Next-gen is the perfect opportunity to revisit the original promise of Assassin's Creed

[Truant]

ITT we do NOT post about:
- Which style or era of AC games you like the most.
- How tired you are of [Ubisoft game design trope] or open worlds in general.
- Whether AC needs a break because.

With the XSX and PS5 finally delivering a modern console experience where all main components (CPU, GPU, RAM, SSD) are both balanced and powerful, I believe Ubisoft has the perfect opportunity to revisit the original promise of the early Assassin's Creed games. By that I mean an urban historical setting that's limited in size, but with a deep and complex simulation of physics, AI and world mechanics in general.

Instead of vast masses of land or water, you could focus your money, time and resources - both material and console power - to create a very rich and deep urban sandbox that really captures the fantasy of being an Assassin in a beautiful historical city. You could borrow elements from the new Hitman games or the Dishonored series, and have the player collect intel on their targets and really plan things out.

I'm not saying this should replace the modern AC style or have a separate series of games, but either way they do it, now is the time. I liked Unity and loved Syndicate, but you could already tell they were planning on moving away from that formula. Let's see how Ubisoft can leverage the CPU and SSD of next-gen machine to create a true sequel to AC2.

What time period and setting would be a good choice for this type of game?

 

[mikeys_legendary]

Aksum. Let's get sub-Saharan Africa in this bitch already.

It could even work well with the split between the Eastern and Western Christian churches, or they could let us play as an Ethiopian Jew during the middle ages.

 

[MiDoZ]

I like the way you think op.

 

[Spiderman]

I don't get it.

 

[TripaSeca]

Next gen is all about broadening the scope of games, isn't it?
When I read the title I thought OP would mention instant loading to time travel and control several ages seamlessly...

 

[Truant]

Next gen is all about broadening the scope of games, isn't it?
When I read the title I thought OP would mention instant loading to time travel and control several ages seamlessly...

Click to shrink...

I guess that's a way to go, but that's the opposite of focusing all efforts on a single simulation. I don't think AC games need to be broader than they are now. They need to be deeper.

 

[striderno9]

Playing AC Unity right now and loving it. I would love to see an evolution of this formula.

 

[TaySan]

Give me another AC Unity and i'll be satisfied. The game was way ahead of it's time.

 

[Deleted member 17184]

I really do miss the idea of being an assassin in the shadows, not someone everybody knows and is a leader. I agree with you, OP, and I hope it happens.

Anyone remembers social stealth? Bring that back, please.

 

[The Unsent]

I don't want a game that tries to replica Assassin Creed 2, but I'd prefer a more minimal and polished game, preferably set in China. I couldn't finish all the main missions in Valhalla because of a glitch, I just found it a mess honestly.

 

[Joaum_Boladaum]

I love the way you think, OP. I would like a remake of the altair storyline with your suggestions and without the desmond sequences. AC1 is kinda trash but to me is the most pure vision of the series in terms of setting, and I would love to see a game that realised the promise of that game.

 

[whatsarobot]

Yup. The new adventure games are clearly what lots of people want, but would love them to make another single city, hyper detailed, assassination based game.

 

[Dphex]

Aksum. Let's get sub-Saharan Africa in this bitch already.

It could even work well with the split between the Eastern and Western Christian churches, or they could let us play as an Ethiopian Jew during the middle ages.

Click to shrink...

Thats a damn good idea.

 

[DogNut327]

I agree OP. I'm going through Origins for the first time (also my first time playing the new "style" of AC) and while I enjoy it for what it is, the world is too spread out to enjoy the climbing/parkour movement. Even bigger cities like Alexandria are just too thin. AC3 had this problem as well, AC4 too but it was made up with the naval combat.

After watching some gameplay of a Cyberpunk 2077, the one thing is does right is the density and verticality of the city. I'd love to traverse that world with AC movement regardless of the type of combat. Of course, I'm thinking there probably aren't too many historical cities with skyscrapers and whatnot

Also unpopular opinion but the first Assassin's Creed is my absolute favourite in the series

 

[Deleted member 76797]

I want another Ezio game

 

[OozeMan]

Ubisoft needs to take a leaf out of the Forza franchise and give us two different games under the same banner. I will be up for it.

