Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag - Freedom Cry

 PlayStation 4
User Score
6.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 254 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 93 out of 254
  2. Mixed: 113 out of 254
  3. Negative: 48 out of 254

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  1. nascent
    Sep 20, 2015
    3
    A weak and ineffective game. Trying to achieve the same goal as Liberation did in the previous generation, Fredoom Cry is repetitive, with uninteresting characters, predictable plot, with no twists. Mostly consists or sailing in a much reduced map, liberating slaves in plantations, and rescuing slaves ships in naval battles, which is extremely boring coming straight off of Black Flag.A weak and ineffective game. Trying to achieve the same goal as Liberation did in the previous generation, Fredoom Cry is repetitive, with uninteresting characters, predictable plot, with no twists. Mostly consists or sailing in a much reduced map, liberating slaves in plantations, and rescuing slaves ships in naval battles, which is extremely boring coming straight off of Black Flag. Very little to do with Templars or Assassins, and adds nothing to the overall series' story.

    No interesting or unique weapons, such as Liberation's whip. Just a blunderbus which really doesn't have a lot of use in this game, and a machete, which isn't much different to a typical sword. Typical darts are available, smoke bombs are as useless and pointless s always. There is a new firecracker side-weapon, that really has no use outside of it's introductory mission, as it activates very close to you and doesn't seem to bring as much attention as implied. Plus most of the missions encourage being discreet and undetected, rendering them redundant.

    Considering this was also sold as a fairly expensive standalone game, I feel sorry for those that bought this in such a way.

    Secrets are easy to find and offer nothing of value to the story or to your inventory, and missions are boring. You might as well just watch a quick Let's Play instead of playing this game.    … Expand
  2. sems1193
    Jan 18, 2014
    6
    It'll serve you good if you're looking out for more of the Assassin's Creed Black Flag formula and for a refreshing topic that is seldom touched upon in video games: slavery, but if you're looking out for an experience that pays off in the end, save your money. The soundtrack is really nice, however. Yes, Freedom Cry is a decent piece of DLC, but it offers nothing to the AC canon besidesIt'll serve you good if you're looking out for more of the Assassin's Creed Black Flag formula and for a refreshing topic that is seldom touched upon in video games: slavery, but if you're looking out for an experience that pays off in the end, save your money. The soundtrack is really nice, however. Yes, Freedom Cry is a decent piece of DLC, but it offers nothing to the AC canon besides providing an insight into Adewale's story. Just don't expect anything mindblowing in the end.… Expand
  3. tonylaw74
    Jan 7, 2014
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I bought the season pass and FC didn't make me feel as though I'd wasted my money. It was a fun tack-on to the main storyline but, in the end, I found myself just wanted to slog through it and see what happened. This was due completely to the fact that freeing slaves simply meant I had access to more items.

    I was excited at first because I saw that I could go around freeing slaves and the more I freed, the more stuff I could have access to; bigger machetes, etc. But I also assumed that, in the end, I would be leading the slave revolt of Haiti and that more freed slaves meant a larger group to lead. But that never happened. Freeing slaves, while morally great, was nothing more than a tool for material gain and nothing more. I really think the developers missed the boat on that part of the game.    … Expand
  4. Nerocz1
    Apr 1, 2018
    8
    A bargain for the price. I even got it for free on PS4+ and was pretty happy about it. Took me around 7 hours to complete. Gameplay is fun.
  5. djjohnsson
    Jul 15, 2014
    6
    What Freedom Cry does well is that it delievers more of Black Flag. Sure Ubisoft could have made a lot better and a lot more with the content but in the purpose of having some more entertaining missions to play out it does well. With the major technical issues however my score drops down to a 6. Until (if ever) Ubisoft fixes the constant freezing I recommend players to get the content asWhat Freedom Cry does well is that it delievers more of Black Flag. Sure Ubisoft could have made a lot better and a lot more with the content but in the purpose of having some more entertaining missions to play out it does well. With the major technical issues however my score drops down to a 6. Until (if ever) Ubisoft fixes the constant freezing I recommend players to get the content as DLC rather than the stand-alone version.… Expand
  6. Doutzen
    Dec 7, 2014
    4
    Black Flag was quite fun, but this DLC is boring. It's offering some motives from the original game, but they aren't that enjoyable with no interesting story attached and with a gameplay focused on liberatiing slaves.
  7. huss2215
    Dec 26, 2013
    7
    Nice addition to the single player although locking you out of main sequences used to extended the game. The add on is still fun but way too short for the story itself. Around 3-4 hours to complete. 7/10.
  8. aGUYtoREMEMBER
    Mar 3, 2014
    6
    It is a good game add-on here is what I think.

    Pros:
    Good story, nice gaphics, great development.

    Cons:
    small, short in length, and just not reaching the hyped potential
  9. SixThreeBC
    Mar 13, 2014
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Eh, I wouldn't say that it was worth $10 to download but it wasn't particularly awful either. The story in itself is standalone, so if you're expecting any loose ends from Black Flag to be tied up here in Freedom Cry you might want to save yourself the trouble. Ade makes a few mentions of Kenway and you do go on a diving mission to visit the wreckage of Jackdaw, but that's about it as far as Black Flag references go. The premise of this DLC is to liberate slaves from oppression, and it does so using gameplay elements identical to those implemented in Black Flag. Ade moves, fights, swims and climbs just as Edward Kenway did as though you are using the same player with a different skin. The Experto Crede sails and battles in an identical manner as the Jackdaw once had. There truly isn't anything new aside from Ade using a Machete and Blunderbuss as his main weapons as opposed to Kenway's Rapier/Pistol combination. You can also throw Firecrackers as a means to distract guards, but there is quite literally only one instance in which they are absolutely essential.

    Black Flag was a good game in my opinion, so with Freedom Cry being so very similar I cannot give it any lower than a 6. As I said, it's a nice 3 hour extension to the main game, but absolutely not worth the monetary investment. If you truly are adamant about the story, I would advise that you watch the cutscenes online. Gameplay-wise Freedom Cry brings nothing new to the table, at all.    … Expand
  10. ERDEM2468
    Sep 11, 2017
    1
    Assassin's Creed Freedom Cry? They need to change name, it must be Assassin's Creed Tail Sneakily and Listen Anyone Every TimeDom Cry. Worst DLC ever I played.
  11. Kuroneko87
    Aug 30, 2017
    2
    I could never get into assassin's creed games.
    But i gave this a try (since it was free on PSN)
    As i expected absolutely nothing has changed since the original (same clunky controls, easy non-rewarding combat, weak story...in an empty city) All you do is freeing slaves and killing slavers, move from Point A to B and repeat. After about and hour or so i had seen enough.    I could never get into assassin's creed games.
    But i gave this a try (since it was free on PSN)
    As i expected absolutely nothing has changed since the original (same clunky controls, easy non-rewarding combat, weak story...in an empty city)

    All you do is freeing slaves and killing slavers, move from Point A to B and repeat.

    After about and hour or so i had seen enough.
    Apparently i had already finished about 30% of the entire game, so this game is not longer than 3-4 hours.

    I don't see any reason why anyone would buy this game.

    I assume the audience they targeted were Antifa's and BLM activists...this game would definitely give them a hard-on.
    And casual gamers that buy anything from Ubisoft.    … Expand
  12. FallenHero217
    Feb 17, 2014
    7
    Whilst this DLC may be lacking in the amount of time it takes to complete, there's no doubt that Freedom Cry is a very solid DLC. Freeing slaves around the game world gives you personal satisfaction, and the environment detail is as good as it was in the full game, much like the voice acting. I would recommend waiting until the second DLC comes out, and if it stacks up better than FreedomWhilst this DLC may be lacking in the amount of time it takes to complete, there's no doubt that Freedom Cry is a very solid DLC. Freeing slaves around the game world gives you personal satisfaction, and the environment detail is as good as it was in the full game, much like the voice acting. I would recommend waiting until the second DLC comes out, and if it stacks up better than Freedom Cry, purchase the Season pass so that you can get both of them for a cheaper price.… Expand
  13. AccurateReview
    Feb 19, 2014
    7
    Although it may have a great story line, great detail in character, the world is not that big as the main game. As well, you have limited of the options to make. As well, the story is sometimes vague. But it does not lack the adventure and the stealth missions. And there is no "run and stab" missions, which is repeated a lot in the other games. The voice acting is well done. Additionally,Although it may have a great story line, great detail in character, the world is not that big as the main game. As well, you have limited of the options to make. As well, the story is sometimes vague. But it does not lack the adventure and the stealth missions. And there is no "run and stab" missions, which is repeated a lot in the other games. The voice acting is well done. Additionally, whenever I see a slave trying to escape, it makes me want to stop what I am doing and save the slave. This game is well done and it could have been better if the story was well more set and the world was much bigger.… Expand
  14. LongMaySheReign
    Mar 13, 2014
    7
    It is lamentable that Ubisoft, in making one of the first games focusing entirely or intently on the Atlantic slave-trade, decided upon a such a gormless story. While Adewale may be an engaging protagonist he is certainly no Django or Solomon Northup, and literally every other character in 'Freedom Cry' is either inanely stereotypical or insufficiently fleshed out.

    This is especially    It is lamentable that Ubisoft, in making one of the first games focusing entirely or intently on the Atlantic slave-trade, decided upon a such a gormless story. While Adewale may be an engaging protagonist he is certainly no Django or Solomon Northup, and literally every other character in 'Freedom Cry' is either inanely stereotypical or insufficiently fleshed out.

    This is especially disappointing as the game's developers appear to have had everything at their disposal to tell a more captivating and engaging story; perhaps even something that might resemble "Django Unchained: The Video Game" were it ever made.

    The gameplay itself is almost indistinguishable from that seen in 'Black Flag' and the major addition to the player's arsenal -- the 'blunderbluss' -- is utterly, obscenely, unrealistically overpowered. That's not to say that the gameplay is bad or boring, but gamers who have already spent 25 hours on 'Black Flag' will find that the experience is almost indiscernible from the original title.    … Expand
  15. Miquelsv
    Mar 18, 2014
    8
    It have a good history , good protagonist, and you have a shotgun! And they hice you rewards for help slaves
    But it isn't too large and the world isn't very big But i recomend
  16. TheNastyDraw
    Jun 29, 2015
    7
    Freedom Cry is a rare game , the type of the game that presents you with a good value for money proposition. It's a standalone DLC story where you take control of Adewale , Edward Kenways second in command in Black Flag and takes you to some remote Carribean Islands you dont get to go to in the main game, and tasks you with freeing slaves and maroons from plantations and ships.

    I got a    Freedom Cry is a rare game , the type of the game that presents you with a good value for money proposition. It's a standalone DLC story where you take control of Adewale , Edward Kenways second in command in Black Flag and takes you to some remote Carribean Islands you dont get to go to in the main game, and tasks you with freeing slaves and maroons from plantations and ships.

    I got a good few hours out of the storyline and enjoyed the refreshing take on the series. I thought the music was great the representation of some of the characters was good and i honestly enjoyed this small story a lot more than some of the bigger "full retail" games in this series. Gameplay wise it is very similar to Black Flag as Adewale gets his own ship to command.

    Conclusion : I think Ubisoft would do well to put more effort into their standalones like Freedom Cry , I really seem to be enjoying the smaller scale Ubisoft games at the moment    … Expand
  17. dajale
    Sep 24, 2017
    8
    I was happy that Assasin's Creed IV: Black Flag was made available as a PSN game. I don't think I would have played it otherwise. The story subject is definitely one that needs a delicate touch. For the most part, Ubisoft did a great job. This is one of the only games I have played that addresses slavery and definitely the history of Haiti. Top marks to the story. Now on to the negativeI was happy that Assasin's Creed IV: Black Flag was made available as a PSN game. I don't think I would have played it otherwise. The story subject is definitely one that needs a delicate touch. For the most part, Ubisoft did a great job. This is one of the only games I have played that addresses slavery and definitely the history of Haiti. Top marks to the story. Now on to the negative side. The gameplay could have been better. The in-game characters should have been more reactive to the activities I take. I believe I could leave a pile of dead bodies in town without anything happening. Seems like that would not have gone down in the real world. There were a lot of opportunities lost to take advantage of the inherent suspense and character reactions in the storyline. It's worth playing I enjoyed it.… Expand
  18. LatinCritic13
    May 18, 2020
    6
    Set after the events of ACIV, Adewale's story of revenge and freedom cry is way too short to appreciate. At least, it's better than that pointless Aveline's PS4 story exclusive chapter add-on.
  19. Sky-Line___
    Sep 10, 2020
    3
    ACFC is a game that tackles a very interesting theme, but it doesn’t deliver enough in terms of quality or content.

    The biggest problem is the AI of the enemies. It is just helpless and often even laughable. I’ve had cases where a sniper spots me and within 5 seconds I manage to “surprise” him again because I climbed some wall that was not in his field of view. They are goldfish.    ACFC is a game that tackles a very interesting theme, but it doesn’t deliver enough in terms of quality or content.

    The biggest problem is the AI of the enemies. It is just helpless and often even laughable. I’ve had cases where a sniper spots me and within 5 seconds I manage to “surprise” him again because I climbed some wall that was not in his field of view. They are goldfish. Moreover, they always spawn at the exact same spot (in Port-au-Prince at least) and side activities such as freeing slaves here and there are useless since the enemies and the slaves always respawn. As if your actions never existed. That is a first thing that totally kills the immersion.

    Then comes the main quest. Honestly, I was uninterested for 100% of it. It is rushed, excessively simple, and the context is messy. I didn't manage to raise any interest for any of the characters. In terms of gameplay, I hated the discretion/stealth phases, they are really not intuitive nor realistic at all. And unfortunately, they were a big part of the main missions. I have also noted a lot of camera issues during combat.

    There are some positive points in this game too, though. Firstly, it is AC, and despite its gameplay being very simple, the combat animations are fun to watch and the sound of machettes slashing enemies in rows stays a good classic, especially for someone like me who never plays AC. Concerning the naval part, it is okay, but not crazy either. The boat looks great, but its handling and especially its firing power are both mediocre.

    I also liked the context. Port-au-Prince, the local language and culture, and the historical matters such as slavery are all elements that make the game have interesting traits. It is just a shame that they are the top of the box, and that inside there is nothing much to take away from.    … Expand
  20. njja02
    May 15, 2018
    3
    Same old game as AC4, but instead this time the game is more repetitive and boring.
  21. Uygar
    Aug 30, 2017
    7
    The Freedom Cry downloadable content is set twenty years after the events of Black Flag and follows Adéwalé in his mission as an Assassin. While attempting to intercept Templar activities in the West Indies Sea, Adéwalé is shipwrecked off the coast of Haiti.
  22. KayVen17
    Feb 11, 2019
    7
    Deutsche Review

    Pro: + geile Regen/Sturm-Effekte + sehr guter Soundtrack! + sehr gute deutsche Synchro + die Gesichter der Charaktere sind noch heute detailreich + das Klettern macht wie immer Spaß Contra: - etwas trockener Anfang - AC typisch-schlechte KI der Gegner - AUfgaben wiederholen sich - Ubisoft-Formel - HUD ist zu überladen - Story ist sehr "belanglos" -    Deutsche Review

    Pro:

    + geile Regen/Sturm-Effekte
    + sehr guter Soundtrack!
    + sehr gute deutsche Synchro
    + die Gesichter der Charaktere sind noch heute detailreich
    + das Klettern macht wie immer Spaß

    Contra:

    - etwas trockener Anfang
    - AC typisch-schlechte KI der Gegner
    - AUfgaben wiederholen sich
    - Ubisoft-Formel
    - HUD ist zu überladen
    - Story ist sehr "belanglos"
    - Spiel ist zweimal im Menü abgestürzt
    - manchmal waren Passanten transparent (Grafikfehler)

    Punkte: 66/100    … Expand
  23. Lewis-Angelo
    Dec 26, 2017
    2
    flojísimo, ya el Black Flag dejaba que desear, este no tiene nada de nada

    muy pobre, demasiados bugs, y un sistema de combate que sigue sin funcionar
  24. Alvokun
    Aug 5, 2017
    5
    I have not enjoyed this game whatsoever. About six years ago I stopped buying Assassin's Creed games as they were always repetitive and uninteresting to me, but at least the last ones I played (Assassin's Creed II and Brotherhood) had charm and a nice gameplay.

