Thoughts on the Assassin's Creed series so far

[dscross]

For the longest time, I never played Assassin's Creed, as I never saw it as my sort of gameplay, although I once tried Assassin's Creed 3 when it came out (never got into it).

However, a long time ago, I studied History for my undergraduate degree so, obviously, I like the idea of seeing historical locations recreated. So, I bought Assassin's Creed Odessey years ago, after hearing it was a bit like The Witcher. When I *eventually* got around to playing it, I discovered that, in my opinion, it was nothing like The Witcher in terms of mechanics, except for the open-world setup and dialogue choices. Since I hadn't really played an Assassin's Creed game before, some of the mechanics were initially quite interesting for me.

It took me months and months to finish that game in between work and family stuff. There is a lot to do and a lot of varied content. Even with level scaling, I wouldn't say it's much of a challenge, except for a few of the bosses, but it is certainly compelling and lots to do. And seeing Ancient Greece recreated is very interesting. So, overall I would say I enjoyed it.

Off the back of this experience, I decided to try out Assassin's Creed Origins, which I had heard recreated Ancient Egypt. This game, while a long experience, was shorter in scope. As a slightly more focussed game, I ended up enjoying it even more than Odessey, but having not played the earlier games, I was confused as to some of the plots and references.

Intrigued, I looked back at the rest of the series to discover what the fanbase thought. It turned out that it had a different gameplay format prior to Origins. However, the next game, Valhalla, was similar (with the following game, Mirage being called a "back to basics" game). At this point, I thought I should just start the series again to understand what was going on.

I still have a PS3 - and Assassin's Creed 1 is still available in the store. So, I started there. Being the first game, it has much a more focussed story and deeper lore as well as gameplay depth compared to the 2 RPG-style ones I had played up until that point. It presented much more of a challenge, even if there was a lot of repetitive gameplay by modern standards. Very fun though. The game's story is great, leaving you on Cliffhanger.

The other games seemed very cheap on PS4. They all seemed to be on offer. So I bought the Ezio Collection. AC2 was excellent. Great story, lots of fun and intrigue. Ended on another Cliffhanger and the gameplay is much improved from the first, although arguably less of a challenge.

Then I played Brotherhood. This is currently where I am up to. I am currently about maybe 3/4s of the way through. I can see objectively it's a good game, but I am starting to feel burnt out on the series. The story isn't very exciting and seems like this might be where the Ubisoft busy-work thing started. I do intend to play the others, but I am now starting to find them a bit samey so I think it's time for a break.

What is your experience of the series?

 

[Zykon TheLich]

Having detested the overarching story from afar for some time I tried Odyssey because it at least seemed like a relatively disconnected romp through ancient greece. Had some sort of issue with loading off the HD causing the game to hang up whenever it needed to load a new area on the fly so I refunded it.

I played about 10 minutes of Syndicate because I got it for free on EGS and instantly hated it. The character intros, the starter level, climbing controls blech!

I might give Odyssey a go again if it was free on EGS, but otherwise wouldn't bother, the issue might have been having the game on a different HD to where the launcher was installed but I'm not risking money to find out.

I really loved Tenchu when I was younger and I usually play the sneaky sniper/backstabbing assassin type in RPGs so the series intrigues me in some ways and repulses me in others.

 

[BrawlMan]

For the longest time, I never played Assassin's Creed, as I never saw it as my sort of gameplay, although I once tried Assassin's Creed 3 when it came out (never got into it).

However, a long time ago, I studied History for my undergraduate degree so, obviously, I like the idea of seeing historical locations recreated. So, I bought Assassin's Creed Odessey years ago, after hearing it was a bit like The Witcher. When I *eventually* got around to playing it, I discovered that, in my opinion, it was nothing like The Witcher in terms of mechanics, except for the open-world setup and dialogue choices. Since I hadn't really played an Assassin's Creed game before, some of the mechanics were initially quite interesting for me.

It took me months and months to finish that game in between work and family stuff. There is a lot to do and a lot of varied content. Even with level scaling, I wouldn't say it's much of a challenge, except for a few of the bosses, but it is certainly compelling and lots to do. And seeing Ancient Greece recreated is very interesting. So, overall I would say I enjoyed it.

