Set sail once more as Ubisoft has brought two Assassin’s Creed classics to the Switch. Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection sees the return of Assasin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and Assassin’s Creed: Rogue. Both games are best known for introducing and expanding upon ship mechanics in the Assassin’s Creed series, a mechanic that is still used in the newest installment: Odyssey. The naval system has become a beloved part of the Assassin’s Creed series. The Rebel Collection allows players to step into the Animus once more, captain a ship, and relive the glory days as both a pirate-turned-Assassin and as an Assassin-turned-Templar.

Please, enter the Animus and see what you are in for:

The Gameplay

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and Assassin’s Creed: Rogue came out in 2013 and 2014, respectively. This being the case, I will not be going in-depth into either game. Rather, I will focus on how these games look and feel on the Switch specifically. If you would like to see what we thought about either game, check out the Black Flag and Rogue reviews.

First and foremost, we have to talk about what people seem to always remember these games for: sailing the high seas. Black Flag brought nautical encounters to the Assassin’s Creed franchise for the first time. Rogue expanded upon these features and helped refine the naval system. This is a mechanic we still see in newer installments, namely Odyssey. There is a reason this is what people usually site: it is a blast and all I wanted to do the entire time!

In both games, I love getting onto a ship and just sailing. The enemy encounters on the open waters are enjoyable and can become quite tense. There is a new level of threat and excitement in using a massive naval vessel against your combatants.

However, while you are controlling your characters on land, things don’t always go as smooth. First of all, disclaimer: I never really sat down and played any Assassin’s Creed games before Origins. Because of this, I found the controls in The Rebel Collection to feel quite clunky. Jumping felt weird, as did some of the combat. My biggest issue with traversing the environment finding that I could not as easily climb as I thought I might. There are very specific areas that the player can climb. If you are not facing the right direction, you are not climbing it.

One of the only issues I have is with Black Flag specifically. And it seems to be an intentional choice. The subtitling in Black Flag was quite irritating for a time while playing. Random nouns were capitalized. When playing the game, it seemed to be as if there was some sort of communication error while typing up the subtitles. See example below:

However, with some research, specifically this Reddit thread, it appears the decisions in capitalization were intentional. According to the thread, as the team at Ubisoft did their research, they came across A General History of the Pyrates. In this, every important proper noun was capitalized. As a way to pay homage to history, the developers took this practice and implemented it into Black Flag.

In theory, this is incredibly brilliant and shows the devotion to representing history within Assassin’s Creed games. In practice, it does not come across quite so well. As I said before, it is quite irritating, and really broke my immersion while playing. The subtitles, after all, are for the players, not the characters. If I were just reading documents in Black Flag, this seems like an appropriate way to handle it. However, as a player, who is used to a defined set of rules for the English language, this is completely jarring to look at.

The only other issue I have is the graphical quality, sort of. Allow me to explain. On the surface, and from a little bit of distance, the game looks fantastic. Get a little closer, and it is very obvious that these games have not aged well. They definitely look as if they came out of the early 2010s.

However, they are not the worst looking games ever. In fact, since this is not a remaster, the game is able to run smoothly on the Switch. I didn’t have any issues while playing from stutter and loading times were quick. Not remastering the games means that some processing power could be saved, allowing the games to run without issue. Since the Switch is a moble console at its core, this is an easy concession to make to be able to play these fantastic games on the go.

The Experience

I think one of the coolest things about The Rebel Collection is that I was able to play some classic Assassin’s Creed games. And, I was able to take them wherever I went! These were games that I always wanted to play, but I never did get around to them. It was like a little gift for my past self.

For most people, I think having these games accessible on the Switch means a trip down memory lane. Those who played the games when they first came out will be able to hop right back into them and find that everything still feels the same. For them, it will feel like entering the Animus once more to relive a memory.

For others, especially younger generations, it might be harder to get into The Rebel Collection. Playing these games just feels so different that the newer Assassin’s Creed games. While I, personally, was mostly okay with this, the different feel may be off-putting to others. The game does certainly feel older. If a player cannot appreciate that, then I don’t know that I would recommend this to them.

Since this is a collection, there are some fun goodies, for fans new and old. First off, every single-player DLC comes with The Rebel Collection. Players can play the base games and DLCs all in one place and really get the full stories. Having these is quite nice because they do help add to the base games.

There are also exclusive costumes to The Rebel Collection. Players are able to choose from ten exclusive outfits. This even includes the newest ones such as Alexios from Odyssey. This was a fun find and might help bring newer players around to giving The Rebel Collection a try.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I think The Rebel Collection is a fantastic release of two fantastic games. Even though I had some issues with it, I still have an appreciation for Black Flag and Rogue. I was a little taken aback by the subtitles in Black Flag, but now knowing that it pays homage to the source material I’ve come to appreciate it a little more.

This is a wonderful way for fans of the series to add Black Flag and Rogue to their collection if they have not already. If they have, then it still might be a great addition since you can take it on-the-go. Plus, who wouldn’t want some new, exclusive costumes?

The Rebel Collection is an all-around enjoyable and if you can understand that these games have some age to them, then I think anybody will find themselves enjoying it. Even those who have grown up with butter-smooth controls.