The creators of some of Nintendo’s best-loved classics just released this insanely ambitious pirate adventure for Xbox One (MSFT)

When it comes to big games on the Xbox One — which is to say, games that aren't available on the PlayStation 4 — the list is pretty short. 

This week's launch of "Sea of Thieves" is an outsized addition to that list.

Over 20 years after Rare created classics like "Goldeneye 007" and "Perfect Dark" for Nintendo, the veteran game studio is back with something completely different: A massive, open-world pirate game that's only on the Xbox One and PC.

And with "Sea of Thieves," Microsoft has an amibitious new addition to its list of console exclusive games.

It's an online-only game, meaning you can only play the game in an open world full of other pirates (actual human players). The game never holds your hand, instead depending on players to teach each other and themselves how to play. And there's no one narrative — the story of the game is what happens while you take on and complete quests. 

In my brief few hours with it so far, I've found a lot of promise and charm in "Sea of Thieves." Here's why I think you should give it a shot.

"Sea of Thieves" nails the concept of emergent narrative storytelling — the "story" is the tale of how you completed your quest, not the quest itself.

Rare/Microsoft

This morning, I was sailing in a galleon — a large, three-sail wooden ship — with three other player-controlled pirates. We were headed toward a small tropical island that was said to contain a treasure chest. 

The mission was simple: Sail to the island, trek to the X on the map, and dig up the treasure chest.

When we got to the island, we grabbed the chest and started to head out. But what was that ship in the distance? Should we stop? Should we fight?

We headed in its direction, and it turned out that it was a much smaller ship (a "sloop," to be technical).

Just as we were arriving, its sails dropped and its crew of no more than two hightailed it. But we were already within firing range, and I nailed the ship's lower rear with a cannonball. As the ship filled with water, its small crew were forced to address the damages rather than even try to sail away from us. As our ship closed in, three of us manned cannons and turned its hull into Swiss cheese.

Rare/Microsoft

I could tell you the rest of that pirate tale, but we should probably move to a tiki bar. 

Stories like this are at the heart of "Sea of Thieves." The game itself isn't heavy on narrative, but its world is rich with narrative for the taking — if you're up for adventure, that is.

"Sea of Thieves" goes all-in on the sailing thing.

Rare/Microsoft

Are you ready to handle some freakin' ropes? How about playing sea shanties with your drunk friends? Maybe you're more of a spyglass person? Oooh, or how about reading maps?

Get ready for all of that and more, as "Sea of Thieves" is, first and foremost, a game about navigating the sea in an old ship. I mean that in the nicest way possible, as it's tremendously fun to play.

Remember that story I told about getting a treasure chest? Here's how that went in terms of gameplay:

-First, we had to pull up the anchor. Even with all four of us working at it, it still took about 10 seconds.

-Next, we had to lower the sails and angle them. While my buddy took the helm, I ran from rigging to rigging, carefully lowering and angling the sails for as much wind as possible.

-Meanwhile, another player went below deck to our map table, where he compared his treasure map (which depicts the island's shape) to the larger map in front of him. When he found the right island, he marked it on the map.

-Then, he explained to my buddy on the helm which direction to head. He also warned of potential obstacles in the way. 

That's all before we start talking about the process of stopping the ship, repairing the ship, or fighting enemy ships.

None of this stuff is technically demanding — it all operates like normal video game stuff — but if you're looking for a game that's focused on shooting blunderbusses and cutting down foes, this ain't it.

"Sea of Thieves" doesn't hold your hand whatsoever, which is both great and not so great.

Rare/Microsoft

At first, "Sea of Thieves" was downright confusing. There's no introduction whatsoever, no form of tutorial. You don't even know which buttons are which if you don't go looking in the settings menu. 

As I soon realized, the game is mostly intuitive. Of course you have to lower the sails before the ship will move! And the controls are mostly standard video game controls for a first-person game — A to jump, X to interact, and what have you.

In this way, "Sea of Thieves" seemingly trusts players to figure it out by themselves. Better yet, it asks players to help each other. Unless you're piloting a small ship by yourself (which is dangerous), "Sea of Thieves" requires multiplayer cooperation. There's simply no way to manage steering a massive galleon by yourself without getting overwhelmed.

In the vast majority of my time with "Sea of Thieves" thus far, this forced cooperation has been very positive. Strangers help me, I help them, and everyone wins. 

Unfortunately, in the very first group I joined, I was immediately voted into the ship's brig, for no readily apparent reason other than to be cruel. There is no way out other than quitting the game — or if the very people who locked you in vote to let you out. I didn't wait to find out.

It was a great reminder that multiplayer games are best played with friends instead of strangers.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

See Also:

• The 36 hottest video games you shouldn't miss in 2018
• The best game from last generation consoles just got a gorgeous re-release — and it's still an incredible game
• The latest major 'Star Wars' game finally dropped its most controversial aspect — but it may be too late