History VideoGame / AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag

** The real values dissonance and a case of SocietyMarchesOn is that most of the people the pirates attack tend to be navies of the Spanish and English Empires who essentially fight to maintain their lucrative slave trades with Woodes Rogers himself owning several slave ships. In his day, and other stories, Rogers would be TheHero. Today he's a {{Hypocrite}}, considering that slavery and colonialism have become justifiable AcceptableTargets in the [=21st=] Century, and it's not hard to root for the pirates and for Kenway.

** The game actually has two such things, the irony being that on account of SocietyMarchesOn, what is a MacGuffin in one century becomes irrelevant centuries later and vice versa. For instance, the Observatory would have had deadly uses for the Templars in the 18th to 19th Centuries, but Abstergo researchers note that 21st Century surveillance technology more or less allows them to the same. Their real interest is...

* CanonWelding: An EasterEgg the Abstergo analyst can find while hacking computers puts ''VideoGame/WatchDogs'' into the TheVerse of ''Assassin's Creed'' (and likely every other Ubisoft game that were in the game's universe outside of Creator/TomClancy games developed by the company). [[spoiler:Abstergo CEO Olivier Garneau also disappears from the rest of the game because he was later assassinated by Aiden Pearce of DedSec on behalf of the Assassin Brotherhood]].

** Similarly, losing track of the target that you're supposed to be tailing for too long will give you 20 seconds to catch back up with them before automatic desychronization. Thankfully, tagging these targets with Eagle Vision helps migitate this somewhat.

* WhiteVoidRoom: Subverted in comparison to the previous games, as the memory corridor is now sea green with bokeh sparkles (the latter being similar to ''III'''s multiplayer interface, but much brighter). Also justified as it hearkens to the Animus interface in the First game which took place in the Abstergo office. Essentially the Animus of the Assassins favors white(except for the Back Room in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations'' where the colours were inverted) while Templars interface have blue and green.

* RealityEnsues: Edward, upon being stranded on an island with an increasingly deranged Vane and without any sort of armor or protection, becomes ''much more'' vulnerable to gunfire.

* DummiedOut: There was clearly intended to be some hanky panky in the game, which was cut for unknown reasons. In Great Inagua, after building the town brothel a drunken woman will appear in Edward's bedroom. If the player hits the "Interact" prompt, the screen will go black for a few seconds and she will be in Edward's bed. A similar event happens with a female Assassin after [[spoiler: Edward saves Tulum]].

* DiscOneNuke: If you are diligent in upgrading the Jackdaw and exploring the map, by the time you reach sequence 6 and complete the memory "Diving for Medicines" (which unlocks diving missions giving you access to the Elite Upgrades,assuming you don't have them already by way of the Technology Pack Time Saver DLC, which is a DiscOneNuke itself) you will have everything you need to fully upgrade the Jackdaw, complete all assassins contracts and naval contracts and the Templar Hunt missions. At the end of which you will have a [[OneManArmy One Ship Armada]] captained by a guy who holds dual pistol swords (which fire bullets as a finishing move) and gold-plated pistols which has the best stats and the Templar Armour. There's still half the game left, which is [[{{Pun}} smooth sailing]] from then on. Happy pirating!

* DiscOneNuke: If you are diligent in upgrading the Jackdaw and exploring the map, by the time you reach sequence 6 and complete the memory "Diving for Medicines" (which unlocks diving missions giving you access to the Elite Upgrades) you will have everything you need to fully upgrade the Jackdaw, complete all assassins contracts and naval contracts and the Templar Hunt missions. At the end of which you will have a [[OneManArmy One Man Armada]] captained by a guy who holds dual pistol swords (which fire bullets as a finishing move) and gold-plated pistols which has the best stats and the Templar Armour. There's still half the game left, which is [[{{Pun}} smooth sailing]] from then on. Happy pirating!

Ubisoft would later announce ''VideoGame/SkullAndBones'', a pirate game with gameplay based on the naval combat of ''Black Flag'' developed by the same creative team at Ubisoft Singapore.

