Skull & Bones VS Sea of Thieves | A Retrospective

[@SeawulfTV]

Ahoy, everyone and thanks for watching! If this retrospective brought you some new insights, a Super Thanks would go a long way in helping me create more deep dives. Thanks for being part of the crew!

[@FreezeFrameYT]

Any pirate game will be in sea of thieves shadow. Sea of thieves has the charms of making genuine memories of wild encounters you have on the vast sea. Tales of insane battles, steals, and loot hauls. It's not all about being a pirate, it's about the experience you have through the story, the voyages, events, it's all memorable when things pop up unexpectedly. I have stories myself of being attacked by a Skelly galleons as a solo sloop, only to get kraken'd while fighting it. I struggled for like 10 minutes trying to stay afloat while killing the kraken and galleon ship. It's genuinely about the pure experience you can tell at the tavern.

[@lotusasche4183]

Not only that, SOT has years of content and the best collaboration ever in game history!

[@SeawulfTV]

It will be hard to dethrone Sea of Thieves in this niche since they kind of created it. I also have loads of fun memories with epic battles and all kinds of random moments, and many are from before the content updates.

[@FreezeFrameYT]

Oh, also sea of thieves seasons are able to be completed by doing whatever you want. If you sweat, you can get the full season in a few hours. Casually though, you can still very easily get it over time. There's some season challenges for extra progress but you really don't have to. Just play your own way, and get rewarded no matter what happens.

[@poega123]

So true, but still its not that hard to beat sea of thieves! Just make SoT with 5 enemies instead of 1 and add a parry mechanic and u have improved PvE combat 5x. Add on top something to do with gold that isnt just cosmetics (like more interesting ships that you dont get for free) and you're basically home. Its all there, can we please just have Chat GPT do it for us so the adventure can begin!?

[@MrPokemon4000]

​@poega123 there isn't really an end to sea of thieves though

[@emillanghorn1367]

I think the most Problem about Skull and Bones is that it claimed to be a AAAA Game which it simply isnt. and Sea of Thieves just also listen to the community and wishes of players which makes it a strong game. for me Skull an Bones is just a Arcade Pirate game . if you just want to hop on for like an hour its totally fine for you as a casual player .but if you want the Full immersive Experience and have the time for doing that i would prefer Sea of Thieves. i have 2k hour playtime on Sea of Thieves and i can tell ive never had so many Adventures and random encounters in any other games. What i think the most immersive about Sea of Thieves is that you got a learning curve with any crew you sail with. if you sail a galleon you need a good crew and over time everyone becomes better and knows his job. and you start feeling like a crew

[@SeawulfTV]

I agree! I also had great adventures and random encouters in Sea of Thieves, it really made the game feel alive.

[@poega123]

That AAAA comment might go down in gaming history as the biggest blunder of marketing ever. Ever single negative review mentions it and there are COUNTLESS 1s and 0s on metacritic.

[@DonCristoBaal]

Ah! Sea of thieves, what a wonderful game! Last time i played it i wanted to do my own thing and find some treasures ended up running away from an ashat for 2 hours ... logged off and uninstalled the game.

[@MurnickJS]

​@@DonCristoBaalIt's a pirate game, if you can't handle someone trying to steal from you and kill you (the point of the game) then go play something else

[@comicalcommunist3291]

@@DonCristoBaalyou sea the word “thieves” in the title? The game is a sea of those, hence the name, pirate game = stuff getting stolen

[@Tuxedo2707]

You mentioned how Sea of Thieves has no progression other than cosmetics and so on. I kind of prefer this kind of system where combat is purely skill based instead of just grinding for days to get a broken item that can kill anyone instantly. It makes the cycle of gameplay really fun since you have the exact same weapons as your enemy its just how you use them that determines the win or loss.

