Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

 Xbox One
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 492 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 364 out of 492
  2. Mixed: 63 out of 492
  3. Negative: 65 out of 492
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. countyourmacros
    Sep 21, 2014
    6
    Good:
    -Huge step in the right direction for this franchise
    -Naval combat is much fun -Storyline is engaging and you actually care about the characters -Music is amazing. I felt like a pirate playing this game. Bad: -Stealth mechanics are a joke -Stalking missions are so frustrating -You need to do frustrating side missions to stand any chance at beating the story mission    Good:
    -Huge step in the right direction for this franchise
    -Naval combat is much fun
    -Storyline is engaging and you actually care about the characters
    -Music is amazing. I felt like a pirate playing this game.

    Bad:
    -Stealth mechanics are a joke
    -Stalking missions are so frustrating
    -You need to do frustrating side missions to stand any chance at beating the story mission
    -Underwater mission is not fun, swimming with sharks is NOT fun
    -Very DLC driven game.
    -Multiplayer is non-existent
    -Cooperative mode is more like "lets see how can kill this guy first mode"    … Expand
  2. DanielCorfour
    Nov 26, 2013
    6
    Assassin's Creed 4: 90% pirate, 10% assassin. To see a summary of this review scroll to the end.

    Ubisoft went ahead and did the obvious. They took, the best part of Assassin's Creed 3, really the only really good part, and made a game out of it. Literally, they retrofitted the game engine used in the previous title into this a new game, while barely adding or changing anything. This    Assassin's Creed 4: 90% pirate, 10% assassin. To see a summary of this review scroll to the end.

    Ubisoft went ahead and did the obvious. They took, the best part of Assassin's Creed 3, really the only really good part, and made a game out of it. Literally, they retrofitted the game engine used in the previous title into this a new game, while barely adding or changing anything. This whole game felt like an AC 3.1, rather than a new title.. which, I wouldn't have had a problem with, if they would have fixed the problems that plagued AC3, or actually gave us a good, satisfying story, like AC2, but they didn't.

    Assassin's Creed wasn't particularly good when it came to game mechanics, AC1 and 2 were kind of bad actually, instead, it was built by it's amazing storytelling, beautiful setting, and wonderful soundtrack. I still listen to Ezio's Family by Jesper Kyd from AC2. That song brings back a kind of emotions that I rarely feel with games. AC4, however delivers only one of these, the setting. I'm going to start by criticizing the story itself. It's terrible. First off, it has nothing to do with Assassins, they barely make a cameo appearance, both inside and outside the Animus. The whole game revolves around pirates, and that wouldn't be a problem, if it was a good story. And it starts out good, but then it gets riddled with plot holes, poor writing, scenes that don't make sense, and although they stayed away from the obvious parrot cliches, they added a bunch of them story-wise. The story does make a few twists, but most of them you'll see coming a mily away, and most of them don't make sense. There is no main enemy in the game, and most of the things that happen in the game make no sense. And if you were expecting a great ending.. don't.. it is terrible. The only plot-twist you won't see coming in this game is the ending.. they drop it on you out of nowhere, just when you were expecting the game would truly begin, and then they hit you in the face with a poorly done cutscene, and leave you confused.

    Here's a tip, dear Ubisoft. A story, every story, follows 5 basic steps, not necessarily in this order: Exposition, Rising Action, Progression, Climax, Ending. The 4th is completely missing, and the fifth leaves you confused, when it should leave you satisfied.

    Then there are the actual missions in the story. Boring, repetitive and most of them don't make sense. All you do is follow this guy, eavesdrop on that guy. And on rare occasions you kill someone. Missions involving ships can be interesting, but at times they are the same boring "follow that ship" nonsense. In comparison with GTA 5, or Red Dead Redemption, where every mission was unique and intriguing, here they are boring, unimaginative and repetitive. The same goes for side missions. Assassinations, Naval Missions and Templar Hunts. All of them are basically the same. If you did one then you did all, there's no point in continuing. You play through it once, but you won't want to play through it a second time.

