 16. 2. letošního roku ve verzích pro PC, PlayStation 5 a Xbox Series X/S.
It’s a very big game, and we feel people will really see how how vast and complete that game is. It’s a really full, triple… quadruple-A game, that will deliver in the long run.
-Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, justifying Skull and Bones’ $70 price point
What to say about Skull and Bones?
I wasn’t even going to do this as a quote of the day. This quote was back at the beginning of the month, Skull and Bones feels like it is mainly a console title, and while I kept seeing it advertised on Twitter (t
It’s a very big game, and we feel people will really see how how vast and complete that game is. It’s a really full, triple… quadruple-A game, that will deliver in the long run.
I wasn’t even going to do this as a quote of the day. This quote was back at the beginning of the month, Skull and Bones feels like it is mainly a console title, and while I kept seeing it advertised on Twitter (that UbiSoft gives Elon money is another issue), it was never going to be something I would play.
To start with, it is a UbiSoft title and they have been on my blacklist for a couple of decades now for simply being complete shits. I will buy EA titles, but screw UbiSoft and there customer hating policies. Never is a long time, but I am willing to give it a shot in their case.
Skull and Bones – An original something
Furthermore, we all know, back in the logical parts of our brains, that AAA game prices (there are no AAAA games, knock that shit off before it infects the damn industry) being stuck at $60 for 20 years was not tenable in the real world where the price of nearly everything else has consistantly gone up. So charging $70 isn’t a sin in my book, because if they don’t do that, then it will just be DLC and a cash shop and season passes… wait, they’ll do that even if they do raise the price. That ship has sailed. Nevermind I guess.
But the whole thing came up as part of the price discussion when an investor rep asked why the game couldn’t have been free to play and just loaded on more of the extras, since free will generally draw a bigger audience. Anybody with some history knows how much UbiSoft hates the idea of anybody getting anything for free. My early hate was fed by their draconian copy protection measures, which literally punished people who paid and encouraged pirating.
Finally, Yves Guillemot saying something dumb and annoying is barely news. He is the arrogant face of a company that consistantly tries to prove it sees its customers as the enemy, or such is my extremely biased view. I will repeat, every time I mention UbiSoft, that I hold a grudge.
But then I though about my new year’s prediction about UbiSoft finding some way to piss me off in 2024 and I asked myself, “Did this quote make me say ‘Fuck that guy!’ when I saw it?”
And yes, yes it did in fact make me say “Fuck that guy!” when I saw it. It wasn’t a full throated utterance, but it rose to the point of muttered vocalization, and I am going to say that counts. So I figured I had best document that quote so I can find it come December when I score my predictions.
Then, as icing on the cake as I wrote this I went to go check the review scores on MetaCritic, just to see how the alleged AAAA game was faring. It is hard to tell. I mean, on most days, when the review score range is locked in at 75-100 because gaming sites want ad revenue from the big names, seeing a score of 60 would be a pretty hard blow.
The PS5 has the most reviews, so I chose that
60 is better than 40 or 20, but it also smacks of “how low can we go before Yves bans our site from ads forever more?” I am not completely unsympathetic to that reasoning. Game sites gotta survive too.
Then again, maybe this is the new quadruple A grading scale? Maybe a 60 is good?
Certainly the user reviews made reference to the AAAA quote from the CEO.
Skull and Bones apparently took a decade to make, costs somewhere in the region of $200 million over that time, and there was Yves painting a big target on its back, giving people an excuse to shit all over it and the price because it is also a full on live service cash grab.
Skull and Bones on PC
When I heard that Skull and Bones was finally being released, I was over the Moon. The chance to be a pirate again and relive the time when I played Assassin’s Creed Black Flag seemed like a dream come true. Unfortunately, the reality is different.
