One of Xbox's greatest treasures, Sea of Thieves has finally launching on PS5 and I, Iyaaaaarrrn Higton, have swabbed my poop deck and spliced my mainbrace in anticipation for this momentous occasion.
Sea of Thieves has actually been in open beta on PS5 for the past week and, according to Digital Foundry's Oliver Mackenzie, "Sea of Thieves retains its signature charm - and should go down well with PlayStation players." Although he also noted that there were some networking issues that he hopes will get (eye) patched out for launch.
Thankfully, I experience exactly 'zero' network issues with the PS5 launch version of Sea of Thieves in today's stream (above) and, in answer to the question I posed in the headline, it handles really well! The game looks absolutely stunning on PS5, with special shoutouts going to Rare's magnificent water tech that constantly blew me away with how beautiful it was. Sunlight bouncing across slowly undulating water never looked this good!
The stream gets off to a fairly slow start because I was re-learning the ropes of a game I hadn't played in over a year but I'm super glad I jumped back into it because it didn't take long for me to regain the sense of exploration and adventure that this game gives you. With the launch of Season 12 coinciding with the PS5 release as well, Sea of Thieves is absolutely packed with hashtag content now and it honestly feels nothing like the hollow and empty game we got when it first launched on Xbox. Due to this, newer players may be a bit overwhelmed by everything at first, especially as the game doesn't really explain what you need to do a lot of the time. Once you get used to this directionless gameplay however, it only serves to accentuate that sense of adventure. You're not following a narrative here (although there are story-based missions based on properties like Monkey Island if you want them), you're making your own stories!
If you are struggling to find something to focus on when you first start, the wonderful Matt W(h)ales has written a little guide to the 18 nifty things to do in Sea of Thieves that the game doesn't tell you. This really helped me out at the start of the stream, as did a few commenters who pointed me in the direction of the ship's Captain's Desk which is where you need to go in order to choose and launch a voyage.
Let's Play Sea Of Thieves PS5 Gameplay - IS PS5 SEA OF THIEVES SEASON 12 SHIPSHAPE OR A SHIP WRECK?!