'Skull and Bones' News: Ubisoft's 'Black Flag'-Inspired Pirate Game Goes Against Rare's 'Sea of Thieves'
Between Ubisoft's "Skull and Bones" and Rare's "Sea of Thieves," apparently there's room for two pirate-themed games at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo. But while it appears that the two will fight it out for the booty that is sales, there could be room for both to take home a bit of plunder.
While there are similarities given that both games are based on pirates, there are also features that make them unique from each other. Of course, it will still be up to the players which of the two games about the high-seas to experience.
"Sea of Thieves" has the quintessential cartoonish feel of Rare's video games, along with some strange features. These include eating bananas to regain health and playing musical instruments, certainly unbecoming of piracy's bloodthirsty reputation.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"Skull and Bones" does a much better job at realism with visuals bordering on cinematic rather than cartoonish. The game is heavily based on Ubisoft's previous pirate-based game "Assassin's Creed: Black Flag" except without the high-flying assassins.
There's also less focus on the individual pirate in "Bones" and more on sea battles between ships. This was showcased during E3 with a setpiece 5 on 5 battle. In contrast, "Thieves" is much more focused on co-op gameplay, with players taking on the role of a crew member who needs to work with others to keep their ship afloat. This means that while Ubisoft outdid itself with realism, Rare provides the experience of being an actual pirate on a pirate ship, more or less.
As far as gameplay goes, "Bones" focuses more on combat rather than the nicer things in life. Most of it revolves around ship-to-ship combat and while crews can board ships, this is done automatically without any help from the player.
"Thieves," on the other hand, focuses more on the one thing that pirates love the most: treasure. While there is some combat involved, this takes a back seat to sailing the high seas in search of booty, the shiny kind.
Both games focus on multi-player, so if players want gritty pirate ship vs. pirate ship action "Skull and Bones" is right up that alley. But if they want to live the life of Jack Sparrow and search for the nicer things in life, "Sea of Thieves" might suit their fancy. Both games are set to be released in 2018.