We've been pretty excited for Ubisoft's Skull & Bones for a long time now, and we got even more excited when it finally got a release date of November 8th, 2022 this month, but it seems not everyone at Ubisoft is fully confident in it.
According to a new Kotaku report, multiple people who have worked on the game aren't sure it'll be a big success, and one developer apparently told the outlet that every part of it lacks depth. Here's the snippet from the report:
"According to one developer, there is little to the pirate-ship game beyond what was already shown when it reemerged in a showcase livestream earlier this month. Despite a bevy of resource-gathering survival sim mechanics, they said each individual part of the game lacked depth."
To be fair, the snippets of gameplay that have been revealed so far have looked pretty enjoyable, but it remains to be seen whether the game will have long-lasting appeal. Based on this one developer's opinion, it doesn't sound like it.
It is just one person's opinion, though, so let's not get too downhearted just yet. Skull & Bones will be with us in just a few short months, and we'll hopefully be able to provide a pre-launch review so you can decide whether it's worth your hard-earned $70 or not. That's right, Ubisoft has moved to a $70 base price starting with Skull & Bones!
Are you hopeful for Skull & Bones, or think it will flop? Give us your thoughts below.
[source kotaku.com]
Comments 30
This trend of highlighting disgruntled developers crapping on games is terrible. It’s insulting to all other members of the team and very poor professionalism. Shouldn’t be rewarded with attention
I'll definitely not be buying it at 70 quid - games have to be guaranteed amazing at that price point for me to consider it, even with Rewards vouchers.
Having said that, when it inevitably comes to Game Pass or PS Plus (hopefully GP) I'll probably give it a go - and to be honest shallow systems aren't an issue if the gameplay and story are good.
I don't really bother with customisation much in Mass Effect beyond the simple skill points, in Witcher 3, Outer Worlds and Immortals Fenyx Rising I didn't really craft, Metal Gear Solid 1 didn't really have deep systems to learn and Age of Empires 2 was as deep as I can cope with on at RTS.
Yet all of those games are some of my favourite ever.
When did gaming become about crazily intricate levels of depth and customisation to every single element of gameplay, and not just about a fun game with a good story?!
Melee combat or gtfo. Can't have pirates with just ships and cannons without cutlasses and at least a pistol if there's third person on-foot in the game. Might've just made the third person on-foot parts just menu based instead.
I wasn't ever going to throw £70 at a new ip from a company with a rep of ditching live service games even before this article.
Best of luck to anyone who risks it though, hope you don't get burned & have fun.
I didn’t need a developer to tell me that, I thought it was quite obvious from what they’ve shown.
It seems like this game will struggle to get a large player base. I don't think the $70 price tag will last very long. I was planning on trying it at $20 and it doesn't seem like that will be a long wait.
@Carck If they are revealing that the game isn't what the marketing would like you to believe it is, I support them whistleblowing.
They have made a multiplayer game that caters to micro-transactions more than a creating a compelling, atmospheric world. There's nothing wrong with micro-transaction filled multiplayer games but they are typically free to play for that very reason. The price is a joke.
Today is the first time I’ve read about anybody being excitedly awaiting this for a long time… I got the impression since it’s very first showing it fell flat, I know I personally thought it looked lacklustre.
Everything about just points to it not holding a £70 price tag for very long…
@Benjamin except this is isn’t whistleblowing, it’s plain old trash talk that puts your coworkers’ livelihoods in jeopardy. Even if you think it’s crap, it’s deserving of its marketing phase because there will surely be people who enjoy it. And this guy is trying to take a big ol dump on it for attention and internet epeen coupons
@Carck Well yeah, I agree. It is certainly a bit distasteful. We’re going to have multiple reviewers giving their take on the game before it launches anyway. No one is forced to pre-order.
But I guess people do anything for a second of that glorious internet fame.
I am going to at least give it a chance as long as it’s not 4-5/10 across the board or something of that magnitude.
@Carck I can understand that view. But at the same time it is newsworthy and worth highlighting all views, warning people that perhaps it isn't going to be excellent in advance. This isn't just one developer, but many. The reality is many DON'T wait for reviews and buy Day 1.
For balance they're up against the Ubisoft advertising machine, which has a highly polished trailer that makes it look truly incredible. If your personalised advertising is anything like mine almost every advert on YouTube and in other places is Skull and Bones.
A few articles on niche website's like this isn't going to change it's sales outcome by much.
@Bleachedsmiles Ubisoft games rarely hold their top price. Virtually every Ubi game is 25% off in sales within a couple of months. 50% off within 6 and 75% off within a year. They are well aware that people will buy in at different price points, whether that's Assassin's Creed, Watch Dogs or Skull and Bones.
