Time To Beat - 62h:7m:15s
- 28h:24m:00s (AC:II)
- 20h:49m:00s (AC:Brotherhood)
- 12h:54m:15s (AC:Revelations)
Rating - 9/10 (-1 for issues on PC)
Cost - 1 Month Ubisoft+ Subscription
Platform - PC/Windows

I must note that AC:Revelations crashes on PC upon loading my save at around 90% through the story and so I had to watch a playthrough for the final sequence. This could be a uniquely 'my PC' issue but it is such a shame that I never got to do any post game content or experience the ending first hand.

Okay, let me just say. Who at Ubisoft was COOKING with these games. They feel like a step up in every way compared to the original game. It is truly remarkable. The framework created by the first instalment has carried through to these titles, but there has been great work to innovate and improvement the systems in each conceivable place. whether it be more refined systems present in the original, or all new ideas such as the varying attempts at an economy, there is a palpable level of passion poured into every last drop of code between these titles.

It's all so much more refined

Assassins Creed 1 was clearly a proof of concept for Ubisoft, where they were just beginning to experiment with the franchise. Mechanically, this trilogy feels immaculate in comparison to the previous title. Despite only two years of development separating the first and second game, they are just worlds apart. Freerunning feels exceptional, far less rigid and clunky than before. There are some new additions to spice up the movement that really add to the experience, such as the vertical jumping or the addition of horseback riding in brotherhood. These additions are just another way Ubisoft has polished this experience shown off here.

A special note has to go to the combat here too. I'm not going to claim there is extreme amounts of depth to this combat system - far from it. The combat is simplistic by design, but it is woven in a way that feels both weighty and impactful, as well as rewarding once mastered. This gets improved title on title, small features get added and overhauled throughout that may seem insubstantial in isolation, but collectively allow for a remarkably diverse range of approaches to how you can take on your enemy. A great example would be the crossbow, added in Brotherhood. This weapon is particularly useful in taking out rooftop scouts and when used it can drastically change the difficulty of maintaining stealth. On the other hand, if you prefer going all (swords) blazing, an option to chain one shot kills really speeds up those times where you are just mowing down a small militia. Overall there are serious efforts made to improve quality of life and it is appreciated here immensely.

Ezio Auditore - It's the guy from Fortnite!

Jokes aside, there's a serious reason this guy made it to Fortnite. The story is incredible across this trilogy, following the growth of Ezio as he transforms into a super hot highly proficient Assassin. The games do a fantastic job of making every moment and story beat feel impactful, and as a result the story whizzes by with seemingly little wasted time.

I'll spare details on the story for the sake of spoilers but just know that it is exceptional. However there is one gripe I had that the games shyly explain away but super weakly. Ezio is very close to risking becoming an unkillable god. In just the space of the games, this man takes multiple blades to the stomach, one from The Spaniard that seemingly went deep into his abdomen. He also takes a musket ball to the chest. the one from The Spaniard is especially egregious as Ezio just walks it off as it "was blocked by his armor". Unless his armour is bound to his skeleton and I that hard to believe.

An ending done well - until it wasn't

The first two games ended with me craving more, and that is just so satisfying. I've played many games recently that were exceptional right up to the end, where they concluded awfully. This trilogy unfortunately also falls victim to this. The first game leaves you on a crazy cliff note that will leave you both dumbfounded and in awe simultaneously. It's a crazy twist that somehow comes out of left field, yet fit the narrative so well up to this point. there's a fantastic mix of weight setting up the rest of the trilogy, but also a satisfying conclusion to this game in isolation.

SPOILER. Despite everything I just said, I cannot wrap my head around why Ezio spared Rodrigo Borgia at the end of the first game. Historically, Rodrigo has to live for another 3 years so I can understand why Ubisoft felt the need to keep him alive, but in universe it just feels so wrong to spare the big bad when we've murdered so many just to get to him in the first place.

Brotherhood has such a crazy ending that leaves many questions that will probably be answered in the final instalment (note - they did not :c). Over the course of the trilogy I became increasingly invested in Desmond's story, which surprised me and is a testament to the quality of the narrative. However, it all went downhill in the final entry to the trilogy.

Revelations has such an underwhelming end for me. I can't help but feel the end was changed as a result of the positive reception to the game up to this point. This is particularly prevalent with Desmond's side of the story, it could have been so so easy for them to wrap up the present day story in this game but instead it ends in a lame cliffhanger - so infuriating. On a further note, I didn't realize there were Desmond story missions on animus island so at least for my playthrough there was almost zero development in Desmond's plot at all. This is such a shame as I went from craving more from these characters to being burned out on their story and just hoping it would end. Finally, I think it would've been a neat addition to show a final cutscene with Ezio surrounded y his family or something to show that he's left the assassin life for good. I am aware that this conclusion is abundantly clear at the games' end but I just wanted to see it for my own closure considering the many hours I've spent with this man.

I'm poor and sick and hungry - with a twist

Someone at Ubisoft must be Obsessed with adding these beggar people to the games because god damn why did they make a return. Now you get harassed by a myriad of beggars that I SWEAR IF I COULD MURDER EVERY SINGLE ONE find uniquely infuriating. fortunately you can throw a few florins on the ground to distract them but like STILL. (I wrote this almost a year ago and damn I must've been extremely frustrated)

You Should Play This Game

Overall, this trilogy is the best that the Assassin's Creed Series has to offer. Here there is a highly compelling story backed by an immersive world, great gameplay mechanics and an all around great package. There are so many elements I barely touched and yet I still found myself so much to do within each game. I personally got these games for just 1 month of Ubisoft+ but they are still incredibly cheap if you wanted to avoid a reliance on a subscription. It is an absolute masterpiece that every should experience at least once. 10/10

I hope you enjoy this rambling look at these amazing games and choose to give them a go if you haven't already yourself ;3

Ophelia

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