The long wait for Ubisoft's Skull and Bones seems to finally be coming to an end. Fans of Edward Kenway's adventures in Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag can rejoice, as the series' developer is once again setting sail on the Seven Seas. However, the new leaks about Skull and Bones are sounding rather disappointing. Not only is the map still said to be too small - a common criticism from beta testers - it also appears that the game will force players into PvP battles, even though it seems more like a PvE experience.
Of all the new PS5 and Xbox games slated to release from 2024 onwards, Skull and Bones is only second to Grand Theft Auto 6 in terms of games with almost impossibly high expectations. We know that GTA 6 is likely to be one of the best games on consoles when it comes out (because Rockstar Games rarely disappoints), but Ubisoft doesn't have a flawless track record, and some of this developer's games have been rather mediocre in recent years. However, with Black Flag being one of the best Assassin's Creed games of all time and the naval combat it offered being a major highlight, it's not necessarily a bad thing that Skull and Bones is entirely based on that - or is it?
Critical Leaks about Skull and Bones
If these new leaks about Skull and Bones are true, we're not so sure about it. According to the leaker 'Shaolinfantastic864', Skull and Bones will make PvP battles unavoidable and actually hide some of the best items in the game (like cannons for your ship) behind PvP activities - so they are anything but optional for players who want to get the most out of their playtime.
It is said that Skull and Bones, which is just a few weeks away from launch, does not have PvE servers and will heavily restrict what you can unlock if you don't participate in PvP battles and PvP content. In particular, some of the best weapons in the game are only accessible through the Cutthroat Cargo mode - a PvP experience that doesn't seem particularly popular among players who have already spent some time with Skull and Bones.
Uncertainty about the game's direction
Although Skull and Bones is still being marketed as a single-player RPG experience, we feel somewhat uncertain about the direction the game is taking. The fact that it is supported by aggressive microtransactions and forces PvP battles could deter players and make them quit playing. We doubt that Skull and Bones will be one of the best RPG games, especially when all the good things are hidden behind PvP battles. Despite claims that the map is small, this will be a big game in terms of storage space - Ubisoft's open-world games often are.
