Sea Of Thieves is among some of the most fun I had with a group in years. The 15-20 minute demo that I played at E3 was highly reminiscent of the trailer that was shown during the Microsoft Press conference earlier in the week. Three crews of five players were placed into Rare’s ambitious world without any real indication of how two play. Within 30 seconds, my character was already drunk and stumbling as they boarded the ship. After the entire crew was on board, we let down the sails and adjusted its positioning before embarking on an adventure.
As the boat started to move, we quickly realized that no one was actually steering the vessel and we crashed into an island, but fortunately, the ship can take a hit. After the crew refocused, we headed toward the other two crews who had just spotted each other. A huge firefight was underway with one player telling the captain where to steer, the captain maneuvering the ship and the other 3 pirates were firing cannons. After a few successful hits, the first enemy ship escaped while the second ship was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, we were being hit and realized that the ship we were searching for was behind us and firing everything in its arsenal . I quickly went below deck and started patching the holes, along with a teammate, that were created by the enemy crew’s cannonballs. Seeing the water rising in our ship was hectic because as a member of the Pirate crew, it’s my mission to make sure that we don’t sink.
After this was done, we went back to the deck, manned the cannons and sunk the enemies ship just as the time limit was up and the demo was over. This was my experience with Sea Of Thieves, Rare’s latest title and first original games in years. The studio has a lot to prove with this title and after the 15-20 minutes that I had with the game, it’s safe to say that this is something special. It’s a game that requires teamwork and coordination, but it’s a title that provides a constant amount of fun and laughs. Throughout the entire demo, I spoke with the 4 other people in my crew constantly and we all laughed as things started to go awry or when we all got drunk in the beginning of the demo.
The demo for Sea Of Thieves only cracks the surface of what we should expect from the full title. The trailer showed pillaging and treasure hunting. Sailing and sea battles are only one part of what a pirate does, but Rare has captured that aspect wonderfully. The sound effects in the game have that usual whimsical Rare sound and when your pirate plays his or her accordion while sailing, I’m reminded of the studio’s charming nature that I’ve missed so much. Visually, the water looks stunning and the cell shaded graphics make the game look absolutely gorgeous.
The one thing that concerns me is whether or not the full release will have the same time of coordination and communication that the demo had. At the event I was in, every player was there to test out the game and we worked together to accomplish our goals. On Xbox Live, it’s become quite rare (no pun intended) to be placed on a team full of players that are speaking. Rare has a very unique, fun, and completely original game coming to Xbox One and Windows 10 that I feel is a breath of fresh air for the industry. I’m completely optimistic about the final release, I just hope that when the game comes out, players give Sea of Thieves the chance that it deserves.
For now, Sea Of Thieves is one of the best games of the show and I can’t wait to see what else Rare has in store for us in the coming months.
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