Two days ago I finally finished getting my last achievement. I did not earn any of the old achievements before they were lowered but I was close to 1000 captain's chests. I would have a long way to go if they weren't lowered but unlike many games I've played in the past, I don't feel like my time playing this game is over, or even close.
I think back to games I've spent most of my time on. Games like the Diablo series, the original Halo trilogy, Final Fantasy 7 & Tactics, even games so old as Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and the original Zelda. These were all good games that I absolutely loved. I spent hours upon hours playing them. Most of these games I would just replay. You can only play Sonic, Zelda, or even Final Fantasy so much before you do everything in it and beat it completely. That didn't stop me though. If I loved playing a game, I would replay it tons of times, but all of these games have an end. All of them have a finite amount of things in them to acquire or achieve. Eventually you will have to start over to continue.
Once I recieved my last achievement for sea of thieves, which was completing 250 goldhoarder voyages, I decided to take a moment to relax and think about my time in this game. I sailed to the great spire in the middle of the world and shot myself up to a high ledge. As I sat there watching the world around me I thought to myself that this game is still so full of life and enjoyment. I thought back to my very first voyage. It was release day and coincidentally my birthday. I started a single person sloop and started to get my first impression of the game. I traveled to sunken grove to fight off four skeleton captains. They happened to be in the cave at the bottom of the island. I made so many trips down there getting killed that another solo slooper showed up to dig up chests. He had no mic but he was friendly enough. He tried to help me kill my skeletons but gave up and left without me noticing after getting killed a few times. Eventually I finished up and went to turn in. I've played pretty consistently since then but not once has my enjoyment started to slip.
As I sat on the spire thinking about all the fun I've had, all the people I've met, and all the changes and improvements I've seen brought to the game, I realized that this isn't going to be a game that I play to the end and have to start over to continue enjoying. This game doesn't have a character progression system. It doesn't have armor and weapons you find or unlock to increase your strength. It doesn't have a story mode that you play through and ultimately finish. This game has more replayability in it than most games. People can argue that their isn't much to do in the game and that its lack of story is a problem, but I don't see it that way. The players create the story, we are the characters. We give this game its life everytime we play it.
I've been here since day one. I've earned pirate legend and athena 10 before the cursed sails released and the changes to athena missions when the devil's roar was released. I've been a part of every bilgerat event and major update. I've earned every bilgerat commendation except the shrouded ghost. I've earned all the goldhoarder and order of souls commendations. I've done tons of skull forts and skeleton ship battles. Like many other games, I've experienced most if not all of what it has offered. That doesn't make this game feel stale like others eventually have though. It's not like I'm firing up a game on Tsavo highway on legendary for the thousandth time, or I'm starting a new barbarian. I don't find myself replaying the exact same stuff over and over simply because I ran out of stuff to do and needed to start over. Other games are scripted, they pretty much force you to do what they want. Sidequests can steer you off on a different path but eventually you are bottlenecked into further story progression or an endgame grind. Parts of the game can seem like they give you freedom but they might be locked behind the lack of an ability, character level, story, or something else. Sea of thieves gives you true freedom. You can go anywhere and you're just as powerful on day one as you are after a year of playing. Some people might think this makes the game lack depth but I feel like it gives it more life.
I watched from the spire as a sloop was parked next to rum runner island. I wondered if it was a solo slooper or a duo. I wondered if they were new to the game or seasoned veterans. They were too far away to see any ship cosmetics or to even see what their sails were doing. I thought they could be new because of the small island they were on and how long they were there, but at the same time athena missions were changed and they could have four captains to kill there. Then I thought to myself that they are the interaction that feeds this game. They aren't an NPC sitting there waiting for a player to talk to them. They don't have a mission for me. They may not even be friendly. Not knowing is part of the excitement. I could go say hi and end up helping them collect treasure and teach them some things about the game, or they could try to board me and start firing on me which might turn into an epic drawn out battle full of gut wrenching moments. I'm not gunning down predictable brutes while grunts run away scared repeatedly until a cutscene wraps everything up. I'm not following behind Sephiroth seemingly one step behind him while getting the feeling that if I hurry I'll catch him sooner. My time in this game is spent exactly how I want to spend it. I can avoid players and concentrate on treasure. I can ignore treasure or hand it out to friendly pirates I come across. I play how I want to and the game doesn't hold me back until I do what it wants me to.
I've spent roughly 1500 hours in this game and I'm still loving it. I don't find it old or stale. The lack of progression, either character or story, doesn't force players into these bottlenecks. It doesn't create gates the player has to earn their way through. It gives players true freedom. It ensures that each game session can't be predicted. Every voyage can be unique and memorable. That is exactly why I keep coming back to the game and enjoying it day after day.
I watched the world around me as my sloop sat parked next to the rock. I thought about what all was going on just on my server alone. I thought about how even after so much play time and after doing everything I have so far, I can still set sail and find some kind of excitement on the horizon. It was a great moment for me reflecting on the game and my experiences, and just sitting on top of the world watching the storm, the sun, and the moon was calming. I had hoped I would witness a second solar eclipse while I was up there but almost getting struck by lightening when a player joined the server was cool enough, and it acted as a reminder that people will continue to enjoy this game just as I do and they will keep coming back.
