Since its launch in 2018, Sea of Thieves has been on a dazzling upward trajectory, expanding and evolving with endless invention and reinvention. One of its most fascinating evolutions though, has come in the way it’s sought to marry the innate freeform chaos of its emergent sandbox with more structured narrative-driven experiences – experiments that reached spectacular heights with last summer’s Pirate of the Caribbean crossover, A Pirate’s Life, which set a breathtaking new standard for the sheer cinematic potential of stories in Sea of Thieves.
Shrouded Islands, the now-available first instalment in Sea of Thieves’ new monthly schedule of limited-time story episodes, is not A Pirate’s Life in scope, ambition, or polish – but nor was it ever likely to be given the strict monthly cadence Rare has committed to. Regrettably, though, this opener also suffers in comparison to Rare’s previous, smaller-scale Tall Tales too. While those brought new ways to play or fresh twists on existing mechanics within the pleasing framework of a focused, compelling story, Shrouded Islands is a looser, lighter, less interesting experience, that, as the opening gambit in a bold new era of ongoing storytelling, fumbles half-heartedly into the spotlight when it should be a bellowing statement of things to come.
If you’ve only ever popped onto Sea of Thieves for the occasional bit of pirating, you mightn’t be aware of the surprisingly rich lore that exists in the background – entirely understandable given that it’s traditionally only ever been told in fits and starts, with a bit of a scenery change to the map here and the occasional Tall Tale to propel a plot point forward there. For a game with so much narrative potential, story has always lingered awkwardly to the rear, and that’s where episodic monthly Adventures come in, forming part of a multi-pronged plan – sitting alongside major seasonal gameplay additions and more backgrounded mysteries – Rare hopes will make for an enticing, ongoing proposition that brings a much richer sense of life to Sea of Thieves’ world and helps sustain momentum across seasons.
It’s a fantastic idea, both in principle and practice – we’ve already seen Rare successfully pull off something similar once before, in the tale of a lowly NPC, Wanda, who transformed from weaponsmith to the scourge of the seas across several real-time weeks in 2018. And things got off to a promising start last week too as, in the run-up to Shrouded Islands’ arrival, a seismic event rocked Sea of Thieves’ world. One of its bustling outposts was found deserted, engulfed in a sickly green fog, with signs of a bitter battle fought and lost. It was a major moment for a beloved location, successfully teasing grand adventure and mystery to come.