Sea of Thieves

Sea of Thieves' central achievement is that sailing a ship is a job for several people simultaneously. One person on the wheel with no forward visibility, one calling directions from the crow's nest, one adjusting sail angle to catch the wind, one below deck bailing water and patching holes. It cannot be done alone on a galleon, and the co-ordination required makes a crew feel like a crew in a way almost no other game manages.

The world supports it beautifully. Rare's water simulation is still the best in games, storms are genuinely frightening, and the art direction — bright, stylised, warm — has aged far better than photorealism would have. Sailing at sunset toward an island you have chosen because of a riddle on a scrap of parchment is a legitimately lovely thing to do.

The PvP argument

The permanent tension is that the main game world is shared and open. Another crew can attack you, sink you, and take everything you have spent two hours collecting. For some players that risk is exactly what gives the treasure meaning. For others it is an infuriating tax on a game they wanted to be a relaxing pirate simulator. Rare's compromise — Safer Seas, a private lower-reward mode — arrived in 2024 and helped, though its reduced payouts make clear which mode the studio considers the real one.

The other honest criticism is that the voyage structure is thin. You dig up chests, you deliver chests. The Tall Tales — story campaigns — are excellent and finite. What sustains this game is the crew you sail with, not the objectives you sail toward. With the right three people it is one of the best things on this list. Alone, it is a chore with beautiful lighting.