Summary
TheAssassin’s Creedfranchise has evolved a lot over the years. 20-hour adventures quickly became 40, 40 became 60, and with games likeAssassin’s Creed Valhalla, players could comfortably spend 120 hours in the game and still not see everything.
In its transformation from the action-adventure/platform genre to sprawling open-world RPGs, the series has gained a lot, but many feel it’s also lost much of what made it special.
With the release ofShadows, the series' veteran fans have been yearning for some of the old games' features to return, and one that has received more calls than most is compact, bustling cities.
Assassin’s Creed Fans Are Yearning For The Return Of Cities
A newthreadon the Assassin’s Creedsubreddithas players reminiscing about the old Assassin’s Creed cities, and it’s shown just how much they want them back.
“In the open world games you just have these vast spaces of land/sea connected by hubs or camps/castles/garrisons,” said the thread’s creator, Skylink1987. “I miss the feeling of a city! Paris, Rome, and London were all amazing, the busy streets, the historical landmarks, and accurate recreations, it felt alive and immersive. You don’t just pop in, do a quest, and never return; you learn the city and immerse yourself in it.”
Skylink 1987’s opinion was shared by dozens of other commenters in the thread. Endiaron said, “Gotta say I agree. I just recently replayed Syndicate, and exploring London felt so refreshing compared to the huge RPG maps. Sometimes a smaller and more focused world is more interesting than a huge, spread-out one.” LiterallyALamp added, “I still think Syndicate’s London was one of the best done Cities in the series.”
I just recently replayed Syndicate, and exploring London felt so refreshing compared to the huge RPG maps.
2023’s Assassin’s Creed Mirage was cited as a blueprint of how some players would like things to look going forward. “This is why I loved Mirage. Give me a vibrant, diverse city over a massive world any day,” said Free_World33, while EliteSaud added, “We need a game with Baghdad’s size within Greece’s Odyssey Map.”
With thesuccess that Shadows has seen, it’s increasingly unlikely that Ubisoft would return to the old formula, but integrating early Assassin’s Creed-style cities into its larger worlds could be the way forward.