[@Timberjac]

As a player I bought both early on (well the Skull and Bones I think I bought it two or three times, and I got my money back when they cancelled and postponed it). I think we have to distinguish between "pirate" games and "boats and ships" games. The "pirate" ones are based more on the avatar, the boats more on the ships... and then we have to differentiate between PvE games, PvP games or games that contemplate both mechanics. And of course we have to differentiate an MMO from a single player. Because a Single Player can be as unbalanced as much as you want, while an MMO must try to maintain a certain balance. Black Flag is a single player and that's where the rest of the comparisons end for him, because he's never really faced having to have a fair balance for different players based on his choices. The game with the best MMO balance between "pirates" and "ships" as well as being PvP and PvE and limiting when one thing or another happens, is without a doubt the Pirates of the Burning Sea (PotBS). And that has not changed despite its age, although it has been greatly surpassed in the graphic section. Sea of Thieves (SoT) is more of a Pirate game and the balance between PvP and PvE leaves a lot to be desired. On the naval side, the game is really for different players to do different actions and carry out different functions within the same ship (in this it is a hyper-improved copy of Black Wake) but with less intensity. It is really the second game, where the players less want to leave the rest of the players alone so that they can enjoy the game in peace. Naval Action is infinitely more frustrating in this, obviously, and has people with less respect for other players. For a game where the main thing is the avatars of the players, the system of creating it, at least when it came out, was... disastrous, plus a matter of luck and patience until you came up with something that you considered acceptable to be your avatar. In Skull & Bones (S&B), the avatar is something circumstantial where you actually spend real money or the different in-game currencies. But except for some walks, it is not more important than being the representation of the player driving any ship, because S&B is really a game of boats, as Naval Action could be. When it comes to environmental physics, the SoT is better on land and underwater, but worse in the purely naval aspect. Where there is a marked difference, is that in the SoT sailing against the wind is more realistic, as well as sailing upwind. While in the S&B it is almost not punished to go against the wind, much less than it should be, but it may be an issue as long as there are relatively small ships and it may have much more relevance when over the years more important ships appear. In any case, it would always be easy that once players have already assumed the behavior and how sailing against the wind is slower, that could be tightened. As a measure to teach people who do not have much knowledge of the sea, it is a way to bring them in little by little without frustrating them too much. In the PvE vs PvP aspect, S&B is much better structured, players can be playing PvE, unless they voluntarily get into PvP missions or also voluntarily agree to carry the PvP flag. Looks millions of times better than in NA and also superior to SoT, although perhaps, again the best balance in this, is the one shown by the PotBS and has not been overcome. As for the future, the advantage of the SoT is that it is focused on avatars. But let's remember that it took a few years to really get started. The S&B, is much younger, but because of the years that have been spent in its creation taking different points of view, it has a multitude of ships to incorporate even ships of line (each size class could for example punish more headwind and upwind travel), it has external improvements that are still only seen in some enemies, it has the possibility of adding types of ammunition, because in fact, some enemies already use them, It has at least 2 or 3 NPC factions not included yet as well as one or two sections of map that sooner or later will be unlocked, plus others that can be included, all without spending excessive development time and therefore money. And with a little more money, you can easily expand the map (because the quality of the places is not so impressively high). Moreover, in a few years, in a content remodel, combat with avatars and missions with them (sabotage, or smuggling) could be incorporated both PvE and PvP, and even add a professional skill tree part of which improves capabilities on land, part of which does so for ships, although the sum of the modifiers is not greater than one or two pieces of furniture that can be put on the ship. I think the advantage of S&B is precisely that because of the tortuous steps they've taken defining the game, they have a lot of elements to be added almost without doing anything and many more with a little more work. As a player who mostly likes PvE but can sometimes get into PvP consciously without being at the expense of people who have fun only making life bitter for other players, and as a player who considers himself more of a shipwreck player and less of an avatar player, I find S&B much more fun, apart from that if you have time, you may have a longer future full of added content.

[@Vdidty]

The only thing these 2 games have in common, it is a pirate themed game. People are frigen dumb to compare them. They will offer 2 completely different experiences because they focused on different areas to bring players over to play.

