Sometimes, the extra issues change, the extra they keep the identical.
Sea of Thieves has modified a fantastic deal since its lackluster launch in February final 12 months. Throughout 2018 – and since I final performed it, in March of that 12 months – it acquired month-to-month updates. The developer launched extra customisation choices, steadiness modifications, new challenges, recent enemies to take care of at sea, timed challenges, ‘cursed’ objects, rowboats, an expanded map, and dozens of different tweaks and modifications.
Then, earlier this 12 months, Sea of Thieves formally rebranded itself as Sea of Thieves: Anniversary Edition, full with a brand new title display screen and a bunch of recent additions. Some are minor – you may carry round a chest and use it to retailer a number of small spoils out of your adventures directly – however a lot of the modifications made are large.
The ‘Tall Tales’ supply up one thing akin to a marketing campaign mode in the course of Sea of Thieves, giving gamers, probably, a stronger sense of focus with its prolonged missions. It added harpoons, a fishing mechanic, new buying and selling corporations, new skeleton enemies and a complete new centered PVP mode on the principle menu, Arena. At this level, Sea of Thieves is a a lot greater, extra substantial game than it was at launch.
So it’s humorous to return again and realise that it’s, in so some ways, nonetheless essentially the identical game that I loved for some time in February after which rapidly misplaced curiosity in.
I’ve spent the final week attempting to get again into Sea of Thieves, to see how a lot these additions and expansions have improved the expertise. It’s greater and higher now, sure, however I nonetheless spent my first night time aimlessly fumbling, attempting to work out how every thing labored, quickly realising that taking part in solo was a horrible mistake. Sea of Thieves doesn’t simply not maintain your hand: it chops your hand clear off and replaces it with a rusty hook earlier than throwing you into the proverbial deep finish (and the literal deep finish if a hostile ship comes alongside and sinks you).
For the remainder of my time with Sea of Thieves during the last week, I teamed up with a good friend and his crew. They play collectively a number of instances every week and have been for months now. I went together with them, calling myself an observer with a sword (and an occasional participant, though I left it as much as them to interpret maps and navigate – they’re the consultants).
What I realized by doing that is that whereas the dynamics of the game have shifted a bit, the true shift has come within the sense of goal the game’s present gamers, who’ve now settled into routine, appear to really feel. Sea of Thieves doesn’t really feel like a game about constructing as much as one thing except you dedicate your self to the Tall Tales marketing campaign. It’s a social house the place half the enchantment is navigating the uneven waters, taking part in devices collectively, telling tales of Kraken assaults, worrying about an enemy ship robbing you of the treasure chests that you just don’t really want, per se, however which you’re adamant about safely depositing.
It nonetheless doesn’t really feel like there’s something too thrilling to do with the spoils of your victories, and the game nonetheless felt repetitive even throughout only a few classes. But the game’s seemingly big playerbase has clearly made peace with this, and is having fun with it for what it’s – a game that simulates the expertise of being a bizarre cartoon pirate effectively.
My good friend and his crew informed me in regards to the modifications they’d witnessed. There are extra difficult cargo missions now, they stated, filling the underside degree of their boat up with water to move vegetation that must be saved moist to keep away from withering. Alliances can now be cast whereas combating Skull Forts, they inform me (the Skull Fort occasion we have been operating by way of was very uninteresting, I assumed – the skeletons you combat in PvE are nonetheless unexciting, even when there are some new sorts of boney boys). The elevated frequency of occasions, and the addition of Arena mode, have made the bottom game a bit much less cutthroat, they are saying.
Still, as we discover ourselves on the finish of a mission, carting an enormous quantity of treasure again to an outpost, scanning the horizon with our telescopes and watching out for monsters, I discover myself reflecting on the truth that my favorite a part of Sea of Thieves stays unchanged. It’s not the best way you may pull your pals out of the water along with your harpoon, or the fishing economic system, or something the game has added. It’s that sense of concern you get once you’re about to money in. That nervousness that the game, or one other crew, will take every thing from you.
There are extra actions that may lead as much as that sail again to an outpost now, however numerous them are nonetheless tedious – I don’t assume I’m ever going to take pleasure in looking out an island, map in hand, for buried chests.
To actually get essentially the most out of Sea of Thieves, you’re going to should staff up both with a number of buddies who’re simply as devoted to studying the game inside out as you’re, otherwise you’re going to have to seek out an accommodating present crew that might be glad to have you ever tag alongside whilst you study the relatively in depth ropes. The game nonetheless isn’t pleasant to newcomers, and if you happen to’re not with consultants count on to spend so much of time on Google whereas taking part in.
The Anniversary replace additionally added a brand new Arena mode, an choice on the highest menu that pits 4 groups of 4 towards one another to collect and promote buried treasure in a aggressive surroundings whereas robbing and attacking one another. It takes the core Sea of Thieves expertise and makes it quicker and extra aggressive.
You’re given a 24-minute time restrict to financial institution as a lot silver as you may, whereas stopping your enemies from doing the identical, with a profitable staff declared on the finish of it. It’s not my type of factor, nevertheless it’s a superb outlet for gamers who need to flex their teamwork in a aggressive surroundings.
I’ve one very fond reminiscence of taking part in Sea of Thieves again initially of final 12 months. At the top of a session, as I and my crew (all of whom subsequently dropped the game quickly after) sailed again to an outpost with our gold, we turned conscious of a ship that was following us. It wasn’t far behind, and we realised that after we reached the outpost we’d have a combat on our palms if we didn’t take care of them at sea.
One crewmate had an concept – earlier than the outpost we might concurrently drop the anchor and spin the wheel all the best way onerous, inflicting us to return to a cease with our port aspect cannons (the left – he was a ship nerd) pointed proper on the oncoming ship. If we timed it good, it will be unprepared to retaliate after we bombarded it with cannonballs. The plan labored, and we did large injury to their ship. It tried to ram us, and certainly one of them managed to leap off onto our boat the place we promptly reduce him down as his boat sank.
Nothing fairly so magnificent has occurred since I got here again, however the enchantment of Sea of Thieves was – and nonetheless is – that feeling that one thing like this would possibly occur. One session with my good friend’s crew ended with us storming a ship at an outpost, killing the opposite crew and stealing their treasure. I felt unhealthy for a second, however then I had my pirate drink a tankard of grog in entrance of them in what I hoped would appear like a gesture of excellent will. One of the opposite pirates known as us ‘fuckheads’ and I earned an achievement for, allegedly, sharing a drink with one other crew.
Sea of Thieves has expanded sufficient to earn a brand new subtitle after its identify, however in some ways, it’s nonetheless the identical bawdy, messy, obtuse, but in addition kind-of-brilliant game I fell out with final 12 months. If you can also make peace with its imperfections – as many gamers evidently have – it’s in a fairly good place proper now.
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