Skull and Bones is a Pirate Ship MMO, Not Assassin's Creed (Closed Beta Review)

After a few more months of anticipation, the second Skull and Bones closed beta arrived over the weekend with invited players getting the opportunity to dive into the title for up to six full hours. Expectations were cautious after the relatively abysmal responses to the previous beta, but not everything went off the rails this time.

We were lucky enough to try it out, and it's time to break down what did and didn't deliver so far in our Skull and Bones closed beta review. While it wasn't the disaster of last time, players need to understand that Skull and Bones is just not an Assassin's Creed game.

Skull and Bones Closed Beta Review

Skull and Bones has been in development for more than a decade, and the project that started as an Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag spinoff has become a far cry from that original vision. Despite tons of turbulence and major project changes over the last decade, the title is still charting a course to finally release on February 16, 2024.

Ahead of that, they hosted a second Skull and Bones closed beta which we had the opportunity to participate in. The good news is that contrary to the previous beta, this one wasn't a bug-ridden nightmare. The game did crash a few times from seemingly mundane actions, but little progress was lost and the game mostly kept on trucking once restarted.

As far as actual mechanics of what the game is trying to do, it's not quite as bad as some reactions have made it out to be. Unfortunately, the larger issue at play is that the extended development cycle has created a world of expectations this game will never live up to.

A Pirate Ship MMO is not an Assassin's Creed game

What may ultimately become the downfall of Skull and Bones is that it's just not the game most fans have anticipated. When players hear that something began as an Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag spinoff, they certainly expect some similarities to those games and that style of gameplay.

While this is technically a third-person action-adventure game, it would be more accurate to call this a ship combat MMO with a dash of third-person exploration. There's no actual swashbuckling or hand-to-hand combat in the game at all, instead leaning on ship combat and using an automated boarding cutscene.

You build your ships, upgrade your ships, fetch items and resources, and engage in plenty of cannon fights on the open seas. That's not to say those things are poorly done, and the ship combat can be plenty of fun and very challenging. This game is just missing a lot of what Assassin's Creed fans were looking for.

Sailing Stormy Seas is Skull and Bones' Strength

Now that we've clarified what this game isn't, it's worth highlighting the areas where Skull and Bones has actually delivered. As a game centered entirely on ship combat, the best thing about it is when the storms pick up.

Heavy storms can create massive waves, and it truly feels like riding a rollercoaster as you navigate the relatively open world. Wind changes won't make a huge difference in most close combat situations, but the need to flee in some situations and ability to start combat from a distance with upgraded long guns could make it more impactful in other scenarios.

After spending nearly six hours in the game, it did feel like we'd only scratched the surface of some of the ship combat scenarios. You can unlock multiple different ships and outfit them with complex customization from the guns to the accessories and extra abilities. If that's what you're coming to Skull and Bones for, there will be plenty of fun on the way.

Diverse and Inclusive, but No Historical Flavor

This may once again be veering into something players expect from Ubisoft and Assassin's Creed games, but one of the biggest pieces of that successful puzzle is missing entirely from Skull and Bones. At their best, Assassin's Creed titles always blended an engaging and somewhat modern story with versions of real history.

You're not getting a pure recreation, but Black Flag, Odyssey, Valhalla, and Assassin's Creed Mirage all benefit from transporting you into a version of that time period. They provide a window into another world, and none of that charm is really there in Skull and Bones.

There's a great amount of cultural diversity in the voice acting, the characters you interact with, and even the choice to base the game around the Indian Ocean add the first glimpses of great layers here. There's even gender diversity in keeping appearance choices like facial hair not gated behind specific body types, an important inclusion that actually does align with pirate history.

Sadly, the lack of a strong story or historical layers makes most of these positive choices feel without heart. Skull and Bones might be fun to play for many, but it just doesn't pack anywhere near the same kind of punch that players have expected since hearing about a Black Flag spinoff.

Will Skull and Bones be worth it?

As of now, after nearly six hours in the closed beta, it's unfortunately too early to tell if Skull and Bones will be enough for gamers to buy in. This is an MMO at heart, not an action-adventure or an Assassin's Creed game. If you want to find a regular group and go around with your fleet of ships wiping others out, that's going to be plenty possible.

You can technically play Skull and Bones single player, but it already feels like it'll have the MMO flaw that playing alone makes everything take longer and go up in difficulty. If you really wanted another Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, you'll probably be happier just playing Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.