Skull & Bones might give you a little Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag deja vu, but don’t get it twisted. It’s not a copy-paste of its pirating predecessor and fully intends to give players new challenges with familiar game mechanics.
Justin Farren, creative director for Skull & Bones , is set on creating a unique experience for players on Skull & Bones . The development team is combing through every little detail of the pirating world to make it feel real. For example, wind plays a big factor in this game. If you’re a good player, you’ll be able to adapt your playstyle to wind speeds and become a deadly predator.
"At the very base level we are multiplayer-verse game. That doesn't just mean PvP. It means PvE and a cooperative shared world,” Farren told Player.One. “The mechanic that we built around the game we wanted to add a level of complexity and depth that you'd never seen in Black Flag . You see different classes and synergies between them and a level of customization that allows you to personalize your ship towards the playstyle that you want. And we're building that in traditional RPG archetypes, so if you played other RPGs, it should seem familiar."
As far a customization is concerned, both the playstyle and look of the ships are up to the player. There will be cosmetic upgrades for your ships as well as weapons to pick from. Farren said the team tried focused on personalization through your accomplishments. The better you get at the game, the more customizations you unlock and the closer you get to building your perfect ship.
Farren confirmed there will be multiple game modes in Skull & Bones , but it was too early for them to settle on how many they will create. However, they’ll make as many modes as they need to give you an authentic pirating experience. We’re talking Blackbeard levels of chaos here people.
“In nature you have predators,” Farren said. “Within any environment those predators fight over prey. That’s the feeling we want players to have when you go into the loot hunt. Yeah, there are merchant ships for you to hunt, loot, board and sink, but there are other predators who want that loot. That conflict is when those two teams come together.”
If you’re expecting Edward Kenway or James Kidd to show up in Skull & Bones , you’ll probably be disappointed. Farren wouldn’t say if the game would feature winks to Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag , but some famous pirates might make their way into the game. You never know.
“The biggest message we want people to have regarding Black Flag is we listened to what to you were asking for,” Farren said. “You asked for multiplayer PvP, you asked to be able to sail with your friends and sink your enemies, we’re giving you that. And the fish bowl of the Caribbean, the small theater of what it was and how rich and dense it was with piracy and the fantasy, the Indian ocean is so much bigger than that.”
Player.One was able to get some time with the Skull & Bones demo at E3. Click here for our impressions and overall thoughts of Ubisoft’s new pirating game. Skull & Bones will be released to Xbox One, PS4 and PC sometime in 2018.
