Playing A Game Assassin's Creed Rogue PC

Well, that was quicker than I expected. Rogue's story turns out to be on the short side, about two x Freedom Cry. And as should be expected from a Creed, the ending is distinctly rushed and unsatisfying.

The good part is, Rogue has a large game world - at least as big as Black Flag's, with one big city area and two distinct sailing regions - and there are tons more places to land on and activities to do than what's covered in the main campaign. I probably only covered 15% of the game world's optional activities in my less-than-ten-hour sojourn through it.

But the bad part is... I don't care to do any of that. Previous AC installments have taught me that there isn't really any payoff to doing all the extra activities, except the enjoyment of the activities themselves; and I've already wrung plenty of piratical joy out of Black Flag and Freedom Cry. What Rogue adds to the formula isn't new enough to make me want to sail to more nondescript places and collect more nondescript things.

Beyond that, Rogue also ultimately underdelivers on its potentially-promising story. It seems like it's building up to a point about the shared flaws of the Assassin and Templar organizations, but stops short of any in-game characters recognizing this. Instead, the story's final mission opts to serve as a teaser for Assassin's Creed Unity. It's slightly hilarious.

Rogue is good fun, and does just enough new to feel like a worthy, if minor, addition to Black Flag. It's impressive how much work Ubisoft put into the content and collectible lore in this game, and simultaneously sad that it doesn't go far enough to establish its own identity.

Better than: Assassin's Creed: Freedom Cry
Not as good as: Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag (well, mechanically Rogue is better, but its campaign is much less compelling)
Seriously guys oh my god: What is the deal with the modern-day Abstergo Entertainment backstory shit. Either make a new game out of this content or throw it away. Don't have some dude in a recording booth read it to me for minutes on end. What is the point.

Progress: Finished the story, 52%

Rating: Good