AC: Origins and onwards has never really appealed to me. Give us a dense and tightly-packed experience instead.

 

[VivekTO]

How the Production of titles is setup at Ubisoft , it funnels into the whole Open world genre, the tools , the systems , the assets , all are aimed to create an open world game except for couple of examples. So it will be a hard task for them to divert the resource again to a more complex but small cities or levels. Imo its much harder to tackle a small space with complex system than an open world game with respect to game design. I don't think they will go back to the previous setting.

That's why omission of Splinter cell from their portfolio , unless they find a way to do it in and open world setting Like MGS5 instead of Hitman.

 

[Sid]

Time to move on from the big SP IPs of the PS360 generation and create more big ones

 

[KAMI-SAMA]

I think I'm getting what you're trying to explain OP. Instead of games where the maps keep getting bigger and bigger, you want more smaller complex worlds where there is more depth to them. Like a city where you can walk inside every building, interact with NPC's in a much larger complex way, and more interactivity with the environment overall. Larger maps are becoming overplayed and tedious. As they say,... as wide as the ocean but as deep as a puddle.

 

[kevinking94]

This is one of my gaming dreams.

 

[theAllseeingEYE]

Aksum. Let's get sub-Saharan Africa in this bitch already.

It could even work well with the split between the Eastern and Western Christian churches, or they could let us play as an Ethiopian Jew during the middle ages.

Click to shrink...

This actually sounds like a great idea, I'd love to see that setting in an Assassins Creed game.

 

[Djalminha]

I think they've created a monster where the games just need to keep getting bigger and longer and more and more broken progression, where it takes several hours to level up and you can't defeat an enemy slightly stronger than you unless you pay for experience bonuses.

At least that was my impression with Odyssey. Ultra disappointing, the game was mind-blowing in so many ways and yet, it seemed they tried their hardest to make it unenjoyable.

 

[Adventureracing]

This is basically what I want. A game like the first AC but just massively fleshed out and remove all the modern day stuff.

 

[Novocaine]

I'd be into it. I'm playing Valhalla right now and while I love it it's such a massive departure from the first game. I'm not even using stealth because it's simply easier to run in with weapons swinging.

 

[Pall Mall]

I think they've created a monster where the games just need to keep getting bigger and longer and more and more broken progression, where it takes several hours to level up and you can't defeat an enemy slightly stronger than you unless you pay for experience bonuses.

At least that was my impression with Odyssey. Ultra disappointing, the game was mind-blowing in so many ways and yet, it seemed they tried their hardest to make it unenjoyable.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, at this point AC just fills a specific part of Ubisoft's portfolio, the fantasy-esque open-world RPG. It's not going to go back to actually being an assassin anymore, and I've realized the franchise hasn't been for me anymore for a long time.

 

[azfaru]

Ya I feel like having an AC set in a city as dense and as "hand decorated" like Night City would be intense (lack of life notwithstanding). I do miss the intricate alleys and tall buildings of AC2 and am sad at how average AC unity was, more so because of how detailed and beautiful Paris turned out to be.

But! I feel like Ubisoft has gotten it's groove with the past 3 AC games. So I'm afraid they're gonna stick with it. But why not both right? Build a "deep and tall" city as opposed to "shallow and wide" world, and fill it with your usual loot based RPG goods. I'd take it.

 

[giapel]

The original promise of Assassins Creed is not fulfilled by throwing more power at it. If you want complex assassinations with emergent gameplay and allowing player creativity with multiple approaches, then that requires careful game design and a lot of play testing. Ubisoft is all about more, bigger, flashier. So we're not getting that.

 

[Zen_Master]

I think the current AC direction is fine but if AC were to focus on one big city again I'd be interested is seeing its take on Babylon. Serve it ancient city style.
Hanging gardens and all, which may be an opportunity to integrate more fantasy/ISU elements. Kind of like Atlantis but more subdued (aka ISU stuff isn't obvious at first) and more varied/better executed.

 

[Alienous]

I do think a 'AC Unity 2' (not a narrative sequel) stands a good chance at being made, given the unfulfilled promise of that game. That game would naturally encompass those suggestions.

You can see how Watch Dogs Legion's technology could apply to Assassin's Creed, and Ubisoft isn't shy about sharing ideas. Assassin's Creed has also spent a lot of time flirting with a 'Nemesis system'.

