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What is the most underrated Assassin's Creed game? (Spoiler: It's Assassins Creed 3)
- Thread starter PhazonBlazer
- Start date
AC 3 killed my interest in the series and I was a big fan at the time.
Unity has the best parkour in the series so I do think it's kind of underrated.
Unity has the best parkour in the series so I do think it's kind of underrated.
Possibly Syndicate, but actually Unity.
People seem to forget what underrated means - not valued to which it deserves.
Unity wasn't even as close as bad as people said it was and had some giant leaps for the franchise.
Also Elise was the way better character and she should have been the protag
People seem to forget what underrated means - not valued to which it deserves.
Unity wasn't even as close as bad as people said it was and had some giant leaps for the franchise.
- best parkour/movement in the series (even till today)
- insane amount of detail and graphical fidelity in a basically fully realized revolutionary Paris
- co-op missions while being assassins
Also Elise was the way better character and she should have been the protag
Unity is bad, Revelations is rad, and 3 is great!
If the only experience someone has with stealth gameplay is an Assassin's Creed game then god help you.
Unity improves some things mechanically from practically non-existent to mediocre but then goes all in on stealth to the point it's just a net negative.
The hook blade is great! On paper it's boring and tacked on but in practice it's super fun!
Assassin's Creed as a series are utterly abysmal at stealth anyway. The best any of the games get is adequate. I genuinely think the series has helped contribute to the mainstream aversion to the stealth genre.
If the only experience someone has with stealth gameplay is an Assassin's Creed game then god help you.
Unity improves some things mechanically from practically non-existent to mediocre but then goes all in on stealth to the point it's just a net negative.
Unity.
Because of its disastrous launch people forget how good game it is we need all of the technical issues.
Because of its disastrous launch people forget how good game it is we need all of the technical issues.
Unity got shat on because of some facial animation bug and the maps were littered with collectibles. But it had one of the best cites to explore with the best parkour the series ever had.
Sorry OP, but for me personally AC3 was one of my biggest gaming disappointments ever, and instantly killed my interest in the franchise - and I was heavy into the lore at the time too, read the comics, etc.
The best thing that I can say about it is that it had a brilliant opening couple of hours, with a really unexpected early game twist. But everything else I really wasn't a fan of.
Assassin's Creed Liberation, on the other hand, I quite enjoyed out of the US-set AC games, and would definitely consider underrated, at least in my view.
The best thing that I can say about it is that it had a brilliant opening couple of hours, with a really unexpected early game twist. But everything else I really wasn't a fan of.
Assassin's Creed Liberation, on the other hand, I quite enjoyed out of the US-set AC games, and would definitely consider underrated, at least in my view.
AC3's biggest problem, imo, is that it let you play as a really cool character with a lot of charm for a few hours. Then it moved you to the actual protagonist, who was one of the most dreadfully boring protagonists in the franchise.
That and I remember the ending being very abrupt. As if someone said "whelp, that's enough story, now just end it".
That and I remember the ending being very abrupt. As if someone said "whelp, that's enough story, now just end it".
It's Unity. Unity is the best Assassin's Creed that got unlucky by having a number of technical issues introduced with the first patch. It unfairly became a laughing stock, but it has the best mechanics and best world design of all ACs (only AC2 and Brotherhood can stand besides it and that is thanks to linear bonus missions).
Revelations introduced a bunch of shit:
- tower defense
- weapon crafting
and removed the best sections from AC2/ACB:
- no more tombs
It is much worse than 2 and B.
AC3 is the worst AC I've ever played. I hated it with passion. Extremely Boring cities, loading times fucking everywhere, poor visuals and I didn't like the setting either. Combat and animation were a step up at least.
The right answer is obviously Unity, a game too ambitious for its time.
The right answer is obviously Unity, a game too ambitious for its time.
Im sorry, but AC3 is a mess. And the remaster for PS4 is somehow even MORE of a mess. Talking on a bug/technical level. It's also just not very interesting despite having a cool protagonist.
Pretty sure 4 was a mess too, but that was a bit more fun.
