For years now, Assassin’s Creed has followed a formula that mostly worked. Have a rather bland story as an excuse to sneak around and kill tons of people, include some cool-looking but easy to pull off parkour, set it all in gorgeous historical settings and let people play in the sandbox. But that model has become tired and old, in desperate need of something to refresh it, and that something came in the form of the Frye twins.

Assassin s creed syndicate disclaimer

The story focuses on a pair of sibling assassins. Forgoing all the usual training malarky of previous games, this one already starts with the idea that Evie and Jacob Frye know what they’re doing, with prompts given in the early game as tutorial for those who are new to the franchise or updated controls. Taking a leap of faith into the deep end, the story is one much along the lines of what we’ve seen in previous Assassin’s Creed games – there is a big bad Templar running the major city in the game (Victorian-era London, this time) and you will need to undermine and eventually overthrow him. Along the way, there’s a piece of Eden to be found and some lore peppered throughout for added drama.

While the story is fairly standard fare for Assassin’s Creed, it’s the way that it’s told and the characters who tell it that make it an absolute joy to play. I was expecting to enjoy Evie and find Jacob forgettable. In truth though, I found Jacob’s rakish charm far too compelling, often laughing out loud at his jokes and fully enjoying the witty banter between him and Evie. The well written script and voice acting combine perfectly with facial captures to make each character feel much more real, right down to Evie’s flirting and suggestive eyebrow raises or that smirk that seems to wait just behind Jacob’s eyes. I felt drawn in and connected with the twins from early on in the game, making me that much more invested in the journey they were going on, even if I knew much of it meant finding hidden chests or collectibles or killing random people for… reasons.

Assassins creed syndicate haystack of course

As Assassin’s Creed Syndicate continues to edge ever closer to an RPG experience, both Jacob and Evie follow a fairly similar skill tree, although there are some highest level abilities that are exclusive to one or the other. Skill points are doled to both of them, though, so you never need to worry about playing them equally if you tend to favour one’s style over the other. Evie is definitely more stealthy, which somehow made Jacob’s bludgeon-styled gameplay more enjoyable as a contrast. You can also level up your gang, which can help to not only give more income but also improve their usefulness in street fights and gang wars.

The environment has always been a big part of the experience in Assassin’s Creed, not only for historical tourism, but also as the sandbox and setting for something bigger. Each game in the franchise has sought to show us a bigger map with more detail. However, in recent iterations, it has ended up feeling like unnecessary padding, with much of map neglected unless you were on an obsessive mission to track down every last collectible. London is refreshingly different in that regard.

Assassins creed syndicate not failing this city

Divided into boroughs, players need to engage in a variety of activities to free the area of Blighter control. These range from simple Templar assassinations, to freeing children forced into child labour in factories or even kidnapping criminals for the police. Each activity uses skills that are useful in story missions, plus they becoming strangely addictive as you slowly take over the area, culminating in a gang war to assert Rook control over the borough. Within each area, there are also secrets to be found, as well as fun extra missions and memories players can follow, including quests with Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, Alexander Bell and Charles Dickens. These were diverse and a whole lot of fun, and actually made me excited to see what they do with the Penny Dreadful extras coming to PS4.

But it goes even beyond the quests or the pretty buildings. I kept finding moments taking place in Victorian London that made me feel like the city was alive. I climbed over a church wall in search of a hidden chest to find a bunch of monks playing cricket on their private lawn. Or I’d find groups of people posing for pictures in the park. One particularly fun mission involved showing a high class lady through the most dangerous area of London, complete with roasted dog vendors and back alley pubs. Beyond the breadth of the city, the depth of what it had to offer is what made me so excited to see everything it had to offer.

Assassin s creed syndicate shirtless jacob

With everything from carriage races and heists to extra memories and even fight clubs (yes, much like Sleeping Dogs these are among my favourites), there is plenty to do in the game without ever getting bored. And yet, it also doesn’t feel as long as other games. No, it doesn’t feel cut short, but rather that the whole narrative and extra elements are woven together to cleverly that it doesn’t feel like a padded, bloated experience, but instead a complete and diverse one.

One of my biggest gripes in previous Assassin’s Creed games was the combat. The stealthy bits were generally good, but enter into open combat and it all felt unrealistic and boring. Syndicate certainly fixes that in a big way. Combat feels much more fluid and it was actually fun to line up gruesome multiple kills and combos. I particularly enjoyed doing this in the fight clubs as Jacob or Evie could get a group of enemies staggered in the squared circle and then unleash a whirlwind of impressive moves to knock the whole gang out. With a variety of weapons available as well, players are able to find their preferred form of combat for those moments when stealth doesn’t work and it’s time to rail on the baddies with your favorite knuckle dusters or cane swords.

Assassin s creed syndicate misty sunrise from buckingham palace

I was worried that the rope launcher would undermine the fun of parkour in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. Part of the puzzle and enjoyment in previous installments in the franchise was figuring out exactly how you would get up a monument or escaping from chasing guards using the various ledges and jumps at your disposal. Now, the buildings are much higher, and I spent a good portion of the game channeling my inner Spiderman as I rope launched to the roof and then grappled from point to point across the city. With the higher buildings and wider streets of London, this tool is absolutely vital to enjoy getting around, but there are still plenty of opportunities when parkour is best and after a while the rope launcher feels more like a means to speeding up your movement around the city rather than undermining it.

That isn’t to say that the game is without issues. I experienced a number of strange glitches, include two complete crashes while playing. Most of the graphical glitches were amusing but not game breaking, and could probably be chalked up to using a “stolen Animus” or something, and I’m sure they’ll be patched out in time. The bigger issue for me was that the final sequence ended up feeling rushed, with some rather janky animation and uninspired gameplay in parts. Still, the final boss fight was rather fun if mostly predictable, and the concluding “Present Day” elements should make most lore fans happy for future iterations in the franchise. From a story perspective, the ending and character interactions were stellar, but the actual gameplay in the final hour or two of the game simply didn’t seem to fit with the rest of the experience that was so well-paced and enjoyable.

Assassin s creed syndicate photography in the park

Additionally, I was taken aback by the distinct lack of characters from the colonies. Sure, there are a couple of major Indian characters, but in this period London was a melting pot of people from around the world. Where are the Caribbean, African and Asian characters? It was great to see gangs composed of men and women, but they were all clearly white locals cut from the same few templates and I would have liked to happen upon merchants, traders and even stable boys from other backgrounds. We know that characters like Adewale and others had already come and gone, it would have been nice to see other ethnicities represented in cosmopolitan London.

As a critic, there are plenty of things that I can point to that made this installment in the franchise less than perfect. Contextual commands are sometimes odd, some of the gameplay can feel repetitive and it’s still way harder to parkour down a building than up. However, as a human who enjoys sitting down for of hours and playing games, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is one of the best experiences that I’ve had this year. So much so, that even after this review goes live, I’m excited to jump back into it and do all the things I didn’t have time to complete because I had to finish the story and write these words for you. I finished the game with a huge smile on my face, excited to see what else the game has for me to experience.

 

Last Updated: October 28, 2015

Assassin's Creed: Syndicate
While the franchise still needs to overcome some inherent flaws, Assassin's Creed Syndicate feels refreshingly different and a joy to play. With believable characters and fluid gameplay that feels trimmed of its excess fat, it is the best Assassin's Creed game to come out in years.
8.0
Assassin's Creed: Syndicate was reviewed on PlayStation 4
76 / 100

37 Comments

  1. Allykhat

    October 28, 2015 at 13:05

    That’s right… just tease me with a good review…
    Can’t wait to jump into this game!

    Reply

  2. WitWolfy

    October 28, 2015 at 13:11

    In all fairness I havent even started chapter 4 yet.. I’m too busy doing all the side quests first, especially those London Stories. And finding as many collectibles as what I can to upgrade myself to a rank 9 assassin.

    This game is awesome.. It feels like everything The Order 1886 should of been.. IMO

    Reply

    • oVg

      October 28, 2015 at 14:59

      mmmm interesting… Im still skeptical. What was the day one patch for? as Im an off-line gamer.

      Reply

      • Michael Matusowsky

        October 28, 2015 at 18:35

        Bug fixes that were found after the game went gold.

        Reply

      • WitWolfy

        October 29, 2015 at 07:50

        Just some bug fixes… Only got one glitch so far.. I could run through walls in the opening stages of the game.. Was weird LOL

        Reply

  3. Mistake Not...

    October 28, 2015 at 13:13

    All these reviews are so polarizing. Don’t know if I should get this or not…

    Reply

    • WitWolfy

      October 28, 2015 at 13:14

      Do you have open world fatigue? If not then give it a go. My fav feature in the game is the grappling hook.. You almost feel like Spider-man going from building to building.

      Reply

      • Mistake Not...

        October 28, 2015 at 13:17

        It’s impossible for me to have open world fatigue, especially when it’s done well.

        Reply

        • WitWolfy

          October 28, 2015 at 13:19

          • Mistake Not...

            October 28, 2015 at 13:19

            Assassin’s Creed: The New Drug on the Streets

          • WitWolfy

            October 28, 2015 at 13:21

            Its a breath of fresh air after MGS V .. Thats for sure… I almost forgot how a true open world games was supposed to be like.

    • Hammersteyn

      October 28, 2015 at 13:25

      I am, on sale of course

      Reply

      • WitWolfy

        October 28, 2015 at 13:29

        Or on Kick ass? LOL

        Reply

      • Mistake Not...

        October 28, 2015 at 13:34

        Was thinking the same.

        Reply

      • RinceThis

        October 28, 2015 at 13:44

        lol

        Reply

      • Alien Emperor Trevor

        October 28, 2015 at 13:56

        Since when are you a PC gamer? 😉

        Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          October 28, 2015 at 14:18

          I learned from the best

          Reply

          • Grand Admiral Chief SpaceNinja

            October 28, 2015 at 14:25

            Thank you

          • Hammersteyn

            October 28, 2015 at 14:33

            Not just you 😛

          • Dutch Matrix

            October 28, 2015 at 14:38

            Yeah. Kinda a bummer. Sims 4 is not on console, right??

          • Hammersteyn

            October 28, 2015 at 15:37

            We only have 500gb HDD. all this expansions would kill the console

    • oVg

      October 28, 2015 at 14:57

      same, the fence that I am sitting on is about to break.

      Reply

  4. RinceThis

    October 28, 2015 at 13:44

    From the little I saw at rAge I am not interested. Though perhaps one for the bargain bin.

    Reply

    • oVg

      October 28, 2015 at 14:56

      What did you play at RAGE? Was the TV set up incorrect or something? Its looks alright, colours are vibrant. I love that screen shot above in the park. It looks like an impressionist painting.

      Zoes review has bent my boycott Ubisoft rubber arm.

      Reply

  5. Nikola

    October 28, 2015 at 13:52

    Good review! I will definitely be picking this game up without a doubt:) However the backlog is REAL at the moment so will wait for a bit.

    Reply

    • RinceThis

      October 28, 2015 at 14:00

      Oh you! You 180 spinner you! They bought you with that shilling!

      Reply

      • Nikola

        October 28, 2015 at 14:03

        I not going to lie to you Nic that coin did it for me, they bought me over with it:)

        Reply

        • RinceThis

          October 28, 2015 at 14:05

          Dammit, I KNEW it!

          Reply

          • Nikola

            October 28, 2015 at 14:06

            Maybe you should get it as well, there could be a coin or two in it for you as well;)

          • oVg

            October 28, 2015 at 15:00

            I already accepted the Queens shilling when I joined the British Army. They gave me 15 pounds thanks to inflation lol

  6. Grand Admiral Chief SpaceNinja

    October 28, 2015 at 14:24

    YOU TALKED ABOUT FIGHT CLUB!

    Reply

    • Grand Admiral Chief SpaceNinja

      October 28, 2015 at 14:28

      A Geoff upvote? MAGNIFICENT!
      *flies away*

      Reply

  7. oVg

    October 28, 2015 at 14:52

    It got higher than Halo 5, wow.

    RUNS

    Reply

  8. Milesh Bhana

    October 28, 2015 at 15:11

    definitely getting this, just not yet. Only finished Black Flag last month and halfway through Unity now. I don’t think i can do 3 AC games in a row. But it’s nice to have something to look forward to.

    Reply

  9. Dutch Matrix

    October 28, 2015 at 15:16

    Two AC games kind of murdered my lust for this. Nicely written review though. I’ll give it an 8.5/10.

    Reply

  10. SmurFyZA

    October 28, 2015 at 15:44

    Really keen to get this game. Reviews look really good all round. My wallet must resist as I cant

    Reply

  11. Willie Roberts

    October 29, 2015 at 01:43

    Managed to pick up a copy early and have to agree with the review. Really enjoying the game this time round, minimal glitches and switching between the twins makes for extremely interesting gameplay. It feels almost as well rounded as Black Flag and may actually restore my faith in the franchise. The side missions is enough fun to make for playing the story sequences feel like the real side missions.

    Reply

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