Skull and Bonesturbulent development hasn’t stopped the pirate themed adventure game from consistently making headline news, ever since it was unveiled by Ubisoft Singapore back at E3 2017. Long periods of radio silence have on occasion been broken by the announcement of delays and reboots, with one rumor claiming thatSkull and Boneshas recently restarted developmentyet again. The anonymous source behind the revelation appears to be accurate, with Ubisoft having announced this month that prospectiveSkull and Bonesfans might not get their hands on the game until 2023.
Conceptually the idea of a pirate centric adventure still remains an exciting prospect, which speaks to Ubisoft’s continued desire to pursue the vision and dedicate resources to it despite the various setbacks. From its very inceptionSkull and Boneshas drawn heavy inspiration from the naval combat that was central toAssassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag’s success. Multiple reboots, and a growing distance from the pirate themed Assassin’s Creed installment, means there’s a real chance that aspects ofSkull and Boneswill now look dramatically different than what was originally planed. Even though its release could coincide with the 10th anniversary ofAssassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, there’s still more than a few things the game could still learn from its ancestor.
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Varied Sandbox Gameplay
From the brief gameplay teases the public have been treated to, it appears that Ubisoft are primarily focusing on perfecting the naval combat and tactical potential ofSkull and Bonesabove everything else. Considering both were huge aspects of any notorious pirate’s life story duringthe Golden Age of Piracy, there’s a logic behind making these gameplay loops the deepest they can possibly be. After all, each proved to be a big part of what madeAssassin’s Creed 4: Black Flagsuch a memorable experience as well. However there’s plenty of other elements from that game, that were equally important to its charm, which would help makeSkull and Bonesa more feature complete pirate simulator.
Having a kinship with the seas didn’t prevent pirates from exploring on dry land, or other boats for that matter. Yet in the handful of gameplay demos that have so far been presented, this aspect ofSkull and Bonesappears to have been downplayedin its previous incarnations. Most notably the ability to physically board an opponents ship, which was an exciting shake up to combat inAssassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, has so far only been seen to happen in scripted cutscenes. The cutthroat and desperate crime-filled lifestyle found at the center of piracy, means that pirates would unlikely have rolled over like this in real life. Being able to take direct control of these encounters is something that could be incorporated to ensure gameplay doesn’t become too repetitive. While there’s a case to be made that menacingly cutting through the ocean in search of danger and loot should be the biggest aspect ofSkull and Bones, there’s far too many other sandbox style gameplay possibilities that can’t be overlooked.
Based on Ubisoft’s E3 2018 demo, which included the player interacting with NPCs at their home base, there’s some hope that the development team is aware of this. Aside from the obvious ability to disembark from the game’s class based warships, player should be able to uncover side quest and collectables in a similar vein to how these elements function in theAssassin’s Creedfranchise.Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flagin particular also featured the ability for players to undertake a number of historically inspired mini-games, like Checkers, Morris, and Fanorona, all of which would work even better inSkull and Bones’ multiplayer enabled universe. Taking a page from later installments in the franchise,likeAssassin’s Creed Valhallathat incorporate drinking games and singing in to its open-world, also seem like a lesson that’s too enticing to ignore.
Engaging Characters
With Ubisoft having now seemingly gone back to the drawing board withSkull and Bone’s development twice already, there’s a real possibility that the characters that were once expected to drive it’s story along might have walked the plank. At one stage at least, the nautical adventure game was set to include a cast of real world inspired historical people, as well as a host of a fictional personalities. Olivier “La Buse” Levasseur was just one known example of an eccentric real world figure that was confirmed to make a big antagonist markonSkull and Bones’campaign. One of the aspects ofAssassin’s Creed’s success has always been the way in which the franchise has approached people like this, successfully blended it’s fictional premise, with real world events and people on multiple occasions.
Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flagwas no exception to this, and brought to life people like the instantly recognizable Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard, in a way that added a sense of authenticity to the game’s narrative. Ubisoft Singapore needs to bear this in mind with Skull and Bones, and would do well to keepthe likes of La Busecentral to their latest plans. The French pirate’s life is of particular fascination given how legend says that just before he was hung in 1730, he proclaimed to have hidden his wealth behind an elaborate 17 stage cipher. Not only would his inclusion set up exciting story telling options, there’s also therefore the potential for some interesting gameplay mechanics, as players attempt to reverse engineer the riddle.
Focused Platforms
Back in 2013, the release ofAssassin’s Creed 4: Black Flagcoincided with the arrival of the PS4 and Xbox One, and a brand new console generation. One of the consequences of this was the fact that multiple versions of the game were released, with slight technical discrepancies dependent on the potential power of each respective platform. While each version of the game was more than serviceable and enjoyable to play, now looking at what later entries achieved in terms of performance and visuals, begs the question of how much better couldAssassin’s Creed 4: Black Flaghave been with an exclusive focus.
There’s admittedly a strong moral argument to be made for spreading the love to as many players as possible, through a commitment to established platforms. That becomes especially evident when considering the production constraints and limited stock that continues to plague both the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. However skipping previous generation consoles would no doubt allow Ubisoft toturnSkull and Bonesinto the ultimate realization of its vision. Based on the fact that the game isn’t expected to see the light of day until 2023, there’s a decent chance that this lesson will be learned without Ubisoft having a lot of say in the matter. Releasing a major game for the PS4 and Xbox One three years into a new console cycle, seems highly unlikely for a company focused on games as a service.
Skull and Bonesis in development for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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