[@JinxGamingSA]

Amen

[@lordimperatus5031]

People love to judge S&B based on prior games. The game has been out less than a month, and still has a lot of growing to do. Much like Sea of Thieves, the game is very bare bones on release. It needs time to grow and develop. This has also been addressed in numerous dev videos, in that they are still covering bug fixes before adding more content (which would only make bugs worse) Given time, S&B will take off and becomes its own fleshed out game. The greatest appeal, by means of contrast, is the greater degree of customization/versatility in ship weapons/armor. This is lacking in all other pirate games.

[@SeawulfTV]

I do hope that they improve it! If they would make that whole progression useful in a more engaging PvP scenario, and add more endgame stuff it might have a better chance. There is definitely room for both games to thrive in this niche.

[@insurrection8744]

Exactly. I remembered SoT had a horrible launch and with time and diligence it’s a proper game now. SnB needs will have its growing pains but it’s a good game so far.

[@reddemon6668]

The issue isn’t that skull and bones is lacking content, it’s that the gameplay gets boring quickly. Sea of thieves gameplay was excellent,the issue was that there wasn’t enough content The difference is that sea of thieves can add content and the gameplay/ combat loop gets broken by it. Skull and bones can’t do that

[@pmpdaddyt1218]

Good point.. but will Ubisoft hang in for 3 -4 years to make the game successful..... For example Anthem could've been a good game with 3 more years of work but EA said NOPE...

[@JinxGamingSA]

Guilty as Charged. I indulged myself in the free trial of Skull & Bones and naturally compared it to AC Black Flag and labeled it a massive disappointment. Then my Wife bought me the game and I started playing it, it is then that I realized that the 6-8 hours free trial isn't nearly enough time for anyone to realize the extend of the game and the massive potential it had. So I cleared my mind of Black Flag and started judging Skull and Bones as Skull and bones and not a spin off of Black Flag, I have played 100 hours of Skull and Bones in 10 days. I think it is a superb game and now understand why it couldn't have been more like Black Flag. I did play Sea of thieves for about an hour before I completely lost interest. For me, the problem with Sea of Thieves is the cartoonish Graphics and silly characters, it is a constant reminder to me that I am playing a video game and it is hard to get immersed in the game when the visuals staring you in the face reminds you more of Tom & Jerry than Treasure Island.

[@lotusasche4183]

I've played SOT for about five years now with an extended hiatus chucked in. Rare is all about letting the pirates tell their own stories in how they sail the SOT. They give you options in the open world to do. From taking on quests to doing a tall tale or taking on world events. I love having fun with friends.

[@SeawulfTV]

I sometimes get into the game just to experience the world and see what random adventure awaits. At this point I don't really care about loot but it's fun to fight other crews or give them a helping hand.

[@lotusasche4183]

@@SeawulfTV since my return in Dec 2023 with Safer Seas, my friends and I have been hitting it hard every weekend. We have been loving it. I have taken up the gauntlet to teach another friend how to play.

[@obiwanshinobi87]

It's like comparing gta with need for speed

[@juggernaught79]

Skull and Bones really should’ve left in some swashbuckling. Allowing combat option when boarding or plundering. Allowed exploration in the forts and cities with vendors etc. Imagine losing a ship battle and your enemy boards you instead of sinking for more PvP rewards, yet you successfully fight them off and get the rewards yourself. What great stories that could generate.

[@terrylandess6072]

I always try to imagine how they would implement this in a multiplayer environment. Boarding a ship means you likely would have no ship to return to in anything more than a 1v1.

[@JKdumpster]

I look back and wonder why people even thought these 2 games were comparable

[@Blue-wc8yi]

I like sea of thieves cause I get to roam around as a true pirate and experience what it was like to hunt for treasure said ti be cursed items. I like skull and bones because I get more guns on my ship and I get to plunder wherever I go and fight off a whole armada if I can.

[@Billpfl]

I play Skull and Bones everyday. I've never played Black Flag. But it's evident that this is not Black Flag if you want an Assassin's Creed game play Assassin's Creed this is a totally different game. And I like this game a lot

[@diancruz8210]

They're both pirate games. SoT is more of an adventure/simulation sailing and ship battle while SnB rests heavily on Naval Battles with a little adventuring on the side. I love both, I enjoyed playing both but so far I have thrown in more hours into SnB than in SoT.

[@magicpyroninja]

Comparing these two games is like comparing apples and pineapples. They both have apple in the name but they're nothing alike

[@Urlocaloven7667]

You can’t board without sitting in a loading screen you can’t swim you can even walk around off your ship besides some outposts what if I want to explore islands find secrets that sounds like a very good pirate game oh wait I don’t hear anything there is almost no music in SNB

[@JinxGamingSA]

I find the music to be very good, unless you talking about adding some rock songs or Elton john. Besides, music is available with the click of a mouse in the form of sea shanties, there is plenty of ambient music in the game, thunder, waves birds pirates shouting cannons firing, do you really want Bon Jovi to come and mess all that up?

[@Belial-jg8rp]

They literally took Black Flag, made a new map, ported over the same exact shanties, then took all the cooler stuff out. Plus there's nothing to do. Yeah they have the bosses but the loot isn't even worth it for the amount of time it takes.

[@terrylandess6072]

I reinstalled Black Flag after about a month of Skull and Bones. Completely different games. Yeah, pirates . . . . As for nothing to do - it's pretty thin as you say.

[@JinxGamingSA]

Did you guys who say there is nothing to do only play the free trial, or did so much change in a month? What is there to do in Skull and Bones? There is way too much to do. buy the game, invest the time

[@scenicflux]

Tried Skull & Bones in Beta when it was free, sailed around, arcadey is the right word. Got resources, upgraded my ship and then uninstalled it Sea of Thieves however, stacked FoTd 6 times the other night and made a super brig with an alliance crew when I was on a sloop continuously sinking all the big bad reaper 5's on the server because we were unstoppable with 6 people running a ship meant for 3. There's no contest or comparison, Skull & Bones is cute and Sea of Thieves is a an experience...with incredible water lol. Great video, very well made.

[@SeawulfTV]

Same here, I didn't even use all the free trial hours because I got bored of doing the same stuff without any PvP. And I can't even imagine spending 70$ on it.

[@scenicflux]

I also wasn't a great fan of them locking the snow leopard twitch drop out of the free beta period so you'd have to buy the game just to use the cosmetic despite earning it while the Beta was on. I was like...I have a Tuxedo cat in SoT...enough of this hollow shell Ubisoft game lol@@SeawulfTV

[@SeawulfTV]

I haven't spent any money on Sea of Thieves in game stuff, but I like that you can get the premium currency by playing the game. I got lucky with some ancient skeletons and got my red macaw!

[@BlackPhantom-HLD]

Bro you need a cutseen for boarding in skull and bones there is a reason why there can't be many more good pirate games

[@SeawulfTV]

I actually have one when I talk about it at 11:32.

[@BlackPhantom-HLD]

​@@SeawulfTVik

[@kdebo18]

The first video ive seen mention blackwake! Fuck yah! I had it for a brief time but it was hella fun at the time lol.

[@kristof.demeter]

7:48 its not true. I mean it is but its in our world in the Southern Carribian. It's just that these islands don't exist, but it's still a very small area of ​​the Caribbean

[@xavierbarcus7307]

only lev 9 hunters call you good sir need more fish

[@WinterelksOfficial]

Here me out: I pmayed sof a hell a lot for years and played sab since release, honest review, sof is annoying in terms of cosmetics and sab is more of a ship sim buisness tycoon If skull and bones had land combat and more pirate style of approuch it would be an awsome game but it just lacks it for me Sea of thieves is definelty a pirate style of game but the way to spend coin is just cosmetics and that feels a bit boring to me Overall they both got good points and bad points, but this is just my opinion

[@kingLroc]

I'll push back on the Indian ocean location actually the eastern spice trade got wrecked on the way down to cape town or carribean. Infact olivers lavassuer that inspired OP gold Rodger. Operated in the Indian ocean 😅 and his treasure estimated to be in the millions now is said to be buried in seychelles or one of the Indian oceans many islands

[@ocpofficialrep7026]

S&B looks like an arcade game at the mall

[@wolfpack6018]

At least sea of thieves gave what it said it will give,

[@terrylandess6072]

I had my share of PVP when I was younger. Now I look for a less erratic game experience. Sea of Thieves went hard on the pvp so I passed. Now , much later they want us PVE players but IMO it's too late since the game wasn't designed for it.