I think the most underrated one is the 1st one. People will say it's repetitive but the time period, protagonist and overall world are brilliant. And a remake in the current engine would make a lot of sense also, when you consider AC1 already had 3 main cities and a sort "land in between " that was supposed to connect them (but was just a 4th map that was pretty boring).
Pretty sure 4 was a mess too, but that was a bit more fun.
I think the most underrated one is the 1st one. People will say it's repetitive but the time period, protagonist and overall world are brilliant. And a remake in the current engine would make a lot of sense also, when you consider AC1 already had 3 main cities and a sort "land in between " that was supposed to connect them (but was just a 4th map that was pretty boring).
Not having played either, but I would think Unity or Syndicate are probably the underrated ones.
Yep. I was a huge AC fan. That dimmed a bit during Revelations but I was still keen to keep going. Played maybe 3 hours of AC3 and decided I never wanted to touch an AC game again.
Assassin's Creed 3 made me skip Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag after having played all the AC games. I remember AC3 performing badly, I don't recall barely any of the plot past the intro. I think even the HUD was shit - a slow radial weapons menu or something like that.
Unity was really good, but people who never played it thought it was bad because of that dumb meme image that was relentlessly posted every time the game was mentioned. Syndicate was fun and Evie is one of my favourite playable characters, but I think by that time people were getting fed up of the same format.
AC3 sucked. Boring character. Boring setting. The most boring time period in the entire series. Easily the worst in the series.
AC3 sucked. Boring character. Boring setting. The most boring time period in the entire series. Easily the worst in the series.
3 felt like a bunch of nice ideas that never quite worked together. It also felt like it took ages to play through. Felt like 10 hours before I even get to the main game, then a lot of filler content. Technologically it was remarkable on one hand, overambitious on the other. So, in summary, wildly inconsistent. Didn't like it too much.
Unity obviously had the performance problems and was a little outdated from a game design perspective because it was the last old (ignore Syndicate for now) formula AssCreed but it actually did what it did pretty well. The one other aspect dragging it down besides performance was the quite horrible main character. That dude is just insufferable and not relatable at all.
Didn't actually finish Unity because of that. Skipped Syndicate, came back with Origins.
Still think most underrated is Unity because the reputation it has is not deserved.
Unity obviously had the performance problems and was a little outdated from a game design perspective because it was the last old (ignore Syndicate for now) formula AssCreed but it actually did what it did pretty well. The one other aspect dragging it down besides performance was the quite horrible main character. That dude is just insufferable and not relatable at all.
Didn't actually finish Unity because of that. Skipped Syndicate, came back with Origins.
Still think most underrated is Unity because the reputation it has is not deserved.
Having played through all those games in the last six months, I went into three expecting the general reaction to be hyperbolic, and it was. That doesn't stop it from being the worst of the bunch though, not a bad game just... not the best AC. I liked the setting, but as someone that critical paths these games it felt the most underbaked out of all of them. Cutscene presentation and storytelling took a huge step back.
The story comes at you super disjointed, it jumps and leaps all over the place.
Three felt like a game I would have loved if I had done more homestead missions or side content, those scenes had lot of charm and helped make Connor way more likeable.
The flaws come together to make the game feel longer than it is. It's not all bad though, it did bring some great changes to the series. There's a noticeably large jump in gameplay animation, running while strafing left and right looks and feels much better, and parkour in general looks much more dynamic. The map revealing as you move as opposed to needing a tower, and the side content was obviously a large focus, and it's good!
So, Unity gets my vote. Syndicate might be a better game, but I don't think that one is underrated. I know it sold less, but anecdotally, most people I know enjoyed it on their first playthrough.
Achilles suddenly being ill, killing your best friend, working with your Dad on and off, the ending. Let's not forget the weird modern day missions, they felt particularly rushed. Was Daniel Cross a comic character or something?
Three felt like a game I would have loved if I had done more homestead missions or side content, those scenes had lot of charm and helped make Connor way more likeable.
The flaws come together to make the game feel longer than it is. It's not all bad though, it did bring some great changes to the series. There's a noticeably large jump in gameplay animation, running while strafing left and right looks and feels much better, and parkour in general looks much more dynamic. The map revealing as you move as opposed to needing a tower, and the side content was obviously a large focus, and it's good!
