Sea of Thieves Xbox One review: Fun is in the journey, not the destination

Backed by four years of development at esteemed UK studio, Rare, Sea of Thieves has been shaping up as one of Microsoft's most promising new franchises. Shipping wannabe pirates on daring adventures across the seas, it proposes unique ideas not only with the premise but too its approach to gameplay.

After spending a couple dozen hours sailing the Body of water of Thieves, you'll build a story worth telling. The game establishes some engaging concepts, making for a fresh and most chiefly, fun take on shared-world multiplayer. However, some clear issues tarnish the Ocean of Thieves feel at launch, paving an uncertain future in the months alee.

Sea of Thieves: In brief

Sea of Thieves offers an open sandbox with countless opportunities, delivering the all-time pirate game yous'll find on console today. Its inviting world houses some unrivaled social multiplayer experiences, with a dynamic border to gameplay that keeps you playing for what may lay alee. Putting fun first and foremost, its perilous voyages are best enjoyed with a four-homo coiffure of friends. There'south merely zilch like it.

Despite being a stiff foundation, Sea of Thieves has still some major hurdles to overcome. Without a sustainable offering of content at launch and clear post-launch content plans, the game's future remains uncertain. Going forwards, Rare'south ability to deliver new content and communicate with fans volition have a heavy bearing on the game's long-term success.

While I strongly recommend Sea of Thieves under Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass subscription service, information technology struggles to justify a $59.99 cost bespeak for the retail version.

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Exploring a pirate's paradise

Sea of Thieves is a shared-world chance game at heart, although also adopts traits from a diversity of other genres. Exploring handcrafted seas and islands in search of treasure, pirates earn themselves a proper noun, edifice their own stash of difficult-earned gold. Y'all'll overcome the challenges of the seas, fighting rival crews and work up to the rank of "pirate fable."

Unparalleled water furnishings, a gorgeous skybox, and dynamic lighting cycles assistance build stunning virtual vistas.

What makes Sea of Thieves so highly-seasoned is its character, in a like vein to previous hit Rare franchises. From launching yourself with a cannon to throwing vomit on intoxicated foes, information technology's a wacky yet endearing world that encapsulates its programmer's persona. Sea of Thieves isn't afraid to cover the medium and have fun between its key moments.

This tone is complemented by the game's charming art style, injecting further character into every inch of its world. Taking advantage of clean visuals draped in vibrancy, even the gloomiest areas feel welcoming. The inclusion of crisp 4K and High Dynamic Range (HDR) support on Xbox 1 X but affirms this style, with some of the best implementations of the enhancements. It might not strive for photorealism, yet unparalleled water effects, a gorgeous skybox, and dynamic lighting cycles help build stunning virtual vistas.

Condign a legend of the seas

Many aspects of the game reward those sailing in groups, with mechanics specifically built to firm groups of players. Putting cooperative outset frequently alienates solo players, but allows multiplayer to actually shine equally an essential attribute of the package.

Controlling ships is a squad effort, with sails, steering and hull integrity all tasks to consider on the move. Complemented by proximity voice chat with foes, players are encouraged to consistently communicate under a single social experience. In many ways, when paired with its sometimes mellow gameplay, Sea of Thieves tin exist a social platform, fading gameplay into the background among talk with friends.

For the bulk of their pirate careers, players will undertake dangerous quests known as "voyages." Obtained from a trio of trading companies, these quests entail the collection and redemption of goods for gold rewards. The "Gold Hoarders" challenge players to track down subconscious treasures using ambiguous maps and riddles. "Order of Souls" voyages are manhunts for infamous skeleton warriors, treatment in their skulls. Crews tin can likewise race against the clock to fetch and deliver freight between "Merchant Alliance" vendors on a deadline. For these missions players are also compensated with merchant reputation, unlocking access to voyages with increased payouts.

Lack of mission diversity soon leaves gameplay feeling repetitive, highlighting the "grind" for rewards.

Fulfilling missions from these factions forms the basis of Ocean of Thieves' gameplay loop, with variations upon these mission structures as you progress. While three potent foundations, you lot'll have experienced a off-white portion of the consummate Sea of Thieves feel in just a couple hours. This lack of mission variety soon leaves gameplay feeling repetitive, highlighting the "grind" for rewards.

Outside of these voyages, Body of water of Thieves also packs diverse side activities to explore. The Skeleton Forts are a highlight of these, pitting players against endless waves of enemies, before killing a last dominate. These missions drastically switch up the game's pacing, while offering huge payouts. The legendary Kraken sea monster can also randomly interject your voyages, sometimes requiring multiple crews to ring together and fight.

Each of these mission types deliver some interesting concepts, putting an emphasis on tangible in-game objects that need to be swiftly deposited. Although simple fetch quests, the intricacies of finding and transporting appurtenances at high risk never loses its charm. It's just a shame that these ideas are ultimately forsaken when consolidated into a single, uninspiring currency.

Getting your grind on

Sea of Thieves also ventures abroad from the traditional sense of video game progression, abandoning gameplay-altering upgrades in favor of a corrective system. Players can purchase cosmetic skins from vendors with their gold, such equally article of clothing pieces, tools, and weapons.

Deeper gameplay would exist welcomed, rather than differentiating players past the color of their pants.

The game's programmer pits this as "horizontal" progression – an arroyo seen in other established games to prevent actor upgrades from disrupting balancing. Only by putting all sense of player reward on the experience, Sea of Thieves offers essentially no progression at all. Some form of deeper gameplay would be welcomed, rather than differentiating players by the colour of their pants.

Many upgrades require hours of grinding similar missions to unlock, repeating the same gameplay loop than feeling truly special. Many "higher-tier" rewards such equally ship upgrades also experience artificially inflated simply to proceed you playing, requiring way into half-dozen figures of aureate.

This is ultimately Ocean of Thieves biggest flaw – while it delivers some interesting concepts, information technology'south but a framework of what could be a bigger title at launch. Despite numerous promising mechanics, we're left with only the hope of more content to come later down the line.

This is a trend among many shared-world games as a service titles, launching with a lackluster offering of content, while promising more in the futurity. All the same in Sea of Thieves' case, we're even so to recieve a roadmap, only leaving players with the game'southward current offerings. It's hard to recommend Sea of Thieves for long-term players, specially without the security of major updates on the horizon.

However, even with a lack of content, I practise keep finding myself existence drawn back. Body of water of Thieves, at least initially, feels so fresh – in that location'southward nothing quite like it on the market place. It's the journey, not the destination, that makes it and so special.

The journey alee for Sea of Thieves

Sea of Thieves offers an open sandbox with countless opportunities, delivering the best pirate game you'll detect on console today. Its inviting globe houses some unrivaled social multiplayer experiences, with a dynamic edge to gameplay that keeps you playing for what might lay ahead. Putting fun showtime and foremost, its perilous voyages are best enjoyed with a four-man crew of friends.

Despite being a strong foundation, Sea of Thieves has still some major hurdles to overcome. Without a sustainable offer of content at launch and articulate mail service-launch content plans, the game's future remains uncertain. Going forward, Rare'south ability to deliver new content and communicate with fans will have a heavy begetting on the game's long-term success.

Pros:

Unique gameplay yous won't find elsewhere.
A strong foundation for cooperative play.
Dynamic sandbox means a surprise is ever around the corner.
A beautiful world to explore.
Fun and humor are never punished.

Cons:

Questionable longevity.
With express launch offerings, the game's success is dependent on post-launch back up.
Lack of meaningful progression for many.
Solo players will feel lonelier than ever.

While Sea of Thieves offers some unmissable fun you won't discover elsewhere, the game currently struggles to justify its $59.99 price indicate at launch. For many, this will exist an platonic title to pick upwardly via Xbox Game Pass – Microsoft'due south Netflix-style subscription service, which provides admission to a rotating library of games for a flat monthly fee. At but $ix.99 per calendar month and the hope of time to come Microsoft games like State of Disuse ii and Crackdown 3, this makes a convincing case to jump on the service.

Sea of Thieves now available on Xbox One and Windows ten, every bit well every bit Xbox Game Laissez passer. The game also embraces Xbox Play Anywhere with cantankerous-platform purchases, multiplayer and progress, while also offering enhancements for Xbox I X.

This review was conducted on Xbox I X using a copy provided by Microsoft.

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Sea of Thieves on Windows Key
How to consummate your first Bounding main of Thieves voyage
Ocean of Thieves gameplay tips for new players and budding pirates
Sea of Thieves ships guide: Tips and tricks for sails, combat, repairs and more
Your Sea of Thieves items explained: Tools, weapons, consumables and more
Ocean of Thieves skins listing: Wear, weapons, and items
How to become new weapons in Sea of Thieves

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