    In the case of this DLC/short game, which I would have probably never played if it had not been free for PSN Plus users,    I have not enjoyed this game whatsoever. About six years ago I stopped buying Assassin's Creed games as they were always repetitive and uninteresting to me, but at least the last ones I played (Assassin's Creed II and Brotherhood) had charm and a nice gameplay.

    In the case of this DLC/short game, which I would have probably never played if it had not been free for PSN Plus users, gameplay is simply awful: the controls are a constant struggle, both on land when playing as the assassin and, particularly, when on the ship. If they were going to offer such a boring and repetitive naval elements, they should have directly not included them; I would have preferred so.

    Regarding the storyline, I found it uninteresting as well (though I must recognize that slavery is a topic I am not particularly fond of). There are some slightly good moments, but the constant frustration because of gameplay and being stupidly detected ruin everything.

    I guess the other Assassin's Creed games are not this bad, they cannot be. I will not be the one checking it, anyway.    … Expand
  25. ViniciusBrito
    Feb 9, 2019
    5
    This is a stand alone DLC from the game Assassin's Creed IV Black flag, that was originally released for playstation 3.
    Adewale is a originally a sailor that worked with Edward Kenway, the main character in the original game, in here the story happens 15 years after the main game, where Adewale finds himself shipwrecked and with no crew in a city full of of slaves. It is made by Ubisoft.    This is a stand alone DLC from the game Assassin's Creed IV Black flag, that was originally released for playstation 3.
    Adewale is a originally a sailor that worked with Edward Kenway, the main character in the original game, in here the story happens 15 years after the main game, where Adewale finds himself shipwrecked and with no crew in a city full of of slaves. It is made by Ubisoft.
    The story in this dlc is fine, it isn't complex or big, it works more as a background than anything, none of the characters have layers or anything different or specific, it is a very shallow story line, but it does have a nice historical context about slavery, and it is nice that you can free them and have them joined in your team as a rebellion, this is nice, the problem is that you never see that working as a rebellion, there is a group of people in certain place that don't really do much during the course of the narrative.
    This DLC does have that same map aspect the original game, where you can get to your ship and travel to different places, in small islands that can only be acessed by this way, wich take us to the best part and moments of the game, wich is the sea parts, it is perfect that they have bringed it back from the game, the fact that you can get in the ship and sail to other places freely are very cool and fun, while in the sea you can see a lot of other ships, you can see Waterspout, sea animals that you can hunt them if you want to, it is a very nice place to be while in the game traveling around.
    The moments where you aren't in the sea aren't very fun, it was already kind boring at that time, and this one while in the ground aren't much fun to do, it is pretty much the same as we already was used to in the other 3 or 4 games that came first, there some nice gadgets that we can use, some different kind of missions to release prisoners, it may be fun at first, but after a hour it is already way to repetitive.
    So the sea part it is dope and very fun to play, and the ground one it is boring and way to repetitive.    … Expand
  26. EmadF7000
    Oct 14, 2017
    6
    This Game is not bad, but it has so many glitches, every time i kill an enemy his body glitches through the floor.
    This Game costs around 20$ on the PlayStation Store which i say is fair it only took me 15 Hours to complete all the missions and an extra 5 Hours to explore and synchronize each island.
    All of the missions are easy but the part i hate the most is when the mission is locked    This Game is not bad, but it has so many glitches, every time i kill an enemy his body glitches through the floor.
    This Game costs around 20$ on the PlayStation Store which i say is fair it only took me 15 Hours to complete all the missions and an extra 5 Hours to explore and synchronize each island.
    All of the missions are easy but the part i hate the most is when the mission is locked that i have to free a specific number of slaves, sometimes it says 20, sometimes it says 400.
    But i wouldn't lie if i didn't enjoy freeing the slaves and stealing cargo from ship those are the only good thing from this game.
    i would recommend you buying this game, if you are one of those guys who play video games to get to the platinum trophy, will this is one of those games.
    I Hope you buy this game to get all of the trophies because that's the only good thing other than freeing slaves and stealing a ships cargo.    … Expand
  27. morakasper
    Nov 2, 2017
    6
    So when I started the game (DLC) I was actually happy and excited, but at the end of the game it felt like an obligation to me to finish it (I completed everything). The map it’s fine, yeah, but I think that it would be better if it had more side quests ore activities to do. Adéwalé was a more interesting character on the AC IV Black Flag game and in this DLC I feel like it was despised.So when I started the game (DLC) I was actually happy and excited, but at the end of the game it felt like an obligation to me to finish it (I completed everything). The map it’s fine, yeah, but I think that it would be better if it had more side quests ore activities to do. Adéwalé was a more interesting character on the AC IV Black Flag game and in this DLC I feel like it was despised. Yeah the DLC can give you a very reduced idea of what AC compared to other AC expansions, like the Death Kings expansion in AC Unity. The story for me wasn’t very interesting, it has some interesting missions but because of the UI and animation “problems” (that don't feel very flee-flowing) on the DLC the missions weren’t that good. To finish I recommend the game if you want an idea of what AC is or was because with Origins a lot of things have changed. The prize is very fair but I’ll give it a 6/10.… Expand
  28. Benonline27
    Nov 10, 2017
    5
    pros:
    stealth
    graphics
    open world
    piracy
    weapons

    cons:
    repetitive
    characters
    voice acting
    ai
    combat
    short story
    bad story
    a lot of forgotten features
    ruined ending
    after game is finished your only option is to restart
  29. TheCornflex
    Feb 1, 2018
    7
    Really short, but as good as Black Flag. There is not really much to do so I prefer Black Flag.
  30. fomazard
    Jun 28, 2018
    4
    people, I of course understand that you DLC liked, but it empty. Literally, it's empty!. Have you looked at the open world at all? there's just a copy-paste of the Islands from AC4, the main part even explore you can't (not including plantations). Not only that, copy-paste locations, but how do you not notice the obvious? Take a closer look at the map of the world, does it remind you ofpeople, I of course understand that you DLC liked, but it empty. Literally, it's empty!. Have you looked at the open world at all? there's just a copy-paste of the Islands from AC4, the main part even explore you can't (not including plantations). Not only that, copy-paste locations, but how do you not notice the obvious? Take a closer look at the map of the world, does it remind you of anything? It's a piece of the map from AC4 with only new points of interest! There is nothing to do in the open world, only the liberation of slaves, and collecting chests. Locations are also uninteresting. In AC2 we understood at first sight where Venice is and where Rome is. Immediately, the main city, very easy to confuse with príncipe (not counting the new color filter). And in the end, we get a boring one-time adventure with a good storyline, and empty world that is there just for show (even a shotgun really cool). I myself have passed the DLC on XBOX. Finally, the conclusion: If you are not a fan of the series Assassin's Creed, then forget about purchasing this DLC. Seriously. Forget.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

18
#18 Best PS4 Game of 2013
16
#16 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2013
11
#11 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. Game Revolution
    Jan 14, 2014
    80
    Adéwalé has his moments, but the real draw here is in the expansion of free-form gameplay both on land and at sea, meaning Freedom Cry succeeds at what it set out to do.
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  2. Cheat Code Central
    Jan 8, 2014
    90
    Despite its issues, both technical and philosophical, I'm giving Freedom Cry a “must play” rating. I think it's an important start in tackling such a difficult and tragic topic via the medium of interactive entertainment.
    Read full review
  3. Hardcore Gamer
    Jan 6, 2014
    80
    Freedom Cry is simply a great addition to an excellent game, offering a story worth experiencing across a setting worth exploring.
    Read full review
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