A game where your targets have a schedule, and you work your way up a chain of their allies to create and find vulnerabilities, is probably an Assassin's Creed game that has been pitched internally. If they ever break away from the RPG formula, and I think they'll do so before fatigue sets in, that simulation-based Assassin's Creed game is the first thing I think they'll do.

 

[Issen]

There's some story in the AC spinoffs and even the AC movie about spanish assassins in the Renaissance that is confined to products people are rather unlikely to access.

I would freaking love a renaissance Spain game, with or without Ezio. With combat based around the Verdera and Vulgar Destrezas, it seems like the perfect game to introduce "tretas vulgares" (dishonorable combat tactics used by commoners) and maybe the eventual refinement into mastery of swordsmanship with a Verdadera Destreza skill tree or something.

 

[TheMoon]

First off, I do agree and want that focused OG Assassin's Creed "gather info, scout location, plan" promise done in modern tech too.

But AssCreed was never about physics? That bit confused me. Do you mean systems-driven? Nothing stopped them from making this game on the prior gen of systems if the goal is to have a more focused, not-open-world game. You don't need custom SSDs and whatnot to make this, that's why Hitman already exists and why simpler versions started this two generations ago. They just didn't want to. Bigger is better. Larger worlds are the better bullet points on the box.

I think the ship has firmly sailed. Big reason we haven't seen a new Splinter Cell is because they can't figure out how to set it in a big open-world with live-game elements. If they do make smaller world scale but denser stuff, it has to be spin-offs.

 

[Richter1887]

I would love a remake of the first game. An expanded more assassin focused game. It would be awesome.

Exploring the crusade period Palestina and Syria and living through Altair's life would be really cool. Add all the side games stories into the game and it would awesome.

A more urban take that has a more focus on mechanics is something that would be fresh after 3 big games in the current formula.

 

[Radium217]

Let me fix this for ya: next gen is the perfect time to remaster AC Unity and unlock its full potential. Seriously, they need to do this or make a sequel. Unity is the best AC game ever imo. 2 is only better in the story department and not by a whole lot.

 

[br0ken_shad0w]

Sadly sprawling open-world settings is what got people back into the AC games, so Ubisoft is going to keep milking that cow.

 

[Couscous]

A dense urban environment would be way better than the bloated, but very shallow open worlds of Origins and Oddysey (didn't play Valhalla).

 

[EVIL]

Next gen is all about broadening the scope of games, isn't it?
When I read the title I thought OP would mention instant loading to time travel and control several ages seamlessly...

Click to shrink...

Less is more, having a narrower more intimate vision for Assassins creed would allow you to spend all those "next gen" resources into something else than large maps and huge open world. Those games are fun for sure but they limit what you can do in those spaces in terms of gameplay and experiences. Would be pretty great to really flesh out some of the original mechanics into a smaller more focused scope that feels more impactful with better story delivery then the standard formula ubisoft open world cookie cutter shit we are having today.

 

[BloodshotX]

Next gen is all about broadening the scope of games, isn't it?
When I read the title I thought OP would mention instant loading to time travel and control several ages seamlessly...

Click to shrink...

I think the series need to downscale the scope more than anything else, since odyssey its getting kinda bloated. I really like the RPG elements and to me AC Origins was the perfect blend of new and old, The game had a rich world with RPG elements but had interesting cities and sidequests. Although i like odyssey's setting, the game was way to bloated for its own good.

That and i really want the animations of Unity back : (

 

[Shrikey]

As you point out, both Dishonored and Hitman basically do the "assassinate target in a densely packed level"-thing. Though none really go so far as being a full city. But they're not as popular. Increase complexity and you risk losing engagement from players who would rather follow the waypoint to collect the thing and kill the red target blip on their minimap. I remember tapping out when I tried absolution (or was it Blood Money?) because I couldn't make sense of the different systems of detection and disguises properly. I loved the reboot, though. But I can see them being a type of game where it's hard to keep mass market appeal. If you just have a smaller, denser area, but the exact same gameplay loop as AC does now, it won't really bring anything new to the tabel.

