Skull and Bones, like many Ubisoft games before it, is one of those titles where there’s really no shortage of things to do that don’t require you to globe trot for some durian. When I got to try out the title’s endgame at a hands-on event, I was spoiled for choice- in half an hour I’d failed to take over a facility, run it back, lost to a sea monster and embraced the joys of a bow-mounted flamethrower.
However, amid the explosive naval combat that decorates the Red Isles, I found my mind wandering to a comment from the earlier presentation by Lead Level Artist Audrey Wong. While the Red Isles are loosely based on Madagascar, she described Telok Penjarah- another outpost themed after the SEA region, that she’d even included our spiky friend the Durian in.
In her presentation she’d shown a gorgeous render of a crate full of the stuff. I figured it’d be a great goal for testing out the sailing long term, no? Get on a boat, hop on over, maybe even find something cool along the way.
After paying some silver to pull the monster teeth and cannon balls out of my ship, I had manifest a plan: sail to Telok Penjarah and behold the King of Fruits with my own pirate eyes. After all, open worlds are meant to be traversed, and it was right there on the map. Quick hop over, article done, right?
Like sailing from Africa to Indonesia, you’d be surprised to know that traveling from the Red Isles to Telok Penjarah is actually far. Like, really far. There I was, like a mini Vasco De Gama venturing across the Indian Ocean having heard of some unattainable treasure if I survive the trip.
A Long And Wet Road To Durian In Skull and Bones
Turns out I have quite a bit in common with famous explorers. Like Christopher Columbus I was prone to going the wrong way, and vastly underestimated the size of the task. It’s not like the world of Skull and Bones was created to scale with our own of course- but you can very much tell that the developers didn’t intend for you to travel to the East Indies like you were picking up snacks for the dinner party.
There’s quite a bit of interesting things I learned on this voyage: for one, wind, it seems, is quite important for sailing. I thought it’d be a simple case of just traveling in a straight line and catching up on my texts while holding the controller but, like Chris C. I was quite wrong. Going against the wind is naturally ill-advised, and Skull & Bones even has your crew start complaining at you if you try to force it. It’s not so much that it feels like you’re hitting a wall, but more equivalent to trying to drive a car up a hill off-road in Far Cry.
So now not only was it a long trip, it was also an involved one since I had to basically circle-strafe my way to a land mass with some Nasi Kandar. Thankfully, it wasn’t dull- there are other ships making similar pilgrimages across the sea, likely because they thought they could film a reaction vlog or something. They’re now reacting to being lit on fire and thrown into the sea, since Skull and Bones was kind enough to not be a slave to realism and let me mount a huge flamethrower onto the deck of my ship. It’s the little things, really.
Once you hit the open ocean though, the game does introduce an interesting concept. Dubbed rogue waves, these have the potential to be the big progress killer for your trip- you need to align your ship to take the waves on head on, then brace your crew to minimize damage to your ship.
They’re infrequent enough that each one just happens to catch your eye, and cool enough that, set against the grey and stormy skies, they feel like mini setpieces. Like the guys who colonized my ancestors centuries ago I made sure to overcome these hurdles every chance I had- while also remembering that for the other ships, just because you survived a big wave doesn’t mean you can survive a fully-armed pirate ship.
Face-First Into Sumatra In Search of Durian
Once the storm subsided, it was like coming back to the house you grew up in- the geography all looked familiar, with the limestone cliffs and plants that make a region scream South East Asia.
Even the first location I stopped by was called Pemburu Islands, meaning I was well and truly on my way to completing my quest. Unfortunately, in the last leg I’d kind of said stuff it to the whole “following the wind” plan and this led my ship plunging bow-first into Sumatra. It didn’t destroy my ship, thankfully, though it did mean I got to take the scenic route as I had to sail around the land mass.
There was also one more added benefit to my incompetence- sure enough, durian! It was a charming surprise- I thought the most spiky fruit action I’d get out of Skull and Bones would be background props of the durian, but instead here they were, harvestable and ready to be sold to white people as something exotic. While the playtest ended before I could reach Telok Penjarah, it turned out Durian itself was a commodity, and one you could gather from the islands in the area.
The size of Skull & Bones map makes this kind of traversal pretty intriguing- the open ocean feels very much like its namesake, with little else to do than focus on steering your ship. The sprinkling in of other ships feels just enough that it feels plausible, but not so many that you suddenly wonder why there’s a street part happening in the middle of nowhere.
Meanwhile, it was also fascinating watching the visual language of the islands change. As someone who’s stayed in various countries you learn to subconsciously spot which trees feel like home to you. From the way trees are scattered on mountains to even the density of their leaves, the Ubisoft Singapore team did a good job of recreating that feeling you get staring out the window on a SEA island retreat.
With the Open Beta playable now, maybe I’ll actually get to finish that voyage- all for a fruit I don’t even eat.
