The Assassin's Creed franchise is long enough to accommodate many different tastes. There are those who maintain that it was by Ezio Auditore is unsurpassable and others fell in love with Assassin’s Creed III y Black Flag. There is no fan who would not fall in love with Unity thanks to his parkour, despite all his mistakes. There are even fans of the RPG era: Origins, Odyssey y Valhalla. And they are not mutually exclusive.
At the risk of being beaten in the town square, I think the Auditore era has aged very poorly, even though it was wonderful at the time, and I've never particularly liked Assassin's Creed III. Neither Origins and I have very mixed feelings about Odyssey. This leaves us with a few video games that are up for debate.
I love Assassin's Creed Black Flag and had a great time hunting assassins in Rogue. I discovered Unity very late, but it still won me over like no other. On the other hand, Valhalla has been a love story. And there is one installment left, one of my favorites and one that is among the most underrated in the saga for different reasons. Assassin’s Creed Syndicate He bore the heavy burden of Unity's destruction.
I never liked London as much as I did in Syndicate
Assassin's Creed Syndicate is one of my favorite video games in the saga. I recently gave you seven reasons to (re)play it on the occasion of the 60 FPS update for PS5, PS5 Pro and Xbox Series X/S. And it wasn't posturing. I've really come back to see how it performs and tour this Victorian London that I loved so much at the time.
I will never forget my first game in Syndicate. Rarely have I put so much effort into playing a video game with errors that seriously affect gameplay. In this case, it was flickering on PS5 that I suffered during the 30 hours it took me to complete the story and explore the world. I didn't even get to the Jack the Ripper DLC because I didn't want to endure one more headache. It was resolved, but it was not enough of an excuse to return.
I'm not going to play his story again because I don't have the life for so many video games. I remember quite well that I liked it a lot. I instantly connected with Jacob Frye, Syndicate co-star with his sister Evie Frye. He is one of my favorite assassins along with Edward, Cormac and Arno, because Eivor cannot be considered an assassin.
Jacob is one of the few assassins who hasn't made me feel like a mindundi. Understand why assassins have been in the dust for centuries: they play by self-imposed rules that the Templars neither share nor respect. And he is one of the few who dares to do things his own way. As? Forming a band, the Rooks, and conquering the city. Since corruption is inevitable, unless it serves good. He does not loosen his boot one bit when stepping on the Templars' necks. And I love that!
Well, I've returned to Syndicate to walk through its Victorian London. Moving around the city feels great thanks to the design of the mapping, buildings, and the introduction of the grappling hook. I will always defend the latter tooth and nail. For me, it is a logical evolution of assassins in an era marked by innovation, industry and technological advances. It's adapt or die. Where some players saw heresy, I saw an improvement in mobility and opportunity.
I thought all this while jumping across the rooftops of London, as you can see in the video I share at the beginning of the post. At least during the calm moments, because I go blank every time I enter my favorite playground: the River Thames. I love jumping from side to side (trying not to touch the water) while killing enemies, stealing cargo, and sabotaging ships.
I had my own hobby on the river: placing myself at one end to reach the opposite with three self-imposed rules: do not touch the water, do not stay for even a second and do not spend more than 10 seconds on the same boat or platform, unless a fight took place. Progressing is quite difficult and sometimes you have to backtrack to jump onto another ship. If you have never tried it, I encourage you to take on the challenge. You will see that it is not as simple as it seems. On this occasion, I simply limited myself to enjoying aimlessly.
I adore Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. It's true that it doesn't have the best story, that it didn't take advantage of Unity's parkour (for some reason I don't understand), and that the hook could be better implemented. I'm not asking for the impossible with the latter. I remind you that Batman Arkham Knight was released the same year (2015) and its grappling system is infinitely better. A similar one would have come in handy for the Frye brothers.
If he calls you in the slightest, give him a chance because he really deserves it. If you remove the slab of Unity and get rid of purist thoughts about the hook, believe me you are going to enjoy a Assassin’s Creed sublime. Plus, you're spoiled for choice with Jacob and Evie. The game only forces you to use the other one in three or four very specific moments.
In iGamesNews | “I just wanted a new Black Flag”: Skull and Bones is having a hard time winning over many veterans of the legendary Assassin's Creed
In iGamesNews | Neither Yasuke nor the Japanese setting of Assassin's Creed Shadows, Naoe's mysterious hidden blade is what has me totally obsessed
In iGamesNews | Assassin's Creed Shadows is “compelling historical fiction.” Why Ubisoft apologizes after the Yasuke controversy
