Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag vs Assassin's Creed Syndicate
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is an action-adventure action-RPG game from Ubisoft Romania (2013) while Assassin's Creed Syndicate is an action-adventure open-world game from Ubisoft Quebec (2015).
Quick answer: Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag rates higher, 7.8 to 7.1 on the GamingPickz Score, and Assassin's Creed Syndicate is the cheaper at $29.99.
What each one is
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is filed under Action-Adventure and Action-RPG. In contrast, Assassin's Creed Syndicate under Action-Adventure and Open-World.
Discover Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag, the classic pirate action-adventure game from 2013. Command your ship, hunt Templars and carve your legend as Edward Kenway across the Caribbean's Golden Age of Piracy.
London, 1868. Lead your underworld organization in the midst of the Industrial Revolution to break the corrupt stranglehold on the city in a visceral adventure filled with action, intrigue, and brutal combat.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
Characters The main character of the game is Edward Kenway ( Matt Ryan ), a Welsh privateer-turned-pirate and eventual member of the Brotherhood of Assassins. Edward is the father of the Colonial Templars Grand Master Haytham Kenway and grandfather of the Assassin Ratonhnhaké:ton , the two of whom are playable characters of Assassin's Creed III . During the game, Edward meets and interacts with several real-life historical figures, including notorious… (Wikipedia)
Characters
The main character of the game is Edward Kenway ( Matt Ryan ), a Welsh privateer-turned-pirate and eventual member of the Brotherhood of Assassins. Edward is the father of the Colonial Templars Grand Master Haytham Kenway and grandfather of the Assassin Ratonhnhaké:ton , the two of whom are playable characters of Assassin's Creed III . During the game, Edward meets and interacts with several real-life historical figures, including notorious pirates… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic , with critics praising the open world gameplay, side-quests, graphics and naval combat. In November 2013, Hardcore Gamer ranked Black Flag as the 70th greatest game of the seventh generation era. Black Flag was generally praised as superior to Assassin's Creed III , with Game Informer s Joe Juba noting that Ubisoft… (Wikipedia)
Plot
Setting and characters In 1868, at the tail end of the Industrial Revolution , with the Assassin Brotherhood all but eradicated in Victorian London , twins Jacob ( Paul Amos ) and Evie Frye ( Victoria Atkin ) leave Crawley for London and arrive to find a city controlled by the Templars , with both the Church and the Monarchy losing their power. Raised as Assassins to follow the Creed, Jacob and Evie aim to take back the city from Templar control by… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Assassin's Creed Syndicate received "generally favorable" reviews for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions, while the PC version of the game received "mixed or average" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic . Alexa Corriea from GameSpot praised the fluidity of Syndicate s new combat system, as well as the beauty of the map and the addition of the rope launcher. She hailed the game as "a triumphant return to… (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag | Assassin's Creed Syndicate | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.8/10 | 7.1/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (88%, 78,523) | Very Positive (80%, 33,045) |
| Critic aggregate | No aggregate | 74/100 |
| Price | $39.99 | $29.99 |
| Install size | 30 GB | — |
| Steam Deck | playable | unsupported |
| Released | 2013 | 2015 |
| Developer | Ubisoft Romania | Ubisoft Quebec |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag vs Assassin's Creed Syndicate, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Assassin's Creed IV: Black FlagAction-adventure action-RPG gameAssassin's Creed SyndicateAction-adventure open-world gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Assassin's Creed IV: Black FlagPirates, Open World, AssassinAssassin's Creed SyndicateAssassin, Open World, ActionThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag ✓Score 7.8 · 88% on SteamAssassin's Creed SyndicateScore 7.1 · 80% on Steam · 74 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag78,523 reviews · 30 GBAssassin's Creed Syndicate33,045 reviews · 9 add-onsReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag$39.99Assassin's Creed Syndicate ✓$29.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag ✓PlayableAssassin's Creed SyndicateUnsupportedValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag takes 2 of the marked rounds to 1. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueAssassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and Assassin's Creed Syndicate on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Multi-platform
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (GamingPickz Score 7.8)
- The cheaper right now: Assassin's Creed Syndicate ($29.99)
- Better on a Steam Deck: Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (playable)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (78,523 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
Open WorldAssassinAdventureActionStealthParkourThird PersonMultiplayer
Where they differ
PiratesNavalExplorationAction-AdventureNaval CombatMature
Female ProtagonistSteampunkGreat SoundtrackStrategyGoreFunny
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Assassin's Creed Syndicate is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag | Assassin's Creed Syndicate | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | Nvidia Geforce GTX 260 | — |
| Minimum CPU | Intel Core2Quad Q8400 @ 2.6 GHz | — |
| Minimum RAM | 2 GB | — |
| Install size | 30 GB | — |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag · Assassin's Creed Syndicate.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 2 accessibility features for Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and 7 for Assassin's Creed Syndicate. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
If you like one, also try
Common questions
How different are Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and Assassin's Creed Syndicate in scope?
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag has drawn 78,523 Steam reviews and installs in 30 GB. Assassin's Creed Syndicate has drawn 33,045 Steam reviews and ships 9 add-ons.
Is Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag or Assassin's Creed Syndicate better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag rates higher (7.8 to 7.1). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag or Assassin's Creed Syndicate?
Assassin's Creed Syndicate is cheaper right now at $29.99, against $39.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Should I get Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag or Assassin's Creed Syndicate?
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag rates higher, 7.8 to 7.1 on the GamingPickz Score, and Assassin's Creed Syndicate is the cheaper at $29.99. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
All comparisonsHow we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.