Skull and Bones
- June 27, 2022
- Ubisoft Singapore
Combining moody and gratifying ship-on-ship combat with shallow live service trappings, Skull and Bones is great within the claustrophobic parameters of what market forces allow it to be.
Buy Skull and Bones on PlayStation Store. Overcome the odds and rise from an outcast to an infamous pirate.
Reviews
- The sailing mechanics and naval battles are addictive and enjoyable, reminiscent of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.
- The game offers fun co-op gameplay, especially when playing with friends.
- Despite some issues, many players find the game entertaining and engaging once they get the hang of it.
- The game suffers from numerous performance issues, glitches, and feels unfinished, leading to a frustrating experience.
- Players are required to have a PlayStation Plus subscription to play, which adds to the overall cost and dissatisfaction.
- The gameplay can be tedious and repetitive, with a lack of meaningful content and progression, making it feel like a grind.
- story8 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The game's story is criticized for its lack of depth and coherence, with many players expressing frustration over bugged quests that hinder progression. While some appreciate the character customization and graphics, the missions are often described as tedious and poorly designed, leading to a disappointing overall narrative experience. Many users feel that the game's high price does not reflect the quality of the story or gameplay.
“I bought it because the game's graphics, missions, and stories had me hooked.”
“I just wish it had a storyline, but there’s no storyline or missions; that’s why I gave a bad rating.”
“The twilight keeper quest from the admiral is bugged, thus I can’t proceed with the storyline. On top of that, it doesn’t make sense to manually pick up the pieces of eight as a kingpin (boss). I can’t play the game properly since it takes all your time doing manual pick-up errands.”
“Missions are boring and seem to be down for maintenance during my playtime around 8 PM - 10 PM once a week so far. Missions also seem glitchy; don't waste your money.”
- gameplay4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The gameplay is primarily online, lacking offline options, and features vague directions that hinder initial progress. Despite these challenges, players find the gameplay enjoyable, drawing comparisons to "Assassin's Creed: Black Flag," albeit with a focus on naval rather than land-based mechanics.
“Fun gameplay.”
“There is no offline gameplay.”
“The directions during gameplay are vague, making it difficult to make any progress, especially in the beginning (when it matters most).”
“Think Assassin's Creed Black Flag without the gameplay on land.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and repetitive, often requiring them to engage in slow and monotonous tasks like ship battles or trade routes to progress. This design choice detracts from the overall enjoyment, making the experience feel clunky and frustrating.
“Horribly tedious.”
“Instead of accomplishing that by packing the game with tons of stuff to do, it instead makes every single task as slow and tedious as possible.”
“What I got was a tedious, repetitive, and clunky game.”
- graphics4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with some players finding them reminiscent of old-school visuals, likening them to PS2 quality. While the graphics initially attracted players, many felt they were ultimately disappointing and did not meet modern standards. Overall, the visual presentation has been criticized for being lackluster and contributing to a sense of boredom in gameplay.
“I bought it because the game's graphics, missions, and stories had me hooked.”
“The graphics of the game are impressive and truly enhance the overall experience.”
“The visuals are stunning, with a vibrant color palette and detailed environments.”
“It looks like old-school graphics.”
“PS2 graphics, sloppy controls; not even $20.00 worth, shame on you Ubisoft.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant performance issues, leading users to describe it as feeling more like a prototype than a polished product.
“The game feels like a prototype with tons of performance issues.”
“Optimization is severely lacking, leading to frequent frame drops and stuttering.”
“It seems like the developers rushed the release without addressing critical optimization problems.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy is criticized for heavily relying on in-app purchases, which many players feel are forced upon them to access loot.
“There are too many in-app purchases forced on you for loot.”
“The monetization strategy feels overly aggressive and detracts from the overall experience.”
“It's frustrating how much you have to spend to enjoy the game fully.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
While the game is enjoyable, players are experiencing significant stability issues, including item disappearance from storage and various glitches.
“It is a fun game, but I'm having issues with my items disappearing from my storage along with several other glitches.”
Critic Reviews
Skull and Bones review
Combining moody and gratifying ship-on-ship combat with shallow live service trappings, Skull and Bones is great within the claustrophobic parameters of what market forces allow it to be.
68%Skull & Bones PS5 Review
Skull & Bones is a fantastic sea-sim with all the best bits of being a pirate taken out.
60%Skull and Bones review
Skull and Bones might have been a better game had it released sooner, but at it's fun combat is dampened by its rather dull progression.
60%