Assassins Creed Syndicate Review: There’s a New Gov’na in Old London Town

After the disastrous launch of Assassins Creed Unity the franchise was tarnished in many people’s eyes beyond redemption; a feat even it’s overly convoluted, and some of the time nonsensical, plot couldn’t achieve. But, now with already seven Assassins Creed titles in my gaming library I was in this for the long haul, and went down to buy Syndicate on launch day not with the upmost of enthusiasm but more of a sense of loyalty to the franchise which was once such an outstanding example of fantastic storytelling, character development, and both open world traversal and architecture. And while Syndicate definitely doesn’t scale the brilliant heights in these fields that the astonishing Assassins Creed 2 did, I definitely feel that my loyalty in some part has been repaid.

The Story of Assassins Creed Syndicate takes place in a 19^th century London that is plagued by poverty and is trapped in the dangerous iron grip of the corrupt, who just so happen to also be Templars. Using the special skills of the traditional assassin, Evie Frye, and the brutal capabilities of the streetwise Jacob Frye, you endeavour to release London from this looming tyranny and maybe find a piece of Eden along the way.

The first thing that striked me about this game was how full of personality it was. From its original characters, like the interesting dynamic created between the charismatic and rebellious Jacob Frye and the more strict and methodical Evie Frye, to its looser interpretation of the historical figures involved in the unravelling of this plot, such as a ghost hunting Dickens; these new characters of the Assassins Creed universe aren’t the all too serious and stuck up archetypes we have come to expect. Instead they feel more real and likeable as they are not afraid to inject a bit of humour into what could have been an all too serious the situation.

What also helped me link with and care about this host of characters a lot more than I have in the most recent Assassins Creed games is the amazing face capture technology used to emote these characters to life in cutscenes. This addition gave the characters a wealth of personality as you see the smallest reaction in the characters face, letting you know exactly how they feel; allowing you to understand their stance at any given moment in the game helping create a solid connection between the player and the character, even with the constant swapping of protagonist.

What also helped this game rise from the troubles this series has faced in past iterations is it’s more laid back story. It doesn’t concern itself too heavily on adding to the already bloated overarching Assassins Creed mythos. Instead it concentrates on creating a story that is a worthwhile package all on its own with a strong set of plot lines and well-established, hateable villain. While this also can’t be said for the sparse but still present modern day story line, being a fan of this plotline, it was good to see Ubisoft still put at least a fraction of effort into continuing this thread and letting the fans see, through short but sweet CGI cutscenes, where the latest adventures have taken the modern day assassins.

Another thing that helped me actually care and connect with this game and it’s narrative was the city. Whilst I may be biased, being from England, the setting of London was not only masterfully created in the game but it was also well punctuated by the activities and ‘people’ residing in the rather large map. As you glide across the rooftops or speed through the cobbled streets in a horse drawn carriage your surroundings are once again filled with personality. From the, at points overly stereotypical, shouting voice of the newsboy, to the heart wrenching cough of children forced into labour, to the general drunkards communing outside their local pub; you get a real sense of the inner workings and social depravity of this London Town. Which makes completing every side mission all the more satisfying as you liberate a borough. For the first time in my personal Assassins Creed history I actually felt compelled to complete the side missions, and if you knew how lazy I am that is no small feat.

And while the game is definitely full of things to do, from the interesting and fun small side quests delivered by your, soon to be historical figure, allies, to the borough conquering tasks; your map is thankfully not as swamped or overwhelming as it was in Unity. Meaning you can actually make out that the map is showing you London and not just a lot of stickers uncomfortably bunched up together.

Following this more restrained approach also is the allies system in place. Not only is it more logically laid out and easier to understand how to upgrade your gang but the effects of doing so are a lot more apparent and beneficial and so I was a lot more compelled and interested in advancing my legion of warriors up the skill tree with me. Having a group of level ten brutes back you up in a street fight can never hurt. 

But none of this good work would be worth it if it wasn’t actually fun to play, thankfully it is. The gameplay has seen an impressive shake-up for an annualised franchise. The fighting has been taken away from the static and artificial feel of the previous games, and given a more flexible feel (with combat being more akin to the Batman Arkham series’ combat than the traditional Assassins Creed formula) making the experience not only more fun, as fights feel smoother and more fast paced, but this also gives it a more brutal edge that makes every victory against a crowd of rival gangs feel and look all the more cooler.

On top of this though you can also switch characters at almost any time in the game (unless on a specified story mission). This new mechanic not only makes the overall experience feel more fresh, having two badass characters to take control of, but it also changes how you approach an objective. Each character has their speciality, Evie being stealth and Jacob being brute strength. This has allowed Ubisoft to create a more interesting and inventive skill tree that actually made me look forward to the next upgrade as I built these two assassin masters up in rather different and unique ways.

Strangely though, the traversal in this game felt the most obtuse it had in a while. For all of Assassins Creed Unity’s faults, the way you swiftly scaled and flew off the various buildings of Paris was the most free and impressive the movement in this series has felt. However Syndicate’s feels more stiff, with a lot more restrictions on the assassin as building gaps that would have been jumpable in previous iterations now aren’t; leaving me awkwardly poised at the edge of the building banging my head against an invisible brick wall that no pushing of my analogue stick could crack. This may be due to the inclusion of a grapple system (once again, much akin to Batman’s in the Arkham series) as you are expected to overcome the gorge with this new tool at your disposal. Whilst this was a very useful and fun tool that shook up the now tried and tested gameplay routine of the franchise, for an old fan it felt strange not having the same super powered leaps that I had enjoyed in my lineage of virtual parkour. Travelling the city though has thankfully become faster than ever with the inclusion of a horse drawn carriage the map reading of 2000meters to go isn’t as daunting or tedious a task.

Overall this was a surprisingly good game. Whilst it can’t be referred to as a true return to form for the series it is definitely a good free-run on the right track. With its most acclaimable quality being its abundance of personality, from its fun and likeable characters, to its actually well-constructed story, its living, breathing, and sympathetic city, and long needed shake-up of the Assassins Creed formula. This game is certainly an unmissable for fans of the franchise and even a leaping on point for new comers or those who dropped off after the device Assassins Creed 3.

Assassins Creed Syndicate = 8.5/10

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