With the Xbox One soon to head off into the sunset thanks to the arrival of the Series X/S it’s worth stepping back to revisit some of the games that made an impact here during this generation. Not all of them are exclusive but each of them resulted in many hours spent glued to controllers and that’s all that really matters. 🙂

Another game that has made Game Pass and easy choice for me has been Sea of Thieves which might just be Rare’s biggest game for this generation. Allowing teams of four pirates join together to search for buried treasure and all other things piratey the game started off light on content but has evolved into something that can provide a fun experience with the occasional bit of risk when you run into another boatload of scurvy ridden scalliwags keen to sink your own boat and take your hard earned goodies.

There’s been plenty of memories of sailing the seas with friends, crashing boats and finding myself blown up for the umpteenth time by a barrel wielding skeleton. Earning enough coin to buy new gear for your ship and pirate isn’t too bad and the developers have made the most of it with regular content drops and unique themed items. For a game that has no pay to win or leveling systems it all boils down to players showing off a fancy sword or hat while on their way to becoming a pirate legend. It may not be enough for hardcore game but for casual players it helps put everyone on an even keel (!).

Beyond that it’s also one of the prettiest games I’ve played on Xbox One thanks to an art style that straddles between fanciful characters and somewhat realistic environments. The star of the show is definitely the ocean with its rolling waves and wild storms but there’s no shortage of spectacular sunsets to be seen either. Plenty of screenshots have been uploaded to my feed thanks to this game. The prospect of there being further visual enhancements to the game for Series S/X will make this an easy choice to help fill the console’s SSD.

Many a late night has been spent playing Sea of Thieves and even if I haven’t been all that interested in taking the completionist route I’ve still found the time to catch as many fish as possible and chase after the occasional treasure. Being a part time pirate can’t get any easier than this.