    What saves the game is the beautiful and huge open world game, the side activities(not missions) and the naval combat. The setting is really amazing, although some fans of the series will find it irritating that you won't visit cities that much, only a couple times, and they are small with not a lot of things to do, the setting just didn't allow for that. Most of the time you will do what the game is all about: pirating. Naval combat is really fun, and it's been expanded upon a lot.: you can board ships, capture them, steal their cargo and send them to your fleet, you can attack naval forts and capture them. You can use those resources to upgrade your ship and so on. There are also underwater places you can explore, but there are limited, and in comparison with GTAV, where there was an entire open-world you could explore, here there are only ten locations, but it still looks great, and avoiding sharks and medusas is great fun. You can also raid plantations, which are a ton of fun... basically the side activities are really great, and make this game enjoyable, even though the story brings it down.

    In summary, it looks like this game was made just so Ubisoft can make more money off of the ship mechanics in AC3. Combat and land based mechanics are basically the same as the previous game, although they did need changing and improving. The game engine is the same as it was in the third title, with very little improvement, or change, when it, again needed it. And all of this would not be a problem if the game offered a good story, but it doesn't. The story seems like an excuse to sell an adapted version of AC3, and the story is driven by the game mechanics, and not vice versa. Luckily the beautiful setting, graphics and excellent pirate game save the game and prop up the rating to a 6/10. You can't help but feel, if they only spent a little bit more time, and wouldn't pump out a game every year, it could've been an amazing game.    … Expand
  3. DownByTheRiver
    Mar 29, 2014
    6
    Very disappointed in this one. I'm a long time fan of the AC series, but after AC 3 I felt like it was time to hang it up. Then came Black Flag which did have my interest. Unfortunately I was very underwhelmed by this game. The story was not good, the characters were not interesting, and naval combat is still not that great. Combat is fun and graphically on the X1 it looks great.Very disappointed in this one. I'm a long time fan of the AC series, but after AC 3 I felt like it was time to hang it up. Then came Black Flag which did have my interest. Unfortunately I was very underwhelmed by this game. The story was not good, the characters were not interesting, and naval combat is still not that great. Combat is fun and graphically on the X1 it looks great. Multiplayer can be fun, but there are minimal improvements to it. Overall I'm not sure if I'll ever get a AC game again, this one is okay at best, but it should have ended already.… Expand
  4. mattryan49
    Feb 25, 2014
    7
    AC4 is the sixth installment in a stale franchise, and as it does try to bring life back into the franchise it still falls short for myself. The thing that i loved so much in AC2 was the story. To me nothing was better then that amazing story of Ezio and it will remain my favorite AC game in the series. AC Revelations and 3 almost killed off the series with there boring stories and awfulAC4 is the sixth installment in a stale franchise, and as it does try to bring life back into the franchise it still falls short for myself. The thing that i loved so much in AC2 was the story. To me nothing was better then that amazing story of Ezio and it will remain my favorite AC game in the series. AC Revelations and 3 almost killed off the series with there boring stories and awful character choice of Connor. I was glad to see a new edgier protagonist and 4 was very much so a step in the right direction. But is it just me or am i the only person who doesn't give two **** about boats? I mean i really don't, the the problem is almost half the game your on a boat and it bothers me i like exploring the land not the sea and i can't understand why ubisoft keeps going back to it i mean if they love it so much they should make a new game about that and leave AC alone. I will still buy the next AC that will release i just hope that they reinvigorate the franchise like the very first 2 did. if not i don't see a world where assassin's creed will be around for another 5 years. Also quite with the **** multiplayer, just because a few people enjoy it doesn't mean you should waste your time and effort with it. instead how about working on the graphics because AC4 was one of the worst graphical games of the new generation and that saddens me.… Expand
  5. pinball123
    Feb 23, 2015
    7
    I enjoyed the first 2 assassins creed games but then got bored of the series. Picked up black flag on sale recently and it's a solid game. My biggest complaints are that the forced stealth sections are frustrating due to loose controls and schemes that have one button perform multiple functions which causes you do do things you weren't intending to do and my other biggest complaint is thatI enjoyed the first 2 assassins creed games but then got bored of the series. Picked up black flag on sale recently and it's a solid game. My biggest complaints are that the forced stealth sections are frustrating due to loose controls and schemes that have one button perform multiple functions which causes you do do things you weren't intending to do and my other biggest complaint is that you are required to have done side quests to build up your ship to progress the story which can be annoying when you hit a certain point that you cannot pass because you did not do OPTIONAL side activities earlier in the game.… Expand
  6. Canem
    Mar 3, 2014
    7
    A good game and great fun for the most part. The game world is fun to explore and exciting to be a part of. The environments look stunning and make you feel immersed in the game that bit more. The game is at its best when you forget the story missions and go about make Edward the ultimate pirate. This is because the majority of the story missions consist of finding a target, tailing themA good game and great fun for the most part. The game world is fun to explore and exciting to be a part of. The environments look stunning and make you feel immersed in the game that bit more. The game is at its best when you forget the story missions and go about make Edward the ultimate pirate. This is because the majority of the story missions consist of finding a target, tailing them to a location while listening to dialogue you really don't care about until finally being able to kill them. This gets very repetitive and becomes very annoying quickly. A fresh addition into the series, but not original enough.… Expand
  7. 80sChild
    Mar 17, 2014
    5
    I've played the previous Assasins Creed games and enjoyed them. This one... not so much. The story is decent, the pirate era is a great setting for one of these games although I felt it wasn't as well written as AC III. The graphics are okay, nothing to get excited about, it looks like a nice port of a last gen game.

