Back to the basics.
Assassin’s Creed Rogue was never given a fair shake. It was released in 2014 at the same time Unity hit the scene. It was developed for the 360 and PS3 in a time where everyone was fawning over the new consoles. It also didn’t help that Unity stumbled out of the gate with a bevy of technical and mechanical problems. Rogue never stood a chance. So when Ubisoft finally lifted the veil on one of the worst kept secrets of a remaster, I was excited to dive back in. I never got a chance to really enjoy Rogue as, like many others, I had moved on to newer consoles.
MSRP: $29.99
Platforms: XB1 (reviewed), PS4, PC
Price I’d Pay: $29.99
Rogue is a return to form for the series. For those that have been playing Origins it will take some time to re-adjust to the formula. Sprinting returns to the right trigger and free-running is once again automatic. Combat also reverts back to the original style. For better or worse this game feels a lot like Black Flag. It even has the sailing mechanic which is still a ton of fun.
The story takes a path that no other game in the series has. Players take on the role of Shay Patrick Cormac. Instead of going down the path to become an Assassin, he opts to go the Templar route. The game takes place between Assassin’s Creed III and Black Flag and a cast of familiar characters make an appearance. It rounds out the story during that time frame and is well-written and voiced.
Being built on the Black Flag engine, Rogue translates to the new consoles extremely well. Ubisoft has done a good job at porting the game. It really looks great for a remaster. The characters pop and the environments are nicely detailed. The world is full of lush details and the game runs beautifully. It really shines when on the seas sailing or in the snowy regions later in the game. Rogue also supports the Xbox One X, delivering gorgeous 4K visuals. If I didn’t know any better, I would think this game was built for these new consoles.
There have been a lot of Assassin’s Creed games released. It is easy to overlook some of them. Rogue is a title that released at a terrible time and on consoles that a lot of people had already put in storage. It is nice to see this game get a second chance. It is a great entry in the series, and one that takes the story in places it had never gone. Mix it with the addictive sailing of Black Flag and I definitely recommend it to fans of the series. Don’t sleep on this title. It is definitely worth checking out.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
