Assassin’s Creed Rogue Remastered Review

Assassin’s Creed Rogue is the best of last generation’s Creeds. Writing an Assassin’s Creed Rogue Remastered Review after having played Origins is tough though.

The differenced between the two is like day and night, but once I was able to get back into the groove of old Assassin’s Creed, the greatness of Rogue shone through.

Originally released a year after Black Flag and a month before Unity, Rogue never stood a chance of being well loved. Coming at the tail end of the last generation, releasing only for older consoles and franchise fatigue meant that Rogue was viewed unfairly at release.

It reviewed well but was never destined to be remembered fondly.

Thankfully, Ubisoft has seen fit to release Assassin’s Creed Rogue Remastered and let us all have another chance to spend some time with the Assassin turned Templar, Shay Cormac.

Assassin’s Creed Rogue Remastered Review

Rogue occupies the European’s North American colonies, including New York and Albany. There are other cities, fortresses and encampments to explore along with caves, shipwrecks and more. Rogue’s world map is really, very similar to Black Flag’s. It is in a way, an expansion to that title.

It was actually exhilarating to head back to the open sea, sail my ship and explore the Atlantic ocean. Rogue’s sailing is nothing like Sea of Thieves, but it’s a nice counterpoint. 

Rogue lets you sail a ship by yourself, engage in combat, harpoon whales, hunt treasure and more. But it’s all a diversion from the main quest. Whereas, Sea of Thieves sailing is intense and requires coordination and teamwork. The sailing is the game. Rogue knows where its strengths lie and what to focus on.

Set after Black Flag, but before Unity, Rogue tells the story of Shay Cormac. Initially part of the North American Assassin Brotherhood, Shay becomes disillusioned when he witnesses the lengths the Assassin’s will go to.

Abandoned and left for dead by his Brotherhood, Shay joins the Templars as a means to put a stop to the destruction caused by the Assassins.

Another side of the coin

In general, the Assassins are portrayed as righteous in every Assassin’s Creed title. The Templars are evil, hell-bent on world domination and the Assassins are all that stands between them and their goals.

Rogue is a genuine delight in that it flips this notion on its head entirely. Rogue shows how complex the relationship between the Assassins and Templars is and how the Assassins may not be all that they seem.

For a series to put players into the boots of a “villain” while making him sympathetic and relatable is a big ask. Rogue achieves this and more. Shay is easily one of the most interesting, if a little brooding, protagonists in franchise history.

He questions his orders, both Assassin and Templar, and refuses to blindly stick to an ideal. He has a moral compass and only wants to act for the benefit of the world rather than his Creed or Order.

Because of this attitude, Shay comes across as something of an outsider, which helps players empathise with my more easily.

Rogues and Scoundrels

Rogue has been criticised for its short length, but I actually preferred it’s shorter, more compact story. It felt more focused, more direct and filled with less busywork than any other Assassin’s Creed game I’ve played.

There are only six sequences and four modern-day stages. There are a handful of missions within each sequence and the run the gamut of assassination, naval combat, parkour, fetch-quest and everything else Assassin’s Creed has to offer.

The shorter length means you’re not repeating the same type of mission over and over and instead, you can focus on the story at hand. It’s so much better to be able to play an Assassin’s Creed title and finish the narrative within 12-hours as opposed to 30. 

You’re more likely to remember everything that’s happened and less likely to have tuned out after the 10th eavesdrop quest.

Assassin’s Creed Rogue Remastered is a really deserving re-release and a game that fans of the series need to play. It ties together the series’ North American campaign and gives us the most compelling character of the franchise in Shay.

Once you’ve finished the story there are plenty of treasures to find, whales to hunt and world to explore.

It’s my favourite Assassin’s Creed of the last-generation and it’s now very close to the best one of this generation too.

Assassin’s Creed Rogue Remastered was reviewed on PS4 using a digital code provided by Ubisoft.