    My main gripe with this game is the gameplay. It feels more like a    I've played the previous Assasins Creed games and enjoyed them. This one... not so much. The story is decent, the pirate era is a great setting for one of these games although I felt it wasn't as well written as AC III. The graphics are okay, nothing to get excited about, it looks like a nice port of a last gen game.

    My main gripe with this game is the gameplay. It feels more like a naval battle simulator than an AC game game, even if the naval battles are the highlight. The real problem is the controls and how broken Kenways "fluid" actions are. I don't know if this is isolated to The Xbox One version or if its just my version, but I cannot count how many times I would hurriedly climb a wall only to have Kenway stop and hang from the roof of a building, refusing to go further until I shimmied a foot to the left or right. Or how you chase shanties (some really catchy tunes actually), pushing forward on the thumbstick and have Kenway inexplicably leap off at a right angle. Combat is the same way; clunky and unresponsive, a complete opposite of my experience on Assassins Creed III.

    I did manage to finish it and although it can be fun at times, the craptastic controls and clunky "free-flow" movement eventually infuriated me to the point where I uninstalled it from my Xbox One. It feels like a completely different team worked on this than did AC I - III.    … Expand
  8. Roldaddy78
    May 3, 2014
    6
    If I were rating this game just on game play and presentation, I would give it at least an 8. That being said, it's the same old Assassin's Creed we love, just too repetitive. Every memory requires a lengthily "follow
    ' the target without being seen and kill whomever "without being seen. I felt more like Solid Snake most of the time. The ship battles are super repetitive and the side    If I were rating this game just on game play and presentation, I would give it at least an 8. That being said, it's the same old Assassin's Creed we love, just too repetitive. Every memory requires a lengthily "follow
    ' the target without being seen and kill whomever "without being seen. I felt more like Solid Snake most of the time. The ship battles are super repetitive and the side distractions are not that great.....I'm looking at you Diving Bell. I finished the game and could take out virtually any ship or fort with my Jackdaw being barely halfway upgraded. The trade route fleet missions are a poor replacement for the recruit an assassin missions from the Ezio trilogy. Bottom line, if you give two **** about the story arc, just watch YouTube.    … Expand
  9. DKurac
    Jun 5, 2017
    7
    The world is there really beautiful I like it. After while you even start ignoring that same trees and islands. Now the Community challenges don't work which is bad that you can't get rewards from it. You can split this game into two parts. 1. on ship: Naval combat is excellent I really love it. If you know what to upgrade then there is no problem to beat level 60 ship in sequence 2. AlsoThe world is there really beautiful I like it. After while you even start ignoring that same trees and islands. Now the Community challenges don't work which is bad that you can't get rewards from it. You can split this game into two parts. 