I've been tracking developer Ubisoft Singapore's naval warfare multiplayer game, Skull and Bones, since its reveal years ago, both as a massive fan of all things pirates and someone who specifically loved the high seas action of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. I wrote Game Informer's Skull and Bones cover story back in 2022, and have played the game several times since then in previews, betas, and more.
Despite what various delays had me believing, Skull and Bones is actually shaping up to be, at the very least, a fun and competent experience. Because I've played so many of its disparate parts rather than the whole, I believe there's something really good in the game. However, without playing the full package, it's tough to say how it all comes together, a critical aspect for any live-service multiplayer game.
I'm going to dive into Season 1's offerings and some of the endgame content I experienced in this final preview, but if you'd rather watch some gameplay and hear me talk about my time playing it this time around, check out the Skull and Bones New Gameplay Today below:
The first season of Skull and Bones is called Raging Tides, and this season and three following it – Chorus of Havoc, Into the Dragon's Wake, and Shadow of the Deep – are all part of the game's Year 1 roadmap. Collectively, Year 1 is the Rise of the Kingpins, Ubisoft tells me.
In Raging Tides, players are up against the pirate kingpin Phillippe Le Peste, a master of potent African poisons. He's attracted to the region after hearing about the spoils you've captured as the area's kingpin and as such, sends skirmishers and headhunters your way to put an end to your reign. Eventually, after you take down enough of his armada, threatening his own strangle on the seas, La Peste will fight you in the La Potence World Event, which is the penultimate fight against the kingpin on the Indian Ocean. This leads to one final climactic battle against La Peste that will end the season.
I didn't take part
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