Skull & Bones: Gameplay Leak Shows Combat, Exploration On Foot, And More
Gameplay of Ubisoft’s pirate game Skull & Bones has been leaked online, giving us a glimpse of various mechanics including naval combat and exploration on foot.
It’s unclear which version of the game this “technical test build” came from, as Skull & Bones received an extensive reboot before entering alpha in July 2021. However, Ubisoft invited some players to test an early version last month, which means that the leaked gameplay shared by Wesam_L on reddit could very well have come from this insider program.
In this version of the game, Skull & Bones gameplay revolves around a hub area – similar to Destiny 2’s The Tower – that players frequently visit to craft items, visit stores, accept quests, and so on. The center, called Sainte-Anne, is “the hub of pirate activity” and therefore the place where players are encouraged to socialize (through emotes) and organize their teams of up to three players.
Players then head out into the world to complete quests through gameplay similar to what was shown previously: naval battles that appear a bit more complex than Assassin’s Creed.
Most of Skull & Bones seems to revolve around this gameplay loop, although it’s jumbled up by various types of battles, including attacking forts and settlements, NPC ships and player ships, and larger “world events” like picking up a merchant and his fleet of escorts.
Players must prepare in advance so that they have enough resources to keep their ship in good health and food and drink to keep their crew’s morale up. Failure to do so will result in the boat being sunk (players will then respawn and able to return to collect their cargo) or mutiny (where the crew will take over the ship and likely just take the player back to an outpost).