[@DrTwiz_YT]

I bought Skull and Bones on the PS5 and spent 72hrs on it but now I’ve Pre Ordered Sea Of Thieves…. I guess I’m saying goodbye to Skull And Bones 😂😂

[@aler3139]

skull and bones all the way dont want cartoony graphics

[@terrylandess6072]

I don't enjoy the Fortnight generation's artistic choices in games but there's no reason for me to diss them or them to diss me. Something for everyone makes life better or we only get the same useless watered down thing that nobody hates, or likes.

[@andrewfloresta7102]

The games are incomparable ones been out for years the other just came out And ubisoft do listen to fans that's why they've done 2 dev streams answering questions I'm honestly sick of SOT fans dumping on a game just because it has a similar setting It's literally season 1 of skull and bones and like year 6 of sea of thieves

[@2ndexplosivebullet]

Exactly. Also the only thing these games actually share is a pirate theme they’re in 2 different genres.

[@reddemon6668]

You’re right so let’s compare them to when Sea of thieves first sold. oh right, sea of thieves still sold 4x more than skull and bones 🫢🫡

[@reddemon6668]

@@2ndexplosivebullet”pirate theme” is literally 100% of both games with multiple core elements tied to the theme so not sure what you’re going on about

[@2ndexplosivebullet]

@@reddemon6668 lmao bro SOT players count right now is a faction of skull and bones get out of here dude lol go bunny hop and Spawn delete yourself lol You can’t even sail your ship properly without 4 people You only have what? 5 weapons? One ship? And it I looks like a game was made for toddlers and adults who ride the short bus lol.

[@2ndexplosivebullet]

@@reddemon6668 bro get out here SOT players count is a faction of what skull and bones is right now lol so go bunny hop and get spawn killed lol The game looks like it’s for toddlers and adults who ride the short bus to school You can’t even sail your ship properly without 4 people playing, you only have what 4 weapons? One type of ship? And the games being out for over a decade? Miss me with this shit please lmfao. SNB you’re a pirate captain that commands a crew. an naval combat mmo rpg 7 different ships 100 of different weapons and builds also kingpin of a black market smugglers operation SOT you’re an cartoon character bunny hopping from boat to boat spawn killing the few noobs that dare play (if there any left) lol These games aren’t in the same category or genre smh.

[@luyahroz9313]

As far as resources, sounds like you a better understanding of game mechanics, it far easier than what you make it seem. It’s a pirate game why wouldn’t cheese the pvp system pirates gotta pirate. Besides it’s being addressed. Sounds like you’re a sea of thieves fan boy lol. Sea of thieves has it good pros but as far as pirate game and progression it falls short. Sea of thieves is a fan boy game not a pirate game. Skull and bones even in its state so far has a better community and gaming experience in my opinion. Funny you try to compare an arcade game to a progression game.

[@SeawulfTV]

I may be a Sea of Thieves fanboy, but this doesn't make anyone who likes the game a fanboy. At this point it does seem like you can do more pirate things in SoT. Adjusting sails, taking wind into consideration, patching up holes individually and carefully maneuvering your ship to get the right angle for your cannons is also less arcadey than WASD and click spam in my opinion. As I said before, I hope that Skull and Bones improves because I would like to have more options in terms of pirate games, and the cosmetics only progression of SoT is not really for me.

[@luyahroz9313]

@@SeawulfTV can’t disagree with that, well said

[@luyahroz9313]

@@SeawulfTV I’m hoping for the best for it as well and wish it did have more sot elements as well as it can feel not immersive. Like adding actual wind currents/streams, sot water physics, and so on. I just can’t stand sot other what you mentioned to me sot has nothing else going on .

[@SeawulfTV]

Yeah I get it, that's why it would be great if a game with a different progression like Skull and Bones improves over time.

[@eliseiburai675]

Bruh this shouldn’t even be a debate🙄 sea of thieves wins by a mile

[@dragonsilver2339]

Snb was such a disappointment and refunded after having 50 hours in it

[@iFoxOnTop]

sea of thieves is an open world where you can do what you want but skull of bones is more adventure

[@LordCarmesimXXVII]

A real game VS cartoons for babies.

[@Wastelandresident]

Bro you don't kno2 what your talking about lol. I watched and video and played quite a bit of it. You have repeatedly lied. You have contradicted yourself. Most of all it ain't assassins creed. Sorry to disappoint. And ye your gonna say where your proof. But if anyone has played skull and bones they will know the video is bs. Everyone is salty about the game because its not a black flag reboot. And your comparing 2 (DIFFERENT) games. That have nothing to do with each other. And you compared it to forza because the main part Is customising the ship. Really. 😂 lol

[@pAiNkI1LaH]

TLDR SoT is the better pirate game in 2024. Put in 40+ hours on Skull and bones Kingpin lvl 9. Actually yes, a player on a galleon can attack any other player ship. Unlike SoT, in S&B the outposts are safe zones. I ate my first banana in SoT April 2018 right after launch. Played for about 24hrs total. Went back to SoT recently and I have racked up 72 additional hours and counting.

[@andypantsgaming]

Sea of thieves is mad boring

[@Urlocaloven7667]

No you’re brain just can’t comprehend what to do in it

[@kristof.demeter]

For you? Yes! For millions of players? No! Anyone care about your opinion? No!

[@Urlocaloven7667]

@@kristof.demeter yea I think his brain just can’t comprehend what do to in sea of thieves

[@honeybadger9425]

It is a great game honestly but yeah I can’t play it all the time it gets a bit much loading everything by hand and constantly repairing holes for me so I get what you mean. Sort of game I need a long break from after 20 hours then come bk a few months later and it feels amazing again.

[@EverythingPaganAndWicca]

sea of thieves is still the best

[@deavyhick6803]

Sea of thieves is for little kids. Adults getting mad over games and trying to convince everyone why they shouldn't like it is wild.

[@kristof.demeter]

You are totally wrong... Let me guess you say that because of the graphics... Let me tell you the 80% of the SOT community is over 16 and most of them are 18-25

[@deavyhick6803]

@Geralt_Of_Rivia_1 not just because of the graphics. Because of the gameplay, the story everything. Mostly adults play fortnight too and it's for little kids, what's your point? Grown men playing video games for hundreds of hours is weird af too.

[@voyd234]

That is the worst take ive ever heard

[@deavyhick6803]

@voyd234 I guess you're either a kid or an unemployed adult playing games on your moms big TV.

[@LyricalLacerations]

😂😂😂😂. No one here thinks skull and bones is better. Many years on sot is still thr better game.

[@2ndexplosivebullet]

I think SNB is better. The naval combat is definitely better in SNB than sot you need 6 players just to command a single ship properly in sot smh not to mention the bunny hopping and spawn kills.

[@LyricalLacerations]

@@2ndexplosivebullet It takes 2 players to do a ship in SOT. Other than that, it's down to personal preference. I however think ur in the vast minority. 0.1% of probs agree with u kinda thing.

[@2ndexplosivebullet]

@@LyricalLacerations fine by me. Bunny hopping and spawn killing is enough for me to hate a game.

[@aler3139]

sorry fam but comparring skull and bones release and sot on release snb is way better and will be better in long term since they are listening to community and adding stuff what we want mark my words.@@LyricalLacerations

[@LyricalLacerations]

@@aler3139 And you are clearly right, as they are doing so well :P.

[@DonCristoBaal]

Both suck! There!

[@حجيمحمد-ط2م]

SOT needs 10 players or dozens to play one game meanwhile SNB you can do solo !!

[@terloyes]

That's false. In fact you can't play with more than 3 people. And you can play solo too