@themightyant
"A few articles on niche website's like this isn't going to change it's sales outcome by much."
That's the bit isn't it. Because it probably won't change anything (even if the game is crap, which maybe even is idk) on the grand scheme, but it could mean Ubisoft refraining from working with this developer (company) in the future.
It's like getting my company hired to build a house. And as the outside paint is drying standing on the street going "looks a bit ***** don'it?" to people passing by.
(forgive the analogy, it probably sounded funnier in my mind!)
@themightyant I see your point. But wait for reviews I don’t understand. Many reviews are published days before launch, aren’t they?
Most people doesn’t bother ever reading reviews anyway and will of course not take notice of this article either. It’d be very surprised if this will hurt their sales in any way.
@Carck Nowhere in the Kotaku article does it state if this developer was from Ubisoft or a third party, they seem to be an anonymous source so it's going to be hard to "refrain from working with this developer (company) in the future", even more so if it was in house.
@Relygon Generally the worse the game the closer to launch the embargo is. It's not uncommon to see 0-2 days prior to launch. For some reason many people want to be there Day 1 regardless and pre-order. Personally I don't understand that for many games, but it's always been like that.
While I have mixed feelings about "leak from random dev that may be a particle effects animator from a 3rd party company located in Uzbekistan" meaning much of value, at the same time, it's not much of a leak when it has all the revealation power as "inside info: In the next Tom Clancy game you'll play as a military dude with a gun. Or so I've heard..."
Lmao the game with ocean combat lacks “depth”
Clever. I wish you guys would’ve leaned into the subbheading and kept the nautical thing going
personally hope evey game at 70$ price point bombs and the developer realize they are pushing the price point to far... personally i havent bnought Ubi game at release since R6S but i own most of their games 3 months after launch they drop to like half price....hell if you wait long enough you can get them next to nothing brand new at walmart watchdogs Legion was 9.99 for the xbox saw that today... personally i dont think Ubi games are worth a day 1 purchase but thats my own opinion...
In that case, I'll stick with Black Flag on my Wii U for now then.... 😂
The trend of micro transactions being a huge money maker probably changed this game fundamentally and why it was delayed for so long. I firmly believe without any evidence that the game was originally going to be more of a better Black Flag but with the assassin's Creed stuff. Now that it is has gone this route I'm going to go the toure of not buying it.
I was excited for this game especially since I just started playing black flag on my switch earlier this year (I've been following gaming news for a long time so I've known about skull and bones for a long time) but after the trailer announcement of multiplayer I said nope and that was that.
@Carck Developers don’t sign NDAs and are free to express their opinions on their work and that’s a good thing. Co-workers are free to tweet some positive comments.
I feel like the online outrage about this game is a bit over the top.
I’m not sure if it is my cup of tea, but it doesn’t look as bad as people are saying. In all likelihood it will just be a standard game that will sink because it’s fun for people to crap on it and no one wants to give it a chance. It probably should have been free to play as it will likely be competing with Word of Warships. So that could be a mistake, just as Rocket Arena from EA should have launched free of charge a few years ago.
Also, this developer doesn’t sound anything more than someone having a moan and wanting some attention. No wonder it’s in Kotaku…
@NEStalgia Man, now you've got me all hyped for Tom Clancy's Military Dude With Gun game...
@nicols Cool! Which one?
I lost much faith in UbiSoft after the last Rainbow Six... they literally had no intention of making that an enjoyable game in any way.
We should take this signal seriously, I'm afraid.
@Benjamin not to go against your sentiment, but developers do sign NDA's. Usually it's also clearly stated on their contract they are not allowed to speak about ongoing developments without company permission.
If you're looking for a pirate game on Xbox or PC then you can't go far wrong with SoT. From what we saw this is really not going to compare well. I guess PS could have a hole to fill but it seems this is a good few to late for most folks
Well, not every game needs "depth", I suppose. As much as I like a good crafting, grinding, strict inputs experience, sometimes...I don't. Being able to turn a game on and play for a session or two has a fairly wide appeal.
That said...the game is probably rubbish. It says "Ubisoft" on the package, after all.
Ubisoft were already sitting on a pirate game with AC Black Flag, they could have had made it online without all the assassins stuff as everything they needed was already there, character customisation of weapons, clothes etc, ship upgrading, sea battles consisting of boarding and taking prizes, crew recruitment, diving for plunder and shanties. What I've been reading so far about S&B, is its a game that's been in development hell for rather a long time. At least give Edward Kenway the sequel he truly deserves.
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