Skull & Bones gameplay is Sea of Thieves meets survival game

pcgamesn.com:

It’s been a long time coming, but the first new Skull and Bones gameplay since 2018 has finally revealed just how Ubisoft’s live-service pirate game is turning out – and it’s far more of a survival game than some may have suspected, with influence from Rare’s Sea of Thieves too.

PCGamesN got to check out all the new gameplay and details for Skull & Bones, and while it’s still recognisable a lot has changed too – hopefully, for the better. The most important difference is that Ubisoft is now leaning heavily on Skull & Bones as a survival game experience. Players start the game washed up on shore with basically nothing except a small boat and a spear to fend off wildlife.

Players then stumble into the pirate town of Sainte-Anne, one of the safe “pirate dens” or outposts where players can explore on foot, and is probably the biggest influence from Sea of Thieves. Here, players can talk to various NPCs to get quests and contracts, craft ships and equipment, buy various provisions, socialise with players, and even work on treasure maps. It looks very like the hub island in Rare’s pirate game.

XP in Skull & Bones is called ‘Infamy’ and the main goal for players is to acquire it. The more infamous players get, the better contracts they have access to – which, in turn, can nab better blueprints to craft more advanced ships and equipment.

It also puts a bigger target on their back from the NPC Privateer pirate hunters, which is just one of the dangers out on the open ocean. Much as previously reported, once you set foot on your ship you can’t get off until you reach a pirate den. The ship combat and sailing are highly reminiscent of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, but actions like boarding ships and plunderin’ outposts are done