The first (and only) title in Ubisoft’s proposed co-developed Assassin’s Creed releases for last and current gen has been remastered. Featuring the player as a rogue Assassin turned Templar named Shay Patrick Cormac you travel the seas during the Seven Years’ War of the mid-18th Century and hunt down the men Shay once called brothers who betrayed him, sparking his turning into a traitor.

Assassin’s Creed Rogue Remastered is a 2018 action-adventure remaster of the original 2015 game. It is developed and published by Ubisoft and releases on PC, Playstation 4, and Xbox One on March 20, 2018.

Editor’s Note: An advanced Playstation 4 review copy was provided by Ubisoft to support this review.

Brotherhoods destroyed, trust betrayed.

Of all the games in the Assassin’s Creed franchise Rogue, alongside Liberation & III probably has the most mixed response among fans and critics alike. Many are split between it’s unique Templar point of view and similarities to Blackflag. Admittedly those similarities do at times take away from the experience from an originality standpoint, but for everything else Rogue was a start to a much requested refresh of the franchise.

Naval combat makes a return in Assassin’s Creed Rogue Remastered.

THE GOOD: Assassin’s Creed Rogue’s mixed reception is understandable due to it being so similar to it’s predecessor Blackflag, but I think some people tend to forget that Rogue is actually based within the Blackflag timeline. So the similarities were inevitable due to it fitting within the story, not only that, but it’s also a direct sequel to the game, as well as a prequel to III. However, outside of some minor location and gameplay mechanic details Rogue actually does quite well differentiating itself as a standalone title. The main reason of course being the heavy focus on Templar lore within the Assassin’s Creed world, something that felt a bit laxed and all over the place with previous titles.

Templar lore is finally explored in solid detail.

There are Abstergo sequences, which has been a long-running annoyance for the series, but these are limited in Rogue. Most of the Abstergo sequences are collectible searches which provides some new story details if you can figure out the correct order of the beam portals and in comparison to past Abstergo sequences these can actually be pretty fun.

A remaster worth investing in.

THE BAD: One issue I did have with Rogue is that the naval combat and travel felt way too forced at times, whereas with Blackflag it felt far more optional. The similarities to Blackflag can take away from Rogue’s own originality.

Rogue was the start of a much needed step up for the Assassin’s Creed franchise.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Assassin’s Creed Rogue Remastered is a fine touch up of an even more fine game. While it didn’t get the credit it deserved in some circles of the community with the new gap between itself and Blackflag here’s hoping the remaster ends up being viewed in it’s much earned new light a second go round.