When Did Assassin's Creed Get Bad?

Assassin's Creed is one of my favorite franchises of all time, but its reception in the eyes of both the general public and hardcore fans has been historically polarized. A lot of people don't respect Assassin's Creed as a franchise despite its immense potential early on in its lifespan.

I wanted to take a look at the series and learn more about why that shift in perspective occurred. This video asks a loaded question: when did Assassin's Creed get bad?

Contents:
00:00 Intro
02:11 The Birth of a New IP
05:25 Ubisoft's Renaissance
08:07 Red Flags
10:54 A Game by Committee
15:34 A Never-Ending Story
19:17 Back From the Depths
22:14 Too Close to the Sun
27:00 Stagnation
29:21 Redemption...?
33:17 A Fanbase Divided
36:21 Where Are We Now?
41:00 When Did Assassin's Creed Get Bad?

References:

[takinerd]

The biggest problem with new Assassin's games is that you are no longer playing as an assassin.

[FranklinSteele]

Incredible line: "Maybe someday we will get back to a place where an experienced team of developers and artists is showing us their plan for one great game instead of some guy in a suit showing us a roadmap for 10."

[fapnawb]

I still can't get over how Ubisoft treated it's best game developers like Patrice Desilets or Michel Ancel. They created these amazing IPs Ubisoft now has and their game design has completely hit a brick wall cause the most talented people have left and they are stuck recycling the ideas and designs from over a decade ago.

[LazerzZ]

I don't watch a lot of AC stuff these days, but I clicked on this because I couldn't help myself. This was genuinely tremendous, glad I sat down and gave it a watch to hear someone else's detailed thoughts on a topic like this even if I'm not 100% in agreement on every little thought. Loved this video.

[LoreliaDeMildiane]

I actually liked AC1 a lot. The templars were actual templars and the assassins actual assassins.

[matthewarant]

The ending of AC revelations where Ezio calls out to desmond is amazing. I think the writers desevre some applause for how well written that is. "Who are we that are so blessed to share our stories across centries." For me that one scene gives meaning to the whole franchise that wasnt there before. The music is just breathtaking as well.

[onebuffalo]

I loved and still love black flag. But that was where ubisoft originated this “what if they like werent really assassins tho” idea

[adamsteven]

The issue with the new games is that they are lacking on the whole point of being an assassin. I do miss the brotherhood that was present in the second one. The new games sometimes feel like youre alone… while second one felt like assassins were everywhere.

[juicepumps]

Unity's wasted potential still haunts me to this day. On paper, it was the perfect AC game. A beautifully detailed dense city which wasn't overwhelming, a smooth weighted parkour system, a slightly more difficult combat system that still maintained the fluid animations, huge Hitman like sandbox missions which gave you endless ways to assassinate a target inside and outside of buildings and most importantly; the potential of a really good story - an assassin and templar in love, having to balance their allegiances with their romance all whilst navigating the backdrop of the French Revolution. It honestly could've been so powerful and different from the typical revenge arc. Whilst i don't think the problems started with this game, it was definitely series defining.

[calciumkid]

I loved revelations. Fighting Janissaries was actually worrying.

The city of Constantinople was so detailed, felt like walking through history, which is exactly how assassin's creed should feel, in my opinion.

[Pedone_Rosso]

My short oversimplified answer:
when they stopped caring about the present day aspect of the series.
The common narrative ended,
and it became just an episodic Assassins' Creed theme park.

Thanks for your videos!

[savioro]

This was great, and also really heavy. You make a really good point. for me, AC2 was the pinnacle, and Unity was where my patience ran out. I think of Odyssey as an entirely different franchise, though I enjoyed it in a way that Valhalla has failed to rekindle. Thanks!

[philonetic]

It happened when we looked away for a minute and there were suddenly 10 new AC games.

[shira_yone]

For me personally, the line started from AC4. I love the game and it's in my top 5 of the series, but it's where the seed of focus shift was sowed. The series shifted from _"experience the fantasy of being an _*_assassin_*_ working behind the scene in the annals of history"_ to _"experience the fantasy of being [insert cool historical culture here] member in their specific historical periods"._

If the focus was still on the assassin fantasy then everything else I cared about from the series (parkour, social stealth, conspiracy plots, etc) would've still be retained in one way or another exactly like how AC4 did it, but now that they can just blatantly have few to nothing to do with assassins those aspects are non-existent, non-functional, or crippled.

[VengeanceLN]

What I love about AC2 is that when you complete the game you lose your sword, so when you get back into it to finish side quests and stuff you missed you can get a broom from the floor to replace your sword slot, or get the end of a pike broken in half by a brute and keep that end as a sword replacement.

[musicbrush]

I clicked this video thinking "oh great, another one of those 'the game's not like ACII, so it's bad' guys" but, I found this quite an enjoyable video. You analyzed everything from an objective standpoint while slipping in your personal thoughts here and there. Great video.

[natelandherr]

I feel like if Unity wasnt so buggy it would have been a complete revival of the series as a whole. The Co-Op past patch was a really fun experience and I enjoyed how much territory there was to explore. Plus, my fav setting they ever did

[wngmv]

After a decade, i still get goosebumps when the Ezio's theme started playing. AC2 was such a great game.

[LordFlaggy]

THEY CONCLUDED THE MODERN STORY IN A COMIC!!!

Why the HELL am I just learning about this now god damnit

[midnightstrike]

They tripped with 3, fell with Unity, rebounded with Origins, stagnated with Odyssey, and finally died with Valhalla. Mirage is just a half baked DLC for Valhalla that I didn't even bother playing.