THIEVERY CORPORATION
The much anticipated and hyped game Sea of Thieves is out, and signals the return of renowned developer Rare from obscurity. Yes, this is the same developer that rocked Nintendo consoles with iconic games like the Donkey Kong Country series, GoldenEye 007, Banjo Kazooie, Killer Instinct and Perfect Dark. Bought by Microsoft in 2002 for a whopping 375 million dollars, this once mighty Nintendo first party power-house has since faded from the spotlight, instead working on things like motion games for the now defunct Kinect sensor. All to say, that’s a waste of a great talent that came at a high price.
Well, WatchMojo’s MojoPlays channel has published our extensive review of the game, and it pretty much came down to several factors, notably of which included how much you are into “boat stuff”, as can be seen here:
While the review covers the premise, and the pros and the cons, this open ended game warrants a greater discussion of whether it is the return to form for Rare. Is it the return it ought to be? Does it offer enough content to keep the Xbox One afloat at this point in the current console generation!? So think of this as a supplementary observation, after watching our video review.
As a new Rare-made game, it is indeed a solid first step in the right direction, not counting 2005’s Perfect Dark Zero or Kameo from the Xbox 360 launch, nor the Xbox One’s Rare Replay collection of legacy games, nor 2013’s Killer Instinct which had multiple developers including Double Helix Games and Iron Studios. Sea of Thieves takes Rare back to a basic and timeless vibe it nailed way back with 1995’s Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest, which rocked the pirate theme.
YARRR, AHOY MATEYS
As you may know, this is an open-world online pirate adventure. You can play with a crew totaling 4 members, or alone. There is no grand plot or character level system at play. The basic loop is to set sail, find treasure, prevent it from being stolen, return it to outposts, use the gold to make cosmetic changes and so forth. The real satisfaction from that would be to complete challenges, explore and locate. It’s a simple loop that tries to keep everyone happy, from veteran to new players.
All that said, the jury is out on how long this will keep players satisfied. If you can set sail with friends and use voice chat, it can be very relaxing or thrilling, without the stresses of constant killing as a play mechanic. A great emphasis is on such silly non-productive things as making music together (with a simple hold of a trigger) and toggling your character to dance. There is a simple joy just traveling a storm or encountering other ships. Regardless, it stays afloat on the relative calm of the journey and not the destination, as there isn’t one.
When playing Sea of Thieves, it does indeed feel like there’s that old Nintendo magic in the air. It’s highly stylized personality and graphics (but added extremely realistic waters) gives a sense that this could have been right at home on a Nintendo console. In fact, it feels like much of the complaints leveled against it wouldn’t hold as much weight if it was a Nintendo Exclusive. That is a different audience after all and the game is very kid friendly with it’s banana eating pirates and lack of blood. This is extra true do to it’s limited emphasis on competition. You cannot hurt your crew, and all booty is shared equally. Conflict comes from battling NPC skeleton’s for challenges and encountering other players who may want to steal your loot. Aside from that, it’s not totally unfair to think of this game’s staying power resting in it’s ability to be a great chat room to hang out. of course, the game can get updates at any time to flesh that aspect out.
GETTING THERE
One thing is for sure, while this game has a lot going for it and rekindles much of the excitement for Rare, it could have been so much more. Nintendo’s “The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker” from back in 2001’s vast ocean with island’s premise delivered on a much greater level in terms of island variety. Sea of Thieves thrives as a co-op chat enabled boat sim, but the Islands don’t each offer a wildly different or memorable difference. If only this game can make the land as interesting as the sea, this could have lived up to the hype. Regardless, it is a fantastic first step, and updates and a potential sequel down the road can ensure this Microsoft exclusive maintains a distinct flavor the competition doesn’t have. As anyone with an Xbox One knows these days, the system needs as many exclusives as it can muster.
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