Sea of Thieves Beta Review
Ahoy there mateys and welcome aboard our Sea of Thieves Beta review!
Rare’s newest and most ambitious game has been in our sights for a while now, and finally TriForce Reviews got the chance to take to the high seas in this co-operative multiplayer game. So what’s it like? How does it play? Like a wonky one-legged pirate who’s lost their wooden leg, Sea of Thieves is limping towards a game that will be truly treasured, but isn’t quite there yet.
The aim of the game is simple: become the most successful and feared pirate on the high seas, and have a great time working (plundering) towards that goal. Rare has a stellar, but distant, history of making fun games: from Banjo Kazooie to Conker’s Bad Fur Day. Add to this the multiplayer prowess from the makers of Goldeneye and it’s easy to see why Sea of Thieves has been so anticipated. Thankfully it’s also easy to see Rare’s expertise throughout the game.
As simple and inviting as the controls and mechanics are, they are tough to master. Sea of Thieves offers little in the way of advice or direction. Rare have created an open sandbox to explore, full of mysteries and quests to seek out and complete. Each island design is unique and offers its own challenges. The same can be said for your crew though. If you’re randomly selected to join a group of well experienced pirates who have earned their sea legs then your session will be a lot more enjoyable than being grouped with pirates who have little interest in playing the game properly.
Arguably this is an issue with most online multiplayer games, but the need for co-operation in even getting the ship to sail in the right direction is huge in Sea of Thieves. Likewise, in order to begin a quest everyone within your crew must vote for a quest (which can be done in the captain’s cabin). However if you’re the only one voting, and everyone else is off drinking or playing their instrument, then it becomes very annoying. I’ve found myself on several occasions quitting my session, not due to rage, but purely because the other players did not share my vision of pirating.
Sea of Thieves does offer an option to sail the seas in a solo mode. The ship is smaller, and therefore less durable with less weapons too. The mode is suggested for “experienced players”, but it also offers a way for new pirates to learn the ropes (literally when manning the sails) and achieve what they want without interference. Of course the obvious danger is that you can be outnumbered by enemies very easily. This is a mode which I believe Sea of Thieves could do more with. Perhaps the inclusion of NPCs could word? Obviously Sea of Thieves is primarily a multiplayer game, but why not fix the issue of unwanted crew-mates by offering a deeper single player experience, or even local multiplayer?
Having said all this, finding the right crew is the true treasure to the game. When you feel part of an actual group of pirates and work tactically to sail, find treasure and defend yourselves: nothing is better. Adding drinking or playing instruments to the game allows a crew to fully bond, and the players to have genuine fun. I have never laughed so much playing a game with complete strangers than when sailing with the right crew. We’ve danced together, got drunk together, and possibly even puked on each other a little. These elements of the game are just as fun as the one-on-one combat or ship-on-ship combat.
The most common enemy you will face are skeletons on islands where treasure is hidden. Individually they are not much to worry about, but when in groups they can cause trouble. Combat is very simple: with the player having a choice of using a sword, pistol or rifle. All are easy to use and effective. Player-on-player combat is less simple with the first person camera and quick movement: not in a frustrating way, but it certainly takes some expertise to master player-vs-player combat. Pirates will often board your ship while you’re exploring and steal your treasure, which is the most frequent reason for player-vs-player combat.
Ship-vs-ship combat is the main selling point of the combat: it’s thrilling and nerve racking at the same time. The player must be behind the cannon to control them and cannon balls are not unlimited, which means valuable time can be wasted getting more as your ship is getting destroyed. Again the right crew is important as if everyone is busy firing the cannons your ship will quickly drown. The key is to have people spare to repair the ship (by using wooden planks to fix any holes letting in unwanted water). Buckets can also be used to remove this water once the damage has been repaired.
Like your choices for weapons, items are also very straight forward. Your shovel, compass and bucket are probably the most important items. These can be upgraded when you have earned enough coins, along with your clothes and weapons too. There are two types of quests: finding buried treasure with a map of an island, or a riddle which typically tells you to walk a certain direction from a certain spot. Hopefully there will be a bit more variety in quest types once the full game releases.
You may find that your telescope may not be the most important item, but your most used. It’s meant to spot enemy ships in the distance, but you’ll find yourself staring at the beautiful sea or starry night. I have never played another game that makes the sea look as beautiful as Sea of Thieves. Despite the cartoony style of the graphics, the sea looks incredibly realistic.
Overall Sea of Thieves achieves much of what it set out to do. You’ll be hard-pushed to find a more genuinely fun game to play this year. Despite some small flaws (which hopefully can be addressed before the full game releases), it looks like Rare have once more created a something truly special.
Positives
+ Can be so much fun when playing with the right crew
+ Beautiful graphics and art style
+ Genuinely tense and exciting at times
+ It turns out the pirates life is for everyone
Negatives
- Playing with the wrong crew is pretty annoying
- Little single player depth
- We really wish there was local multiplayer
Sea of Thieves Beta review score:
89%
Read about our experiences playing Sea of Thieves in our Journal Entries: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 and Day 4.