No Swords or Guns - is Skull and Bones the Worst Pirate Game Ever?

Skull and Bones has recently been made available for users on Xbox game pass through Ubisoft play. But can this latest pirate RPG released in 2024 compete with Sea of Thieves, or is it in fact the worst pirate game ever?

Skull and Bones looks promising at first. The graphics and ship combat look quite dynamic and impressive. It's good fun blowing up ships with your cannons, although a little arcadey, with an old school PS1 vibe with the hit markers and damage numbers popping up.

You can see immediately that it's no pirate simulation or gritty realistic scene. While Sea of Thieves was quite cartoony-looking, the underlying mechanics were very realistic - such as repairing the ship, bailing out water, steering and operating the sails and cannons.

On Skull and Bones it distinctly feels like you are not in control of a ship on water, but more like a small weightless car travelling about on a flat surface.

There are no real waves or weather conditions when you start playing and it's a very dull ocean. Apparently there are waves but this must be later in the game.

So you blast your first ship and the loot drops in the water. Normally on Sea of Thieves you'd then need to dive into the rolling currents, swashbuckling with sharks and other players to wrestle the treasure away and dash back to your ship.

Oh ok, on Skull and Bones I just press X to collect the loot.

Fair enough, it seems the approach to looting is more of a relaxed affair. You can also shoot your cannons in any direction, forwards, diagonally, sideways, so you don't really have that same ship mechanic of fighting where you have to line them up sideways.

So combat and looting is easier than Sea of Thieves - just aim and shoot, cannons reload themselves like a futuristic assault rifle, that's fine.

Something missing

As you get into Skull and Bones, the more observant pirates will start to notice there's something missing - namely, all the aspects of pirate life you would expect to see in a pirate game.

It starts off well and looks impressive but you quickly realise that you can't do anything remotely pirate-like.

For example, you can't board enemy ships like in Sea of Thieves. You can't have swashbuckling sword fights with other pirates. You are role playing a pirate who does not own a sword, or a gun. What kind of pirate doesn't have guns or a sword? Like some modern day activist pirate on a quest for peace? Booo!

You are literally playing as a pirate who cannot fight with anyone and has no personal weapons at all.

So what can you do in Skull and Bones? Shoot at ships, collect things in the sea by tapping X. That's basically it. So if you like doing those 2 things you are in for a treat but if you are looking for a well rounded pirate simulation like Sea of Thieves, you will be disappointed.

It seems like the developers went with the wrong theme. If it had been a naval battle game ie Nelson vs Napolean 1800's style navies fighting, they could have gotten away with the lack of boarding and swashbuckling (although this was even a feature of real life naval battles such as the Battle of Trafalgar and Battle of the Nile).

The worst part of it is the game took over 10 years in development with fans waiting in anticipation for the greatest pirate game ever.

How you could spend 10 years developing such a hollow and empty game, then try to place that alongside classics such as Sea of Thieves, is completely baffling.

What were the developers doing all that time - ok we got ship combat down, can anyone think of anything else pirates do, no?

Further Research into Skull and Bones and Why it Failed

Of course I don't want to base this solely on my own subjective opinion, having only played the game an hour or two at most.

So let's look into some further research and see what sources from the internet are saying about Skull and Bones and what went wrong.

⚓ Skull and Bones Research Summary:

1. A Decade in Development Hell – What started as an Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag spinoff spent over 10 years in production and more than $200 million in development, only to emerge as something directionless and confused.

2. No Clear Identity – It can’t decide if it’s a survival RPG, open-world trader, or live-service shooter — so it feels like none of them.

3. Solo Players Left Adrift – Despite promises of “play your way,” the solo experience is hollow, with repetitive contracts and no real story momentum.

4. Endless Repetition – Every mission type quickly feels recycled — “sink this ship,” “collect that crate,” “deliver this cargo.”

5. Artificial Grind – Progression depends on tedious material farming instead of skill or tactical decision-making.

6. Unbalanced Economy – Repair and ammo costs often outweigh profits, leaving players poorer after supposedly “successful” raids.

7. Microtransaction Push – Cosmetic and time-saving items dominate menus in a full-priced game, souring the overall experience.

8. Simplistic Combat Loop – Fights lack variety. You just circle enemies firing broadsides until one ship sinks — no swashbuckling, boarding, or real tactics.

9. Shallow Loot Rewards – Limited item diversity and blueprint drops mean there’s little motivation to keep playing.

10. Lack of Immersion – You never leave the ship wheel. No crew interactions, no real exploration, no feeling of being a pirate captain.

11. Technical Instability – Frequent connection drops, lag spikes, and visual bugs across all platforms.

12. Negative Community Feedback – Players on Reddit and Steam frequently describe it as “a grind simulator with great waves.”

⚓ The One Positive

If there’s one thing Skull & Bones gets right, it’s accessibility. It’s easy to pick up, low-stress, and visually clean, making it a surprisingly chilled-out experience for players who just want to sail, trade, and unwind without the chaos of Sea of Thieves or the depth of Black Flag.

It seems the research from other users' experience matches up with my own. The only difference was the ocean environment and waves being reported as a good aspect whereas that was not apparent on this short play test.

If you play Skull and Bones and think it is worth getting into, let us know in the comments if there's something we missed.

🏴‍☠️ 5 Reasons Sea of Thieves Is Better Than Skull & Bones

The Sprout Land recommendation would be to bin Skull and Bones entirely and stick to Sea of Thieves if you're looking for a good pirate jaunt on the seven seas.

Let's look at some of the reasons why Sea of Thieves is a better pirate game than Skull and Bones:

1. Freedom to Be a Real PirateIn Sea of Thieves, you’re not just a ship — you’re the pirate. You can explore islands, dig for treasure, board enemy ships, and even perform ridiculous stunts. In Skull & Bones, you’re glued to the wheel, which kills immersion.

2. True Co-op and Player InteractionSea of Thieves is built around teamwork, betrayal, and spontaneous encounters. Every voyage can turn into a memorable story because of other players — whereas Skull & Bones limits interaction to safe zones and scripted events.

3. Constant Free Content and Live EventsRare continues to deliver free seasonal updates, world events, and collaborations (like Monkey Island). Skull & Bones hides new cosmetics and items behind paywalls or dull seasonal grinds.

4. Dynamic World and Emergent ChaosWeather, megasharks, krakens, skeleton fleets — Sea of Thieves thrives on unpredictable chaos. It’s not just about missions, it’s about adventure and survival. Skull & Bones feels static by comparison.

5. Style, Charm, and IdentitySea of Thieves has personality — humor, sea shanties, expressive emotes, and a distinctive art style that makes every moment fun. Skull & Bones looks realistic but feels lifeless.

   
   

You can try both Skull and Bones and Sea of Thieves on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Sprout Land recommends SOT but would urge readers to try them both and let us know what you think.

Check out Xbox Game Pass on Amazon (affiliate link):

Try Sea of Thieves and Skull & Bones on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

Disclaimer:

These are the views of the reviewer and based upon sources taken from accounts of other users' experience of the titles discussed.

As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to the reader.