Let’s get something straight right away, maybe my hopes were too high, and that’s probably because of my previous experience with similar Ubisoft titles. I am a die-hard fan of the Assassin’s Creed franchise. I do think it
When I heard that Skull and Bones was finally being released, I was over the Moon. The chance to be a pirate again and relive the time when I played Assassin’s Creed Black Flag seemed like a dream come true. Unfortunately, the reality is different.
Let’s get something straight right away, maybe my hopes were too high, and that’s probably because of my previous experience with similar Ubisoft titles. I am a die-hard fan of the Assassin’s Creed franchise. I do think it’s fair to have great expectations from Skull and Bones and make certain comparisons.
Nejeden hráč si už dlouhé roky přeje parádní pirátskou hru. Představa, že brázdíte nekonečné oceány, zakopáváte poklady, silný soubojový systém jak na vodě tak na souši, krádeže ostatním hráčům, plenění osad. To vše si můžete nechat ve Vaši fantazii do příští hry, která už snad bude podle představ, kterým se přibližuje takový Assassins Creed: Black Flag nebo alespoň Sea of Thieves. Zde totiž očekávejte pouze Early Access něčeho, co mělo zůstat ještě pár let skryto.
Po zhruba sedmi letech vývoje
Nejeden hráč si už dlouhé roky přeje parádní pirátskou hru. Představa, že brázdíte nekonečné oceány, zakopáváte poklady, silný soubojový systém jak na vodě tak na souši, krádeže ostatním hráčům, plenění osad. To vše si můžete nechat ve Vaši fantazii do příští hry, která už snad bude podle představ, kterým se přibližuje takový Assassins Creed: Black Flag nebo alespoň Sea of Thieves. Zde totiž očekávejte pouze Early Access něčeho, co mělo zůstat ještě pár let skryto.
Po zhruba sedmi letech vývoje to není úplně ta pirátská fantazie, kterou kdokoli z nás čekal.Jste ztělesněním bezejmenného, docela osobnostně postradatelného kapitána všech moří, s o něco více než několika základními dialogovými možnostmi, které vám poskytnou jakýkoli pocit identity v hlavních vláknech kampaně.Pro vydavatele tak zběhlého ve vytváření dynamických postav a komplexních světů působí Skull and Bones jako hra uvězněná v minulosti.
Jedním ze smutných okamžiků je ten, když zjistíte, jak základní jsou nabídky Skull and Bones mimo loď.Kromě dvou hlavních oblastí – Saint Anne na západě a Telok Penjarah na východě – je tu žalostně málo co dělat, když neplujete.Existuje několik oblastí, kde se můžete dostat na pevninu a nakupovat, chytit nové mise, fušovat na Černý trh nebo občas hledat zakopaný poklad, ale všechny jsou docela jednoduché, navzdory pozornosti věnované navrhování těchto oblastí, aby vypadaly pěkně abyly pěkně prozkoumány.Brzy si všimnete, že se NPC opakují a že rekvizity se replikují i na stejně malé ploše.Netrvá dlouho a pěší průzkum ztratí veškeré kouzlo a zastávky v pitstopech se stanou jen funkční nutností na cestě dál.
Jedinou pobídkou k prozkoumání pobřeží je najít více plánků, které jsou na prodej po všech různých ostrovech.A tady začíná grind.Budete muset najít a zakoupit plány téměř všeho.Brnění a nové zbraně pro vaši loď, různé kusy nábytku, které můžete přidat do své lodi, abyste jí dodali různé bonusy, jako je obnova zdraví nebo staminy nebo zvýšené poškození u určitých typů zbraní, což se týká také munice.Poté, co jsem strávil čas a peníze hledáním plánu a poté výrobou torpédového děla pro svou zbrusu novou loď Bombardier, jsem začal být frustrovaný, když jsem zjistil, že nejen, že nemám plán na munici, ale nikde v Telok Penjarah nemám rakety, které jsem potřeboval k vyzbrojení.Místo toho jsem se musel vydat na plavbu, abych našel někoho, kdo by pro mě měl plán, nebo krabice s municí na prodej, než jsem mohl skutečně připravit zbraňovou bitvu.Je to zvláštní systém, který rychle odhalí zdlouhavé opakování dlouhé hry Skull and Bones a skrytou rabovací (looter-shooter) střílečku v jejím srdci. Musím ale uznat, že jsem nemusel nikdy hledat tzv. na blind, jelikož trackování plánků je takřka nutností a víte tak přesně kam vyrazit.
