Assassin's Creed Syndicate is the newest title in the franchise from Ubisoft. It is one of those video games we know for a fact will be successful no matter what. How then does it stack up to the previous games, especially Assassin's Creed: Unity?
We've been scouring the Web to get a sense of the consensus, and so far, it appears critics, for the most part, are enjoying Syndicate. Based on what we have gathered, the game is better than Unity, though not by much. Animations have improved along with the storyline, and the bugs that riveted the latter are not here this time around, so that's great.
Graphics seems to be an improvement over previous titles as well since many critics have stated that London looks beautiful. This shouldn't be a surprise because the locales are one of the biggest selling points of the Assassin's Creed franchise.
Despite the good things, some critics are still not enjoying the game at all. We understand this is because they believe too many things have been left unchanged from older titles. The combat is still the same, and some reviewers find it boring now.
They also do not enjoy the fact that the storyline is set in the future.
We're not certain if Ubisoft is willing to make changes to these aspects of the game since they are tried and tested, but maybe the time has come.
Here is a small summary of what some reviewers had to say about the game:
Chris Suellentrop of Kotaku: I've spent about 30 hours in London with Jacob and Evie, and I'm eager for more. I like playing Frogger on the Thames, leaping from moving boat to moving boat. I like listening for the tinkling of music boxes that contain discs that will eventually unlock the vault beneath the city. I like stopping at a pub to nab a collectible beer bottle; picking up a book to find the newest pressed flower; doing a little prize fighting or carriage racing for easy cash; and just cleaning up the gang war on the streets — dropping from a rope line for a double kill and then creeping past corners to liberate Dickensian child laborers in a factory.
Alexa Ray Corriea of GameSpot: Syndicate's story is a riveting tale of compassion and greed, but the mechanics of its climax don't carry enough urgency and drama. A final boss fight usually tests the skills you've learned throughout the game, but Syndicate's is memorable for the wrong reasons. It's an anticlimactic scramble through moving environmental obstacles to reach the boss and trigger a quick time event. This sequence of events happens several times in order for you to beat the encounter. It's a frustrating setup that tosses all narrative tension out the window.
Erik Kain from Forbes: Time to shake things up. Time to really make a change with this franchise. The only game in the series I've seriously enjoyed in years was Black Flag — a truly wonderful pirate game. But even that entry could have benefited greatly from combat that was as compelling as its ships and setting. Maybe next year? While lots of high scores might assuage any doubts Ubisoft has about the franchise, I can't help but see interest waning from down here at ground level. Certainly I can't see how such high scores are even being given out to a game that has been widely critiqued for the same failures year-over-year.
