Assassin’s Creed Unity Review: France Revolutionized

As the first true next generation game in the series from Ubisoft, Assassin’s Creed Unity takes over the French Revolution.

Assassin’s Creed Unity is the first venture in the Assassin’s Creed franchise to be completely designed for the next generation console. While Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag made its way to new consoles, it was only Unity that was completely designed with advancement in mind. Using France as the backdrop, Unity set out to establish a new adventure.

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Upon first booting up Assassin’s Creed Unity, I couldn’t help but feel as if this game was something cut from a different cloth. Previously in the series, minor touches led to seamless gameplay, and this feel is not there with Assassin’s Creed Unity.

Instead of the typical Assassin’s Creed loading menu in which you find your protagonist able to walk around an endless landscape as you please, traditional black loading screens have been inserted. Gamers once found themselves transitioning between sequences through the Animus or cutscenes, but now are relegated to a mission select style experience.

Understandably, the presentation changes mentioned are minor, but they take away the feel of immersion that typically is brought with an Assassin’s Creed title.

Once entering Arno’s world however, the game begins to distance itself from the minor issues. In Assassin’s Creed Unity, the storyline is predicated around the French Revolution, and the war-torn landscape that lay in its wake. This is immediately evident upon entering your first sequence. The color palette appears dark, an ominous feel seems to surround your world, and it sets the tone for Assassin’s Creed Unity to show off some of the best graphics in the next-generation.

The color palette appears dark, an ominous feel seems to surround your world, and it sets the tone for Assassin’s Creed Unity to show off some of the best graphics in the next-generation.

More seems to have been done this time around in terms of explanation. There is still no traditional tutorial in Assassin’s Creed Unity, but the control scheme and techniques are explained through a slow introduction to different abilities in the first sequence. Without taking you out of the core gameplay, Unity does a great job of getting new players acquainted to the talents of Arno.

Impressively notable for the first time in next-gen, is just how much Assassin’s Creed Unity has going on at once. The landscape, whether it be Paris itself or other parts of France, is flooded with NPC characters which truly brings each scenario to life. More than ever before, the team at Ubisoft has given life to virtually every interaction that takes place in Unity.

Unfortunately, there did appear to be some framerate drops and dips with so much going on in one frame. However, at 1080p resolution, the dips didn’t ever take away from the experience or hinder what was taking place at any given time.

New gameplay techniques lend their hand to making the co-op style of Assassin’s Creed Unity feel as one of the better experiences in gaming.

Assassin’s Creed Unity shines with its co-op gameplay and teaming up to tackle foes with your friends is an awesome experience. Having to work together with up to three other players in hopes of completing certain objectives is a definite thrill ride. New gameplay techniques lend their hand to making the co-op style of Assassin’s Creed Unity feel as one of the better experiences in gaming.

At its core, Assassin’s Creed Unity doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it certainly pushes the envelope in allowing the player to feel as though Arno is truly a Master Assassin. With more than enough content to have you stealthily attacking France for months to come, Ubisoft has truly arrived in the next-generation.

With more than enough content to have you stealthily attacking France for months to come, Ubisoft has truly arrived in the next-generation.

Looking past a few small detractors in the presentation department, Assassin’s Creed Unity is exactly the title to start off the next generation of stealth gameplay. At it’s height, the beauty of the game is highlighted to the fullest extent. At it’s depth, Assassin’s Creed Unity is an uninspired story with lackluster stealth mechanics.

The Good:

• Impressive landscapes filled with tons of action
• Beautifully done graphics
• Amazing sandbox style

The Bad:

• Less than appealing menu selection
• Story fails to pull you in