The long-awaited titleSkull and Bonesis drawing closer to its release, and more pertinent details regarding the game are finally being revealed to fans. With many core aspects of the title’s gameplay now being confirmed, there is one element in particular that has stuck out as interesting, and potentially worrying, to many long-term fans.
It was recently revealed thatSkull and Boneswill have no land-based combat, with all in-game combat being centered entirely around the game’s ranged ship mechanics. Many fans would have been expecting ship boarding and land combat to be a big part of theSkull and Bonesexperience, and so it is massively important that Ubisoft gets its combat right.
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The Basics of Skull and Bones
Skull and Bonesis an upcoming open-world action-adventure title, in which players live out a momentous career as a pirate captain. Being developed and published by Ubisoft,Skull and Boneswas originally announced in 2017 as an expansion forthe well-receivedAssassin’s Creed Black Flag, although it has undergone many changes since this initial reveal.
Five years after its original announcement,Skull and Bonesis finally set for a concrete release date of November 8, settling on a less historically-tied narrative that is focused on personal character progression.Skull and Boneswill see players start on the bottom rung of the pirate ladder, eventually working their way up to a revered pirate captain, in charge of a fleet of different ships.
With so many details surrounding the game being revealed so quickly, many can easily be accidentally overlooked. However, the recent confirmation thatSkull and Boneswill not have any land combat or ship boardingis a detail that has understandably received large amounts of attention.
Why Skull and Bones Lack of Land Combat Matters
Land combat is a feature that is actively expected to appear within a pirate-based game, and so it is clear to see whySkull and Bones’lack of it is so high-profile. It can be argued that the popular titleSea of ThievesisSkull and Bones' direct contemporary competitor, and while the former is more cartoonishly stylized, it has a large focus on land-based combat that will set it apart from the proposed gameplay of the latter.
In addition to this,Sea of Thievesalso possesses organic ship-boarding and raidingas a core gameplay mechanic, another element that is seemingly missing fromSkull and Bones. Considering how otherwise similar the two titles are, Ubisoft resultantly needs to place a tremendous amount of attention on getting its ship combat right.
Due to the absence of ship boarding and land combat,Skull and Boneshas no choice but to curate an extremely dynamic, engaging, and polished level of ship-to-ship ranged naval combat. Thankfully, with its focus on the player becoming a pirate captain, it is clear thatSkull and Bonesis curating the player experience around what is hopefully refined and tactical sailing mechanics, fleet utilization strategy, and well-timed ranged combat. If this is not present, then the primary gameplay of the title will undoubtedly suffer without the variety of land combat.
Skull and Bonesis set to have a massive in-game world, only reinforcing the need for a focus on refined sailing and the combat that it fosters. Hopefully Ubisoft is well aware of how limiting the title’s gameplay can become with the omission of land-based combat, and will therefore be looking to broaden the game’s core identity and conflict via the more strategic and nuanced world of naval warfare.
Skull and Bonesreleases November 8 for PC, PS5, Stadia, and Xbox Series X/S.
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