Fans of Rare are excitedly awaiting the anniversary of what might be the studio's most iconic franchise, Banjo-Kazooie . Originally launching on Nintendo 64 in 1998, June 29 will mark the 20th anniversary of the hugely popular 3D platforming game. Fans will be absolutely celebrating, but the question is whether Rare will be too, and what the studio has planned. Players of Rare's newest game, Sea of Thieves , think they might have an idea what's in st

Either way, however, it is a fact that Rare are doing their best and they keep improving Sea of Thieves with every update they push to users. A lot has changed in the game and there’s more coming our way. So, with that in mind, let us look at the pirate title of the year once more, as there are plenty of reasons for you to give it a second chance. Of course, there are also many aspects in which it still feels a bit underwhelm

Now, the DLC’s arrival was slightly delayed. Pirates don’t tend to set much stock by the rules and time-keeping, though, so there’s no surprise there. Regardless, it launched on September 27th for Xbox One and PC, and has certainly brought some curious new wrinkles to the gamep

At outposts for instance, if there's another crew nearby, stay close to to the Order of Souls and Gold Hoarders merchants and have a blunderbuss ready. This is where other players will be redeeming valuable loot and when they're holding said loot, they cannot also have a weapon at the ready, nor can they sprint. This is an easy kill and since you're at the NPC already to redeem the loot, it's an instant redemption for your t

Rare is well known for slipping Easter eggs into their games and Sea of Thieves is extreme in this regard. But now some of those Easter Eggs seem more like event foreshadowing. Several references to Banjo-Kazooie lie hidden among the islands of Sea of Thieves , but one island in particular is now drawing attention. On Plunder island, several references to Banjo-Kazooie are found -- a painting of a series of feathers, references to a Phoenix, giant statues of birds, and most important of all, a large painting of a very big bear with a red bird flying overh

Rare then is shown to care deeply about bringing Banjo-Kazooie into Sea of Thieves in assorted ways. Rare's shown to have Banjo-Kazooie rewards in the works. And Rare has the opportunity to start a Banjo-Kazooie event in Sea of Thieves for the 20th anniversary if it so chooses. The stars could be align

It's a good thing that journeying as a group is rewarding, though, because the actual rewards are lacking. You can bring back various loot to the trading companies to earn gold and gold can be used to purchase various items and clothing. But Rare's decision to make all of the items purely cosmetic is a bit of a double-edged sword. On one hand, it means that you won't ever run into any ships with pirates whose levels are in high double digits that blow you out of the water, ensuring that everyone remains on equal footing. But without any items that enhance the experience behind minor appearances, there's not a whole lot to shoot for here. This also means that one easily gets the feeling that you can receive the whole experience within the first few hours, as little evolves (combat pretty much involving only two or three weapons). Needless to say, if Sea of Thieves is ever going to thrive, it's going to need to step up its game when it comes to new additions and content in the future.

Sea of Thieves launched in March earlier this year and has exceeded Microsoft's expectations. Rare has since run its first major post-launch event, The Hungering Deep, and just yesterday Rare started the first of what it calls "Bilge Rat Adventures," which are smaller scale events that will fill in the weeks between major content releases. Rare's firing on all cylinders, and the studio seems like it's in its best condition in a decade -- it's the perfect time to throw a celebrat

When it comes to the brass tacks, the title is all about your choices and the freedom to do as you please in a vast sea that is yours for the taking. That’s the whole meaning of the #BeMorePirate hashtag that’s become a staple of Rare’s social media campai

I think we already established that the Sea of Thieves community is awesome. It’s tight-knit, it’s mostly friendly, and most people do not take it personally when their ship is sunk and their booty - stolen. After all, that’s what the game is all about, right? But, surely, most people would not attack an empty ship, just to get some cheap laughs by watching it sink to the bottom of the sea, right? Well, wrong. In fact, often you will find that other crews do not attack you for your loot, they will not even check if you have loot. They just want to make you feel miserable by having to respawn over, and over, and over ag

Elsewhere in the DLC, there’s going to be a new month-long campaign centered around this new area, with new Cargo Run quests at the Merchant’s Alliance (alongside lots of other things, changing on a week-by-week basis). Think of them as Monster Hunter ’s egg-carrying quests, only with a whole lot more oc