Skull and Bones may have dropped off many radars, but it's still in development at Ubisoft. Even less is perhaps known of it now, as Ubisoft confirmed a new "vision" for it in late 2020, but what that means is anyone's guess. Still, the very premise of the game is enticing for many.
There's not a whole lot of pirate games out there, not good pirate games anyway. Sea of Thieves is great and scratches a certain itch, but when many think of a great pirate game, they look to Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag. Even with the Assassin's Creed backdrop, the emphasis on capturing the Golden Age of Piracy sets up a lot of moments that feel rather genuine to the concept. It's a good sign that, much as Immortals Fenyx Rising was inspired by Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Skull and Bones is inspired by AC4. Notably, though, it's going in a different direction with a big emphasis on multiplayer, at least at its latest showing, but the ship battles probably aren't the area fans should worry about.
Skull and Bones Single-Player Story
Ubisoft did confirm at one point that Skull and Bones would feature a single-player campaign, and it's believed there would be a customizable pirate captain for players. That could suggest a lot of things in terms of Ubi games: a customizable captain may still have a personality, like Fenyx; a customizable captain likely means a crew, like AC games with boats; and overall, there's likely some level of RPG mechanics to it.
On top of that, players are supposedly ship-locked, meaning the chances of their captain shining through is hampered by this gameplay choice. As long as the main focus of Skull and Bones is multiplayer, chances are there's more of a Call of Duty situation here.
Call of Duty campaigns are great and a good part of every game, but many play it once and move on. Sometimes, they move on to zombies, but a lot of time it's the game's multiplayer offering. That's the focus of the game with the most replay value, and it's not hard to see Skull and Bones being similar in this regard. With the focus on multiplayer, it's single-player may be offset to accommodate that more. Of course, that's just speculation, but even if the single-player story is great and, as a baseline, comparable to the pirate antics of Black Flag's story, it may still be missing the game's best focal point.
Edward Kenway May Not Be the Best Assassin, But He's a Great Pirate
Edward Kenway doesn't join the Brotherhood until near the end of the game, meaning the story there has been open to criticism by fans who hate when characters step away from the Assassin vs. Templar story. However, his emphasis as a pirate and captain of the Jackdaw is captivating; Kenway's relationship with others, as well as his own growth as and from a pirate, adds a level of charm to the story. Kenway's personality is both charming and rough, soft and crude, and caring but pirate-y.
If Skull and Bones' story mode is de-centralized as players are supposedly ship-locked, then the characters involved may not have as much time to shine. If it is a customizable pirate captain, it's going to have work twice as hard to hit his charm. Either way, while a cameo or costume would only be fitting, Skull and Bones may not have a "Edward Kenway" based on what's revealed so far, and that means it may not be the pirate game many are longing for.
Skull and Bones is in development, with PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