* {{Deconstruction}}: While the series has always shined a light on popular history, ''Black Flag'' drastically deconstructs our familiar ideas of pirate life.

As usual for the franchise, this game features an all-new assassin protagonist within a brand-new time period. Unusually, the TimeSkip is ''backwards'' from the previous protagonist [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII Connor]] - a first for the series - to the life of his grandfather, Edward Kenway (Creator/MattRyan), and set in UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfPiracy. Even more unusually, the present-day story moves forward from the climax of ''III'', where you now play as a researcher working in Abstergo Entertainment gathering "footage" of Edward Kenway's life for the company to use in making their own spin on the story.

* AcceptableBreaksFromReality: Ships sail far, far faster than they are capable of in real life, with the player's brig able to easily clear a nautical mile within about a minute. Even applies in-universe, as the Animus features a 'Travel' speed that's far faster than Full Sail.
** Also discussed in the Database entry for the Cathedral of Havana; it's admitted that the building as designed is from far too late a period to fit the game, but 'Abstergo' are willing to fudge it as half of the experience they're selling is cool buildings to climb.

** Jennifer's last name is [[BerserkButton ''not'' Kenway, it's ''Scott''.]]

** Queen of all is El Impoluto, a legendary Level 75 Man o' War and the only ship of its class that mounts a spur. The beast is just as heavily armored and armed as the other legendary ships, but unlike them it's ''extremely'' fast and agile, capable of outrunning and outmanoevring the ''Jackdaw'' no matter the situation (the only other vessels that can do this are [[TheGoomba gunships]]). Needless to say that a wicked-fast Man o' War purpose-built for ram attacks is a very deadly foe.

** The game has strong female characters in [[spoiler:Mary Read]], Anne Bonny and even Caroline, and the final ''Devils of the Caribbean'' trailer might as well be Creator/MichaelBay directed, with women merely reduced to pleasure objects for pirates and the PirateGirl not present in the group.

-->''"Mohawk culture lacks [[WhiteMaleLead the balance]] to tell the true story of America. Moreover, we feel that the Mohawk language will be an issue for most of our audience. We therefore feel that although Ratonhnhaké:ton's early life is of some interest to our more educated viewers its unlikely his story will appeal on a more broader scale being [[CulturalPosturing too foreign]], as it were for normal audiences."''

* MacGuffin: Instead of being an esoteric tool with a thousand uses like the Apple, this time the Macguffin is surprisingly simple and straightforward in its use and intent: it's something that can be used to spy on anyone, anywhere in the world. The ultimate surveillance tool, which would make anyone able to rule the world with an iron fist.
** The game actually has two such things, the irony being that on account of SocietyMarchesOn, what is a MacGuffin in one century becomes irrelevant centuries later and vice versa. For instance, the Observatory would have had deadly uses for the Templars in the 18th to 19th Centuries but Abstergo researchers note that 21st Century surveillance technology more or less allows them to the same. Their real interest is...
** [[spoiler: The rows of blood vials which Black Bart or Aita tells Edward has the blood of the First Civilization. He tells Edward that it's not worth anything in the 18th Century but will be in "a later epoch". Abstergo has no useful samples to sequence the genome of such a being. With the possession of John from IT's body and his memories, presumably, in Cloud they have a headstart on finding the rest of the blood vials]]. ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedUnity'' confirms that this is indeed the next quest for the Assassins, Templars and [[spoiler:Juno and her Instruments]].
* MadnessMantra: All around the Abstergo Entertainment office building, you can find sticky notes which contain rambling messages, presumably from someone brainwashed by Juno. Every instance of her name is suffixed with "MAY SHE GUIDE US INTO THE GREY". [[spoiler:The Sages from both the past and present -- Bartholomew Roberts and John from IT respectively -- say something along those lines right before their deaths. Interestingly, another Sage, Thom Kavanaugh, never uses the phrase, presumably since he retained his humanity and prevailed over his First Civilization alter-ego, Aita]].
* MeaningfulBackgroundEvent: You'll probably notice of all the reused characters for all the employees and pedestrians at Abstergo, the barista at the lobby and the courier that shows up on occasion are completely unique [=NPCs=]. [[spoiler:That's because they're Shaun and Rebecca from the previous games]].
* MeaningfulName: Edward Kenway means "Prosperous Brave royal fighter". His ship, the Jackdaw, has a meaningful name as well. (see AnimalMotifs).