Základní smyčka hry je zaměřena na vylepšení vaší lodi o lepší zbraně, perky a brnění, ale také s celkovým cílem snažit se to vše co nejdříve vyměnit za větší a lepší lodě.Zatímco váš pirát má svůj vlastní proces levelování, který je spojen s odemykáním další husté kosmetiky, získání přístupu k misím na vyšší úrovni vyžaduje získání lepších lodí a jejich vybavení vylepšenými zbraněmi a brněním.
Tento cyklus je zpočátku velkým hnacím motorem, a to především proto, že plavba po okolí a napadání nepřátelských lodí je skutečným potěšením.Skull and Bones je ohromující hra, kterou je radost objevovat z vody.I když nemůžete fyzicky obsluhovat plachty sami – jako jste schopni v něčem jako Sea of Thieves – budete muset nastavovat kormidlo, vypořádat se s větrem a překonat potíže, jako jsou bouře nebo obrovské lodě ničící vlny.Totéž platí pro samotný námořní boj, ale to by pak vlastně nemělo být překvapením.
Skull and Bones staví na základech, které položila Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag z roku 2013 – hra, která tak dobře zvládala boj na lodích. Ubisoft se tak rozhodl tuto zkušenost využít jako alfu a omegu celého titulu.Boj je plynulý a citlivý, můžete si vybrat, které zbraně budete používat, pouhým nastavením směru, kterým vaše loď směřuje.Zbraně mohou mít později také specifické účinky, jako je záplava nebo poškození ohněm, a když uvidíte nepřátele se zbraněmi, jako jsou torpéda nebo minomety, budete si je chtít odemknout sami.
Spoustu toho, co potřebujete, můžete najít pouhou okružní plavbou, vyřazením nepřátelských lodí nebo vytěžením surovin, které můžete spatřit podél pobřeží.Ano, je to tak, dokonce i kácení stromů nebo sběr železa se provádí z vaší lodi pomocí obzvláště světské minihry založené na rytmu – v dnešní době nemůžete ani vylézt z lodi kvůli nějaké ruční práci.Některé věci však budete muset vydrancovat ze základen, které najdete na mapě, kde se objevují další podivné výstřednosti Skull and Bones.
Plundrování je typ mise, kdy útočíte na základnu z vody a útočíte nejen na stavbu podél pobřeží, ale také na lodě, které si pro vás připlouvají ve stále těžších vlnách.Ty rané, které najdete, se dají snadno řešit sólo, ale základny na vyšších úrovních jsou prakticky nemožné bez některých pirátských kamarádů po vašem boku.Můžete volat o pomoc na kterémkoli místě loupení, což vydává výzvu komukoli na mapě, aby vám přišel na pomoc, ačkoli tyto volání o pomoc vyprší po pouhých 60 sekundách.Je frustrující, že žádní piráti, kteří jsou ochotni odpovědět na volání, ve skutečnosti nemohou označit, že jsou na cestě, a dokonce neexistuje ani způsob, jak rychle někomu pomoci přímo z volání, který se objeví na obrazovce.
