izigame.me

I have a serious love/hate relationship with Sea of Thieves. It is both one of the best games I have ever played and one of the most frustrating games I have ever played, all wrapped into one. The gameplay of Sea of Thieves is INCREDIBLE. The sailing is the best in any game I have ever played. The feeling of exploration and discovery as you blast through treasure hunts and puzzles and mysteries is unlike any feeling you can get from any other game. The cooking mechanic, the healing from food, the not-terrible fishing mechanic... all subsystems that prop up the rest of the gameplay are unique and interesting in their own right. The land-based combat is relatively uninspired, yet still satisfying when part of the greater picture that the game presents. Some of my favorite memories in gaming, full stop, come from completing long nights on the high seas or doing long-form content available in the game. The game is gorgeous, some of the best ocean/water graphics in any game. The rest of the game is equally beautiful while perfectly conveying the environment of the map you are in. I swear to Gaben that I can freaking smell the wet sand or sulfurous lava on some of these islands. The music and sound design are some of the best in the industry. Outright, the game is incredible.
BUT... Sea of Thieves sweaties ruin the game for me. There is absolutely nothing worse than having a night full of fun absolutely destroyed by some player who's enjoyment of the game is derived from eliminating anyone else's fun. I understand that PvP is part of the "pirate life", but it is by far the worst part of the game by far. I would be willing to pay money, hell a freaking monthly subscription, for the opportunity to play SoT as a strictly PvE game with just my friends and the rest of the server populated by bots. I actively avoid playing the game now because of how many of my last play sessions started with me spawning at an outpost and subsequently being sunk less than 15 feet off the dock by some sweaty that hasn't seen sunlight since the Obama administration. I know that this is an incredibly unpopular opinion in the greater SoT-sphere, but part of the enjoyment of games is letting players enjoy them how they wish, and I really freaking wish that I could enjoy the aspects of SoT that are fun to me without being the plaything of those pirates who live only to ruin the fun of others.