1. on ship: Naval combat is excellent I really love it. If you know what to upgrade then there is no problem to beat level 60 ship in sequence 2. Also you can change appearance that is nice. One negative is that you have only brig and can't have man o'war. Then there is fleet which is great when you have 15 man o'wars. 2. on foot: If you aren't on ship then the game isn't so good. I really don't like that story. Assassins are there some mayans or what. I don't even like that I become an assassin. I just wanted to be a pirate. This shouldn't have been Assassin's Creed game but maybe Pirate's Creed it would be way better without assassins. There are ugly outfits I hate them all I bought legend outfit from uplay that isn't so bad. I also don't like when you have to stop sailing just because there is one chest or fragment on small island. Diving is also bad. At the end if I'm on ship I enjoying it and if I'm not then I don't.… Expand
  10. RTCWFAN
    May 16, 2023
    6
    Can't understand the hype. It is not bad, but it is one of the worst Assassin's Creed games ever released. Sure, you got ships, but you get that in Rogue too, which is much better. Overall rating: 5.9.
  11. wesker2012
    May 23, 2014
    6
    The controls are still really bad. People weren't exaggerating in their reviews when they talked about how many times they got stuck on a wall, etc. It's so infuriating during a chase sequence. Animations are also still really stiff. Its a shame because as usual, the environments are gorgeous. The mission structure hasn't changed. The game is still made up mostly of follow, chase,The controls are still really bad. People weren't exaggerating in their reviews when they talked about how many times they got stuck on a wall, etc. It's so infuriating during a chase sequence. Animations are also still really stiff. Its a shame because as usual, the environments are gorgeous. The mission structure hasn't changed. The game is still made up mostly of follow, chase, and combat missions. I decided to get this game because of the summer drought. It will be something to keep me busy, but it will be a chore to get through.… Expand
  12. Athomeonarock
    Nov 17, 2015
    5
    Can not stand being ripped out of the past to the future. It is so distracting and unnecessary. Ship combat is cool, but the story, and the repetitive stalking missions are so boring.
  13. InfiniteArc
    Sep 13, 2014
    5
    Yet another copy and paste franchise game from the Industry. Assassin's Creed 2 and 3 were absolutely amazing, yet greed and laziness gets in the way of innovation yet again. I'm only giving this a 5 because of the ship combat, otherwise it's a waste of money. If you want to find out about the story, do yourself a favor and watch youtube.
  14. MrSaVaGE59
    Nov 27, 2014
    7
    My background isn't very strong when it comes to Assassin's Creed games. The only other game of the franchise that I have played was the first one and I could not devote more time than the 4 hours I invested into it back then. That being said I enjoyed it more then the first. This review will be for single player only, multiplayer was not played enough to give a decent review.

    In the    My background isn't very strong when it comes to Assassin's Creed games. The only other game of the franchise that I have played was the first one and I could not devote more time than the 4 hours I invested into it back then. That being said I enjoyed it more then the first. This review will be for single player only, multiplayer was not played enough to give a decent review.

    In the beginning I had a hard time immersing myself into the character, as well as the concept of being a pirate. However, the farther I progressed the more I found pleasure in sailing, hunting and being Edward. I typically enjoy leveling up early on and feeling overpowered in any video game, and to a certain degree this game allows it, just before capping you at a reasonable level to complete the next section of the story.

