Whimsical Pirating Jack Sparrow Would be Proud Of
5 Ways Sea of Thieves Is the Best Pirate Sim Ever
Sea of Thieves has launched today, and that means one thing: it’s time to mic-spam the Pirates of The Caribbean theme as you ram your sloop into other players’ ships! Modern pirates are romanticized to the point we just think of them as fun-loving caricatures engaging in banter and lighthearted shanty singing; caricatures which we can finally become in Sea of Thieves.
You’ve seen Captain Jack Sparrow perform the most incredible of stunts, ones that are gratuitous and death-defying for the sake of looking cool. In Sea of Thieves, shooting yourself out of a cannon never gets old, especially once you’ve done it enough times your aim improves and you start pulling off trick shots. Mark our words: 360 no-scope human cannonball challenge videos are going to be a thing.
The game gives you so many opportunities to just mess around with both mechanics and player interaction, and unless you’re mid-voyage, there aren’t really any repercussions to having fun, which is a rarity in many modern multiplayer games. If it’s not in the inevitable roleplay you and your friends will engage in, there’s an equal sense of mischief to be had when fighting battles, too. Jumping overboard in the middle of a firefight and sneaking onto an enemy ship during the commotion of battle is nerve-wreckingly exciting; blowing it to smitherines when nobody knew you were even there is the most ridiculously rewarding experiences you could possible enjoy in a video game.
This post was originally written by Babak Abrishamchian.
Get Filthy Rich
5 Ways Sea of Thieves Is the Best Pirate Sim Ever
Sea of Thieves is a game full of failure, and that’s okay. There are going to be many times where you and your crew are making out rich with every voyage, but sometimes everything can go wrong. Maybe you died to skeletons and your crew was wiped, or maybe a stray cannonball hit your navigator and suddenly your ship is veering off into a rock. This game rewards you big time, so getting back to port with several valuable treasure chests is a fantastic feeling.
Yes, there are plenty of dull bounty grinding, but there are exciting moments in equal measure, like stumbling on an island absolutely littered with loot totally by chance. Suddenly, when you’re bathing in gold and the success of the voyage is being celebrated by you and your crew, the tedium of the grind is instantly forgotten. Because Sea of Thieves makes you work hard for your loot, it feels just that bit more rewarding when the payoff finally arrives.
Run Your Own Ship
5 Ways Sea of Thieves Is the Best Pirate Sim Ever
We’re not so sure we could actually sail. Where does one even begin with all that rigging? Sea of Thieves makes things simple, but not so simple that it doesn’t require a heck of an amount of coordination between you are your crew to actually sail a Galleon. But it’s such great fun. Trust us when we say that there might be plenty of games that require communication and teamwork, but there’s nothing quite like Sea of Thieves. Steering, dropping anchor, turning about, loading cannons, repairing damage to the hull, and preparing to board are commands you’ll find you and your buddies shouting over the mic, half in panic, half in hysterics.
Even with as little as four players on a Galleon, there’s this wonderful communal sense of excitement and adventure that few games manage to achieve. In experiences like this, you get so incredibly immersed you can’t help but start playing the part, shouting about loading cannons and adjusting sail directions.
Slap the Base, Pirate Style
5 Ways Sea of Thieves Is the Best Pirate Sim Ever
Sea of Thieve’s musical score has an excellent range, from soft and dulcet tones while drifting gently across the waves to the borderline pirate-metal jams in fury of battle sequences. The composition is incredibly memorable, partly because it uses unique sounds exclusive to the era of Caribbean Piracy, such as like the Hurdy-Gurdy – an instrument you’ve probably never heard of. There’s nothing generic about the music and it always sets the appropriate tone.
And best of all, you can jam out a tune or two of your own with all your buddies. It’s hilarious fun, and syncing all your instruments together to form a jolly melody is super satisfying.
Thrilling and Hilarious Sea Battles
5 Ways Sea of Thieves Is the Best Pirate Sim Ever
The ship versus ship combat in Sea of Thieves is absolutely superb. Just encountering other players is an uncommon occurrence on its own, so to see another fully crewed ship on the horizon with its cannons blazing is totally surreal. Armed with a well-drilled crew and a good strategy, nearly every one of these encounters is a tone of fun, particularly as you toss banter at the opposing ships as well as cannon fire. In our experience, when players don’t take the game too seriously, the entire player base becomes more willing to have fun with each other. The manner in which vocal PvP interaction is encouraged is really quite unique to Sea of Thieves.
