Ubisoft's Skull and Bones is set to arrive quite soon for some major platforms, though many of the game's beta testers are sharing their underwhelming experiences after spending time with the game. Two months before Skull and Bones' official launch, players now have additional insight into its redesigned gameplay, which is being met with a relatively poor reception.

Since it was first revealed in 2017, the Skull and Bones pirate action game has seen several delays. Throughout the years of Ubisoft Singapore working on the game, testers were invited to try out the ever-changing title. This year in particular has seen a few Skull and Bones closed betas, with the negative comments coming as a result of the most recent trial period. Despite the many delays by Ubisoft, an influx of alarming player responses indicates that the continuously postponed Skull and Bones may not be all that fun.

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Upon posting their disappointing experience on Reddit regarding the recent Skull and Bones beta, user achilleasa was met with many comments sharing similar experiences and thoughts. Other testers have noted issues with the game's dialogue while drawing attention back to the lack of certain expected features like sword fights and naval combat more comparable to Assassin's Creed 4:Black Flag-like. Not much has been said about what exactly has improved or changed, and achilleasa was bored to the point where they quit the game after just one hour.

December 2023's closed beta stage for Skull and Bones has seen many negative opinions shared by testers like this one, with returning beta players noting several issues with the gameplay that have remained despite multiple tests. The overall consensus is that the gameplay of Skull and Bones is dull, with fetch quests and dialogue from NPCs that feels endless being just some of the problems.

Additionally, the Ubisoft Singapore controversy is a troubling factor that players have not forgotten, as the sexual misconduct allegations within Ubisoft from 2020 remain fresh in many gamers' minds. Additionally, testers have suggested that the only reason for Skull and Bones's release to happen at this point is due to funds being granted by the Singaporean government; essentially, the game must be released to avoid any legal trouble. This could very well be a reason that the game has been delayed time and time again, though this is speculation.

As of this writing, it appears that Skull and Bones won't be delayed once more by Ubisoft. Despite the closed betas failing to generate praise, Ubisoft Singapore seems determined to deliver the long-awaited pirate game. Still, with the negative reception from testers in mind, there could be even more issues that arise when Skull and Bones finally arrives on February 16, 2024.

Skull and Bones

Skull and Bones is an action-adventure title developed by Ubisoft with a heavy focus on piracy and naval combat. Set in an open-world environment inspired by locations in the Indian Ocean, players take control of a customizable pirate captain and ship and undertake missions to collect treasure and raise in rank. Players rely on ship combat with cannons, mortars, and rockets to defeat both NPCs and other player ships.

Platform(s)

PC , PS5 , Amazon Luna , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S

Released

February 16, 2024

Developer(s)

Ubisoft Singapore

Publisher(s)

Ubisoft

Genre(s)

Action , Adventure

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood, Strong Language, Use of Drugs, Violence

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