So, this is how it has to work, people. If we've all come to a consensus that new Assassin's Creed games are too much on an annual basis, then, we'll get a remastered edition or a spin-off every other year, instead. 2018 is one of those every-other years. Hence Assassin's Creed Rogue Remastered.
We reviewed Rogue in 2014. It contributed to the collective "Assassin's Creed fatigue" that much of the games press seemed to be experiencing at the time. Aside from that, it was definitely a B-side effort from Black Flag—Black Flag being, arguably, the highest point in the entire series. Between October 2013 and November 2014 (13 months, give or take), Ubisoft launched four Assassin's Creed games: Black Flag, Freedom Cry, Rogue, and Unity. To be fair, no one video game series, I don't think, could sustain an audience that many times over such a short span of time. The saturation was real.
Last year's Assassin's Creed Origins is cool. The combat is wonky, but wonky in a way that Dark Souls apologists appreciate. And I probably spent more time in Origins photo mode than in the campaign itself. Regardless, Ptolemaic Egypt was a revelation to many, as far as the series' settings are concerned. So, as we all wait with bated breath as to where Assassin's Creed goes next, we get, yes, Rogue again. It's okay. It's got that sweet, sweet naval combat action. But it routes you into three smaller, more intimate maps—as opposed to Black Flag's one big Caribbean—that dampen the wide open promise of traversing the ocean blue.
Assassin's Creed Rogue Remastered will get the expected 4K graphical upgrades on PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X, and launches March 20.
