“Sea of Thieves” by Rare studios was released on Tuesday, March 20, and is an epic adventure game that puts you into the grungy boots of a pirate set loose to gain massive riches. Watch out however — there could be danger behind every wave.

Pirate Players

The largest part of “Sea of Thieves” is the player’s experience. This starts with full customization of the players pirate avatar from gender to appearance, physical features and swashbuckling outfits.

Adding to the experience of roaming the high seas is an informal progression system that eliminates being able to be good at only a few things, like most games force upon players.

“Sea of Thieves” is all about skill and not stats. With no classes or special characters forcing players to focus on one thing and one thing only, the game leaves much room for doing whatever you like. Leveling up a character is still a feature in the game and doing so can give you access to different weapons, apparel and ships.

Being out at sea plundering forts and villages is fun and all, but for many people, playing with friends helps create an even deeper experience. Yes, “Sea of Thieves” is a large multiplayer game where individual pirates (players) can join up to create crews and help make managing a ship — such as a galleon — much more manageable. Quickly looping back to the non-traditional style of progression, players can choose what jobs they want to do.

An example of this would be one person continually becoming a helmsman to steer the ship, and another becoming a spotter. Both players had the choice to do whatever they wanted, but may end up naturally doing a certain job because that is what they like to do.

Ships

Being a badass pirate in the open ocean is great but do not forget what got you out there in the first place- your pirate ship. Your ship is your home and is where you keep your “legally” gotten loot, items and goods. Ships, just like players can be upgraded and outfitted in a variety of ways. Eventually buying a new ship will be on a pirate’s mind but knowing what he or she wants is another thing altogether. Does your pirate like to sail swiftly over the waves and enjoy agility to dodge obstacles? Or, does your pirate enjoy slowly crossing uncharted seas with a war galleon bristling with weapons, ready to annihilate anyone who gives a funny look?  The decision’s yours to make and you may enjoy it, or you might end up in Davy Jones Locker. I’m not joking. The locker is real.

The Locker

Unless you are Captain Jack Sparrow, you will sooner or later die. After death, you will end up on a ferry that acts as a sort of hub for other dead players. Once there, you can talk to the other unfortunate souls who have met their fates. To escape the locker, you must do certain non-specified tasks for the captain of the ferry. After completing the tasks, the captain will grant you release and you can ask a magic mermaid to give you a new ship. The good news is your previous vessel is still where you left it, albeit at the bottom of the ocean. The bad news is your old ship, if it has any treasure or loot-able items in it, can be plundered by other players who are treasure hunting. Most likely, those who killed you in the first place.

Massive World

The “Sea of Thieves” current world map can take nearly eight hours to travel around. There will be different regions that will feel completely different from other areas on the map. More inviting locations such as Caribbean-feeling waters exist. However,  regions with many islands that may or may not have inhabitants that want to kill you can also be found. The developers have said that a vast majority of its non-playable characters (NPCs) will be landlocked, so any sail you see that is not yours will most likely be another player.

Something that sounds like fun to me is being able to construct your own pirate fort as a relatively safe point from which you could defend yourself from an attacking ship or hold valuable items.

Other Players

Besides the possibility of being overrun by a horde of angry skeletons protecting a treasure chest, players will be the biggest danger in this high-risk high reward game. The only thing that is extremely dangerous to anyone, in real life and in video games, are other people. People are cunning, tactful and most terrifying of all creative. When one pirate/crew meet up with another one of two things will happen.

To my limited knowledge watching YouTubers play the beta, players will cordially wave and be pleasant towards one another and continue whatever quest or adventure they are on. Or because of a chance for loot, all-out war will break out with swords clashing, cannons blasting and large amounts of chaos.

Gameplay

If you have not already gathered, there are many things to do in “Sea of Thieves.” From accepting quests from friendly NPCs or going out on an adventure of your choosing to fighting off monsters and other players, “Sea of Thieves” has a good chance at holding even the most distracted person’s attention.

Graphics

The “Sea of Thieves” character art is, to me, nothing overly special. Characters look interesting and fit into the atmosphere and style of the game but don’t really pop out. That being said, the environments look amazing. Especially the water. It looks as if someone over at Rare Studios went to the ocean, recorded it with the best video camera available and placed that footage into the game. It is that good.

“Sea of Thieves” already came out but if you were a little on edge about buying this game, I suggest reconsidering your decision. If you have not heard of this game until now, it is worth the time to check it out. You can find all that you need to know and how to buy the game on the “Sea of Thieves” website.