"For years I've been rushing around, taking whatever I fancied, not giving a tinker's curse for those I hurt. Yet here I am... with riches and reputation, feeling no wiser than when I left home. Yet when I turn around, and look at the course I've run... there's not a man or woman that I love left standing beside me."







Happy new year everyone! Hope 2022 is good and we don’t get any more viruses roaming the streets soon enough.

To start off the year on a positive note, it’s pirate time.


Black Flag is just special, that’s the best way I can describe it. This game should not work as well as it does for multiple reasons but the fact it does is an astounding showcase of the talent Darby Mcdevitt’s team had. This and Revelations stand at the top of this franchise. I think they’re about equal in quality but even after giving both a fair replay with new eyes and a fresh perspective, I still have a softer spot for AC4. I think it’s easily the most unique game in the series and it nails everything it sets out to do.

An Assassin’s Creed game where you play as a pirate rather than an assassin is an incredibly bold move, especially considering where AC3 left off and the huge expectations that this game had to live up to in order to continue the narrative of this franchise. This entire game can be summarized as one big character study of its protagonist, Edward James Kenway.

Edward to me is the best character to ever grace this series that’s already so packed with so many incredible ones. His charisma entrances you and his development puts him up there as one of the greatest characters of all time. It’s just impossible to not like Edward, he’s an absolute gem. His journey from a greedy and irresponsible pirate to a wise and punished assassin, ready to finally start putting his mind before his blade is storytelling gold. Matt Ryan's performance as Edward needs that shoutout because it's so god damn good. When that man screams YOU FEEL THAT SHIT.

Darby’s love for the philosophical aspect of the franchise shines here as brightly as ever. Putting the templar vs assassin conflict amidst the golden age of piracy and its eventual downfall is probably the smartest choice for a setting in the series to this day. A period where the battle between liberty and control is at its all time peak and the way some pirates end up falling in line with the world’s view of the templars while others persist upon their anarchist ways, aligning themselves with the assassins, is simply genius. Characters don’t feel guided by a narrative, they feel and think for themselves, resulting in a tale that spans decades and you FEEL that time passing, people changing and finally deciding to stand up for their own beliefs. It’s Assassin’s CREED at its purest form, I love it.

The writing for this game is just 11/10. Darby nailed not only the setting but also the people that inhabit the Caribbean. Easily this franchise’s strongest supporting cast, even its smaller players end up leaving a mark on you or Edward. Mary, Anne, Adéwale, Hornigold, Roberts and Thatch stand out as my absolute favorites, they’re terrific and the immaculate voice acting makes their already excellent writing impress that much more. The templars continue the trend started in Revelations, being characterized in a way where there’s never a black and white conflict at play. Torres and Rogers have such a commanding presence whenever they’re on screen and their convictions are portrayed masterfully. The final act ties Edward’s journey so beautifully and that ending is just unmatched.

Gameplay wise it’s AC3 with expanded ship mechanics. The ship combat in ac3 honestly sucked due to the system still being undercooked and the restricting linear nature of the naval levels didn’t help. AC4 gives you the Jackdaw, a ship far better suited to combat and much smoother to sail. The naval combat is fantastic and a ton of fun, being just the right amount of challenging. On foot it still has probably the clunkiest feel out of the older AC games due to the Anvil Engine overhaul but once you get used to it it’s still a great time. Vaulting works perfectly, climbing is responsive even with its eventual hiccups, combat although way too easy has a ton of options for style (some of which are hidden and never taught by the game for some reason like the double killstreaks), stealth is solid and gameplay scenarios are diverse. There’s an overabundance of tailing missions in this game which I definitely agree could’ve been reworked but as is, they’re well designed so you can breeze through them pretty nicely.

The open world is fucking beautiful and masterfully designed. Sailing through the Caribbean is so much fun and the abundance of diverse side activities really puts this game’s world far above the previous endeavors of the series. From swimming through the depths of the ocean, to hunting whales, to participating in the great side stories of the Templar Hunts, it’s just fantastic.

The music by Brian Tyler takes heavy inspiration from that one pirate franchise with Dohnny Jepp which is perfectly fine by me, it’s a fantastic soundtrack with a ton of standout tracks like the main theme, “Stealing a Brig”, “The Fortune of Edward Kenway”, “The High Seas”, “Take What Is Ours” and many more. The Sea Shanties completely steal the show tho, they’re so fucking good (LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWLAAAANDSS, LOOOOWLAAAANDS AWAAAAYYYY ME JOOOHNNN).

Modern Day is fine. I think the concept of it is interesting and it’s used very sparingly so it’s cute enough for what it is. It’s a shame the whole Juno story that carries from this game all the way to Syndicate is essentially worthless nowadays since it had its conclusion sidelined to a comic but hey Desmond’s ending also sucked after games of development so not the first time it happens lmao. The most fascinating aspect is definitely the introduction of Abstergo Entertainment which is literally Ubisoft so the message the developers wanted to spread through that is definitely some good food for thought.


Honestly, I can’t write this in any way that doesn’t come off more as gushing rather than a review. I just fucking love this game and literally have no real issues with it, it’s weaker joints are still cute or decent enough to entertain me and its entire soul just resonates with me in a way few other pieces of media are able to. One of the greatest games of all time, the highest of recommendations.

Reviewed on Jan 01, 2022


1 Comment


2 years ago

Based and Edward pilled