Sea of Thieves: A Pirate’s Life is the work of developers who know what they’re doing
A bunch of Monkey business
After spending years in the Microsoft Kinect gulag noted British video game developer and googly-eye enthusiast Rare was able to return to making good video games with Sea of Thieves. I originally spent some time playing the game around its launch and enjoyed it quite a bit. It can be very zen while also capturing a sense of adventure only seen in a select few open world titles. If I had any critique at the time it would've been that the game was figuratively all treadmill. The numbers would go up faster based on how big the numbers were, with nothing of actual substance to hook you besides the core gameplay and beautiful ocean. In the intervening years where I wasn't playing Rare went and apparently added plenty of hooks by way of the game's Tall Tales, a series of narrative chapters that feature unique gameplay tasks. It's a great turnaround and one that was rocketed directly into my desires by partnering with Disney to bring a set Pirates of the Caribbean themed Tall Tales into the game.
Having not played them all yet I can only speak to the first tale in the A Pirate’s Life set of five, but it has been a big highlight even as someone who is particularly fond of the movies. While the first tale doesn't quite capture the joy of sailing the Sea of Thieves, it doesn't need to. This first Tall Tale is instead noteworthy for capturing the spirit of both the Disney World ride and classic PC adventure games. It is great first note to start on and also sets up the series of tales to be long enduring, much like the works they are based on.
The dueling spirits of the tale is most evident in each half. The first portion of the adventure has you wash up on a mysterious shore (which in lore I believe is in pirate limbo?). You'll soon find the only path forward is through a cave structure, like some sort of pirate themed grotto. This grotto is a surprisingly faithful reimagining of the Disney park attraction. Pirate skeletons impaled to a wall, pirates spirits stranded in a cove after their ships were wrecked by a forceful storm, and the great long gone pirate atop his mound of cursed treasure. It is the Disney ride, to the point that it reuses the original recordings from the ride serving you ghostly warnings as you make your way through the cave. It’s a great first impression and leads one to believe the development team behind these Tales had free reign to do what they felt was best.
Things only get better once you complete the grotto expedition. The adventure then dumps you out onto a pirate town, but not just any pirate town. This is the Sailor's Grave, inhabited by dead pirates awaiting ferry to the afterlife. In practice this means pirate skeletons and spirits doing classic pirate skeleton and spirit things. We got skeletons playing pirate chess while drinking, we got spirits hanging from the pirate chandelier in their bar, we got skeletons that stole and reburied pirate treasure. Some scenes are likely pulled from the ride, but they all feel inspired by it. The vibe of the Sailor's Grave is absolutely perfect and sets up the next great part about it.
That being when you discover the interconnected puzzle of the whole thing. It's completely optional, you really just need to free the Cursed Captain's head and return him to the rest of his skeleton, but the secondary puzzle is an amazing adventure. There is no single thread that will start it for every player. Some might find an extra key here, or a big red 'X' on map there. Once you start plucking one of these threads you realize there is something extra going on. It's a great way to start what feels like a true adventure, in the classic PC game sense of the word. It subtly tells a story, makes you connect the dots in your head, and has a great payoff. Taken with the atmosphere and main plot of the Sailor's Grave the experience feels like the work of people who know what they're doing.
People who know what they're doing is all I could want from something like this. Going into a modern Pirates of the Caribbean experience you would expect it to be just the hits. Without a doubt, I expect the rest of the tales to be focused on the exploits of Jack Sparrow and Davy Jones; much like how the first tale ends. That said, Rare has proven they are aware of the legacy of Disney's pirates and are not afraid to dive into and play up that legacy. It's a game I once fell off of because there was no overarching story, now I can't wait to lose my weekend to it.
Sure, this treasure is cursed but have you seen how shiny it is?