Skull & Bones’ Dated Graphics Criticized as Ubisoft Claims It’s a ‘AAAA’ Game

Skull and Bones players are taking to social media to complain about the game’s graphics — particularly its wonky facial animations — following Ubisoft’s claim that the game is “AAAA” quality. One YouTuber made a video comparing Skull and Bones’ graphics to those of 10-year-old Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag — the game it was inspired by.

Skull and Bones graphics contradict Ubisoft’s AAAA claim

As showcased by player NikTek on both YouTube and Twitter, Skull and Bones’ facial animations sometimes appear worse than those seen in Black Flag, which released in October 2013. Considering the amount of time Ubisoft took to release Skull and Bones and the numerous delays it suffered for “polishing” purposes, the state of the game beggars belief.

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot recently defended Skull and Bones’ $70 price tag, arguing that it’s a big game that will “deliver in the long run.” “You will see that Skull and Bones is a fully-fledged game,” Guillemot claimed. “It’s a very big game, and we feel that people will really see how vast and complete that game is. It’s a really full, triple… quadruple-A game, that will deliver in the long run.”

Skull and Bones released to mixed critic reviews and negative user reception.