Off the back of this experience, I decided to try out Assassin's Creed Origins, which I had heard recreated Ancient Egypt. This game, while a long experience, was shorter in scope. As a slightly more focussed game, I ended up enjoying it even more than Odessey, but having not played the earlier games, I was confused as to some of the plots and references.

Intrigued, I looked back at the rest of the series to discover what the fanbase thought. It turned out that it had a different gameplay format prior to Origins. However, the next game, Valhalla, was similar (with the following game, Mirage being called a "back to basics" game). At this point, I thought I should just start the series again to understand what was going on.

I still have a PS3 - and Assassin's Creed 1 is still available in the store. So, I started there. Being the first game, it has much a more focussed story and deeper lore as well as gameplay depth compared to the 2 RPG-style ones I had played up until that point. It presented much more of a challenge, even if there was a lot of repetitive gameplay by modern standards. Very fun though. The game's story is great, leaving you on Cliffhanger.

The other games seemed very cheap on PS4. They all seemed to be on offer. So I bought the Ezio Collection. AC2 was excellent. Great story, lots of fun and intrigue. Ended on another Cliffhanger and the gameplay is much improved from the first, although arguably less of a challenge.

Then I played Brotherhood. This is currently where I am up to. I am currently about maybe 3/4s of the way through. I can see objectively it's a good game, but I am starting to feel burnt out on the series. The story isn't very exciting and seems like this might be where the Ubisoft busy-work thing started. I do intend to play the others, but I am now starting to find them a bit samey so I think it's time for a break.

What is your experience of the series?

Just play II, Brotherhood, and Black Flag. Then move on to Ghost of Tsushima (the AC game ever made). There, I saved you a lot of time.

 

[bluegate]

I enjoy their engines and freedom of movement.

But I don't really enjoy the story, writing or story telling in the games.

For reference I played the original, part two, brotherhood, part three, black flag, syndicate and odyssey.

 

[dscross]

I enjoy their engines and freedom of movement.

But I don't really enjoy the story, writing or story telling in the games.

For reference I played the original, part two, brotherhood, part three, black flag, syndicate and odyssey.

I liked the story in Odessey a lot until the late game tbh - but towards the end it just sort of fizzled out, which I thought was a bit of an odd way to end it. I think all the multiple plot lines kind of confused everything. Finding the cult leader should have been the climatic ending to the main story in my opinion, but it left on an unsatisfyiing note, and then just sort of carried on. The DLCs didn't seem to end properly either.

Origins, I liked the world more than the story tbh, although Bayek is a better protagonist. And it's a straightforward revenge story really. But again, I didn't feel like it ended very epically. More cohesively, but nothing particularly exciting.

The Original's story I think is stronger. If you don't know where it is going, I would say it's an interesting mystery.

I think in the second one, Ezio's personal journey is good and the ending is captivating. Parts in the middle are good. There are clear plot points centred around his revenge and eventual acceptance of being an assassin. Piece of Eden stuff maybe not as interesting as it could have been.

Brotherhood, I'm playing at the moment, but, storywise, the whole thing feels a bit tacked on without any clear direction, and it spoils the ending of AC2 in a way. I'm thinking this might be an indication of how the other games I've not played are?

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

What is your experience of the series?

Tried playing the first one twice on PC but never made it far. There was also bugginess on PC which impeded my progress and tested my patience. The premise was intriguing but I had too much else to play which gelled more and never felt the urge to go back again. Ubisoft’s increasing bs in terms of game design only exacerbated my sentiments on playing more of the series, even though I’d boughten Black Flag on a Steam sale in the meantime a few years back. I’ve heard it’s one of the best in the series but one of those game I might never get to with my currently available game time.

 

[Drathnoxis]

@Dalisclock wrote a book on the series in thread form, if you're interested.

 

[dscross]

@Dalisclock wrote a book on the series in thread form, if you're interested.

I'll give it a read. Id imagine someone who has been a fan since the start would have a lot stronger views on the later ones.

 

[Dalisclock]

@Dalisclock wrote a book on the series in thread form, if you're interested.

I almost forgot I wrote that whole thing.

 

[Gordon_4]

I almost forgot I wrote that whole thing.

