Captain Jack Sparrow joins players' crews this summer in Sea of Thieves: A Pirate's Life. As part of the pirate-themed co-op's third season, Rare partnered with Disney to bring iconic locations and characters from the Pirates of the Caribbean Disney Park ride and film franchise to the world of Sea of Thieves. Players can of course have Jack Sparrow join their crew as part of the free expansion, but they will also encounter other familiar characters, new locations, new enemy creatures to fight throughout the world, and new cosmetics that will allow them to sail the seas as their favorite members of the Black Pearl's crew.
Sea of Thieves: A Pirate's Life takes place primarily across five new Tall Tales. In these Tall Tales, crews will help Jack thwart Davy Jones, who appears to have no control over the tides or the pirate's life in Sea of Thieves. All the Tall Tales in the A Pirate's Life DLC can be completed either by solo players or with full crews, and the challenge will scale to match the number of players involved. Jack Sparrow will also serve as an AI-controlled NPC companion, able to help solo players and crews in combat. It is possible for new players to dive right into A Pirate's Life and be successful. The Tall Tales can be played at any player's or crew's own pace, and progress won't be tied to certain weeks of the season.
In a special press showcase of A Pirate's Life, developers at Rare stressed the importance they placed on making Jack Sparrow's entrance to Sea of Thieves feel authentic to both the character and the game world. They worked with Jack Sparrow's stunt double from Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides to learn the character's unique mannerisms and speech patterns so they could recreate these in-game. Composers crafted a score that weaves familiar themes from Sea of Thieves with the iconic music from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and films. Developers even included sounds and the immediately recognizable voiceover from the ride in new locations.
In the first Tall Tale of the A Pirate's Life story, players will meet Jack Sparrow, who they discover has come through the Tunnels of the Damned that link the Sea of Thieves to just about anywhere else. They will learn that Davy Jones and his infamous Flying Dutchman have also found their way to the Sea of Thieves, and can agree to help Jack save the pirate's life. They will travel to the Sea of the Damned, where pirate dreams and nightmares become physical, the haunted Dead Man's Grotto, which bears some similarity to the Disney Pirates of the Caribbean ride experience, and the shipwrecked town of Sailor's Grave.
In the second Tall Tale, players will dive deep underwater to the Sunken Kingdom, the stronghold of the Sirens. Unlike the helpful mermaids in Sea of Thieves, the Sirens are far less friendly and will attack players and their crew, often dragging ships below the waves to break apart and use in building up their own fortress. Players will need to search the Sunken Kingdom, interacting with the environment to unlock new areas to explore, and find Jack Sparrow's compass. Sirens tend to come in close to attack and will carry the Trident of Dark Tides, a new, powerful weapon pirates can use to gain the advantage in combat.
So far, no plot information is yet available about the final three Tall Tales in A Pirate's Life. Nevertheless, crews can expect they will face off against new creatures in addition to the Sirens. They will also encounter Ocean Crawlers, an umbrella term for the three new enemy types: crablike brutes, eellike casters with electricity attacks, and a hermit-crablike creature that can unleash poisonous spores. There are also phantom pirates and sea monsters for pirates to be wary of.
Completing each Tall Tale and all the side quests within each Tale reward items themed to the story and new areas. As a special reward, completist players who finish every Tall Tale and side quest will receive the Yo Ho shanty, which will be playable on all instruments. Tall Tale items, like the Trident of Dark Tides, and enemies, like the Sirens and Ocean Crawlers, will be part of the whole Sea of Thieves world and can be encountered outside the Tall Tales as players engage in Skeleton Fort raids and other base game activities. Players wanting to dress as characters from the series, bring along pets like the dog with the brig keys, or decorate their ship like the Black Pearl will instead need to purchase those cosmetics from the Pirate Emporium.
As the first-ever major crossover for Sea of Thieves, A Pirate's Life promises to be an exciting addition to the game and could pave the way for more in-game collaborations with Disney and other companies. It is likely the new mechanics, like AI companions and the Trident of Dark Tides, and enemies like Sirens and Ocean Crawlers will remain part of the game beyond Season 3, forever changing and shaping the future of Sea of Thieves. Fans and newcomers alike should consider checking out this expansion and should keep an eye out for whatever new challenges appear on the horizon as they enjoy the pirate's life.
Sea of Thieves: A Pirate's Life releases June 22, 2021 for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. Screen Rant attended a virtual press showcase for the purpose of this preview.