Skull And Bones Labeled A “Huge Step Backwards” For Its Lackluster Combat

Highlights

A viral clip of Skull and Bones’ shipboarding combat has sparked disappointment and criticism among gamers, who believe it is a step backwards from Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.
Ubisoft’s CEO previously referred to Skull and Bones as a “quadruple-A game,” but fans are skeptical after the recent open beta weekend.
Players are expressing frustration that a pirate game like Skull and Bones doesn’t actually allow for shipboarding, unlike its predecessor Black Flag.

The internet is tearing Skull and Bones apart after a clip of the game’s lackluster shipboarding combat went viral on X.

In the clip, which was shared by X user MrRiceGuy2, the player can be seen boarding an enemy ship before a brief cutscene then begins. The player is then greeted with a menu where they can transfer loot from the ship’s cargo to their inventory. With over 4 million views in under a week, the consensus is that Skull and Bones is somewhat of a step backwards from the studio’s previous pirate game, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Edward Surveying atop of his ship

Just Scrap Skull & Bones And Give Us Black Flag 2, Already

Forget about Assassin’s Creed, forget about Skull and Bones, just give us Black Flag.

The clip has sparked disappointment throughout the gaming community, with one user labeling the game as a “huge step backwards” and another pointing out that “this is what AAAA gaming is to Ubisoft.”

For those unaware, Ubisoft CEO and co-founder Yves Guillemot called Skull and Bones a “quadruple-A game” during a recent investor call (via VGC). Guillemot was attempting to defend the $70 price tag after a caller believed that a free-to-play model was more suited to Skull and Bones’ live-service model. In response, the Ubisoft CEO said:

“You will see that Skull and Bones is a fully-fledged game. It’s a very big game, and we feel that people will really see how vast and complete that game is. It’s a really full, triple… quadruple-A game, that will deliver in the long run.”

But after the game’s recent open beta weekend, which took place from February 8-11, fans aren’t exactly convinced that Skull and Bones is worthy of the “quadruple-a” title. While our very own Robert Zak did have some praise to give Skull and Bones in his recent impressions piece, he noted that while the arcadey combat feels fun, it’s also a “step down” from Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.

And it certainly looks like the rest of the internet agrees. “How can you have a pirate game and not actually board a ship,” one user quipped. Another compared the combat to Black Flag (which will be 11 years old this October), noting that even Black Flag’s combat allowed players to board the enemy ship and engage in melee combat.

Players who missed out on the beta and are looking to make their own decision as to whether or not Skull and Bones is actually a quadruple-a title don’t have long to wait, as Ubisoft’s new pirate-themed action-adventure title launches for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC tomorrow, February 16th.