Totéž platí pro jakékoli světové události, které by mohly nastat, když se plavíte kolem, což je obzvláště zvláštní, protože se pravidelně objevují na opačné straně mapy otevřeného světa a obvykle ve velmi přísném časovém limitu.Nemůžete také volat o pomoc na nic kromě plenění.Můžete najet kurzorem na jakékoli místo plenění a hned tam zavolat podporu, ale nemůžete to udělat u žádné jiné mise vyznačené na vaší mapě, včetně konkrétně označených kooperativních misí nebo událostí vyšší úrovně.Tento roztříštěný přístup k pouhému požádání o pomoc je jasným odrazem celkové struktury pro více hráčů a je jen umocněn snahou hry o matchmaking.
Prostřednictvím Social menu se můžete bavit s ostatními pirátskými kapitány, ale za těch 30 hodin, co hraji Skull and Bones, jsem se ještě s nikým pořádně nevyrovnal.Možná to svědčí o počtu hráčů nebo prostě o lidech, kteří se rozhodli zažít Skull and Bones sólo, jak jen mohou, ale rozhodně to pro mě byla frustrace, když jsem se snažil zažít vše, co hra nabízí.Skull and Bones je hra, ke které potřebujete přátele, jde jen o to, zda najdete někoho, kdo ji bude chtít hrát s vámi.
Ve skutečnosti, čím déle hrajete, tím více vás Skull and Bones bude frustrovat. Questy se opakují a Ubisoft ještě neodstranil některé docela frustrující chyby. Například se to týká Death marky, která nepřetržitě vyskakuje, dokud nevypnete a nezapnete hru. Chyba, která se dokonce stala tak rozšířenou, že se mezi hráči stala docela běžným vtipem.
Skull and Bones působí jako v hra Early Access. Hra, která se téměř dokáže ospravedlnit jako plnohodnotné vydání, ale jenom díky mechanikám plachetnic a námořních soubojů, poněvadž jsou prostě fakt dobré.S tak zvláštními MMO rysy a Late game, které působí jako příliš velký grind za malou odměnu, je opravdu těžké dostát hře, kterou Ubisoft původně nabídl.Možná má potenciál růst stejným způsobem jako Sea of Thieves za posledních asi pět let, ale zatím si nejsem jistý, zda má Skull and Bones stejný závazek k dlouhověkosti. Nazývat hru AAAA titulem je pohrdání hráči a osobně bych za ni v aktuálním stavu dal maximálně 30€.
It’s a very big game, and we feel people will really see how how vast and complete that game is. It’s a really full, triple… quadruple-A game, that will deliver in the long run.
-Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, justifying Skull and Bones’ $70 price point
What to say about Skull and Bones?
I wasn’t even going to do this as a quote of the day. This quote was back at the beginning of the month, Skull and Bones feels like it is mainly a console title, and while I kept seeing it advertised on Twitter (t
It’s a very big game, and we feel people will really see how how vast and complete that game is. It’s a really full, triple… quadruple-A game, that will deliver in the long run.
I wasn’t even going to do this as a quote of the day. This quote was back at the beginning of the month, Skull and Bones feels like it is mainly a console title, and while I kept seeing it advertised on Twitter (that UbiSoft gives Elon money is another issue), it was never going to be something I would play.
To start with, it is a UbiSoft title and they have been on my blacklist for a couple of decades now for simply being complete shits. I will buy EA titles, but screw UbiSoft and there customer hating policies. Never is a long time, but I am willing to give it a shot in their case.
Skull and Bones – An original something
Furthermore, we all know, back in the logical parts of our brains, that AAA game prices (there are no AAAA games, knock that shit off before it infects the damn industry) being stuck at $60 for 20 years was not tenable in the real world where the price of nearly everything else has consistantly gone up. So charging $70 isn’t a sin in my book, because if they don’t do that, then it will just be DLC and a cash shop and season passes… wait, they’ll do that even if they do raise the price. That ship has sailed. Nevermind I guess.
But the whole thing came up as part of the price discussion when an investor rep asked why the game couldn’t have been free to play and just loaded on more of the extras, since free will generally draw a bigger audience. Anybody with some history knows how much UbiSoft hates the idea of anybody getting anything for free. My early hate was fed by their draconian copy protection measures, which literally punished people who paid and encouraged pirating.
