Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is the installment in which the series briefly stopped presenting itself primarily as a game about hidden assassination and became, above all, a game about the seas. The story follows Welsh sailor Edward Kenway, who in the Caribbean at the turn of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries falls into piracy and, almost as an afterthought, into the age-old conflict between Assassins and Templars. The player gets their own ship, the Jackdaw, which they gradually upgrade, and with it freely sails a map full of islands, forts, wrecks, and trading convoys. The transition between sailing, boarding a ship, and running across a port town's rooftops happens without loading screens, which was a very powerful impression at the time.

Naval combat is the game's core: the player aims broadside cannon volleys, dodges incoming fire, rams enemy vessels, and finally boards the enemy ship to finish off the crew by hand. Damaged prizes can be captured and added to the player's own fleet, or the player can strip them for materials to upgrade the Jackdaw, so every encounter matters. Alongside this, the series' classic offerings remain — climbing tall vantage points, blending into crowds, treasure hunting, and extensive side activities including hunting, diving, and chasing legendary ships. The sheer amount of content is enormous, and the game delivers it in a relaxed way, without pressure toward a straight main line.

The Wii U version put the map, equipment management, and quick navigation on the controller screen, so the usual disruptive menu-switching disappeared, and it allowed playing entirely away from the TV as well. Visually the game benefits from striking water, changing weather, and tropical light, but what holds the atmosphere together most are the sea shanties the crew sings while sailing, which are collected like collectibles. At the time it was one of the best-received entries in the series, and many still consider it the franchise's peak today. Even years later it works wonderfully as a relaxed pirate game, one you can happily forget the main story for.