    The free roaming had some getting used to. I found Edward running up walls and doing things that brought me out of any immersion I was in. Quickly making me realize that I was playing a video game and not fully synced in. The side tasks seem forced, but I found myself going along with them anyways just for achievements and new outfits. I guess you could say I'm a sucker for that.

    In all, free roaming games are not my specialty and I write this from someone who has a strong background in shooters and RTS games.I usually find myself lost in wide open stories, but looking back I always had something to keep me going. I enjoyed Black Flag and what it had to offer. It's multiplayer could use more players, but I respect its attempts in keeping players coming back and building a stronger community through "interaction.". For those who love free roaming, pirate games, "history" and decent story this game is for you.    … Expand
  15. Honoral
    Feb 20, 2015
    7
    Finally I brought myself to play this part of the Assassin series. One of the best Assassin's Creed game out there in my opinion! You may wonder why I rate it just a 7. It might be due to me playing five AC games in the last two years and getting a tad exhausted in the setting, and it is. This would have worked a lot better if it was made a new IP about pirates! Yes! I want... No. I NEEDFinally I brought myself to play this part of the Assassin series. One of the best Assassin's Creed game out there in my opinion! You may wonder why I rate it just a 7. It might be due to me playing five AC games in the last two years and getting a tad exhausted in the setting, and it is. This would have worked a lot better if it was made a new IP about pirates! Yes! I want... No. I NEED that!

    The story feels tired and templars vs. assassins setting feels old already. The modern day sequences feel like they have nothing to do with anything. Story progresses but nothing really drastic happen. I play the AC series for the story, not for the gameplay (which I'm not so fond of). I expected a lot more from the storytelling since I've heard this might be the best iteration in the series so far.

    The game itself is a load of fun, I cannot deny that fact. Sailing in the open world, plundering innocent merchants, conquering fortresses and fighting the Royal Navy can be so much fun that I dedicated myself in the open world more than the story. A thing I've never done before in this series. Storms feel alive and look really good. The game looks quite good overall on the Xbox One, but it didn't make me go "wow" as I played the previous parts on PC.

    Fighting mechanics are similar to AC3. Boring to me at this point. The most efficient battle strategy in my experience is just to counter attack with the hidden blades. New weapons look interesting but they are wasted as the counter attack strategy is even more effective. Climbing is exactly the same as before and I personally dislike it already.

    Setting of the game is extremely interesting. But why, oh why, impale the concept with assassins and templars? I cannot stress it enough. The main protagonist couldn't care less of the old quarrel between these two orders for most of the game, why should I? Especially when I have been solving their little problems for the last 400 years.

    Don't get me wrong. Me giving this a 7 is not a sign of dislike. Comparing this to other games I have played in the last year this did not leave me craving for more as other games might have left me. 7 is a good score after all isn't it?    … Expand
  16. xvvolf
    Aug 23, 2016
    7
    To start off I never came close to finishing this game simply because I am utterly useless at the naval combat, which in the end is the main reason I stopped playing it.
    However my poor naval combat skills aside, the game is quite fun. It looks beautiful, has a decent story and runs smoothly.

    I will attempt this game in the future again.
  17. Broyax
    Mar 29, 2018
    5
    Après le fort calamiteux AC3, Ubi Soft fait amende honorable avec AC4 et s'il n'est toujours pas à la hauteur (hélas) des meilleurs opus (AC2, ACB, ACR) on aurait quand même tort de le bouder. Un monde ouvert assez grand, des combats navals étonnants à l'interface bien pensée, une belle part d'infiltration (ou d'action...) sur la terre ferme avec les (très) nombreuses îles et les 3Après le fort calamiteux AC3, Ubi Soft fait amende honorable avec AC4 et s'il n'est toujours pas à la hauteur (hélas) des meilleurs opus (AC2, ACB, ACR) on aurait quand même tort de le bouder. Un monde ouvert assez grand, des combats navals étonnants à l'interface bien pensée, une belle part d'infiltration (ou d'action...) sur la terre ferme avec les (très) nombreuses îles et les 3 principales villes des Caraïbes : voilà un beau bac à sable !