So, Unity gets my vote. Syndicate might be a better game, but I don't think that one is underrated. I know it sold less, but anecdotally, most people I know enjoyed it on their first playthrough.
I voted for Syndicate, since I love the two main characters and no one ever seems to talk about the game at all.
I think AC1 gets respect. It's just that everyone realizes it was the first in the series that's had many improvements / advancements since then.
Also, I don't believe that Origins is underrated. Everyone who's played it knows it's the truth. I actually enjoyed it more than Odyssey, primarily due to its Egyptian setting, the main protagonist, and a few of the side characters.
I feel Revelations was weaker than Brotherhood, but not a weak game. And it still has one of my favorite parts in all of AC; playing through his return at the end and seeing the reactions to it :)
I don't think Unity is underrated. It got rightfully knocked at launch because of its performance. That definitely soured some, but I feel people recognize it was a typical, fun AC game after performance was improved and bugs ironed out.
I think the only one on that list with maybe a lasting "negative" impression to me is AC3, so it could be a good candidate for most underrated. I own AC3 multiple times and have tried it multiple times though, but I just can't get into it. I'm not overlooking or not giving it its due; it's just boring to me 😬
I think AC1 gets respect. It's just that everyone realizes it was the first in the series that's had many improvements / advancements since then.
Also, I don't believe that Origins is underrated. Everyone who's played it knows it's the truth. I actually enjoyed it more than Odyssey, primarily due to its Egyptian setting, the main protagonist, and a few of the side characters.
I feel Revelations was weaker than Brotherhood, but not a weak game. And it still has one of my favorite parts in all of AC; playing through his return at the end and seeing the reactions to it :)
I don't think Unity is underrated. It got rightfully knocked at launch because of its performance. That definitely soured some, but I feel people recognize it was a typical, fun AC game after performance was improved and bugs ironed out.
I think the only one on that list with maybe a lasting "negative" impression to me is AC3, so it could be a good candidate for most underrated. I own AC3 multiple times and have tried it multiple times though, but I just can't get into it. I'm not overlooking or not giving it its due; it's just boring to me 😬
Unity and Syndicate, easily.
Man, what a bright future the series had with those photorealistic cities and that awesome parkour.
And look where we are now :(
Man, what a bright future the series had with those photorealistic cities and that awesome parkour.
And look where we are now :(
The most underrated is Rogue by far imo, way better than Unity and 3, I adore 4 and like it better but Rogue felt at times a more refined version
I kind of agree with this, but mostly because I tend to look back more fondly on sequels that try new stuff instead of building on what came before. Many things in AC3 didn't quite work, but it still felt new and interesting. And those combat animations were absolutely fantastic, too!
Ive played ALL Assassins Creed game, I stoped after revelation, and some years after started again from 3 up to when odyssey released
1 is bad but it was the first so it has a slight pass, Revalations is the worse of the Ezio series, but it isnt as bad of some of this list, AC Unity is lovely to look at, and the french revolution is a super interesting period of history, with amazing architecture, but the mission tructure and order (fucked up by multiplayer) and singleplayer are a fucking mess (multiplayer killed that game). Origins is an actually loved game so i dont know why its in the list (and its great), it should have been AC Rougue which actually has some redeeming qualities...
And Syndicate is actually fun and sadly forgotten, with a great city to visit and some great WW setpieces just to use famous world building that were not there in Victorian times (the only thing it fails, is cutting the map just before you can visit the Crystal Palace), and the two characters are really fun so that gets my vote.
But as the OP wants to defend so behemently AC3, I will say it the absolute fucking worse AC ever. Its absolutely terrible, the only saving grace is the ship battles, and those are better in Black Flag. It has zero personality, american "architecture" and cities are fucking bland in 1770 (if you really want to do an AC game set in USA, use new york during the 1890 to 1930 period), to the point the game tries to make you travel half of the game through the fucking sewers or going above cloned trees. The War of Independence is fucking boring (the other historic periods in the series are more interesting). The main character is nearly as bad as Altair (and i hate one of our best voice actors, Ivan Muelas, was wasted on him). The modern part is... absolutely atrocious. Oh you need to go to a football stadium in Brazil. Will that be the Maracaná? which would be super fun to climb? NOPE, undescriptive stadium that you dont even really climb to see well. Oh you are on new york, are we gonna climb the empire state, maybe the chrysler? NOPE, a fucking undescriptive building under construction.
