I love Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag. I don’t love Skull and Bones. Sea of Thieves is pretty fun with some friends, albeit a little run aground in shallow waters. Outside of a few other entertaining pirate indies, that’s the bottom of the grog barrel. The keg is empty. The tankard’s dry. Alas, no other pirate ventures be there on the horizon.
While Black Flag remains one of the best pirate games around, despite being a decade-old Assassin’s Creed title, Ubisoft’s own follow-up, Skull and Bones, failed to live up to it. There’s a huge gap in the market for the pirate genre, and all we need is one studio to set forth on this voyage, waiting to be plundered.
Imagine GTA, But Pirates
I know it’s not very original to try to explain the structure of an open-world game by comparing it to GTA, but here we are. The only treasure I’m searching for is a game that lets me live out the pirate life in a large world, including everything from sailing the open seas, exploring vast expanses of uncharted land, getting lost in the bustling streets of settlements, or the run-down dives of shady folk. I want to get into high-stakes sword fights, explore caves and dungeons for loot, and work to become the most notable pirate around.
The thing is, much of this does describe Sea of Thieves, but the game is as bare-bones as a hanging skeleton when it comes to anything other than the basics of ‘pirate adventure’. Black Flag was a closer match, albeit under the guise of the Assassin’s Creed branding, and despite Skull and Bones aiming to follow that up and instead leaving us with a bland, not-so-live-service game, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey was actually the better example of Black Flag’s formula expanded. It had fully open exploration, where you could hop off your ship and dive underwater, or explore the many Greek islands with no limits.
Now, I’m not asking Ubisoft to be the one to create a new pirate game for us. All we need is a passionate studio that understands what makes a single-player world special, what makes the pirate adventure fun, and can give us a new flag to raise as Edward Kenway disappears into the horizon.
Online Can Be Secondary, But Single-player Should Come First
While I sit here and dream of the best pirate game I’ve ever seen, it would seem I’m still thinking about multiplayer, too. Sailing the seas with friends makes adventures all the more special, and if I could materialise the perfect pirate game, then it would need to include that as an option.
But first and foremost, I would want it to prioritise an incredible single-player experience. I want a story that explores the life of pirates more than Black Flag did, one that gives us beloved characters just trying to survive the world by their own means. I want to see the harsh civilizations and armies that will shun them, and the hidden legendary treasures that await – think Uncharted levels of storytelling, but rather than the ruins of pirates, actual pirates.
Okay, I’m also imagining the Van der Linde gang, but like, with eyepatches. Uncle would have a wooden leg.
I haven’t played Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii yet, in case you were wondering where the mention of that game is.
While Black Flag continues to be heralded as one of the best Assassin’s Creed titles, and the best pirate game to date overall, I can’t help but keep seeing this gap in the market. So, no more; I, some guy on the internet, say that it’s high time we set forth on this new voyage, with a skilled and passionate crew of developers at the wheel.
Also, please include sea shanties.
Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag
- Released
-
October 29, 2013
- ESRB
-
M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Developer(s)
-
Ubisoft Montreal
- Engine
-
AnvilNext
