"pirate"

2013 · Action Adventure · PC / Steam

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is less an Assassin's Creed game and more the best pirate game ever made, and that's exactly why it works. The naval combat is thrilling, the Caribbean open world is stunning, and Edward Kenway's journey from selfish privateer to reluctant hero provides the franchise's most surprising character arc since Ezio. The on-land stealth missions expose every weakness in the series' formula, tailing and eavesdropping missions remain painful, and the Assassin-Templar conflict feels secondary to the piracy. But sailing the open seas with your crew belting out shanties, hunting legendary ships, and plundering fleets is so extraordinarily fun that Black Flag's shortcomings on dry land barely matter.