Ubisoft has been putting out Assassin’s Creed titles for the better part of the last decade and with every release, the studio was able to tell a different story set in a different era. There have been very strong reviews of certain titles that got smoothened out after the initial release cycle. The bugs were game-breaking to some, and the story unpalatable to critics.
This brings into light the necessity of game testing services that can help boost the critical acclaim of triple-A titles in their initial cycle of releases. It is important to note that every fan, casual player, or critic might have a list of their own and the games at the bottom of this list are also worth playing at least once. There are definitely no titles that genuinely fall flat in providing a fun story and experience, but there are games that play more cohesively as compared to others. Assassin’s Creed Chronicles is not included in the list as the game is much smaller in scope and is designed in a completely new format for smaller consoles and shorter play durations.
Here is our ranking of Assassin’s Creed games and details on how they have fared in the last decade:
12: Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla
The last 3 releases in the franchise have been the most debated as the game mechanics have turned from action-adventure games to open-world role-playing games. This changes a lot in terms of how the game plays and how the story and the world are explored. The character dialogues do not do much in terms of bringing the player closer to the character. The promise that was made right before release that this game was going to be the return to classic elements also fell short as it did very little to incorporate older gameplay mechanics like stealth and environment blending. What this game does well is making the player really feel like a Viking by making the gameplay mechanics a lot more brutal and crunchier. The game has a lot to do all the way from raiding monasteries and islands, and the visuals that complement it are a sight to behold. Although the world looks beautiful on newer generation consoles (on 60FPS) the story is disjointed and lacks the charm that older games brought to the fore.
Also Read: The Assassin’s Creed Franchise – IN RETROSPECT
11. Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
This game is the most controversial game released in a controversial series. Some people would put this at the very bottom of the list based on principle and love for the original series alone, as critics went to the extent to say it does not deserve to hold the assassin’s creed title. The first nine games are story-centric with a titular character exploring the world in a linear trajectory that the developers create for the player. Odyssey takes the player on a journey through Ancient Greece through the waters of the Mediterranean Sea as a mercenary for hire. Although these are not what the original games were about, Odyssey tries to change things up with a huge and sprawling map. The combat is magical and flamboyant looking for the most part and helps to make fighting look fun with light-hearted side stories that can get a chuckle or two out of a casual player- it is definitely a game one can sink hours into.
10. Assassin’s Creed: Rogue
Rogue deserved a longer run-time with more development into its story being the seventh game in seven years in the series. After Black Flag’s story and open world that could be explored for months on end, fans’ expectations were subverted as the story is about the protagonist being a Templar as opposed to being an assassin. At the end of the day, it does little to dive deeper into the systems that it brings back from the previous game alongside newer features that have little time to shine, Rogue acts as a sequel or an extension to Black Flag wherein the terrain is made of ice and the story ties into both Black Flag and Unity. With a little more time, Rogue could have had its time in the spotlight for a lot longer than it originally did.
9. Assassin’s Creed
This game set the path for every other Assassin’s Creed game and observing it in a vacuum, it might just be the best game in the series. Although that is the case, revisiting it after playing the games that were released gives a much-needed perspective to any returning player. The game’s identity is plain and straightforward with a compelling story set both in the past and present day. Observing the gameplay mechanics with a microscope, one can see that the missions sometimes get repetitive in nature- but this was so only to serve the purpose of the story and the overall experience. The traversal and combat can feel very stiff- which is possibly a result of the game being an answer by Ubisoft to many fans after making Prince of Persia a success. But the dated nature of the game is easily overshadowed by memorable tropes and missions across the duration of the game.
8. Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate
Set in 19th century London, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate delivers quite a punch with it being the second Assassin’s Creed release on the last generation of consoles. The world and stealth are rock-solid with the game providing a foundational assassin’s creed experience. The protagonists are witty and light-hearted throughout which throws off a returning player as most protagonists have a bit more than their humor to get them through the stories. The rope launcher is a welcome addition as it can be fun rappelling through the extremely huge open world where the buildings are humungous and the architectures are far apart. The environment is bursting with ambient animations throughout and although the overarching story falls flat- the side characters can be very interesting with historical names such as Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Graham Bell & Karl Marx.
7. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
This game feels like a worthwhile conclusion to the Ezio trilogy. Although that is the case- it is also one of the more underwhelming assassin’s creed games. It ties a neat bow and brings together the stories of multiple protagonists who exist in the AC franchise, namely- Desmond Miles, Altair Ibn-La’Ahad and Ezio Auditore da Firenze. This trifecta was what the series had fans fall in love with over a period of almost half a decade. The game feels much like the initial release where it is not made based on marketing metrics, but to tell a heartfelt story. There are new gameplay features such as the hook blade which make the traversal and parkour faster if not smoother. This is the only game in the franchise wherein the player gets to control a gruesome and seasoned assassin. This entails that while playing as Ezio, the player also gets to train other assassins and associates in order to see them help them grow and evolve to be fully fledged assassins. This fleshes out the mentor assassin fantasy in a way that no other assassin’s creed game does while also providing the player with a more mature character with nuanced story writing.
That wraps up the first half of the ranking of every assassin’s creed game released in the last decade. Which ones from this list did you spend the most time with? Look forward to part two of this ranking list where we cover the remaining of the games in detail. Which of the games did you think had the best story? Let us know down in the comments!
