I have finished my time with Assassin’s Creed Syndicate and if I have to boil the game down to one word that word would be “fun”. I think that this is a return to form for Ubisoft. They did so many things right with this game to make up for Unity’s faults.
Syndicate’s story, however, is not its strongest asset. I am not saying the story is bad it just feels underdeveloped at times. This is the first game in the series to feature duel protagonists and a female lead: Jacob and Evie Frye. Jacob’s half of the story feels more similar to the first game where a Templar is controlling a part of London society and it is the assassin’s job to kill them. This seems simple enough. My problem with this method of storytelling is that we don’t delve deep enough into who these Templars are. We just know enough that they are hurting people so we kill them. The game does a fine enough job explaining why we are supposed to kill the Templars, but not enough to know who they are and why they are doing what they are doing until the very end. It just feels very superficial. Evie’s side of the campaign is centered on finding a Piece of Eden in London. This side feels more similar to the second game and onward, where it is less about assassinating Templars and about a mystical treasure hunt. Evie’s story has more depth than Jacob’s, but my problem is that it is too short. The main missions for Evie are finished about half way through the game where in sequence 8 she does not even have a mission. The writers wanted to tell a brother sister story about two polar opposite siblings. This is accomplished more through Evie cleaning up after Jacob kills a Templar and ruins a part of society. I would have rather seen them show this rift between the siblings through more dialogue between them instead of them acting separately for most of the game and then suddenly having a big falling out right at the end. The game’s ending has been receiving criticism for being weak. I would say it ends the way you would expect this game to end. I do not like the fact that it is a tad clichéd, but it is still enjoyable none the less. As with the other games in the franchise, Syndicate has a modern day component to the narrative. Syndicate has more than Unity, but less than many of the other games. I will say that the ending to the modern day story has a neat twist at the end that I think shows some hope for that aspect of the franchise. All in all Syndicate’s narrative is not bad by any means; it is actually a nice change of pace for the franchise. The story has a much lighter and happier tone than in the past. It just left me wanting a little more depth to the story. Syndicate has an enjoyable narrative filled with humor and levity. Gameplay is where this game shines. Ubisoft seemed to trim the fat from Unity’s gameplay systems. The free running is mostly the same as in Unity, however, this game just makes it more clear what controls to use to move the way you want. A big improvement I noticed was while climbing a wall entering a building through a window was much easier. The rope launcher is a nice addition to the traversal system. I originally had doubts, but the rope launcher quickly just became part of free running and the natural flow of the game. The way the rope launcher works is similar to Rocksteady’s Batman games. Combat was changed from Unity’s watch-and-react system, to a more fast-paced, attack centered system. Though the combat may lack a depth of animations, the brutal finishers and fast-pace make combat feel satisfying no matter how many times you see the animations. The biggest improvement to stealth is the detection systems. Syndicate does a great job of explaining how the HUD—the Heads Up Display—displays show where enemies are and what level of detection they are at. It is simple and functions well. The big assassination—black box missions, as Ubisoft calls them—are big open areas that the player can use whatever means they choose to eliminate the target and get out alive. There are many different ways to achieve success. Do you choose to do the sub objectives to give you access to the target or alternate ways in, or do you choose to go in guns blazing? It is your choice and it does not feel like the game punishes you for going the non-stealthy approach. The skill tree makes a return from Unity, though this time the interface is much improved. The overall tree is simpler, containing three branches: combat, stealth, and ecosystem. The skills act more as buffs rather than full on skills. For example, you can increase stealth, increase attack, carry more weapons, improve eagle vision effectiveness, etc.. Though experience is shared between the twins, skill points are distributed individually. Each of the twins has three unique abilities that are a part of the skills tree themselves. Where Evie has her extra stealth abilities, such as the Chameleon Skill, Jacob has his increased attack, increased defense, and the gunslinger II ability. This allows each twin to have a sense of independent playability despite being able to unlock every section of the skills tree for both twins (minus their individual special abilities). Crafting as well makes a return from Black Flag. However, this time gathering resources is more centered on finding chests and completing side missions. Personally, I am not a fan that you may equip a different weapon or outfit through the pause menu rather than having to return to a base. I find that it breaks the overall gameplay immersion. Along with upgrading the protagonists, the player can also upgrade their gang. Players upgrade the gang by spending money. These upgrades include increasing your gang’s strength, decreasing the opposing gang’s strength, and increasing revenue for the player. One of the greatest features of Syndicate is the city of London itself. The city feels alive and full of people and music. Ambient music mixes perfectly with the soundtrack. Each district of the city has its own musical flare. The lower class neighborhoods have a single violin playing music that I swear is from the Robert Downy Jr.’s Sherlock Holmes movies. Meanwhile the upper class neighbor hoods have a nice orchestral sound that at times just made me stop and listen. I enjoy watching NPCs go about their lives in the city. My favorite is watching people play cricket being played in parks or kids playing soccer on the streets. My only issue with the NPC’s reactions to dead bodies or actions that break the norm do not always feel natural. This is a small problem I just notice from time to time. I can talk about this game for hours. It is such an enjoyable experience and a lot of fun I really want to give Syndicate a 9, but I feel like I have to give it an 8. Syndicate achieves so much with its fluid gameplay, but I think the story held it back from its full potential. Rating: 8/10
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AuthorI am A.J. Goelz. I'm a gamer first and a writer second. I hope you enjoy the content on this page and check out the rest of my content on YouTube. Archives
April 2019
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