And the list of bad boring things on that game goes on and on and on...
Fucking 3 made me stop playing the series I love (though revelation didnt help), and when i got years after and tried again becuase i really wanted to play oddysey, and forced myself to beat that fucking thing, I was incredibly scared of jumping to Black Flag after (was marathoning the series) becuase i thought it was gonna be equally crap, thankfully it was great fun, even when i thought the time period wasnt gonna interest me that much becuase of the architecture, and i was pleasently surprised i did.
Thats how bad AC3 is.
Valhalla is as boring, becuase im fucking bored of Vikings and should have been Rome, so im not a fan of the last game either. Though i wouldnt call it atrocious or bad, like AC3 is.
1 is bad but it was the first so it has a slight pass, Revalations is the worse of the Ezio series, but it isnt as bad of some of this list, AC Unity is lovely to look at, and the french revolution is a super interesting period of history, with amazing architecture, but the mission tructure and order (fucked up by multiplayer) and singleplayer are a fucking mess (multiplayer killed that game). Origins is an actually loved game so i dont know why its in the list (and its great), it should have been AC Rougue which actually has some redeeming qualities...
And Syndicate is actually fun and sadly forgotten, with a great city to visit and some great WW setpieces just to use famous world building that were not there in Victorian times (the only thing it fails, is cutting the map just before you can visit the Crystal Palace), and the two characters are really fun so that gets my vote.
But as the OP wants to defend so behemently AC3, I will say it the absolute fucking worse AC ever. Its absolutely terrible, the only saving grace is the ship battles, and those are better in Black Flag. It has zero personality, american "architecture" and cities are fucking bland in 1770 (if you really want to do an AC game set in USA, use new york during the 1890 to 1930 period), to the point the game tries to make you travel half of the game through the fucking sewers or going above cloned trees. The War of Independence is fucking boring (the other historic periods in the series are more interesting). The main character is nearly as bad as Altair (and i hate one of our best voice actors, Ivan Muelas, was wasted on him). The modern part is... absolutely atrocious. Oh you need to go to a football stadium in Brazil. Will that be the Maracaná? which would be super fun to climb? NOPE, undescriptive stadium that you dont even really climb to see well. Oh you are on new york, are we gonna climb the empire state, maybe the chrysler? NOPE, a fucking undescriptive building under construction.
And the list of bad boring things on that game goes on and on and on...
Fucking 3 made me stop playing the series I love (though revelation didnt help), and when i got years after and tried again becuase i really wanted to play oddysey, and forced myself to beat that fucking thing, I was incredibly scared of jumping to Black Flag after (was marathoning the series) becuase i thought it was gonna be equally crap, thankfully it was great fun, even when i thought the time period wasnt gonna interest me that much becuase of the architecture, and i was pleasently surprised i did.
Thats how bad AC3 is.
Valhalla is as boring, becuase im fucking bored of Vikings and should have been Rome, so im not a fan of the last game either. Though i wouldnt call it atrocious or bad, like AC3 is.
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Unity can't be underrated, considering it did not work properly and birthed the hilariously dumb "female avatar" controversy. The fact it got 7s is honestly ridiculous.
I thought Syndicate's representation was actually cool, and the game functioned properly with the sheer effort they must've put in on creating double the animations for Evie.
I thought Syndicate's representation was actually cool, and the game functioned properly with the sheer effort they must've put in on creating double the animations for Evie.
Honestly, that's true of every Assassin's Creed game imo.
They are all bloated, repetitive and ultimately simplistic in their gameplay. I still enjoy them, but I never beat them (except 1&2) because they run out of steam in the second half.
It's Syndicate. It got blasted for releasing too soon after Unity but it was a great AC game, mechanically superior to the previous one, even if the visuals were worse.
Fantastic protags, great setting, lots of interesting and diverse characters, fun traversal, a very good Jack the Ripper DLC, expanded investigation missions from Unity and more.
