How was the Sea of Thieves beta received? The feedback from the community is largely positive, with suggestions for improvement.
Today, on January 31, the closed beta of Sea of Thieves ended. Our author Patrick draws his conclusion from the pirate adventure.
Start Issues in Sea of Thieves, the beta did not begin well
Last Wednesday, January 24, the beta start of Sea of Thieves was planned. For some players, including myself, this was indeed the case. We could dive into the game and set sail. But not everyone was that lucky.
Pre-order customers had to contend with software issues before they could deal with sharks and pirates.
Because players who pre-ordered Sea of Thieves were initially faced with a closed door. The game said: “You are too early!”. It took more than 24 hours for this problem to be resolved and for players to finally be allowed to start. The developers extended the testing phase by two days.
A poor start, from which many pirates expected an even worse beta. But somehow it turned out very differently.
Initial Overwhelm – What am I even doing here?
After I just sailed around a bit with my ship during the alpha phase and enjoyed the ambiance, I wanted to really hit the ground running in the beta. But it wasn’t as easy as I thought. Instead of being guided by a starting quest, I found myself alone in a tavern.
By the time I figured out that I needed to approach a one-eyed guy in a tent who would sell me a free treasure map, a lot of time had passed. Many players had the same problem.
However, this is less criticism and more welcome variety. After all, the game is about solving puzzles. Why should a quest from the starting tavern guide me to a tent with arrows on the ground?
I actually liked that you had to experiment in Sea of Thieves to get closer to the goal.
Setting Sail – Water and visuals make a strong impression
I got a treasure map and started a “quest” on my ship with a treasure on a mysterious island. I checked the large map on the ship to see where the island is located at sea.
Then it’s time to remember the direction in which the island with the treasure lies, and up on deck: hoist the sails, haul anchor, roughly turn the rudder in the right direction, and adjust the sails. It’s a lot of work alone.
My absolute highlight of Sea of Thieves is the water. Of course, it’s about pirates, treasure chests, and ships in the game – one would think the water would look good too. But here, the developers deserve real praise: it looks not only good, but also feels good.
In heavy seas, one sometimes loses control of the ship, rushes towards huge rocks, and fears that the ship could break apart at any moment. Along with strong sound effects like creaking wood, splashing waves, and raging thunderstorms, sailing in Sea of Thieves is an experience every time. Adding picturesque sunsets makes pirates’ stress (and other ships) forgettable.
Puzzles are fun, but more content is urgently needed
The treasure maps in Sea of Thieves are fun, but the adventures quickly become monotonous. You sail to an island, orient yourself, fight against 2-5 skeletons, and then bring back the chest. You take it to the ship and either head to the next puzzle or sell it for a few gold coins on the home island.
Not every treasure map is the same. Some quests are puzzles where I had to use my brain and find specific points on the island based on mysterious phrases. While this brings variety, it’s not enough. Somehow everything repeats itself too quickly. Definitely, more content needs to be added to the game.
I often read this feedback on Reddit: Rare, this is really a great game, but more stuff needs to be added.
There is already positive news on this topic.
- First, the developers said that they have trimmed the open beta experience so that there are still surprises for players at the release.
- Second, a data miner said: Folks, more could come. He found secret weapons, animals, and additional content that can already be found in the code of Sea of Thieves.
- Third, the developers confirmed in a video that there will be special mechanics and progression systems with different factions.
What surprises await us in the end, we will only see at the release on March 20. But it has to be more than just a few new enemy types.
Good numbers on Twitch.TV, viewers love pirate entertainment
During the closed beta, many big streamers took the opportunity to showcase the pirate adventure to their viewers.
Combined with voice chat and streamers with humor, many funny scenes emerged. This went down well with the viewers who propelled Sea of Thieves to the top of the Twitch.tv charts.
Conclusion: Sea of Thieves has hit potential if you work with the community
The pirate adventure Sea of Thieves does not appeal to everyone. You have to be willing to cooperate with your crew, go on expeditions, and take risks to put your loot at stake.
- Single players might enjoy Sea of Thieves
- While you can sail through the Sea of Thieves as a lone pirate, the focus is clearly on co-op
- Group players will love Sea of Thieves
- With three or four on a ship, a lot of fun arises. One is at the helm, one reads the map, and the others are responsible for sails and spotting enemies. This can end up in enjoyable chaos.
The game is “something different” and has a hefty price tag of €70. This probably deters many. Whether the game is “worth” the price is for everyone to decide.
The fact is that the developers have many possibilities open. The community of freshly-minted pirates is passionate and sees that a lot of heart and soul has already gone into the game. With announced content such as factions, animal transports, and limited-time deliveries, we will take another step in the right direction.
I am already looking forward to the release of Sea of Thieves and believe that the harmony of fan feedback and developer know-how can make the game very successful. To bid farewell to the beta, the Reddit user JakeMannlington and his crew said:
Sea of Thieves will be released on March 20, 2018 for Xbox One and PC (Windows). But beware: Anyone who annoys in Sea of Thieves will be locked below deck