I still reread your DragonAge thread because it was one of the last truly great threads on this forum.

 

[Gordon_4]

Having detested the overarching story from afar for some time I tried Odyssey because it at least seemed like a relatively disconnected romp through ancient greece. Had some sort of issue with loading off the HD causing the game to hang up whenever it needed to load a new area on the fly so I refunded it.

I played about 10 minutes of Syndicate because I got it for free on EGS and instantly hated it. The character intros, the starter level, climbing controls blech!

I might give Odyssey a go again if it was free on EGS, but otherwise wouldn't bother, the issue might have been having the game on a different HD to where the launcher was installed but I'm not risking money to find out.

I really loved Tenchu when I was younger and I usually play the sneaky sniper/backstabbing assassin type in RPGs so the series intrigues me in some ways and repulses me in others.

If you can get Odyssey for like $20 or less and install it on an SSD, it’s a pretty fun and cheesy romp through the theme park version of Greek antiquity. But no more than $20; it’s fun but it’s not THAT fun.

 

[Dalisclock]

I still reread your DragonAge thread because it was one of the last truly great threads on this forum.

Thank you.

Maybe I should actually get around to writing that book I've been researching for the last 3 years. In 20 years maybe it'll be actually finished.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Haven't played any since Black Flag.

I've never played an Assassin's Creed game that I didn't like but they're all more or less the same game so it never felt like I was missing out.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

Well... it's my favorite franchise. Or, at least the one I've poured the most time into. I've played each game except Mirage multiple times. So I have a lot to say.

AC2 was the game that sucked me into gaming as an adult after practically a 15 year absence from gaming so I have illogically loyal and positive feelings towards that game.

First of all your observation that Brotherhood introduces the bloat the series is known for is correct.
The original game was inspired by the Prince of Persia series and the novel Alamut, which itself is a fantasy-historical-fiction. Read that, or about it, and the whole mythology around the original "assassins" real group, and it will put the first game in a new light, especially since it's still fresh in your head and you say you like history.

Patrice Desilets was the lead designer or director or whatever and supposedly he envisioned a trilogy, with each game taking place in a different time and place. So that explains the first two games, and why there are all these connections with the codex and subject 16 (hopefully you solved all that, read the codex, etc).

With Brotherhood he left or got pushed out or something so without committing to ending the story, but with dragging out the narrative, and without a single guiding consistent directory, you have what you're experiencing with Brotherhood which indeed feels like a long DLC for AC2. I do still like the game because it is Renaissance Rome during the Borgias which is cool and gorgeous and it's still fun gameplay for me.

At this point I will say that for me the main draws of the games are the settings and the feeling of moving around the worlds. Running on and at historical landmarks with gorgeous backdrops is the single most fun thing in gaming and as long as they are third person, responsive movement and set in history I am there. That is obviously not true for most hence as the series goes on and on, it gets less interesting to everybody else.

Revelations is understandably looked over because it's the second sequel to a sequel and at this point really for the diehard Ezio or AC fans. Since I'm both, I like it a lot. It's set in Istanbul which is different enough from Italy to make it interesting and it ends Ezio's story nicely so if you're still invested in the character it's absolutely worth playing. Gameplay is such is still basically the same though.

AC3 was a massive changing point with a new engine, protagonist, and setting. At this point to me the series went from "favorite" to "just another thing to play" because that game is so incomplete and confusing and honestly I can write a novel about all my feelings about that game but the crib notes are that it's cool to play as a native American and I actually liked the promise of the American Revolution setting (many non-Americans whined about that though) but the world feels empty, the missions suck and the gameplay is dumbed down. But it introduces ship combat... From a story perspective it's important because it concludes the meta-narrative with Desmond (kinda shittily though).

AC4 is the pirate one and it's hella fun to be a pirate and ship stuff is cool. The rest is ok. People love it because pirates.

Unity was the next massive change in engine, graphics, setting, etc, and it's a gorgeous game set in the French revolution that feels like torture to play. It came out buggy so everybody hated it, then the Notre Dame burned down and like 6 other AC games came out or whatever and a bunch of folks pretended to love it. It's the only AC I actually dislike because controlling the protagonist feels I wanna die IRL.

