Skull and Bones has had a troubled development, to say the least. Initially revealed in 2017, people have often wondered if Skull and Bones would ever arrive on consoles. That day has finally come, and the final product has a lot of potential but needs some quality-of-life adjustments.

Skull and Bones begins with the player surviving an attack on the open seas. After getting saved by two survivors, the player can customize the character he will use throughout the game. Once completed, the player will want to get familiar with the controls and sail around picking up items like driftwood. One of the first missions to complete in the game revolves around collecting some of these items, so if it gets done immediately, it will save time when the actual quest comes up in the game.

Skull and Bones features several different ways to play. For those who prefer to play solo, have fun. For those who want to play with friends utilizing co-op, that option also exists. Remember that other players will still populate your world even if the solo route gets chosen. Chances exist that different Gamertags will be visible sailing in your vicinity or in the same outpost during your adventure. Even though someone might decide to go solo, these players can still receive help. 

During one mission where the objective featured plundering a fort, a distress call got sent out. Another player in my world accepted the call and joined in to make plundering that fort a bit easier. Once we completed the objective, we returned to our individual adventures. That kind of interaction highlights some tremendous potential in Skull and Bones.

Many Different Missions Await Your Pirate On The Open Seas

Skull and Bones sees players tackle several different kinds of missions. The main story missions will always be there to complete. It has some decent length, so it should keep players busy. The game also prompts the player to complete some side objectives before continuing with the story. While that remains a suggestion and not a requirement, players may want to heed that advice–side quests allow for more experience and greater abilities.

Side missions in the game, known as “Side Contracts,” will have a pirate performing a number of different actions. These include finding and recovering some lost treasure, hunting wildlife, smuggling different items, eliminating certain groups to prove your worth to different factions, and more.

In addition, treasure maps will have players searching for buried treasure. Investigations also make an appearance in the game, such as searching for the author of a well-known book. Players also can play bounty missions. However, bounties have a time limit. Once the clock expires, the “mission failed” notice will show up on the screen.

Exploration and Loot Will Be The Keys To Your Survival

Skull and Bones revolves around the importance of loot. Loot makes the world go round and will be required to advance in the game. Whether building a ship or upgrading an existing one, to having a blacksmith craft some armor or crafting basic weaponry like a spear, having the right materials plays a critical role in gameplay. This promotes the idea of exploration in the game as much of that will be in the world, whether bought from a vendor, taken as a spoil of war after winning a battle or found lying around on an island. 

Certain types of loot also dot the landscape while sailing by land masses. However, an annoying mini-game pops up in these instances. When this happens, the player must push a button at the right time on a meter to harvest the item. I don’t know who thought this would make a good mechanic while sailing, but it completely interrupts the flow of the gameplay.

Quality of Life Improvements Needed in Skull and Bones

Unfortunately, the game finds other ways to annoy players, too. Skull and Bones starts rough. The game handles new players poorly, with little instruction on what to do and how to do it. Trial and error will become a major part of the gameplay for many people in Skull and Bones as players struggle to grasp what the game expects from them. Once that clicks, the game can be a lot of fun. Getting past that initial frustration will challenge some players in the extreme. 

The map also doesn’t do players any favors. For example, the treasure map becomes pretty useless when going on a treasure hunt. My character consulted the map many times to learn the treasure’s location but had no luck. One of the issues revolves around the fact that the player can not zoom in on the map enough to try and see the treasure’s location. My pirate eventually found the treasure, but the area appeared different from what the map showed.

Playing In An Always Online World Has Its Drawbacks

Another annoyance revolves around the continuous nature of the game. Skull and Bones does not feature a pause option. Players can bring up the menu, but the action still occurs when that happens. This means that if someone must pause the game to get a drink or check on their children, the game will still play uninterrupted. This resulted in my character getting eliminated, and upon my return after having been gone for a few minutes, my character was standing in town at the latest checkpoint the game triggered. The fact that the development team didn’t consider that people have lives and might need to pause the game remains baffling. 

Since players participate in an online world, the possibility also exists that a character might get the boot as well. One instance occurred where my character got the boot for no reason other than the game saying the host had left the session. Another example happened when I got ejected from the server due to my character’s inactivity period being too long. I understand the concept of an online world, but my few minutes of inactivity don’t affect anyone. It wasn’t like playing World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV and potentially holding players back by being gone for a few minutes.

Your Reputation Precedes Your Pirate On The Open Seas

While going through the game, player infamy will slowly rise. As a pirate becomes more infamous, more options will open up. This could include having a better pirate ship, being able to afford (or craft) higher quality items, gaining more overall respect from different factions, and more.

Much like the Assassin’s Creed games, pirates will have a spyglass at their disposal. Use this while sailing on the open seas to check out ships from a distance. By doing this, a crew can see the items the vessel carries and determine whether it might be worth it to attack the ship and claim the supplies. This also allows everyone to see what faction the boat belongs to and whether that crew might be an ally or an enemy.

When engaged in naval combat, the option exists to either sink the enemy ship or board it and take over. The option to board them will be more difficult than sinking the boat. However, if everyone successfully boards the ship, the reward will be greater than sinking the ship.

The game’s world has been a topic of conversation a few times in this review, and for good reason. The team over at Ubisoft has done a great job building a pirate playground. Skull and Bones features four main regions, each a bit different than the last. One area features red soil and rolling hills, while another one has swampy wetlands, and another one features a pirate den. The development team put in some nice diversity with these different locales and the different factions that inhabit these areas.

Assassin’s Creed Provides Nice Inspiration for Skull and Bones

The naval combat works well in the game. It draws comparisons to the Assassin’s Creed games featuring maritime combat. Players that have experienced that over the years should feel right at home with how a ship controls in battle. These battles at sea require strategy to win, especially in the game’s later stages. As tougher battles loom on the horizon, players must consider the type of ship going into battle. There might be instances where shoring up the defenses and having more of a “tank” build will serve a crew better than a ship that focuses on other areas.

If a crew loses a battle on the high seas, the voyage ends, and then the player gets presented with two options. The first option revolves around respawning at the last dock visited. The second option involves respawning at sea, but that comes with a financial penalty. When a ship gets sunk, it also loses a lot of its cargo. Once a crew respawns in the world, sail to where the ship sunk and grab the lost loot before someone else can get to it.

One disappointment for fans might be that Skull and Bones mainly features naval action. Sometimes, the player can sail to different outposts, get off the ship, and explore that area. However, there will not be any other typical pirate activities, such as sword fighting on a ship or climbing masts to gain an advantage, like in the aforementioned Assassin’s Creed series. The pirate activities can be fun when everything finally clicks. However, remember that Skull and Bones limits itself to certain elements of pirate life.

Ubisoft Could Have Another Successful Franchise

Skull and Bones has an interesting concept born out of ideas the team had in some of the Assassin’s Creed games. The developers need to add some quality-of-life fixes in this game, such as better maps, pausing the game, and better explaining the expectations to the player at any given time.

Despite the troubled development cycle over the past seven years, Ubisoft has a good foundation with Skull and Bones. If Ubisoft can adapt the game over time and add features that make the game more user-friendly, this good game can potentially turn into something great. In that event, it could also begin a new franchise.

Rating: 7/10 Specs

This review originally appeared on Wealth of Geeks.