Recent Assassin's Creed games have strayed from their roots, which has led some fans of the older games to drift away, and changes are needed if Ubisoft hopes to bring them back. While the recent games do have their fair share of fans, Ubisoft could improve the implementation of classic elements of the franchise to bring back fans of the earlier titles. Without changing its trajectory as a more Western-style RPG, Assassin's Creed can still implement some features that could appeal to players of the earlier games.
Modern Assassin's Creed titles like Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla are considerably different than their older counterparts. Aside from the settings which change with each game, older Assassin's Creed titles were fairly similar. They all took place in an open world and focused on stealth assassinations of targets over open combat. As the series went on, this changed into a greater focus on open combat and eventually became the Western-style RPG that characterizes the modern titles. It seems Ubisoft may be seeking a return to form if rumors of a new stealth-focused Assassin's Creed without open-world elements is to be believed.
Returning some of those missing elements would help to bring back some of the players that were alienated by those changes while still allowing the series to grow. While everyone likely has preferences for what they would like to see return, there are some systemic changes that could improve the quality of the games while still feeling like a return to form. Whether the next Assassin's Creed game takes them or leaves them, it is fun and beneficial to reflect on what future games could do to improve the franchise.
Ubisoft needs to earn back the title of Assassin's Creed by actually having Assassins in it. While Origins was very much an origin story for the Assassins, later games dropped most mentions of the Assassins as a group. Assassin's Creed Valhalla paid lip service to the Assassins but they did not feature much in the story, while Odyssey didn't even have any. One of the things that can bring back some of the old players is to actually go back to where the series gained its namesake, the Assassins. As can be be seen in the many main and spinoff Assassin's Creed games there are, the Assassins travel widely and assume the identities of people from all walks of life. It is not difficult to include them in almost any setting. It is disappointing not to see the storylines that made the franchise popular carry on through the latest entries.
One of the things that has been sorely lacking from the latest entries is creativity in the assassinations themselves. It surprising that games like Hitman offer more satisfying freedom in how to assassinate targets than in a game like Assassin's Creed where assassination is supposed to take center stage. Allowing players more freedom in how to kill targets can make for better replayability of missions and encourage scenarios where players go out of their way to see unique assassinations.
What's more is earlier games have had memorable assassinations that can serve as templates for future innovations. For all of its flaws, Assassin's Creed Syndicate proves for the series, change may not have been the best choice. For example, a very memorable assassination occurs in Assassin's Creed Syndicate wherein Jacob Frye can swap himself with a body about to be wheeled out for dissection by the assassination target. What follows is a fun moment where Jacob hides underneath a sheet until springing out at the opportune time to assassinate the target in front of a crowded room. This example is just one of many methods that can be used for inspiration for future entries and having others like that would make for more freedom within missions to improve player experience.
One thing missing from the recent titles is the prevalence of missions involving historical figures. These missions use to flavor otherwise mundane NPC interactions by adding a historical flair befitting historical fiction. Often, these figures would provide substantive personality to narrative and make the player feel as though they were interacting with history. Missions like the ones involving Karl Marx in Syndicate or Da Vinci in the Ezio Collection are among the most memorable in the series and offer a very tangible figure for players to latch onto. Likewise, Assassin's Creed has impressive historical landmarks that should also be capitalized on for story and mission structure. They are a missed opportunity in recent games that need to return in a greater capacity.
Crowds were not only a method to make the game world feel more lived in but used to have practical effects within the Assassin's Creed games. Previously, the streets were filled with people going about their day and could be used by a cunning assassin to social stealth through guards. Likewise, beggars and people carrying objects could provide an additional level of challenge as they impeded the protagonist or dropped loud objects that invoked the attention of the guard. Even roaming bands of courtesans or kids could previously be capitalized on by assassins looking for a new angle to infiltrate. The multiplayer feature that was a part of some games is a good example, as they used these crowds to great effect for their cat-and-mouse-style gameplay. While multiplayer is not necessarily a feature that needs to come back, this shows how crowds can offer new options for gameplay when implemented well.
Modern Assassin's Creed games do not have nearly the emphasis on crowds as previous titles. Social stealth is often a less efficient method of infiltration, if it is a method at all. The roving bands of citizens that could be prodded into helping the protagonist are gone. Bringing these back could once again revitalize missions with new gameplay options and can help fill out stagnant worlds by making them feel lived in.
Many feel Ubisoft's live-service model makes its games worse. Cutting down on the amount of paid DLCs would go a long way to restoring faith among gamers. Quality DLCs that expanded the lore and stories of the characters have long been a staple of the franchise but cutting up satisfying conclusions to package them in DLC content has not been well received. Additionally, the host of boosters and cosmetic upgrades that are available now diminish the games as a whole when the most stylish or best equipment are locked behind a paywall. Cutting down on this will not only entice older gamers back to the franchise but would be a quality improvement for newer fans as well.
While these suggestions have been fairly critical of the recent games, it should be said that the recent entries have been very popular and have a large fanbase. This is not a coincidence, as the recent games do have many good qualities that appeal to a wide audience. AC Valhalla is the highest selling Assassin's Creed game to date - but that does not mean that these games cannot do better to appeal to fans of the earlier entries. If Ubisoft wants to retain the older fans of the Assassin's Creed franchise then it should look to return to form while keeping some of the next-gen qualities that have made the recent games so popular.
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