Syndicate is a less buggy, less complicated Unity set in London. It's the most "meh" AC game.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

More thoughts..

As I said in the now playing thread I actually happen to be replaying the Ezio trilogy for the zillionth time, it's my comfort food. Brotherhood should be looked at as a playground, a fan mod, an extended hang-out. The whole story is just "do a bunch of stuff to conquer territory" and then the whole actual main story is rushed in the end in like two missions hahah.

But I will also defend the crux of the story- AC2 is classic because it's the hero's journey, and the revenge plot that turns into more important things, and also the single greatest and most important world building of the whole franchise. Brotherhood is only one thing, but it's a cool thing which is.. ok, now what? Ezio becomes a fully realized hero by the end of AC2, but where does that leave everyone else? In Brotherhood he actually becomes a second Altair, re-defining the whole Brotherhood. If you let yourself get lost in that aspect of it, the idea of building something, it's quite marvelous.

I also just love some of the missions- the faction ones, the war machines. Yes they are spectacles that just build incrementally on pre-existing mechanics but so what I guess. This game is only for AC2 fans and really should not be played back-to-back but, heck, I would say that about a lot of franchises and sequels. Like you should play Final Fantasy 7:rebirth after you've played remake but not right away, I would suggest at least.

I didn't mention Rogue because it's Black Flag but lame. Of all the AC games, it is certainly one of them.

The whole Kenway saga is kind of fascinating and weird- talking about narrative, it's shockingly disappointing. Here I am talking about AC3, AC4, Rogue, and the associated expansions and spin-offs like Liberation. It introduces a new meta-narrative with Juno and the sages and whatnot and none of it is really resolved. I mean they literally end the saga in a freaking comic book which is one of the single greatest acts of trolling in all narrative fiction.

I also wanna address u/Brawlman's comment about Ghost of Tsushima being an AC game that isn't one- it is a common joke, one I've made before, and one I get (I also love that game dearly and yes I like it more than any AC since Revelations). But I do want to defend the "meta-narrative" thing where you're in the present living through an ancestor's memory, and how unique and important that is to the franchise. Many call for its abandonment- I have, at times, myself, given how unsatisfying that element has been for so long. But as I replay these games I am reminded of how important it is. Not so much to gameplay but to the "feel," the vibe, the setting. I said before that historical setting and 3rd person action is what makes AC for me but this animus sci-fi nonsense is also core.

Re: the recent games, the move to "rpg" is controversial amongst some of the fandom but clearly a commercially correct choice. Personally I hate it but in recent years I have become more and more of a minimalist as the AAA industry games go the other way- everything with crafting or numbers or levels or menus and just.. ugh. I concede it's an update and concession to reality and I'm fine with it as long as I can climb statues and buildings and stab a templar in the face but I don't like it.

The Witcher 3 comparison thing- I have made the argument that its quest and open world structure had set the standard for narrative games and AC is my biggest proof. There is no doubt in my mind that the makers of Origin played W3 and thought yes, we too must have main missions and optional story-based side quests with dialogue that "feel" like main missions. Even having an intro mini-open world as a big tutorial with a little big of everything (White Orchard = Siwa = Kephalonia). But what they didn't do was have the dedicated brilliant unified quest design team that Witcher 3 had. And, as with the rpg stuff, it's annoying because in my mind don't just half-ass something like this, go all in or don't bother.

The new games are gorgeous though. I mean honestly Egypt in Origin, holy shit- it's a cliche for fans of an open world game to say they like to just walk around in it and gape at the scenery but it's true for Origins and Odyssey. Valhalla's England is a little less spectacular which is part of why it doesn't have the love as the other two.

The main thing that makes Origins may favorite of the new ones is Bayek. The animation, core story, and voice acting make him one of the strongest AC protagonists. Odyssey and Valhalla feel... "fake," inconsequential, all over the place. Odyssey however is the most replayable to me, the one where I can just boot it up, put on a podcast, and just sail and run around.

Mirage kinda sucks because it's like Valhalla but removing the few good things about it.

Liberation is worth checking out if you do get into the Kenway saga- it's dismissed because it's a port from a handheld game but IMO it actually has some truly interesting mechanics and story beats.