DLC has been a bit of a tricky thing for the Assassin’s Creed series because it’s so story driven and there’s a lot of canon to deal with, both in the game and historically. AC3 tried to mix things up with a massive what if scenario involving George Washington as the bad guy, but the episodic release cycle had people (including myself) losing interest before it even concluded.

AC4’s first significant single player DLC, Freedom’s Cry, seems much better planned out and well executed by contrast. First of all, there was plenty of setup in the main game by making the DLC’s protagonist, Adewale, a major NPC as Edward Kenway’s right hand man and counselor, and then setting the game 15 years in the future to keep needless crossover out of the way. Secondly, Freedom’s Cry delves into a very different but extremely significant theme of the seafaring era, slavery, and does so with the right amount of respect, while also allowing to indulge in the aspect of righting the terrible wrongs surrounding you. As the game progresses you quickly find that Adewale is a powerful, intelligent character who should command more respect than Edward but doesn’t, merely because of the color of his skin.

The length of Freedom’s Cry is about a handful of hours in a straight playthrough, far more significant than the hour or so you get to play as Aveline in the PS4 exclusive DLC, but given that you have access to the seas and tons more collectibles to gather, you can make it last even longer. Fortunately, you don’t have to slog very far before you’re captaining your own ship and freeing slaves on the high seas, and even better, all of your ship and personal upgrades are unlocked through these activities. There’s several new recruitment or rescue events as you run around Port Au Prince, but the most interesting were the plantations, where the stealthier you are in dispatching all the overseers and guards, the more slaves you save, giving more of a reward to playing well than just more synchronization percentage. Unlike Edward and more like Aveline, Adewale carries a machete and uses a blunderbuss instead of pistols, which is handy for taking out a handful of guards in front of you at once. While there’s fewer islands and smaller map to sail on compared to the main game, it doesn’t feel too constrained.

Ultimately, Freedom’s Cry strikes a great balance between leaning on the main game’s strengths while charting new territory in the AC4 universe. The voice acting, story, and overall production value remain at the same excellent level so if you haven’t had enough of the game I highly suggest picking up this DLC!

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Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag: Freedom Cry Add-On Screenshots: