“In a world without gold, we might’ve been heroes.” Some of Blackbeard’s final words ring true, not just for the era of pirates but to this day. His death that soon follows is one of the two most tragic moments of the game (more on the other one later). This is a testament to the writing and story of Black Flag; you not only feel sorry for Blackbeard when he’s killed, you feel sad.
There is in fact not one but two stories simultaneously ongoing, one set in the present day that links to other Assassin’s Creed games and a self-contained story of pirates, assassins and Templars that takes place in the early 18th Century. The present day sections take place at Abstergo Industries and mainly consist of you collecting sticky notes or hacking computers (whether you want to or not courtesy of IT guy John). Doing all of this gives you information about previous games and is full of mystery. However, it’s in the 18th Century where you’ll be spending most of your time and which also contains the story with the most emotional punches. You play as main protagonist Edward Kenway, a pirate with morals as he targets Templars and the game warns you not to kill civilians. The supporting cast is made up of iconic pirates; Edward Thatch, Benjamin Hornigold, Charles Vane and Mary Read to name a few.
The story revolves around Kenway searching for the fabled Observatory, helping pirates and assassins and taking down Templars along the way. He survives a series of ups and downs, his decisions and beliefs being questioned multiple times during final conversations with key characters before killing them. He wants an easy life but “No one honest has an easy life” he’s told. Remember that other tragic moment I mentioned? It’s Mary Read’s death. First introduced as James Kidd, she eventually reveals her identity as a woman to Kenway. She dies in prison after giving birth just as Kenway was going to break her out with her friend Anne Bonny and he ends up carrying her lifeless body back to the boat. It’s a moment of heart break and leads to some self-reflection by Kenway. “For years I’ve been rushing around, taking whatever I fancied, not giving a tinker’s curse for those I hurt. Yet here I am… with riches and reputation, feeling no wiser than when I left home. Yet when I turn around, and look at the course I’ve run… there’s not a man or woman that I love left standing beside me.” It’s a story full of swashbuckling action and adventure but not without its poignant moments.
Besides your main quest, there are plenty of collectables to collect such as chests, letters, buried treasure, Animus fragments and shanties. Your mode of transportation is Kenway’s ship the Jackdaw and there are multiple upgrades to buy for it, increasing its attack power and storage. There are also various swords, pistols and outfits to obtain, through buying them or completing certain sidequests. There are numerous locations to visit (the three main cities being Havana, Nassau and Kingston) and you even obtain a place for yourself, Great Inagua, which you can upgrade as well. There are also animals to hunt and skin which allow you to craft items. Overall, the game contains hours upon hours of content (I put in around 65) and there isn’t a dull moment.
All of this would mean nothing if the gameplay wasn’t up to scratch but the amount of time I put into the game should tell you that the gameplay is as good as the rest of the package. There are many ways to assassinate your enemies, from swords and pistols to hidden blades or simply your fists. There’s also a variety of darts to help you kill or stealthily move around, namely sleep, berserk and (though near the end of the game) rope. You can simply strike down some enemies but others require slightly more strategy, requiring you to break their defence first or time a counter that sometimes creates a great cinematic shot. The ship battles are no slouch either, granting you different options for attack based on what side of the ship you’re looking out from. You can choose to simply sink a ship and gain half of its loot or board the ship, take down some of its crew and gain the lot. The ship battles culminate with fights versus five ‘Legendary Ships’, which, even when fully upgraded, can prove a challenge and become very tense (that damn twin ship battle https://twitter.com/HalIoSpaceboy/status/1214650180231811072?s=20) Everything you’d want from a pirate game is included.
In conclusion, the story, characters, gameplay, amount of things to do, very nice graphics and steady frame rate all come together to create the ultimate pirate experience.
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