The game itself is gorgeous. I've used it as reference for backgrounds but looks is the only thing it's good at.

PVP and PVE are both janky and with the depth of a puddle, I've legitimately seen better combat in Roblox games.
Grind is a serious problem in this game, it feels as if the devs expect you to treat it as a second job.
The game pretends it's all about socializing with people but most of the time it's just conflict against some of the most deplorable humans you will ever meet. If you've experienced Rust that is exactly what you should expect. I've had a handful of good experiences but they're very far and few between, mostly from people who were just bored out of their minds.

The game advertises itself as an adventure sandbox when it plays more like a Baby's First Extraction Shooter with endless bugs and hackers to boot.

Here. It's not the same art style or vibes but if you just want to have a fun time by yourself you're better off playing this instead of booting up SOT and getting your balls crushed. Because once you buy SOT you run the risk of getting hooked, not because its good persay but because you had fun like twice and now feel a sense of sunk-cost fallacy,.
https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/242050/Assassins_Creed_IV_Black_Flag/