For the last 16 years, Assassin's Creed has been one of Ubisoft's flagship franchises, and it's easy to see why. While having great stealth-action gameplay certainly helps, it's Assassin's Creed's core premise that's always made it stand out from the crowd. The notion of being able to go to completely different time periods, and follow completely new characters every entry is inherently exciting, and most Assassin's Creed games have used this premise to great effect. From Paris during the height of the French Revolution, to London during the reign of Queen Victoria, to Renaissance Italy, Assassin's Creed has been all over, but by far one of its most beloved settings is Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag's Golden Age of Piracy.

Released on October 29 2013, Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag turns 10 years old today, and it's somehow remained one of the most relevant, memorable entries in the entire franchise. And while Assassin's Creed Mirage was intended to be a return to the classic series formula, many fans would have much preferred a return to Black Flag's roots, though there's still time for Ubisoft to make that happen.

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10 Years Later, It's Time for Another Assassin's Creed Black Flag

Even now, 10 years later, Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag stands out from the rest of the series in a number of ways. Rather than just rely on the same old formula once again, Assassin's Creed: Black Flag instead decided to take the general structure of its predecessors, and build something wholly unique with it, which is exactly what the Assassin's Creed series should have always been doing. Black Flag took the fluid traversal and satisfying combat from Assassin's Creed 3, but only used it as a stepping stone on its way to build the ultimate pirate simulator.

Putting players in the boots of an aspiring pirate lord, Assassin's Creed: Black Flag put naval combat and exploration at the forefront of its moment-to-moment gameplay, and in doing so created one of the most unique AAA action-adventure games ever made. Black Flag's ship combat is still second to none, giving players unprecedented freedom in how they approach taking down an enemy ship, and what they do with their eventual spoils. And the ability to visit any island or beach by simply hopping overboard is still a level of freedom and excitement that's never really been achieved in an Assassin's Creed game since.

Right now, the Assassin's Creed franchise desperately needs another Black Flag. Assassin's Creed Valhalla, along with the rest of the RPG entries, was a fairly divisive entry among fans, with many enjoying its vast scale, but others finding that too overwhelming and instead longing for a return to basics. Ubisoft has just given fans exactly that in Assassin's Creed Mirage, but it definitely wasn't perfect. While Mirage was intended and marketed as a throwback to the very first game in the series, it did feel like that was being used as a crutch in a few places, holding back criticism for the game's many shortcomings. Assassin's Creed Mirage felt like the first game in the series, but at the end of the day, a 2023 game that feels like it was made in 2007 isn't what many AC fans actually want.

Instead, many Assassin's Creed fans want a return to the series' heyday, and for many, that means a return to Assassin's Creed: Black Flag. Ideally, this would mean another entry in a similar vein to Black Flag, one that takes the general AC formula and does something completely unique with it. Of course, that's much easier said than done, but if recent rumors are true then Black Flag fans may still be in luck, as a remake of the decade-old game could be happening. So at least that'll be some kind of return to form for the Assassin's Creed series.

Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag is out now for PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

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