This is definitely a lot better than Valhalla, and maybe even Odyssey. This is far closer to what an Assassin's Creed game should be, a game that actually prominently includes the Assassin order and emphasizes stealth. And unlike the previous 2 games, this one isn't over 100 hours.

I would only recommend buying the base edition, and only on a sale. The other editions contain pointless skins, and this smaller game STILL has a sodding microtransaction shop in it. Screw ubisoft.

I really liked the atmosphere in this game far better than the previous title, the music is great, the graphics are good (even though there is forced TAA, that can only be disabled with 3rd party binary mods). The emphasis on stealth is kind of refreshing for the franchise, you actually feel somewhat vulnerable in open combat, so you are encouraged to actually do stealth. There were a few moments when it actually felt cool to do chain assassinations.

It's not all good though. This is still very much a Valhalla DLC stretched out to a full game.

The story structure is typical modern ubisoft, it kinda works for this game, but at the same time doesn't. The "do the whole game in whatever order you want" thing really does limit the kind of story telling the game can do and that is a major problem in most ubisoft games these days. The only interesting bits can only really happen during the start and the end of the game, since there can be no twists because the player can choose to play the each of the 5 middle pieces in any order.

The game still runs on the Valhalla engine, and that brings all the same gameplay issues - most importantly unsatisfying and sometimes buggy parkour system. The biggest issue is how much your character will just get stuck on something climbable and just REFUSE to get off, so you have to dance around with the controls to move on. This is really frustrating during chases, or just trying to reach an enemy quickly. There's also a slow and pointless twirl animation every time you want to jump down a 2 meter ledge.

Valhalla's gear progression sucked, gear being tied to specific map markers, that is still present here, and it still sucks. As a stealth player, you are you are basically given the most useful perks from the start of the game.

The "door is locked from the other side" mechanic is insanely overused in this game. A lot of the map locations also feel artificially drawn out with the "move boxes" puzzles, etc.

Map zoom levels are weird - it's either so far zoomed in that you cant really see anything, or too far and the smaller icons do not appear.

This is definitely a lot better than Valhalla, and maybe even Odyssey. This is far closer to what an Assassin's Creed game should be, a game that actually prominently includes the Assassin order and emphasizes stealth. And unlike the previous 2 games, this one isn't over 100 hours. I would only recommend buying the base edition, and only on a sale. The other editions contain pointless skins, and this smaller game STILL has a sodding microtransaction shop in it. Screw ubisoft. I really liked the atmosphere in this game far better than the previous title, the music is great, the graphics are good (even though there is forced TAA, that can only be disabled with 3rd party binary mods). The emphasis on stealth is kind of refreshing for the franchise, you actually feel somewhat vulnerable in open combat, so you are encouraged to actually do stealth. There were a few moments when it actually felt cool to do chain assassinations. It's not all good though. This is still very much a Valhalla DLC stretched out to a full game. The story structure is typical modern ubisoft, it kinda works for this game, but at the same time doesn't. The "do the whole game in whatever order you want" thing really does limit the kind of story telling the game can do and that is a major problem in most ubisoft games these days. The only interesting bits can only really happen during the start and the end of the game, since there can be no twists because the player can choose to play the each of the 5 middle pieces in any order. The game still runs on the Valhalla engine, and that brings all the same gameplay issues - most importantly unsatisfying and sometimes buggy parkour system. The biggest issue is how much your character will just get stuck on something climbable and just REFUSE to get off, so you have to dance around with the controls to move on. This is really frustrating during chases, or just trying to reach an enemy quickly. There's also a slow and pointless twirl animation every time you want to jump down a 2 meter ledge. Valhalla's gear progression sucked, gear being tied to specific map markers, that is still present here, and it still sucks. As a stealth player, you are you are basically given the most useful perks from the start of the game. The "door is locked from the other side" mechanic is insanely overused in this game. A lot of the map locations also feel artificially drawn out with the "move boxes" puzzles, etc. Map zoom levels are weird - it's either so far zoomed in that you cant really see anything, or too far and the smaller icons do not appear.