Finally, Yves Guillemot saying something dumb and annoying is barely news. He is the arrogant face of a company that consistantly tries to prove it sees its customers as the enemy, or such is my extremely biased view. I will repeat, every time I mention UbiSoft, that I hold a grudge.
But then I though about my new year’s prediction about UbiSoft finding some way to piss me off in 2024 and I asked myself, “Did this quote make me say ‘Fuck that guy!’ when I saw it?”
And yes, yes it did in fact make me say “Fuck that guy!” when I saw it. It wasn’t a full throated utterance, but it rose to the point of muttered vocalization, and I am going to say that counts. So I figured I had best document that quote so I can find it come December when I score my predictions.
Then, as icing on the cake as I wrote this I went to go check the review scores on MetaCritic, just to see how the alleged AAAA game was faring. It is hard to tell. I mean, on most days, when the review score range is locked in at 75-100 because gaming sites want ad revenue from the big names, seeing a score of 60 would be a pretty hard blow.
The PS5 has the most reviews, so I chose that
60 is better than 40 or 20, but it also smacks of “how low can we go before Yves bans our site from ads forever more?” I am not completely unsympathetic to that reasoning. Game sites gotta survive too.
Then again, maybe this is the new quadruple A grading scale? Maybe a 60 is good?
Certainly the user reviews made reference to the AAAA quote from the CEO.
Skull and Bones apparently took a decade to make, costs somewhere in the region of $200 million over that time, and there was Yves painting a big target on its back, giving people an excuse to shit all over it and the price because it is also a full on live service cash grab.
Skull and Bones, the oft-delayed pirate game from Ubisoft that finally arrived earlier this month following almost a decade of development, has released its first season of post-launch content on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC - introducing, among other things, new world events, new contracts and bounties, plus a battle-pass-style progression track.
Raging Tides, as Skull and Bones' first live-service season is officially titled, predominantly focuses on new antagonist Philippe La Peste (AKA the P
Skull and Bones, the oft-delayed pirate game from Ubisoft that finally arrived earlier this month following almost a decade of development, has released its first season of post-launch content on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC - introducing, among other things, new world events, new contracts and bounties, plus a battle-pass-style progression track.
Raging Tides, as Skull and Bones' first live-service season is officially titled, predominantly focuses on new antagonist Philippe La Peste (AKA the Plague King) and his Fleet of Pestilence. By defeating La Peste's advance guard, the Plaguebringers, as they spawn throughout the world, players can raise the fleet's hostility level. Once past a certain threshold, they'll face a "mighty foe", which rewards a "rare item" when sunk.
That's the core of Raging Tides' new content, then, but Season 1 also adds two elite boss Kingpin Bounties - Jaws of Retribution: Introducing Zamaharibu and Anguish from the Abyss: Rode Maangodin - which run from 5-26th March and 26th March to 16th April respectively.
I don't think I've fully recovered from my time with Skull And Bones, having suffered tremendously as a result of the review. There might be fun in some of its slower moments, but some of the generally positive, "It's actually quite a good game!" takes that I've seen honestly baffle me. The game is a series of long, annoying journeys, during which the most fun I had was turning my head to watch Catfish on my other monitor. MTV's show about people getting duped online was the perfect sailing com
I don't think I've fully recovered from my time with Skull And Bones, having suffered tremendously as a result of the review. There might be fun in some of its slower moments, but some of the generally positive, "It's actually quite a good game!" takes that I've seen honestly baffle me. The game is a series of long, annoying journeys, during which the most fun I had was turning my head to watch Catfish on my other monitor. MTV's show about people getting duped online was the perfect sailing companion, and perhaps, one of the only reasons I survived my brush with the live service seas.
Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot recently said Skull And Bones is a "quadruple-A game", which I think is very accurate, actually. "AAAA" is the sound that escapes my lips as I embark on yet another hour-long sail to retrieve some logs, or when I'm doing my little deliveries and a brigantine starts on me. After 11 years in development, Ubisoft's pirate game isn't necessarily a disaster, I just think its live service model has transformed piracy from a roguish lark on the waves into a tremendously du
Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot recently said Skull And Bones is a "quadruple-A game", which I think is very accurate, actually. "AAAA" is the sound that escapes my lips as I embark on yet another hour-long sail to retrieve some logs, or when I'm doing my little deliveries and a brigantine starts on me. After 11 years in development, Ubisoft's pirate game isn't necessarily a disaster, I just think its live service model has transformed piracy from a roguish lark on the waves into a tremendously dull series of shipping tasks.
Pirates! Such an evocative word! But if it's swashbuckling tales of derring-do you're after, of sea monsters and high seas adventuring, of buried treasures on distant shores and smuggling escapades by the light of the moon, there are other, better ways to fulfil that classic pirate fantasy, because Skull and Bones' take is, regrettably, a bit of a bore.It begins, though, as all good adventures often do, in the midst of battle, wood splintering and canons booming as your ship is pursued across t
Pirates! Such an evocative word! But if it's swashbuckling tales of derring-do you're after, of sea monsters and high seas adventuring, of buried treasures on distant shores and smuggling escapades by the light of the moon, there are other, better ways to fulfil that classic pirate fantasy, because Skull and Bones' take is, regrettably, a bit of a bore.
It begins, though, as all good adventures often do, in the midst of battle, wood splintering and canons booming as your ship is pursued across the 17th century Indian Ocean by a British armada intent on delivering you to Davy Jones - a wonderfully cinematic opener slightly undone by the fact straying beyond an arbitrary boundary immediately presents you with a stroppy message to turn around. Fortune, though, is on your side, and you escape - after bobbing through shark-infested waters on a bit of flotsam - with the shirt on your back, a rickety old dhow, and a burning ambition to become the most renowned pirate in all the land.
In rather less romantic terms, it's a live-service progression track grind masquerading as a rags-to-riches story, but it's one that Skull and Bones, to its credit, tries really hard to sell. Over its near-decade of development and across countless iterations, Ubisoft's pirate adventure has doubtless taken many forms, but what I wasn't expecting to find - amid its live-service trappings and its flexible fusion of drop-in co-op and optional PvP - was quite such a lengthy, narrative-driven campaign. Granted, its story - a self-serious, by-the-numbers tale of factional warfare, populated by a cast of largely charmless characters that could have been wrenched from any number of blockbuster Ubisoft games - isn't a particularly engaging one, but it does at least give Skull and Bones' rather graceless tangle of underlying systems some narrative drive.
Despite claims it is a "quadruple-A" live-service experience, Skull and Bones's user Metacritic score has taken a pummelling since the pirate ship game was released on Friday, 16th February.Based on the 222 user scores recorded to date, Skull and Bones' user score is sitting at just 2.8 out of 10, making it the lowest-rated game of 2024 released thus far when ranked by user score alone.Complaints are centred chiefly around its "underwhelming and lacklustre" gameplay, a "poorly designed" end gam
Despite claims it is a "quadruple-A" live-service experience, Skull and Bones's user Metacritic score has taken a pummelling since the pirate ship game was released on Friday, 16th February.
Based on the 222 user scores recorded to date, Skull and Bones' user score is sitting at just 2.8 out of 10, making it the lowest-rated game of 2024 released thus far when ranked by user score alone.
Complaints are centred chiefly around its "underwhelming and lacklustre" gameplay, a "poorly designed" end game, and claims that it is "boring", with many players comparing it unfavourably to Sea of Thieves and even Assassin's Creed: Black Flag, the latter of which is now 11 years old.
