I am one of the game pass players, and pretty much agree with the authors take on the game, at least in its current form, especially this statement:
"The consensus is that there's just not enough to do -- a vast empty ocean populated by repetitive islands and fetch quests. We had a feeling this would happen, and now we know."
SoT is like if an rpg had no character progression. No new abilities, no new skills, no becoming a stronger character. All you get is rep and gold, and the only things you can spend gold on are cosmetic items. Couple this with the insane prices of said items, and it's just a monotonous grind to see how can be the best-dressed pirate...
I guess one take you could have on it is that the progression is more "real life" with the rewards, but even so, this game is not real life - not in the slightest. The game doesn't even take itself seriously, yet we expect realism in the core aspect of the gameplay?
Some one I was playing with summed it up well: "It feels like I just paid full price for an early access game."
