Skull and Bones exploration looks limited in new footage and players are concerned

gamesradar.com:

The Skull and Bones (opens in new tab) exploration options may not be what you're expecting out of of the open-world pirate game. A recent video from IGN (opens in new tab) describing how exploration works in the upcoming Ubisoft game has players a wee bit disappointed.

Skull and Bones will not let you disembark from your ship on every island, but only at specific outputs and dens - and while we knew this already, the added information from the video makes the game's world seem even more limited. Treasure maps and treasure chests can be discovered in Skull and Bones - but only at the marked outposts, not random islands you may come across during sailing.

The "not every island is explorable" line from the IGN video quickly caught fire in the comments, with players harping on it as a sign that the Ubisoft game may be more limited than they'd hoped. "That line gave me a nosebleed," writes a commenter. Naturally, Skull and Bones is drawing comparisons to other pirate games like Sea of Thieves and Ubisoft's own Assassin's Creed Black Flag, both of which offer extensive exploration on land and sea. 

However, it's important to keep in mind that Skull and Bones is, first and foremost, a game about ship-to-ship combat. Ubisoft wants it to offer the "best in class naval combat," and is clearly laser-focused on that aspect of gameplay. But considering how much fun Sea of Thieves' combat system is and how that game offers endless exploration, it's hard to not be a little disappointed that not all of Skull and Bones will be open to explore.

For more, check out 5 key Skull and Bones questions answered (opens in new tab), from multiplayer focus to how it differs from Sea of Thieves.