    En outre le jeu est magnifique (limité au 900p et victime d'un pop-up de PNJ certes) et toujours fluide. On en prend plein les yeux... C'est aussi assez réaliste avec la météo dynamique, les tempêtes et vagues scélérates, le brouillard...

    On doit tout de même déplorer l'IA à la rue, compensée par le nombre mais vraiment trop conne et surtout le scénario dont la nullité atteint ici les tréfonds des abysses. C'est tellement chiant et incohérent qu'on zappe toutes les cinématiques systématiquement, encore pire qu'AC3 à cet égard. A la musique quelconque pour ne pas dire décevante, on préférera les chants des marins tandis que le doublage québécois réalisé par le studio "Game On Audio" (comme pour AC3) est particulièrement mauvais. Même le doublage anglais laisse à désirer à dire vrai...

    Un monde ouvert plutôt séduisant donc, des combats navals bien fichus... mais qui prennent une part un peu trop importante : j'ai pas le pied marin et le tangage me file la gerbe... alors que les combats à terre restent toujours perfectibles. Cet Assassin's Creed abuse en outre de la répétition et d'un brin de farmage aussi bien pour améliorer le rafiot que pour nous faire ramasser toutes les merdes inutiles qui traînent sur toute la carte... En tout cas, si Connor avait l'intelligence d'un beignet, Kenway a le charisme d'une andouille. Rendez-nous Ezio...!    … Expand
  18. zidfrit
    May 21, 2018
    7
    Este assasins es el mas repetitivo que he jugado en tanto a misiones , la historia muy aburrida y enredada, las mismas gráficas de siempre, es un juego solo recomendado para fans de los asesinos.
  19. Dperks
    Feb 23, 2019
    7
    This is pretty good game mostly for the pirate parts which are really fun and really the worst parts are when you have to do the typical assassins creed crap but don't be discouraged and give this one a try.
  20. wertyBSD
    Sep 24, 2019
    7
    I really liked the game. But my grade is 7.
    Why 7? After a long pause I had to get used to the controls again. The character doesn't always run or climb where you want. Graphics on XBox One is not very good.
    Now about good:
    Big world
    Beautiful sea battles
    The story is also very interesting
  21. Kwstis_Sidi
    May 14, 2023
    7
    The story is average at best, created in a true Ubisoft spirit. The graphics and the sound are good for an initial xbox 360 / PS3 title. The gameplay is quite good, with some more work needed related to the melee combat. All in all, it could have been a far better game if it was created by another company and not by Ubisoft which in her effort to deliver a game to liked by everybody, endsThe story is average at best, created in a true Ubisoft spirit. The graphics and the sound are good for an initial xbox 360 / PS3 title. The gameplay is quite good, with some more work needed related to the melee combat. All in all, it could have been a far better game if it was created by another company and not by Ubisoft which in her effort to deliver a game to liked by everybody, ends up making it average and bland. It is worthing 10 USD / EUR if you wanna buy it now and play it, but not more.… Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
tbd

No score yet - based on 3 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. Gameblog.fr
    Apr 20, 2014
    90
    Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is the best Assassin's Creed experience in terms of scale, freedom and gameplay. Between land and sea, the journey of Edward Kenway is really captivating.
    Read full review
  2. Gamers' Temple
    Dec 15, 2013
    92
    I've played all of the major titles released with the Xbox One, and the one that I've had the most fun with, the one that I keep going back to, is Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. If you get only one game with your shiny new Xbox One console, make it this one.
    Read full review
  3. IGN
    Dec 4, 2013
    85
    Beyond the underwhelming main campaign, Black Flag delivers a world brimming with gorgeous places to go, amazing secrets to discover, and nefarious pirates to stab.
    Read full review