Ahoy maties, it’s Captain Snooze here. I’ve been waiting years for a fresh pirate game to shake up the gaming seas and stir up a mighty storm. Alas, my patience has been rewarded with a great treasure as Ubisoft has recently debuted their pirate title Skull and Bones which has undoubtedly caused a maelstrom in the industry. Huh? Er, the reviews are stating there’s no boarding? In a pirate ship game? And that’s it’s generally grindy as fuck even after shilling out $70? Shiver me timbers that can’t be right… hold on, let me takeoff my eyepatch.
Us pirate fans stay losing in the gaming world it appears. It’s no exaggeration that Pirates of the Caribbean (POTC) was a massive part of my childhood. I remember nights where I put on the DVD, fast-forwarded through all the fight scenes, and jumped around the living room imagining I was sword fighting alongside my favorite characters. That was but mere dreaming… until Disney released a POTC-themed MMO. In reality it was probably shit, however to my nostalgic mind’s eye it was a beautiful game that finally let me immerse myself in being a pirate. Naval combat, boarding, minigames, swords, guns, voodoo spells, by the Kraken it had it all. Eventually I stopped playing after hitting a paywall but the good memories remain. That being said, after I exited the POTC MMO I still eagerly awaited the next big pirate game that would offer that experience in even more detail and quality as graphics and technology advanced.
This game AND MMOhut? So much nostalgia in one picture.
According to fellow crewmates, that took shape in the form of Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag. Apparently it’s one of the few games in their lineup that truly innovated on the AC formula and did naval combat in a satisfying enough way to truly distinguish itself from the other entries in the series. Unfortunately for me I didn’t hear much about AC until people were already complaining about shitty side quests, uninspired combat, and repetitive story beats that come with free plot holes. Essentially establishing the modern Ubisoft reputation of “long game that sucks and is corporate garbage”. I only recently realized there’s a large portion of gamers who argue Black Flag stands apart from that pile so I haven’t revisited it yet. There’s also Sea of Thieves, but to my understanding it was released in a disastrous state with little to no content to keep players engaged. I know several updates have improved its condition, but I don’t hear about or know anybody who still plays it. Apart from these two games, no other pirate games come to mind with dedicated fan bases and it blows my mind that such a popular form of adventure is generally left untapped in the gaming space. It sounds like Skull and Bones will be joining the sea of shallow sales that fail to capture the essence of doing what you want cause a pirate is free.
Perhaps to go forward, I need to first go back.
It’s high time I set sail myself to find some vitamin C and other essentials for the day. With smaller studios that focus on co-op seeing massive success right now (Palworld, Lethal Company, Helldivers 2) perhaps a smaller team with more creative freedom could deliver that fresh pirate experience I’ve been craving. Too many more soulless releases like this and I might walk the plank myself. Do you enjoy pirate culture and media? Did you hear the impressions of Skull and Bones? Are smaller studios poised to dominate the big players in gaming? Sail your ship, cut down your foes, and find buried treasure in the comments below!
