Assassin’s Creed hits The Big Smoke.
I’ve spent the past month gnashing my way through Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, the ninth in Ubisoft’s series. Nine games is a hell of a long time to still be playing the series (the first came out in 2007), so how is the series fairing after all this time, and how does this installment stack up to it’s predecessors?
First of all, the setting of Victorian London is stunning. The map is 30% bigger than the Paris that appeared in Unity – the biggest yet – and it looks fantastic. Each borough of the sprawling city has it’s own unique personality, and Ubisoft do a really good job of getting across the atmosphere of the era. You’ll feel like you’ve contracted bronchitis from just looking at some of these oily slums.
We’ve got two new protagonists, the Frye siblings. They’re completely interchangeable throughout the game, letting you switch between Evie’s lythe nimbleness and Jacob’s ruthless thuggery. Evie’s meant to be for stealth and her brother for brawling, but for the most part they’re pretty indistinguishable apart from a perk or two. The chemistry between the two in their cutscenes together makes for a nice refreshing angle on the ‘eejit lad slowly becoming an assassin’ plotline of past games.
The gameplay will be familiar to anyone who’s played any of the Assassin’s Creed games over the last few years. Ubisoft haven’t reinvented the wheel with their latest offering but sure look, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Climb a church, scope out the place, stab a fool, upgrade yer throwing knives, throw them at more fools, fling a smoke bomb if it get’s a bit hairy. Bing bang bosh.
The downside to this is that the gameplay can get a bit repetitive. Don’t get me wrong, I love eradicating an enemy Templar stronghold to take control of a slick London borough but the open-ended approach to completing structurally-similar missions in each section of London means that sections of the game can feel more like something you have to get done than a chance to get really creative or wowed by the gameplay.
After playing through a game like Metal Gear Solid V with it’s fluid transition between stealth and combat, it’s a little easier to get peeved with Syndicate’s straightforwardness and its hand-holding of the player throughout the story missions.
However, Syndicate is a much-needed triumph for the series. It’s miles better than Unity, and it’s definitely as good as Black Flag. In fact, this is probably the best Assassin’s Creed game since 2010’s Brotherhood. Scaling the city and stealthily taking out targets is still loads of fun, but I’m waiting for the series to come in and knock my socks off with some real innovation.
Please Sir, can I have some more?
For gameplay footage and an interview with the game’s director Scott Phillips, check out our preview video.
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