Sea of Thieves

Colonel Thunder

Renowned Blunderer & Dishonorary Czech
Member
A $60 game that's probably worth $20 at the moment, with near future content updates looking to make it worth at least $40. But if you play it with friends, apparently it's easily worth the $60.

I watched Null play it with some of our friends and it seems really enjoyable, especially as a streamed game. Buuut I'm not sure I'm going to commit $60 to it yet.

Do you want it, do you plan on getting it, is there potential for good community shit here or is this just an expensive version of Guns of Icarus?
 

AndyM03

Well-Known Member
Member
Hadn't even heard of the game until recently but apparently there was a lot of hype going into it. Don't plan on getting it, we'll see how she looks in a year or so.
 

Easy

Right Honorable Justice
Member
If you consistently have at least one full crew of friends to play it with, possibly worth some $40. Arguably. Not nearly the bang-for-buck value of Icarus, though.
 

RECONmaster

Webmaster
Staff member
Administrator
Purely from a game standpoint I'd say that it's a game to wait on. While I trust rare to continue adding content to the game, there is no real guarantee that they will and even if they do we cannot guarantee that when they move on and stop updating the game that it, with its content updates, justifies the price they are asking for right now. What we know is that at this current moment in time the gameplay is shallow. There are three categories of procedurally generated quests that superficially sound unique but truly end up all following the formula: go to an island and do some basic task. It may be kill something, catch something or dig for something. What has made the time that I've spent in the game worth it is the crew I sail with and not the reason I sail. We've had moments were with wind roaring in our ears, our ship soared over the waves before the bow comes crashing down into the next swell sending spray over the deck and crew. The Captain calls out our next move and we all know our part in the well oiled machine. Somehow we've talked another galleon into abandoning their ship and joining ours as we come about and unload a volley into a neighboring ship. We've had moments where when in search treasure the last man on deck leaves a sail unpacked and our ship sets sail without any of us on board leaving us on the shore wondering where our ship is going. Then there were the times where everything has calmed and the sounds of the ocean waves keep us company. Nobody speaks as the rigging rattles in the wind. It's this part of the gamut of gameplay that made me buy this game at its full asking price.

However, this is only part of the gamut. Afterwards, the call of adventure grows weak and the true colors shine through the cracks. The part where the entire crew has grown bored and the once well oiled machine limps along. The sails no longer catch the wind as the crew wanders about the ship and as the ship wanders the map aimlessly. You've seen all there is to see, Instead of feeling like a pirate with a coin purse that's too light you begin to feel like the experienced sailor aboard a mercantile vessel that has been out to sea for too long. You've been to every island and the quests blend into a seamless grind to earn gold that isn't worth earning. Where other game sell their cosmetics as microtransactions, Rare made it part of the game. This seems like a good thing, but it actually shows how devoid of content the game is. The gold that you fight so hard to earn will get you a hat or a new sail designs. These cosmetics that have so little affect on gameplay that other companies get away with ripping it out of their games and charging additional money for it. That's what you grind for. Granted, there is another thing that your valiant efforts go towards, for they are not completely in vain. You, through your own perseverance can become a pirate of legend and from what I remember reading (this part I'm not sure about) it unlocks additional game content. The unfortunate thing being that you have to bore yourself to Davey Jones' locker to get to that point in the game. Becoming a pirate legend is no easy task and at the moment, due to gameplay so shallow that a crew member couldn't drown in it if they tried, will be a boring one.

Going forward, what Rare has done is build an extremely solid foundation. We have the sandbox, but they haven't put nearly enough toys in it yet. Someday Rare may build this up into an amazing game with deep and thoughtful mechanics and so much to do that you have to resort to a guide to put your time to use effectively. They promise they will and when they do, buy the game then. You have nothing to loose by waiting. The tidal wave of hype has died down and from what I hear watching streams of it gets boring quickly. The game doesn't have enough content, as confirmed by many people other than I and while it won't immediately, it, like every other game will go on sale or decrease in price and when it does, you'll be getting more game at a lower price. It's sad though. I enjoy the game and I think it has great potential but when an article called Sea of Thieves a "disguised early access game," I, couldn't really refute the claim in any appreciably strong way. I don't want to discourage you if you've already set your heart on buying it, just know that in its current state that you're buying a fully priced game with big flaws.
 
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