Despite claims it is a "quadruple-A" live-service experience, Skull and Bones's user Metacritic score has taken a pummelling since the pirate ship game was released on Friday, 16th February.Based on the 222 user scores recorded to date, Skull and Bones' user score is sitting at just 2.8 out of 10, making it the lowest-rated game of 2024 released thus far when ranked by user score alone.Complaints are centred chiefly around its "underwhelming and lacklustre" gameplay, a "poorly designed" end gam
Despite claims it is a "quadruple-A" live-service experience, Skull and Bones's user Metacritic score has taken a pummelling since the pirate ship game was released on Friday, 16th February.
Based on the 222 user scores recorded to date, Skull and Bones' user score is sitting at just 2.8 out of 10, making it the lowest-rated game of 2024 released thus far when ranked by user score alone.
Complaints are centred chiefly around its "underwhelming and lacklustre" gameplay, a "poorly designed" end game, and claims that it is "boring", with many players comparing it unfavourably to Sea of Thieves and even Assassin's Creed: Black Flag, the latter of which is now 11 years old.
Because it’s somehow my job to worry about the technical fidelity of electronic toys, I’ve been eyeing the long-overdue arrival of Skull and Bones with some nervousness. After nearly a decade of delays, you’d probably just want to get it out the door, right? Skip straight to the open-world pirate adventuring, none of that 'making it work on a range of graphics cards' nonsense.But nope. For all its other shortcomings, Skull and Bones performs alright on PC, very often more smoothly than its syst
Because it’s somehow my job to worry about the technical fidelity of electronic toys, I’ve been eyeing the long-overdue arrival of Skull and Bones with some nervousness. After nearly a decade of delays, you’d probably just want to get it out the door, right? Skip straight to the open-world pirate adventuring, none of that 'making it work on a range of graphics cards' nonsense.
But nope. For all its other shortcomings, Skull and Bones performs alright on PC, very often more smoothly than its system requirements suggest. Though I’d still recommend abiding by its SSD storage requirement – following the rules might not be very piratey, but installing on a hard drive will curse you to some pretty tedious load screen waits. Geoffrey Rush would hate it, honestly.
While Edwin sequesters himself in the starting area, let’s head below deck for a closer look at Skull and Bones’ PC particulars. That includes a full rundown of its graphics options – which include ray tracing and DLSS – and a quick guide to the best settings for an ideal prettiness-to-performance ratio.
It's happening! Why I played Skull & Bones back when it wasn't even a live service game. But now it is, and it's out this weekend. We talk a bit about how long it has been coming out, why it's been in development this long, and why they didn't just release the sucker the two or three previous times they got close to doing so. Honestly, I hope it does okay. We also talk about the games we've been playing this week, and Nate challenges us with a game of Palworld Pal: real or fake? PLUS the gi
It's happening! Why I played Skull & Bones back when it wasn't even a live service game. But now it is, and it's out this weekend. We talk a bit about how long it has been coming out, why it's been in development this long, and why they didn't just release the sucker the two or three previous times they got close to doing so. Honestly, I hope it does okay. We also talk about the games we've been playing this week, and Nate challenges us with a game of Palworld Pal: real or fake? PLUS the giant game dildo and our recommendations this week.
Last night I spent an hour in Ubisoft Singapore's Skull And Bones, the much-reconceived, nigh-mythical open world pirate game that has been in development since 2013. Taking a leaf from the book of feared intergalactic corsair Samus Aran, the prologue starts you off at the height of your bucanneering powers, with a mighty gold-and-scarlet galleon at your disposal that is shortly blown to bits by the English Navy.
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Last night I spent an hour in Ubisoft Singapore's Skull And Bones, the much-reconceived, nigh-mythical open world pirate game that has been in development since 2013. Taking a leaf from the book of feared intergalactic corsair Samus Aran, the prologue starts you off at the height of your bucanneering powers, with a mighty gold-and-scarlet galleon at your disposal that is shortly blown to bits by the English Navy.
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