OK, so we all saw this coming right. During their E3 press conference, Ubisoft dazzled the crowd in attendance with a taste of the new Pirate themed title “Skull and Bones” and while the announcement of new titles is always a pleasant surprise the idea of Ubisoft taking to the high seas is not.
From the moment the sailing mechanic intrigued players of Assasins Creed 3 to the refinement of the swashbuckling Black Flag and Rogue, it seemed clear that Ubisoft was on to something. There may be some among you who filled out the survey after these titles asking about your interest in more Pirate themed content. It would seem that the developers behind Skull and Bones have listened.
Skulls and Bones moves the action out of the Caribbean and into the Indian Ocean presenting a setting often overlooked during the Age of Sail. Unlike the Assasins Creed pirate tales, Skull and Bones also looks to be a Multiplayer-Focused title where you will take your own ship into naval battles to compete with other players to see who can be the best Buccaneer.
The game mode shown during the press conference was called “Loot Hunt” a 5v5 PVP mode in which each team competes to collect the most loot. Watching the video unfold was certainly exciting and it was interesting to see the focus not only on destroying your enemy but also completing the game objectives.
Ships are broken up into classes with some focusing on armor and defense and other focusing on speed and range. Players will need to work together with sturdier vessels protecting the weaker, but speedier members of their fleet. Of course, these ships are loaded to the teeth with all manner of peg leg inducing weaponry with ramming even being a valid option to put a hurt on the enemy. One of the major mechanics on display was the games focus on wind. Using the direction and speed of the wind to your advantage will be pivotal in gaining the upper hand in battles.
The title is being developed by Ubisoft Singapore and they were the developers behind the navel combat of Black Flag so there is a direct tie into those spiritual predecessors a fact that becomes all too evident the moment the player’s pirate crew bursts into a loud and boisterous sea shanty!
It will be a while though before we would be pirates get our chance to plunder the booty as “Skull and Bones” is not due to release until Fall 2018 however if you are eager to get into the swashbuckling action head on over to the Ubisoft website and sign up for the beta!