Sea Of Thieves Review: 5 Ups & 5 Downs

3. The Thoroughly Charming Tone

Considering how many online co-op games take themselves deathly seriously to the point where it's a bit offputting - looking at you, The Division - it's refreshing that Sea of Thieves instead embraces it silliness.

This game is a daft romp through-and-through with no pretensions to seriousness: even when you die, you're whisked away to a gorgeous ghost ship called the Ferry of the Damned, where you'll appear translucent alongside any other recently dead players before being spirited back to the land of the living.

Then there's the character designs themselves, the fact you can wander around in nothing but your underpants, and the litany of absurd animations you can deploy at the touch of a button (including an obligatory dance, of course).

This all works hand-in-hand with a social multiplayer system that encourages players to let their freak flags fly and be as goofy as humanly possible.