* MissionControlIsOffItsMeds: John from IT starts going a little crazy in later present day missions.

** In one of the audio logs, Warren Vidic makes an entrance with a sing-song [[https://youtu.be/BxAfDlxbfVk?t=24 Here I come to save the day!]] taken straight from ''WesternAnimation/MightyMouse''.

** While Edward is meeting with the Templars for the first time, mention is made of a man named James Puckle who had invented a rapid-firing gun. The "Puckle gun" (essentially a flintlock revolver) actually was invented around the time of the game. In Rogue, you get to finally use them.

* ShownTheirWork: While Edward is meeting with the Templars for the first time, mention is made of a man named James Puckle who had invented a rapid-firing gun. The "Puckle gun" (essentially a flintlock revolver) actually was invented around the time of the game. In Rogue, you get to finally use them.

* CapitalLettersAreMagic: Nigh-every noun in the game is capitalized in the subtitles. This is a ShoutOut to the main reference for the game, "A General History Of The Pyrates".

* CanonWelding: An EasterEgg the Abstergo analyst can find while hacking computers puts ''VideoGame/WatchDogs'' into the TheVerse of ''Assassin's Creed'' (and likely every other Ubisoft game that were in the game's universe outside of Creator/TomClancy games developed by the company). [[spoiler:Abstergo CEO Olivier Garneau disappears from the rest of the game because he was later assassinated by Aiden Pearce of DedSec on behalf of the Assassin Brotherhood]].

* CanonWelding: An EasterEgg the Abstergo analyst can find while hacking computers puts ''VideoGame/WatchDogs'' into the TheVerse of ''Assassin's Creed'' (and likely every other Ubisoft game that were in the game's universe outside of Creator/TomClancy games developed by the company). [[spoiler:Olivier Garneau is assassinated by Aiden Pearce of DedSec on behalf of the Assassin Brotherhood which explains why he disappears from the rest of the game]].

* CanonWelding: An EasterEgg the Abstergo analyst can find while hacking computers puts ''VideoGame/WatchDogs'' into the TheVerse of Assassin's Creed (and all other Ubisoft games that were in the game's universe).

* CostumePorn: This instalment may have the most gorgeous costume designs yet. From the costumes worn by the pirates (Black Bart, Blackbeard, Mary Read and Anne Bonny deserve special mention), to the cool Assassin uniform, to the sumptuous outfits worn by the Templars. Edward's wardrobe alone is remarkable, featuring various pirate outfits, Assassin robes, and fashionable outfits of the day. Then there's the Templar and Mayan armour - the former is sleek and black and badass-looking, while the latter pairs golden First civ armour plate with ornate, electric blue robes.

** ''Literally.'' Edward Kenway is an assassin, a pirate and an ancestor of a contemporary protagonist whose life is being relived via technology.

* WrittenByTheWinners: What your job profile as Research Analyst for Abstergo Entertainment entails. Unearth the past, find out how it happened and then send your footage to developers who will make a mockery of history and the lives of past figures.

* {{Deconstruction}} / GenreDeconstruction: While the series has always shined a light on popular history, ''Black Flag'' drastically deconstructs our familiar ideas of pirate life.

* {{Deconstruction}}: While the series has always shined a light on popular history, ''Black Flag'' drastically deconstructs our familiar ideas of pirate life.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Jellyfish only deal damage if Edward comes in contact with their body; their tentacles are harmless. That's the complete opposite of how they behave in real life since the cnidocytes that deliver the poison are located along their tentacles.