Assassin’s Creed first hit consoles back in 2007, and everyone was excited to dive into the Animus and explore Altaïr’s life as an assassin of the Levantine Brotherhood. The game rose to commercial success and prompted a series of excellent sequels in the shape of Assassin’s Creed 2, Brotherhood, and Revelations.
These games were the pinnacle of the franchise’s success, but Ubisoft had to keep on going by continuing to release rushed Assassin’s Creed games including ACIII, Black Flag, Rogue, Unity, Syndicate, Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla. We dive into the world of Assassin’s Creed below and decide whether Ubisoft has destroyed the franchise.
A Great Start
When Assassin’s Creed was first released, it was a great open-world experience with an interesting concept. Playing as Altaïr’s descendant, Desmond, players had to unlock the secrets of the past by re-living memories. However, it turns out that the company holding Desmond is descendants of the Assassin’s enemy - the Templars.
The following sequels up to Revelations followed Desmond and introduced another ancestor in the shape of Ezio Auditore. However, the two stories were tied together excellently, and they could have been left alone.
What Went Wrong?
The Assassin’s Creed franchise was so popular, and Ubisoft knew it. Therefore, they churned out game after game and plunged us into new worlds with each release. However, after a point, the formula for the game becomes repetitive. After all, there are only so many times you can climb the environment and fight in reskinned wars.
Eventually, Ubisoft clocked onto how stale their games had become, so introduced new features and switched up the format in Origins, which takes us back to Ancient Egypt. In particular, the combat patterns were altered, which kept the loyal fanbase coming back for more.
The latest release in the franchise was Valhalla, which is the 12th installment in the space of 13 years. The majority of the mechanics are the same as in Origins and Odyssey, but the leveling system had transformed into the “skill tree-style” of picking attributes.
The Future of the Franchise
Despite already having an enormous franchise on its hands, Ubisoft now has new technology to play with and is set to release a series of games for next-gen consoles and computers. Therefore, the worlds will become clearer, which means players can finally put their Intel Arc™ graphics cards to good use.
During the Ubisoft 2022 Showcase, a further six Assassin’s Creed games were announced, alongside a live service called Assassin’s Creed Infinity. Despite being renowned for churning out 150+ hour RPGs, it has been confirmed that the next installment will be a lot smaller and will pay homage to the first game. This means that fans can expect much more stealth, parkour, and close combat, as well as a likely return to the Middle East.
Assassin’s Creed has been on the go for 15 years, and the series contains some excellent games. However, the initial series is where the game peaks at this point, with the following releases feeling very rushed and formulaic. Hopefully, after refocusing the game, Ubisoft can prove they still have what it takes to release a fantastic Assassin’s Creed game.
