Summary
While theAssassin’s Creedfranchise has its fair share of fans, many of its entries have been polarizing, to say the least. Like any franchise, it has grown, evolved, and course-corrected many times over its lifetime, making for some games where the fanbase is split down the middle.
Whether it’s the switch to an RPG, the switch back to a more linear experience, or times when the games have leaned too heavily in either direction, some entries in the franchise are bound to pick up controversy.
ThoughAssassin’s Creedwas no doubt revolutionary when it first came out, in the time since reviews have split a little more down the middle. Some believe that the game’s revolutionary aspects put it in good stead, whereas others are wary of the tedious tailing missions, drab world, and repetitive mission structure.
Where anyone lands on the debate probably depends on whether they playedAssassin’s Creedon launch or not. There’s no doubt thatAssassin’s Creedhasn’t aged particularly well, and for some, that’s simply too big a hurdle for it to overcome.
After the Ezio trilogy of games,Assassin’s Creedfans were excited to see the game take an entirely new direction as it moved into the American Revolutionary period and the slaughter ofthe most modern Templars yet. However, what was meant to be a fresh start for the game became mired in controversy for a convoluted story, a world that threw away the dense cities of its predecessors, and severe pacing issues.
However,Assassin’s Creed 3also has a lot of charm too with an inspired choice of a tomahawk-wielding central Assassin of Connor and a new focus on wildlife and wilderness. For some, those innovations don’t outweigh the problems, makingAssassin’s Creed 3one of the most polarizing entries in the series.
As the franchise was boldly moving into the PS4/Xbox One generation withAssassin’s Creed: Unity, Ubisoft decided to release two games, withAssassin’s Creed: Roguebeing the entry for PS3/Xbox 360 owners who hadn’t made the switch to the new generation yet. This madeAssassin’s Creed: Roguea clear lackey to its bigger brother, and its so-so reviews on release only reinforced that idea.
However, some fans have reevaluatedAssassin’s Creed: Rogueas being underrated, citing the novel notion of playing as Templarkilling both Assassins and Templars, a focus on the amazing naval combat ofAssassin’s Creed: Black Flagthat was yet to come, and a story that explored entirely new areas of the game world. In modernity, fans are split, making it a very polarized entry.
After the release ofAssassin’s Creed: Valhalla, many gamers were clearly unhappy with how far the series was leaning into its new RPG direction, forsaking a stealth focus, and bemoaning the content bloat that could see a single playthrough stretch into hundreds of hours long.Assassin’s Creed: Miragewas intended as the remedy to that by vastlylimiting the game’s toolsand content bloat, but it has proved similarly polarizing.
Some fans didn’t like the franchise clearly taking a step backward and not innovating into something new and complained of a story that did little to make assassination targets meaningful. While the legacy ofAssassin’s Creed: Mirageis yet to be cemented, it still proves to be a controversial entry whose merits and flaws are yet to be agreed upon.
Before the soft reboot of the entire franchise withAssassin’s Creed: Origins,Assassin’s Creed: Syndicatetook the franchise to the long-desired location of Victorian London. However, this was at peak fatigue for theAssassin’s Creedfranchise as a whole, and many sawAssassin’s Creed: Syndicateas a mere reiteration of its predecessor’s worst flaws.
However, fans have recently begun to reassessAssassin’s Creed: Syndicatepositively, praising its lively depiction and in-depthdepiction of London that takes a long time to see everything, its two-protagonist system, and its story that showed hints of how far the series still could go. Still, a wide-reaching consensus hasn’t been reached, and the legacy of the game remains in contention.
As the firstAssassin’s Creedgame to release on the newest consoles, expectations were high forAssassin’s Creed: Valhalla,particularly with its popular Viking setting and theme. However, the game has proved severely polarizing since its release and has come to define how the franchise is talked about to this day.
While many will praise the historical detail and graphical fidelity, there are severe doubts about the game’s overbearing length, fairly dull protagonist, and unfocused storyfilled to the brim with historical charactersthat seeds too much ground to boring sidequests. DespiteAssassin’s Creed: Valhalla’s biggest swings, its fans, and detractors have strong opinions in both directions and the consensus remains polarized.
As the first entry of the franchise on the PS4/Xbox One generation, expectations were sky-high, particularly with stunning new tech that vastly increased crowd density and visual fidelity. However, the game launched with a litany of bugs and technical issues that marred the game’s reception long after it was released, still being a joke to this day, among other critiques of its convoluted narrative, bland protagonist, and simplistic combat.
However, as the game has aged, many more have come back to defend the game as a stillvisually stunning rendition of Paris as one of the bestAssassin’s Creedsettings everwith more expressive combat than its peers and a genuinely affecting story. Most fans have made their mind up aboutAssassin’s Creed: Unity, and almost ten years after its release, its legacy remains as polarized as ever.
