So far, the Skull and Bones beta has just made me want to play Sea of Thieves again

GamesAdventureSkull and BonesSo far, the Skull and Bones beta has just made me want to play Sea of Thieves againWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Image for So far, the Skull and Bones beta has just made me want to play Sea of Thieves again

Skull and Bones is finally coming out this month (or so we’re told), and this week’sopen betaisUbisoft’s last best chance to convince us that the long-delayed pirate game isworth $60. I played a few hours of it today, and I can’t say I’m convinced, though I won’t rule out that it gets better in the endgame.

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Should logging really be one of the first things you do in a pirate game? Probably not, but after acquiring lumber and finally building a proper ship, I could focus on sinking NPC merchants to amass wealth and supplies, which is better.

The combat is simple fun, although it’s more like piloting a speedboat than captaining a 17th century ship. I guess I somehow failed to absorb any of thenearly 30Skull and Bones trailers Ubisoft put out over the past seven years, because I’d been picturing something slower and more dignified, like the capital ship battles ofFractured Space(except on the ocean, obviously).

It’s easy to maneuver into cannon range with NPC merchants and fishing ships, and landing shots doesn’t take any great ballistics intuition. A crew stamina bar does add some friction, though in an artificial-feeling way—they get too tired to make the ship go fast, basically.

The stamina system also prompts ridiculous complaints from the crew about being hungry, since cooked food gives them buffs—eat before we leave for high seas adventures, you dolts! Their constant mewling and barking (they yell about everything they see, just in case I didn’t notice all the big ships around me) made me pine for the poignant solitude of a solo session in Rare’sSea of Thieves.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

Maybe the real Skull and Bones fun comes from teaming up with other players, forming a mini-fleet and battling other groups. None of the players I passed wanted to join up. I took potshots at some, but at our level, PvP seemed futile—my cannonballs lacked gusto when it came to damaging player ships, and hull repairs are too easy for them to have felt threatened. (It’s like using a health pack in a shooter.) I did enjoy pointlessly ramming into players who were trying to sail into the main settlement, spinning them around just to be annoying. Sometimes you have to make your own fun.

Image1of9(Image credit: Ubisoft)(Image credit: Ubisoft)(Image credit: Ubisoft)(Image credit: Ubisoft)(Image credit: Ubisoft)(Image credit: Ubisoft)(Image credit: Ubisoft)(Image credit: Ubisoft)(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Image1of9

(Image credit: Ubisoft)(Image credit: Ubisoft)(Image credit: Ubisoft)(Image credit: Ubisoft)(Image credit: Ubisoft)(Image credit: Ubisoft)(Image credit: Ubisoft)(Image credit: Ubisoft)(Image credit: Ubisoft)

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

If Skull and Bones gets better with bigger, better-armed ships out in the open seas—there’s awhole PvPvE endgamewhere you can take over manufacturers and set up your own trade routes, which sounds cool—we’ll say so in our review.

So far, I just feel a renewed desire for the simple but thrilling adventuresand mishapsof Sea of Thieves, which emphasizes simulation and player agency (aka the freedom of an individual to cause massive problems for everyone else) over the structured progression of Skull and Bones, where I’m running routine quests to unlock ship and weapon blueprints and collect the materials to build them.

I’ll give Skull and Bones one thing… I do want to have this peg-legged cat on my ship:

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

More about adventureThank Goodness You’re Here! reviewTrain like you game with this adventure-inspired workoutLatestToday’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11See more latest►

More about adventureThank Goodness You’re Here! reviewTrain like you game with this adventure-inspired workout

More about adventure

Thank Goodness You’re Here! reviewTrain like you game with this adventure-inspired workout

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Personal Trainer Tyler Buckingham and the Train Like You Game logo

Train like you game with this adventure-inspired workout

LatestToday’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11See more latest►

Latest

Today’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11

Wordle answers

Today’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11

See more latest►

Most Popular

The Witcher 3’s now 2-year-old bonus quest is our first taste of the ‘vibe’ CD Projekt is going for in The Witcher 4

2024 was the year updates for old games beat out all the new ones for me

Train like you game with this adventure-inspired workout

‘It’s simply impossible to make a difficulty level that’s just right for all players’: How Final Fantasy 14’s lead battle designer has been playing a precarious balancing game for Dawntrail’s dungeons and raids

Please join me in getting super excited for all the cool looking survival games coming in 2025 (and beyond)

Competitive shooters are at a crucial crossroads in 2025: ‘sweaty’ teamplay vs. casual fun

Call of Duty’s $28 Squid Game skins are the perfect crossover for our capitalist dystopia, and Activision knows exactly what it’s doing

These are the 14 biggest upcoming RPGs of 2025—get ready for another amazing year for the genre

Five new Steam games you probably missed (January 6, 2025)

I’ve seen enough: No more forcing singleplayer studios to make mediocre live service games

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals