Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

 PlayStation 4
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2658 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,006 out of 2658
  2. Mixed: 448 out of 2658
  3. Negative: 204 out of 2658
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  1. Janal
    May 8, 2021
    4
    Great game but not user friendly on Nintendo switch. Love it otherwise. It bugs out allot on switch in my experience
  2. REfreakk55
    Jan 3, 2014
    3
    It's difficult to describe this game, if you look at it from the pirate aspect then no doubt you can see why this game is fun but when you look at it from the Assassin's Creed aspect, then this game is just a downright train-wreck, Where is the stealth? Why has this franchise suddenly become obsessed with pirates? Not to mention the poorly written storyline that they scribbled together forIt's difficult to describe this game, if you look at it from the pirate aspect then no doubt you can see why this game is fun but when you look at it from the Assassin's Creed aspect, then this game is just a downright train-wreck, Where is the stealth? Why has this franchise suddenly become obsessed with pirates? Not to mention the poorly written storyline that they scribbled together for this game, I personally think Ubisoft is just desperately trying to make this franchise all that and more and they are failing at it, but then again I gave it a 3 because when you play this game and forget the other Assassin's Creed games and their plots, then yes the game can be some-what enjoyable but to all the die-hard Assassin's Creed fans, like myself, I strongly recommend that you DON'T buy this game, it has become clear Assassin's Creed is turning into Call of Duty, expect another similar or below-average sequel next year from Ubisoft for the same 60 dollars you keep wishing you had back............… Expand
  3. DanJS
    Jan 19, 2014
    3
    The game itself was good. But the story line was way off of previous Assassin Creed games. The game wasn't a true Assassin Creed it was a pirate game more then anything if one was to throw Jack Sparrow into it as the main captain it would be a great Pirate game, but either way it wasn't Assassin Creed. Ubisoft Almost failed with the game completely
  4. kcchris727
    Feb 24, 2014
    3
    Assassin's Creed, the whole series, is lacking. If there was ever a gaming company that needed, NEEDED to listen to its customers and get feedback from gamers, its this one. There is NO difficulty setting and the fighting combat is so easy its boring. Circle to block and square to kill. Yawn. You can't enjoy upgrading or buying better equipment because the game starts out on ridiculouslyAssassin's Creed, the whole series, is lacking. If there was ever a gaming company that needed, NEEDED to listen to its customers and get feedback from gamers, its this one. There is NO difficulty setting and the fighting combat is so easy its boring. Circle to block and square to kill. Yawn. You can't enjoy upgrading or buying better equipment because the game starts out on ridiculously easy mode and if you upgrade anything you could hand your controller to a blind person and they would easily win every fight.

    You can't control what you see on your display. So if you don't want to see every enemy on the map in red, you can't use the display at all cause you can't turn off any of the display settings, its all or none. And by none, I mean you just don't look at the display, you can't turn it off either, its always there in the lower left. The game gives bonuses for stealth but doesn't have a crouch button. Crouching is automated and going from one bush to the next means standing up to get there, which often means getting spotted. Not that it matters, you can't die in combat unless you are disabled and have no arms and have to play with your toes.

    Every new AC is more of the same ol same ol. I keep waiting for them to make the combat more challenging and allowing you to crouch when YOU want to, but no. I keep waiting for some totally new environment, but all the AC's look basically the same. Trees, tall buildings with viewpoints, mountains, roads, blah blah blah....BORING. Seriously I think they take the same templates in every game for every tree, road, bush, city, person, body of water etc.

    TO play AC for the first time, you would probably really enjoy the game for awhile. But why keep playing the new AC's when they are all basically the same. No one is trying over there. I would fire the whole staff and bring in some fresh young minds to push the envelope. Someone needs to save this franchise from its inevitable descent into gaming boredom, before its too late.

    I love the concept, I love the WAY the side missions are presented. I love the open world, but for GOD sakes, when they release a NEW AC, I wish it felt like something new and not some recycled, lackluster effort of a game.    … Expand
  5. Matodox
    Sep 7, 2014
    3
    This game is so overrated, it's annoying. C'mon people, it's basically just a clone of AC3, same visual style, same gameplay, no new tricks, fewer less interesting weapons and of course the sailing, which we also got to see first in AC3. I really don't understand how so many people hate AC3 and just loves AC4. I get that many still mourn Ezio's departure from the series, but hey he isn'tThis game is so overrated, it's annoying. C'mon people, it's basically just a clone of AC3, same visual style, same gameplay, no new tricks, fewer less interesting weapons and of course the sailing, which we also got to see first in AC3. I really don't understand how so many people hate AC3 and just loves AC4. I get that many still mourn Ezio's departure from the series, but hey he isn't the only thing that matters. I love AC, i've played every game ever since it's introduction in 2007. My favorite of them all (besides AC2 because it was a vast improvement over the first in everything) is AC3. Why? Because Brotherhood only introduced 1 new thing, summoning assassin's, Revelations is probably my least favorite. In every game that followed AC2 they gave us maybe 1 new thing to do or weapon to attack and then took something else away. In AC3 everything changed, Connor's running/jumping/crawling style is the same as Edwards. The Tomahawk was badass my favorite. The 2 swords Edward has are the only thing different from Connor. He's basically Connor, just with plastic surgery and 2 swords. The graphics are really great, i have to say that. But overall it just isn't anything we haven't seen before, even the main story. I really miss Desmond btw, i think it's lousy we have to play as some random Templar, really makes it feel this franchise just became a moneymaking machine with no depth or anything. Can't wait till' ACU, that looks real innovative for a change.… Expand
  6. chrislymark
    Aug 2, 2014
    3
    Overall a mediocre experience. The controls are good, really good graphics, a great looking open world. But, other than that it really isn't that much different from AC3. I personally think that AC3 was more innovative in it's overall gameplay experience. It deferred much from the other AC games in style and combat. There we was also first introduced to sailing ships, although it's muchOverall a mediocre experience. The controls are good, really good graphics, a great looking open world. But, other than that it really isn't that much different from AC3. I personally think that AC3 was more innovative in it's overall gameplay experience. It deferred much from the other AC games in style and combat. There we was also first introduced to sailing ships, although it's much more developed in AC4 and much more a part of the game than AC3. AC4's style is almost identical to AC3 (like running, walking, crawling, jumping etc.), the combat is also almost the same (like the special movies where you kill 2 opponents at a time with your pistols or rope darts), the combat style is a little different because obviously we now have 2 weapons at the same time, but not as cool or fluent as Connor's axe (that is my favorite AC weapon of all time). Ubisoft really got lazy with this one, also there's not much variety in the gameplay (like sailing all over the world which is freakin' huge looking for animus fragments and chests is really boring after a while and painfully repetitive) and the lack of different weapons you can buy like Ezio's many gadgets (grenades etc.) 2 handed weapons (which you can get in this game, but only from the guards). And i really think it's boring that you can get the most damaging sword in a matter of hours as damage levels are only as high as 5. There really isn't much of a challenge in the AC games, i really miss a difficulty level you can choose from. Enemies are easily overcome even if there's 20 surrounding you. And the story is like any other AC game. It's overall repetitive and certainly not improved that much from the other games. This game is way too easy, and incredibly overrated. AC3 is much better. I really don't understand how so many people can think this is far superior to AC3, and think AC3 is the worst entry in the series (Revelations anyone?), maybe it's the nostalgia from the Ezio games and you just thought all other characters and settings that came after, no matter how great, was complete a** in comparison. I really hope that AC Unity will come up with many new things and ideas, because if this, repeating everything from the previous games over and over again, continues i'm done with this series. I love the AC series, i played the first one when it came out and have now played all games (except for the dlc add-ons) and praise them for the style and gameplay. But ever since AC Brotherhood (because of the summoning Assassin's to help you) i really don't think the games have come up with anything new. Luckily from the looks of it, AC Unity will finally show us something new and exciting. Can't wait. But in the meantime 3 stars for this clone… Expand
  7. Red-Opposom-098
    Dec 7, 2014
    3
    Worst in the series. (I haven't played Unity yet) It was just boring the free roam was just meh it got repetitive, then the multiplayer :l why even this it's not really need in my opinion, even though others enjoy it, I just really didn't like it, and I heard Unity is trash well lets hope that rouge us good
  8. Aelvir
    Jun 25, 2018
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. For me, I was extremely stoked for the game when it was announced. They advertised so many things that I should love the game when I play it. But, nope, this game is nothing more than foolish game design and blatant FALSE ADVERTISEMENT. They claimed you could FULLY customize your ship, go into taverns and recruit your own crew, sails the seas, all the while playing as an Assassin that is a double-agent of both the Assassins and the Templars. And also boasted that you can now dual-wield weapons. All of that was a lie. The dual wield isn't even dual wielding. Every weapon is just two of that weapon treated as one weapon slot. You can't freely choose what weapon to put in each hand. Let's also add that you CANNOT USE SINGLE WEAPONS ANYMORE. No heavy weapons, no one-hand swords, nothing. Just the genreic paired cutlasses, paired backswords, paired rapiers, etc. The recruitment thing was a lie. All you do in walk in front of the entrance of a tavern (can't even **** go inside) and beat up a few people and they magically join you (historically that's completely inaccurate,, there would be more you have to do other than beating the snot out of them to get them to join you, if anything they'll ttry to kill you from now on). The ship customization was the WORST offense. The double agent was a lie. The man you get your assassin's outfit from was a double agent, betraying the assassins for the templars. All you do is play a privateer who happens to kill him and disguise himself as him. He doesn't work for either side and doesn't care about either side. He just wants 'teh manies'. The worst one they lied about was the ship customization. The entire game you're stuck with using a dainty little, wimpy Brig. Yes, you can upgrade its defense and the like and put plates or parts on the body of the ship or change the figurehead...but that's it. Me, I love ships and this is a huge letdown. My preference is a vessel that isn't small (ie: a ship that doesn't have the deck close to the water). People told me that the Jackdaw is fine once you upgrade it. But that makes it EVEN WORSE. Yeah, it's historically accurate to have a teeny brig take out a bunch of Manowars. TOTALLY ACCURATE. That's like saying a Yacht can sink RMS Olympic..yeah, no. They could have at least give you an option at some point in the game to create a new ship or use one of the ones you captured and able to switch between it and the Jackdaw whenever but restrict the Story to being Jackdaw only. You had a brig in III and again in IV is another stupid Brig. I get it, historically they were the fastest ships during the time, but it's historically unrealistic for Edward to have that dainty thing and go through all these massive powerful ships and having other people use it. Wouldn't it be more sensible to having a more durable and stronger vessel, carry more crewmembers and hell, have a more THREATENING looking ship? Even during that time period Brigs weren't taken very seriously during warfare because of how unresilient they are. More to that, why would a pirate religiously keep to a Brig, why? To be a good pirate your vessel should be, you know, INTIMIDATING. They really dropped the ball with that. The one game they make that focuses on ships, sailing, and naval combat, it's completely RUINED by not being able to customize the ship. I get it, Edward likes the ship, but I don't. The worst part is, early on in the game you have to commandeer a Galleon. After that they say they're going to use it while you are doing your thing. Guess what? Some time later, I found it while sailing...marooned on an island. And I can't use it. So, another lie. And a kick to my face with that. The very fact the stupid Brig can be so durable because of pieces you put on its body and it can take down the most formidable ships of that period by just upgrading her is a complete insult and hilariously historically inaccurate. Might as well call it Assassin's Creed IV: The Little Brig That Could
    The only good points is, the naval combat and sailing is fun. But when I'm restricted to the smallest ship during that time period, it's completely ruined. They really could have added a creatable ship for the PS4 version, the PS4 could handle it, but they dropped the ball on that. I wouldn't mind if I have to beat the game to be able to create a new ship! There's a reason why I think Unity was a vastly superior game to this.    … Expand
  9. SharemyShipment
    Feb 8, 2016
    3
    This addition to the series is terrible. It was good for the first couple of hours, but it became extremely repetitive. The main story to Assassin's Creed, the one I've been wanting to finish, has been completely ignored and is not included to the game. This is the first Assassin's Creed game I didn't finish, and is the last game I'm purchasing. Since they aren't going to finish the story,This addition to the series is terrible. It was good for the first couple of hours, but it became extremely repetitive. The main story to Assassin's Creed, the one I've been wanting to finish, has been completely ignored and is not included to the game. This is the first Assassin's Creed game I didn't finish, and is the last game I'm purchasing. Since they aren't going to finish the story, I regret buying all of the previous games. Thank you for destroying what was once the best video game series I've played.… Expand
  10. reallyhereshout
    Jul 2, 2016
    3
    I stuck it through to the end though with much toil. Play the game mindlessly and you’re in for half (or less) of a treat.

    STRENUOUSLY dull. Repetitive map layouts. Repetitive missions. Rinse and repeat gameplay. An unfortunate feat for what is actually quite a beautiful game. Shoddy story-telling. Didn’t know what was happening most of the time. Didn’t care for half the characters.    I stuck it through to the end though with much toil. Play the game mindlessly and you’re in for half (or less) of a treat.

    STRENUOUSLY dull. Repetitive map layouts. Repetitive missions. Rinse and repeat gameplay. An unfortunate feat for what is actually quite a beautiful game.

    Shoddy story-telling. Didn’t know what was happening most of the time. Didn’t care for half the characters.

    Virtually sail your life away.

    ON the UP side, however, being a pirate is rewardingly cool. Voice accents are pulled off well. There are one liners here and there which will have you with a fist in the air, spouting, aye aye cap’n for sure, that was me.

    “At the edge of a blade, I find a friend in you at last…”    … Expand
  11. MulQuahDiiv
    Nov 23, 2020
    3
    I had high hope that this game may convince me to the series, but unfortunately it just repeats mistakes of previous parts. The map is huge indeed, but it's filled with repetitive tasks only, and after few hours of playing you start to get bored. Sea scenery doesn't help at all with boredom. Main story and pirate theme would be interesting if the gameplay wasn't so discouraging. Most ofI had high hope that this game may convince me to the series, but unfortunately it just repeats mistakes of previous parts. The map is huge indeed, but it's filled with repetitive tasks only, and after few hours of playing you start to get bored. Sea scenery doesn't help at all with boredom. Main story and pirate theme would be interesting if the gameplay wasn't so discouraging. Most of the missions are based on easy sneaking tasks or very simple combat. It looks like an interesting game with great graphics, but sadly it's not engaging at all.… Expand
  12. TitaniumDragon
    Mar 4, 2018
    2
    Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag is an open-world Assassin’s Creed game set in the Age of Piracy. The star of this game is Edward Kenway, a privateer-turned-pirate who is obsessed with making it big, getting lots of money, and then going back home to his wife in Britain. Unlike most such games, while the game centers on the Assassin vs Templar conflict, the protagonist is not a member ofAssassin’s Creed: Black Flag is an open-world Assassin’s Creed game set in the Age of Piracy. The star of this game is Edward Kenway, a privateer-turned-pirate who is obsessed with making it big, getting lots of money, and then going back home to his wife in Britain. Unlike most such games, while the game centers on the Assassin vs Templar conflict, the protagonist is not a member of either organization for most of the length of the game, and has little devotion to either of their causes.

    Meanwhile, the present-day plot is that of a programmer working at Abstergo Industries, the modern-day face of the Templar. But rather than doing something nefarious, their job is to go into the genetic memories of “Subject 17” (the modern-day protagonist of the last several games) and extract useful footage so that Abstergo can make a game out of it (with some help from Ubisoft, because Ubisoft loves to include themselves in their games).

    All of this sounds good on the surface. Unfortunately, much like a red delicious apple, while it might look good, when you bite into it, you find that the flesh of the fruit is quite bland.

    Assassin’s Creed 4 is a game which suffers from all of the problems of open-world games. There is a big game world with lots of stuff to do, but instead of being a lot of interesting things, it is the same thing over and over again. The naval combat is theoretically interesting, and is a huge feature of the game – you sail around on your pirate ship, attacking other ships to steal their stuff, and going from location to location to complete various tasks.

    Unfortunately, while the ship stuff sounds interesting, it actually wears thin rather fast. There’s not that much variety in terms of enemy ships, and what variety there is is actually quite minimal – the smaller ships and the bigger ships are very similar, with the only differences being how much firepower they have. The largest ships have mortars, which can attack you from a distance – but these are just added onto the base. There isn’t much of a difference otherwise, and your ship can make very short work of most of the lighter ships anyway. And while your ship in principle has a few different kinds of shot – a shot from the bow that slows down enemy ships, a cannon broadside, a mortar of its own, the ability to drop fire barrels that serve as mines from the back, a ram for crashing into other ships and damaging them, and a swivel gun for shooting specific targeted locations – in the end, it is more or less “throw whatever you can at them” rather than trying some sort of clever tactics, and once you understand the general strategy behind attacking ships without yourself being attacked too much, you can just do the same thing over and over again and quickly win virtually every fight in the game.

    On top of that, it has other issues. Once you damage the enemy ship enough, you pull up alongside them and board them – which would ordinarily be suicidal in the middle of combat, but in Asssassin’s Creed 4, makes your ship invincible while you’re doing it, and it even heals your ship. The actual boarding is done on foot, and is a clever idea in principle, but in practice, you will board dozens of ships over the course of the game, and it quickly wears thin, as the enemies on the ships are all the same and there’s only really three “other tasks” you might end up doing (killing 1-2 targets, blowing up the powder kegs, and climbing up to the top of the ship to kill a couple people or to take down the flag). This was neat the first few times, but after doing it so many times, I got quite bored with it. But, alas, if you want to gather the materials to upgrade your ship or to do the Kenway’s Fleet optional objective, you must capture a *lot* of ships.

    The actual on-foot stuff is amongst the worst in the series. While the mechanics are the same as in previous games, the world is not. The world is full of samey areas. There’s only one town with buildings of any decent size (Havana), and even there, they’re mostly quite short and not very interesting to climb around on. This is a big problem, because one of the enjoyable things about Assassin’s Creed is climbing around cool big environments to complete tasks; there are only really two sections of the game where this happens, both being fortresses that you go into during a mission, and the two forts feel pretty similar to each other.

    Otherwise, you spend most of your time running around pretty flat environments, with low, boring buildings being the norm, along with trees reminiscent of the Frontier parts of Assassin’s Creed 3. And while you use the ship to get from place to place, most of the “core” of the game – be it exploring areas or completing missions – happens on foot.

    All in all, I’d recommend against playing this game, even if you got it for free; it just isn't worth the time.    … Expand
  13. officer7161
    Jan 30, 2014
    2
    boycott this franchise please! All assasin's creed has done is just recycle, recycle, recyle. If you compare the characters and maps etc from the previous titles in the franchise, they just take the same stuff and repackage it. I used to be a huge fan of MP of the series, but just got bored after they just repackage the same stuff repeatedly.
    Now I tried out MP in blackflag I can spot    boycott this franchise please! All assasin's creed has done is just recycle, recycle, recyle. If you compare the characters and maps etc from the previous titles in the franchise, they just take the same stuff and repackage it. I used to be a huge fan of MP of the series, but just got bored after they just repackage the same stuff repeatedly.
    Now I tried out MP in blackflag I can spot characters recycled from brotherhood, revelations etc...
    It's just terrible! guys, boycott the franchise so they will actually put some energy into creating new titles instead of recycling old ones!
    don't buy this game if you played previous title/titles!    … Expand
  14. SRKNZ
    Jan 15, 2022
    2
    Does anyone bother to test modern games before realising them? Probably a rhetorical question. Black Flag like many others suffers from a range of game play stifling bugs. The worst what I called the "wall fly". Incessantly getting stuck to walls with a view to climbing and then being unable to climb down.

