The main plot is set before and during the French and Indian War from 1752 to 1760, and follows Shay Patrick Cormac, an Irish American privateer and Assassin, who defects to the Templars and helps them hunt down members of his former Brotherhood after becoming disillusioned with their tactics.

Upon release, Rogue received a mixed reception, with praise directed at the game's twist on the traditional formula by playing as a Templar, the mature storyline, complex protagonist, and sophisticated depiction of the Assassin-Templar conflict, as well as the additions to the franchise's lore and the naval warfare gameplay.

The Morrigan, the ship that protagonist Shay Cormac captains, has a shallower draft than Edward Kenway's Jackdaw, allowing for river travel,[1][8] and can be equipped with several new weapons, including Puckle guns, oil slicks which can be ignited, and an icebreaker.

[10] For combat, the game introduces an air rifle, similar to the blowpipe from Black Flag, which allows the player to silently take out enemies at a distance.

In-game collectibles, such as Templar treasures, Native pillars, and Viking sword fragments, also provide Shay with new outfits and equipment upon finding them.

Ordered to investigate a temple in Lisbon, Shay inadvertently triggers a devastating earthquake when he tries removing the artifact at its center, leaving him guilt-ridden and remorseful for of all the innocent lives he accidentally killed.

Cast adrift, Shay is found by Colonel George Monro (Graham J. Cuthbertson), who saves him and leaves him in the care of Templar sympathizers in New York.

Upon retaking his ship, the Morrigan, from the Assassins, and recruiting Christopher Gist (Richard M. Dumont) as his quartermaster, Shay agrees to assist his newfound Templar allies.

After the Assassins kill Monro to steal back the manuscript, Shay realizes the Brotherhood has not given up the search for Precursor temples, and begins hunting down its members, becoming a high-ranking Templar in the process.

After eliminating the Assassin expedition, Shay and Haytham enter the temple to find Liam and Achilles, who have realized that the artifacts are a means to stabilize the world, not a weapon to control it.

In 1776, with Benjamin Franklin's help, Shay infiltrates the Palace of Versailles in France and kills the Assassin Charles Dorian to obtain the box.

Juhani Otso Berg (Andreas Apergis), a senior Templar, orders the player to upload Shay's memories to the Assassin servers, to weaken their resolve.

The game would be a direct sequel to Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, and would feature a Templar named Shay as the main protagonist.

The Templar Order's access to a wealth of resources is manifested through Shay's arsenal of rare and exotic weapons that either existed as prototypes during the era or were actually in use at the time.

The core concept of Shay Cormac's story arc is based on the idea of a member of the Assassins having a change of heart and leaving as a result of a traumatic act of betrayal.

Richard Farrese, one of the writers for Rogue, explained that the character is prompted to rethink his whole philosophy and his allegiance to the Assassins as a result of a cataclysmic event, and realizes that the Templars' goals and methods are much more in line with his own beliefs.

Shay is depicted at the beginning of Rogue's narrative as a somewhat frivolous personality who does not take his role seriously due to his youth and lack of wisdom, though he is full of inner conflict as he questions the motivations of his leaders.

[18] Producer Karl van der Luhe further elaborated that from Shay's perspective, it is not about "going to the dark side", but rather a case of him finding himself being aligned with the Templars' approach as he comes to a realization that their motives and strategy are more in-line with what he believes is right, and he joins to help push it further.

[21] In 2019, DAMTOYS released a figure of Shay Cormac, which stands at just over 12 inches tall and dressed in the character's signature robed outfit, with accessories such as pistol bags, bracers, and pouches.

It does just enough to put its own stamp on the franchise while also giving us critical story details in order to tie up loose ends between Assassin's Creed III and IV.

Although noting that some settings, weapons, and mechanics had been reused from previous games in the series (such as an expansion of the New York City setting from III, naval combat, renovating buildings to build income, and locating enemies with a radar similar to the former multiplayer mode), the use of Assassins as an enemy was considered to be a "much-needed new [idea] to the series' fighting mechanics" due to their use of tactics that were used by the player themselves in previous games (such as smoke bombs and hiding), and that Rogue felt the most "fresh" whilst exploring its new North Atlantic overworld.

He described the game by saying that "Rogue is vast with lots to explore, and while it lacks novelty, it offers a wealth of gameplay and lore to faithful fans.

He described the game by saying that "Rogue in many ways feels like an extension of last year's Black Flag, even down to the menus, but there are some tweaks to the formula thanks to your new role as a former assassin, hunting down his old comrades.

He praised the engaging story, atmospheric scenery, but criticized the lack of Templar abilities included, bland encounters with other main characters, uninspired side quests, empty world, as well as the frustrating combat and traversal system, which he stated has shown no improvements.

[18] Mark Walton from GameSpot gave the game a 6/10, criticizing the predictable story, unlikeable lead character, lack of interesting missions, as well as being thin on core content.

[18] Dyer observed that Shay is more relatable compared to previous series protagonists, and that his fall from grace happens slower than he had anticipated, which contributes to making his change of allegiance more convincing.

He concludes that it is discomforting that the assassin he finds the most interesting is the one who hunts down and slays his former comrades, though the narrative's grim tone is balanced by what he considered to be one of the most preposterous, hilarious events in the entire series: Benjamin Franklin giving Shay a grenade launcher.

[43][44][45] In a retrospective examination of Rogue published by Gamingbolt in September 2020, Shubhankar Parijat said Shay's transformation from young Assassin to Master Templar remains "fascinating to see".

[46] Parijat said Rogue's storyline, which revolves around Shay's personal conflict with his former friends and allies, seeing him being forced to view things in different ways, watching him interact with and form closer bonds with his newfound comrades in the Templars, deserves a special place in the Assassin's Creed series.

[47] Shay's status as one of the few Templar characters who is portrayed sympathetically in the series is discussed by Lars de Wildt in the 2019 book Playing Utopia: Futures in Digital Games[48] Shay's tampering of a Precursor artifact as directed by the Assassin leadership, which inadvertently triggers The Great Lisbon Earthquake event in Rogue's narrative, is cited as an example of the exploration of the theme of theodicy in popular media by author Frank G.