The quintessential 'pirate game'. I don't think there's ever been a more authentic and engrossing title that's let the player live and breath as a pirate during the Golden Age of Piracy. Black Flag's vision of transporting the player to this time in history is wonderfully realised. However, there's an overstated and frankly inaccurate argument that Black Flag is a "good pirate game, but bad Assassin's Creed title". I think this game is sometimes misunderstood in this regard because Darby McDevitt and the rest of the writing team were able to interweave complex and subtle themes from Assassin ideology with established and well-known pirate attitudes. The pirate side of the game is so memorable and is the main vehicle for gameplay, for better or for worse (looking at you ship tailing missions), which is why the more nuanced and slower developed assassin story that we experience with Edward is more easily overlooked.

The art direction and overall visual presentation in Black Flag is absolutely stellar. At the time it was one of the most visually appealing titles, and nowadays it still holds up quite well, mostly due to the great colour palette and honestly timeless rendition of the Caribbean during this time in history. A special mention to both Brian Tyler's wonderful OST and the sea shanties, both of which elevate and enhance the experience tenfold.

One of my favourite games of the series, and the best attempt of bringing the extremely captivating Golden Age of Piracy to the gaming medium.

THE Assassin’s Creed. Assassin’s Creed is one of my all time favourite games, it’s the game that made me think of games in a totally different way than I had my entire life up to that point, it was a realisation that games can be so much more than just “fun”, they can be thought provoking, they can connect people thousands of miles away through online discourse, they can be escapism in a form that I had never understood before the first Assassin’s Creed and most of all, video games can be made specifically for you, sometimes other people wont get it, they’ll call it bad, outdated, clunky, repetitive and boring. But if you get it… if it speaks to you, then it doesn’t matter in the slightest. I’m sure there are plenty of people who will tell me I’m wrong, that AC1 is an old boring game with repetitive missions that was only improved on in later entries and while you’re absolutely entitled to feel that way, I don’t care, because I get AC1 on a fundamental level, I get this game and I have always felt it gets me. From the intrinsically layered narrative that always has something to say, to the methodical and deeply immersive gameplay, the gorgeously atmospheric visual style or the musical genius from Jesper Kyd, I genuinely believe this game is a masterpiece in the most unique of ways and everyone that worked on it, completely outdid themselves. The Ezio trilogy is spectacular and manages to continue the story in a way that was never not satisfying and intriguing, but AC1 is unique, there’s nothing quite like it and whether I’m 10 years old or 26, Assassin’s Creed 1 will always capture my attention as what is to me, personally, the perfect Assassin’s Creed.