Sea of Thieves E3 2017 Impressions

This was the second time I got to check out Sea of Thieves at E3 since the game was displayed at the show in 2016 as well. The first time around we were only able to mostly sail around and fight each other, with this showcase displaying more complexity to the game. It still wasn't vastly different aside from improvements to visuals and the addition of quests, but more of a full game I suppose. I honestly thought it was closer to launch last year though at this point it stills seems far off. That's not to say I haven't loved what I played from which I definitely have, just expected development to be further along.

At E3 the game was being presented in 4k 30fps on Xbox One X hardware from what I recall without them having a definite target on their exact frame rate. You have to keep in mind that like the year prior this was my last game of the Xbox event so I had a fair selection of drinks. Our mission was to just sail around and do whatever, but our guide helped us choose some direction. We pushed for getting some treasure as who doesn't want that and went after some.

Sea of Thieves Screenshot E3 2017 Impressions
The journey started with our team sailing towards a nearby port and I took the mighty wheel to get us there. It was a strong combination of map guidance and luck as we head over. I needed navigation help as it's hard to see forward with the sails in the way. This resulted in having someone glance at the map occasionally for direction and someone at the front. At the port I grabbed a pint to drink since I thought it would match my real world and we sailed off towards where the riddle spoke. Oh, and we collected a quest from the port as well but alas I was too busy drinking while listening to our musical guy to pay attention.

It really is as awesome as it sounds in terms of capturing the pirate life and I'm sure this will be the best simulation of that. Along the way we ran into another ship going the same way, I sort of crashed into them and three rocks before we hit the coast. Half the squad went out to grab the riddle and the other attacked. I gave a quick launch of myself from the cannon onto their ship to kill some others before heading out to the riddle. We followed the clue on this large and mysterious island before digging around a crashed ship.

It's actually quite exciting though I'm not sure how often one would want to redo similar situations, still fun enough for now. Digging out our treasure some skeletons appeared and we fought those on the way out. It was exciting, fun and seems like the best way to live out one's pirate fantasy. It's still awhile away, yet I look forward to sailing the seas with friends and battling others.

Read our Ashen Preview (E3 2017)
Our E3 2017 Hub

Gamerheadquarters Reviewer Jason Stettner