Assassin's Creed Rogue Remastered Xbox One X Review

Back in 2014, I reviewed Assassin's Creed Rogue and stated it was "a safe game", my opinion hasn't changed after playing the remastered version. Revisiting the adventures of Shay Cormac in Assassin's Creed Rogue Remastered highlights how much potential this adventure had. Giving players the chance to explore the war between the Assassins and Templars from the Templars view but falling short. While Assassin's Creed Rogue has some redeeming qualities the Remastered Edition simply re-awakenings what could've been.

Players take control of Shay Cormac, a former Assassin turned Templar after the organization led by Achilles betrayed the ideals he thought the Assassin Order stood for. Taking place before the events of Assassin's Creed 3 Shay travels throughout land and sea in search of precursor temples before the Assassin Order can find them.

What Rogue accomplishes is showing that Templars are not bad guys, they're simply another organization with a different belief that contrast the Assassins. Shay himself is a great character that tries to find redemption after indirectly killing thousands of civilian lives and forges a new identity as the game progresses. With new faces, both familiar and unfamiliar, entering the fray during the course of the adventure.

While Rogue doesn't require knowledge of the Kenway saga it does provide details into unanswered questions. This includes deuteragonist of Assassin's Creed 3 Achilles and some information on Conner's father Haythem Kenway. It also paints a detailed image into the franchises lore such as how the Assassins and Templars operate differently.

In addition to Shay, you'll take control of an Abstergo Entertainment employee. After a computer virus places the building on lockdown you're left taking the blame for the incident. Left alone in a holding cell until repairs are made you relive Shay's life to uncover a secret the Templars are searching for. You'll hack and collect audio files from various terminals but nothing manifest anything meaningful as this avatar is just a faceless person.

Much of Assassin's Creed Rogue's content is lifted from Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and Assassin's Creed 3. You'll engage in ship combat, explore various landscapes such as New York City and the Atlantic all while upgrading your ship and Shay's equipment along the way. With the exception of the air rifle, which works like the crossbow from Ezio's adventures, nothing about Rogue feels distinct. This extends to the combat which feels similar to games before Rogue.

The side missions peppered throughout the environments are what you'll expect from an Assassin's Creed game. Killing specific targets, avoiding ambushes, and recusing people. You'll end up repeating the same mission type regardless of where you are, leading to repetitive busy work.

Much of Assassin's Creed Rogue makes it feel like an expansion to either Assassin's Creed 3 or Black Flag. As a remastered edition it does provide a graphics update and framerate improvements, it's also much more stable than the original entry. However, Rogue's wasted potential of providing a Templar focused story is amplified with this remastered, especially when you find out this entire adventure is only meant to set up the events of Assassin's Creed Unity.

Assassin's Creed Rogue Remastered is a serviceable remaster of the 2014 adventure. The game is stable, especially compared to the original, and the improved graphics and framerate is a nice update. However, it doesn't solve the many issues the game already faces. Perhaps one day we'll get a fully realized Templar focused Assassin's Creed game but for those wishing to experience the war from a different perspective will find some worth in Assassin's Creed Rogue.

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
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