Fantastic protags, great setting, lots of interesting and diverse characters, fun traversal, a very good Jack the Ripper DLC, expanded investigation missions from Unity and more.
It's definitely 1.
I still have problems ever since 2009 (well technically 2010 as that's when AC2 was released for PC) with the prevailing notion that 'AC2 took everything AC1 did and did it better'. AC2 took AC1 engine and went into a totally different direction. It's a good game, sure, but it's NOT AC1+, it's a totally different thing.
The closest Assassin's Creed 1 has received for a sequel was Assassin's Creed Unity (in a sense that, while not all, a bunch of principles were reused in Unity too). But really the true sequels to Assassin's Creed 1 are actually the modern Hitman games.
I still have problems ever since 2009 (well technically 2010 as that's when AC2 was released for PC) with the prevailing notion that 'AC2 took everything AC1 did and did it better'. AC2 took AC1 engine and went into a totally different direction. It's a good game, sure, but it's NOT AC1+, it's a totally different thing.
The closest Assassin's Creed 1 has received for a sequel was Assassin's Creed Unity (in a sense that, while not all, a bunch of principles were reused in Unity too). But really the true sequels to Assassin's Creed 1 are actually the modern Hitman games.
4 was the last I've played, so idk about Unity, Syndicate or Origins.
But as for the games I've played, I am pretty sure I enjoyed both Revelations and AC3 more than I enjoyed Brotherhood. In fact, I even barely remember playing Brotherhood, despite being sure that I've beaten it.
AC3 is more underrated than Revelations though. Nobody seem to shit on Revelations, while AC3 usually gets criticised.
But as for the games I've played, I am pretty sure I enjoyed both Revelations and AC3 more than I enjoyed Brotherhood. In fact, I even barely remember playing Brotherhood, despite being sure that I've beaten it.
AC3 is more underrated than Revelations though. Nobody seem to shit on Revelations, while AC3 usually gets criticised.
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I really liked 3 for the protagonist and the story, Connor is surprisingly well written and a compelling character. What's shitty is the hours and hours of tutorials, that almost turned me off forever from that game.
I thought Syndicate was a great entry and I greatly enjoyed playing it.
But I bought Unity on launch day back in the day and put it back down after only a couple of hours. It was the one AC game I never finished. I bought it on Xbox last week and have been playing through it and really, it's amazing. This game was crippled by technical difficulties and it now is clear to me that it was just too ambitious for the hardware of the time. On Xbox Series X with FPS boost (steady 60 fps!) and Auto HDR this game plays like a dream and graphically it still looks like it was released only yesterday. The art direction is fantastic. Paris looks like a painting and the crowds are huge, it really sets a high bar. It also controls much more fluidly at 60 fps and the story, while a bit disjointed, is more than serviceable.
This game is still being shunned but it really has grown into its own.
But I bought Unity on launch day back in the day and put it back down after only a couple of hours. It was the one AC game I never finished. I bought it on Xbox last week and have been playing through it and really, it's amazing. This game was crippled by technical difficulties and it now is clear to me that it was just too ambitious for the hardware of the time. On Xbox Series X with FPS boost (steady 60 fps!) and Auto HDR this game plays like a dream and graphically it still looks like it was released only yesterday. The art direction is fantastic. Paris looks like a painting and the crowds are huge, it really sets a high bar. It also controls much more fluidly at 60 fps and the story, while a bit disjointed, is more than serviceable.
This game is still being shunned but it really has grown into its own.
Rogue, which is a fucking great game and the fact that it's not even on the poll proves my point. It was far better than Black Flag.
Playing an ex-Assassin turned Templar was the shit.
From that list though, it's Unity. Amazing visuals and world immersion, more a return to harder hit and run stealth gameplay rather than just parry killing waves of soldiers, and good characters. The weakest thing about the characters and plot is that they were kind of rehashes.
Playing an ex-Assassin turned Templar was the shit.
From that list though, it's Unity. Amazing visuals and world immersion, more a return to harder hit and run stealth gameplay rather than just parry killing waves of soldiers, and good characters. The weakest thing about the characters and plot is that they were kind of rehashes.