Also, designing these dense areas seem to be really, really hard. It's not just about manpower (which Ubisoft has plenty of). The Ubisoft formula is successful and consistently puts out solid titles. But it seems getting the interaction between world elements to work properly is really time consuming.

I'm all for more immersive sim style games, and I really do hope that the SSD can give developers a reason to remove long travel times as ways of masking loading between cities, but rather work with more intimate, more persistent worlds. But I don't necessarily think Ubisoft are the ones to do it. Just give Arkane triple the budget instead.

 

[klier]

I like the way you think op.

Click to shrink...

I do too. Make the world not overly big, but incredibly dense, detailed and alive, with the possibility to enter every house there is, etc. Full physics, deep and dense AI, lots of stuff on screen, etc.

 

[Joris-truly]

I've been waiting for such an experience since the announcement of the first AC. Dishonored and the new Hitman filled the void years later but it's still not the fantasy the first AC promised.

I would love open-world games to have more of a focus, instead of just a setting with a main quest and inconsequential side quests. Just give me a target in a medium sized and persistent open-world. A world where you need to learn it's rules and systems to get close to the target. Not just a Hitman map, but a open-world with a single goal that is hard to reach, but can be mastered due to figuring and trying things out:

• No arbitrary 'gamey' level gating, just knowledge, skill and timing required.
• Needing access cards/keys to enter building
• gather information on the target's whereabouts
• track and follow contacts close to the target
• use physics to climb or destroy doors.
• Multiplicative item's and world-objects that can be used in different situations.

Real systemic emergent moments and player driven plans that can fail, and need to be adapted to. (From a player, as well a consistent game-logic perspective)

With NVME's, the persistent world concept maybe finally feasible now. I'm really done with the bog standard open-world formula we've been experiencing for years now. We need to have such an ambitious (and probably flawed in its first outing) game for the open-world formula to be shaken up.

 

[misterb2001]

The CGI graphics in the AC2 trailer are surely possible now? That trailer oozed atmosphere, I can picture me prowling the rooftops or being a hidden blade in the crowd.

Give me a proper sprawling city anyday of the week. Jesus I want this so bad.

 

[Humidex]

I really do miss the idea of being an assassin in the shadows, not someone everybody knows and is a leader. I agree with you, OP, and I hope it happens.

Anyone remembers social stealth? Bring that back, please.

Click to shrink...

As long as our protag can swim, that works for me.

 

[Deleted member 37928]

My issues are more with the fundamentals of the mechanics in Assassin's Creed. I'm getting a bit tired of automated parkour and the rather limited options for traversal and stealth. My dream AC game would have a dedicated jump and grab button to begin with. Also a progression system that slowly transformed your character movement the further you got into the game. Over time you would unlock things such as higher jumping, increased climbing strength, rolls to avoid static landings and such. There would also be tools to unlock that helped you infiltrate buildings much smoother. One tool that I've yet to see in any video game is a rope with two anchor points that you can place as you see fit., with a bow or crossbow preferably. You could then create your own passages over high walls, up mountain tops, over dangerous terrain etc.

 

[Undrey]

A Hitman-style AC game would be godly. No idea how I'd never even thought of it, but it makes so much sense.

 

[Ringten]

Yeh I fully agree! Unity was indeed ahead of its time, and the blackbox design was a start of something great.

Would be nice for them to return to that style again.

 

[Readler]

Yes please. Give me AC Unity but in good. Give me some emergent gameplay and let me figure this shit out all by myself. The blackbox design behind Unity seemed like a good start (haven't played it so..) but I think supplemented with better AI it could really be something special.

 

[Blackthorn]

I genuinely want a Bluepoint-tier remake of the first game.

 

[Carian Knight]

First of all big YES to your vision but I don't think 3+k people at Ubisoft capable of creating decent character/NPC animations.

 

[Yerffej]

I guess that's a way to go, but that's the opposite of focusing all efforts on a single simulation. I don't think AC games need to be broader than they are now. They need to be deeper.

Click to shrink...

I've been saying this for years. I was thinking about it again playing Valhalla last night.

 

[MiDoZ]

I do too. Make the world not overly big, but incredibly dense, detailed and alive, with the possibility to enter every house there is, etc. Full physics, deep and dense AI, lots of stuff on screen, etc.

Click to shrink...

Just imagine this with the settings of the first game. gosh