    Controls for combat are far from sterling too. Fighting in hand to hand is    Does anyone bother to test modern games before realising them? Probably a rhetorical question. Black Flag like many others suffers from a range of game play stifling bugs. The worst what I called the "wall fly". Incessantly getting stuck to walls with a view to climbing and then being unable to climb down.

    Controls for combat are far from sterling too. Fighting in hand to hand is especially irritating, with sluggish responses from key combo's the rule, rather than the exception.

    Really game developers need to do a lot better than this giving the $$ they charge for these titles, often years after release.    … Expand
  15. Theepicman8
    Apr 17, 2015
    2
    This game suffers unfortunately from what I like to call "Out of Place Level Syndrome" This game has no idea what is wants to be. At first it starts as more of an action game where you ride across the seas and plunder ships and kill for blood. And then you're lazily put into these forced stealth missions where you're NOT ALLOWED TO KILL ANYONE. The name of the game is ASSASSIN'S Creed.This game suffers unfortunately from what I like to call "Out of Place Level Syndrome" This game has no idea what is wants to be. At first it starts as more of an action game where you ride across the seas and plunder ships and kill for blood. And then you're lazily put into these forced stealth missions where you're NOT ALLOWED TO KILL ANYONE. The name of the game is ASSASSIN'S Creed. Emphasis on the word ASSASSIN. It's a very nice word. An Assassin is a person who kills, not a person who does't kill because of arbitrary rules. It's only fun for the first 2 hours and after that it's just lazy mission after lazy mission. Don't pick up this game unless you want to pay 40$ for 2 hours of fun. And if you are that person then you're insane.… Expand
  16. ABC-Games
    Feb 2, 2014
    1
    I would like to first point out that the graphics of Assassin's Creed IV for the PS4 is mediocre. My first edition PS3 has about the same graphics. Now I know that these starter games do not incorporate the whole visual display I expected some improvement. The campaign is somewhat lengthy like all AC games but the multiplayer experience has been degraded. The locking mechanism is awful,I would like to first point out that the graphics of Assassin's Creed IV for the PS4 is mediocre. My first edition PS3 has about the same graphics. Now I know that these starter games do not incorporate the whole visual display I expected some improvement. The campaign is somewhat lengthy like all AC games but the multiplayer experience has been degraded. The locking mechanism is awful, the game servers are useless, and the gaming mechanics went downhill. Aside from the story in campaign mode this new Assassin's Creed has been a huge disappointment.… Expand
  17. Gazombie
    Feb 9, 2014
    1
    PS4 version of Assassins Creed Black Flag.
    Graphics are PS3 quality for a start they are decent but still PS3 standard and this is the PS4 version.
    I really wanted to like this game but after the first hour or so I just found it so repetitive that it was a choir to play. I haven't played an Assassins Creed game since the first one and other than the step in graphics there was nothing    PS4 version of Assassins Creed Black Flag.
    Graphics are PS3 quality for a start they are decent but still PS3 standard and this is the PS4 version.
    I really wanted to like this game but after the first hour or so I just found it so repetitive that it was a choir to play.
    I haven't played an Assassins Creed game since the first one and other than the step in graphics there was nothing new which really disappointed me.

    Poor game for the PS4.    … Expand
  18. mekimberlite
    Mar 23, 2015
    1
    I really wanted to like this game but the lack of control over the character's movement is so bad that I couldn't even get through the first level after the tutorial. He jumps when I intend him to run or walk or while trying to be stealthy - it's exceedingly frustrating.
  19. THATcreepyUncle
    Sep 6, 2016
    1
    Second worst experience of my life only behind turning up to Keith Vaz's house with no poppers. Dated and stale game-play and hideously boring missions. But hey, you get to sing sea shanties so it gets one point.
  20. asfj
    Dec 21, 2013
    0
    This game is disguised under an epic illusion. It seems the map is very big, but where most elements repeat.
    Too many repetitive side missions. And the main missions are very repetitive as well. In addition, the environment is very repetitive. Anyway, every thing is repetitive, making the game fatiguing.
    I remembered AC II was so enjoyable, while You never expect an experience as    This game is disguised under an epic illusion. It seems the map is very big, but where most elements repeat.
    Too many repetitive side missions. And the main missions are very repetitive as well. In addition, the environment is very repetitive. Anyway, every thing is repetitive, making the game fatiguing.
    I remembered AC II was so enjoyable, while You never expect an experience as assassin in AC IV. This franchise has lost the soul of assassin. The only left is a coat. When I was playing the game, I always ask myself: why I have to wear like an assassin?
    The pirate part is not bad for me, but I am soon bored with flat sea face, and you will soon be bored with The naval battle under same pattern.
    This is a game, lack of soul, full of repetitive mechanism and will be forgotten soon.
    Never compare AC IV even with GTA V which is still 10 times better than AC IV in quality.
    IMO, The AC III and IV shouldn't be in Assassin's Creed franchise.    … Expand
  21. dreadstone
    Sep 30, 2015
    0
    Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is undoubtedly the worst Assassin's Creed installment in the franchise.

    It saddens a long-time Assassin's Creed fan to see that so many pseudo fans and sham reviewers continue to praise this game incessantly, with the general claim that "Black Flag is great because being a pirate and sailing the ocean blue is awesome! A great pirate action-adventure    Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is undoubtedly the worst Assassin's Creed installment in the franchise.

    It saddens a long-time Assassin's Creed fan to see that so many pseudo fans and sham reviewers continue to praise this game incessantly, with the general claim that "Black Flag is great because being a pirate and sailing the ocean blue is awesome! A great pirate action-adventure game!" This is precisely why this game is rubbish — it's fraudulent. I bought this game knowing that I would have to be a pirate—and quite frankly didn't mind the idea of being one—but thinking that I would still predominantly be an Assassin, as the main title on the cover is "[Assassin's] Creed IV". I was wrong; the subtitle sadly has much, much higher precedence than the aforementioned main one; in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, YOU DO NOT PLAY AS AN ASSASSIN AT ALL. Neither from a story perspective or a gameplay one.

    Edward Kenway was marketed as a "A Pirate Trained By Assassins". That tagline is far and away deceitful and out of sync with the storyline and the real origins of Edward's skills. Let's just say that Edward's tenure as an Assassin is momentary at best. For nearly the entire duration of the game, you will be playing as a pirate, plundering ships as you will and fighting for a liberated Pirate Republic alongside prominent sailors of the Golden Age of Piracy. That's all fine and dandy... if you want to only play as a pirate in a game marketed under the franchise name "[Assassin's] Creed". Do not—I repeat DO NOT—expect to play as an Assassin in this Assassin's Creed title. See how oxymoronic that sounds? Well, that's precisely what Assassin's Creed IV is — a glorified and fraudulent oxymoron in the form of a video game.

    Despite the obvious focus on piracy and open conflict, a rudimentary, mock stealth system has been implemented to ensure that the game isn't a complete scam. You are equipped with an inadequate and poorly-designed stealth implementation, yet still expected to go through some missions undetected. This shoddy attempt to incorporate an Assassin experience is only further hindered by the abysmal level design, which clearly lends itself towards open conflict. Assassin's Creed IV's main missions are surprisingly more linear than its predecessors' and have little to no variation; you'll either be working as best you can with the horrendous stealth implementation while tailing or sneaking on land or recursively immobilizing and boarding ships on the high seas. Either way, you will be met with a slew of missions containing very little variation and even less focus on any variant of stealth whatsoever — that is to say that social stealth is well-nigh non-existent in this game.

    Edward Kenway is a nice addition and is quite a likeable character, in a one-dimensional way, however. He's likeable by virtue of being a prototypical pirate — greedy, rebellious and selfish. Besides also being one of the funnier Assassins in the series, that's really all there is to like about him. Edward severely lacks the substance of his Assassin forerunners (Altaïr and Ezio) and his story isn't even remotely an interesting one; it's more entertaining than it is compelling or inspiring. His character development has no pace and occurs at the turn of a dime towards the game's conclusion, and as such, felt rushed and forced more than anything. Overall, Edward Kenway is an enjoyable character deprived of the quality and substance that made his predecessors (chronologically; not including Connor) memorable.

    In conclusion, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is neither a good pirate or Assassin's Creed game, though the severe lack of the former seems to be a prominent reason as to why this game is being treated as the savior of the franchise. In truth, it is the ground zero of the series' demise, in which all following games will consist of repetitive open conflict and mundane stealth sequences; the death of [Assassin's] Creed and birth of [Fighter's] Creed, if you will.

    If you aren't a true fan of Assassin's Creed and want a primitive, pirating simulator rather than a stealth-orientated, assassination simulator, you will like this game.    … Expand
  22. SeiferFirehart
    Mar 10, 2016
    0
    The worst Assassin's Creed game ever. Player controls, level design, AI, glitches everywhere... one of the worst games I've ever played.. can't remember worse right now.
  23. nikolche
    Nov 22, 2021
    0
    Stupid chasing missions, trying not to climb a stupid fence or a **** tree. Or not to fall in a **** well while at it.
  24. DreadRage
    Jan 7, 2022
    0
    Самое начало, Гавана. Один человек озвучивает двух персонажей в одном диалоге - нормальным голосом и с дебильными кривляниями. Казалось бы, это же проблема только русифицированной версии, но(!) это ярко свидетельствует об отношении юбисофта к качеству своих продуктов. "Да похуй, схавают". Ублюдочное управление такое же ублюдочное, как и раньше. Вышки и аванпосты на месте. Имея опыт вСамое начало, Гавана. Один человек озвучивает двух персонажей в одном диалоге - нормальным голосом и с дебильными кривляниями. Казалось бы, это же проблема только русифицированной версии, но(!) это ярко свидетельствует об отношении юбисофта к качеству своих продуктов. "Да похуй, схавают". Ублюдочное управление такое же ублюдочное, как и раньше. Вышки и аванпосты на месте. Имея опыт в прошлых ассасинах, с уверенностью ставлю оценку уже в начале игры, ибо все говно прошлых частей осталось однозначно, только еще и на качество положили хуй. Игровой компании хуже нет. Дада, "корпорация зла" ЕА на их фоне лапочки, как минимум потому, что относятся к своим потребителям как кошельку, а не говноедам.… Expand
  25. iliasvosk
    Jul 10, 2020
    0
    All Ubisoft games is failure, boring and pointless is not worth wasting hours of your life.
  26. eighthhokage
    Jul 17, 2021
    0
    I could write a million word essay on everything wrong with this game. However, I think i’ll save us both some time and just tell you everything good about this game. Cons: Everything Pros: It ends.
  27. Phalanga1821
    Jan 30, 2023
    0
    The worst Game i ever played. This Game is a Trial and Error Orgy. The Campaign last 15 Hours. 8 Hours are just "Try again".
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Awards & Rankings

7
#7 Best PS4 Game of 2013
3
#3 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2013
4
#4 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 29 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 29
  3. Negative: 0 out of 29
  1. GamingTrend
    Apr 20, 2014
    90
    The PlayStation 4 version of the game is mechanically the same as the PlayStation 3 version, but the new engine is eye-poppingly awesome.
    Read full review
  2. Merlin'in Kazanı (Turkey)
    Jan 30, 2014
    83
    Ubisoft significantly improved the multiplayer side of things. Also, story takes you places.
    Read full review
  3. Thunderbolt
    Jan 4, 2014
    80
    It’s difficult to imagine Assassin’s Creed ever leaving the sea behind.
    Read full review
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