Sea of Thieves
During a three-day game jam in 2011, husband-and-wife design team Andy and Shelley Preston formed a small team with the sole purpose of working on a prototype for what would become a sea of thieves. They created a scrappy, ugly but functional prototype, and the rest, as they say, is history.
The result of that hard work has been a massive success, and one that has seen Rare imbue its world with new life four and a half years after launch. While some players may have moaned about a lack of things to do when the game launched, the sheer volume of updates big and small since then has meant that the core remains as solid as ever.
From the start of your pirate career, you can explore a vast open world and discover sunken treasure on mysterious islands. Defeat legendary creatures and battle other players in epic ship-to-ship combat. Embark on Tall Tales, time-limited or permanent Adventures, and earn Gold and Reputation by completing a variety of trading company activities.
Sailing in a sea of thieves is a riot of fun, and it’s the perfect way to test your sailing skills. The sails need to be angled, the anchor raised and dropped at speed and a whole host of other tricks need to be employed to keep your boat moving as you travel across the ocean. The controls are easy to master and, for the most part, the game doesn’t lean on mechanics like progress systems that favor some players over others.