Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is due out tomorrow on PS4 and Xbox One. Surprisingly, Ubisoft has allowed reviews to be published today ahead of the game’s release. Many will remember the concern that came from Assassin’s Creed Unity’s review embargo which was on release day, presumably to shield sales from poor reviews. We didn’t mind it too much and we posted our own review a bit earlier (we went out and got an early copy, cost a bloody bomb, too) and didn’t find it to be nearly as bad as some made out.
This year’s edition of Assassin’s Creed promises to be a step up from last year’s. We’d love to tell you all about it, but seeing as Ubisoft – ahem – forgot to send our review copy, we’ve had to source an early copy. As such, we’re not quite ready to put our review on the table just yet, but we’ve had a poke around the web and have collated a bunch of reviews from publications we generally trust. Without further ado, here’s what some other sites think of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate.
Gamespot 9/10
The game is a triumphant return to form for a franchise, and presents a beautifully structured tale with heart and soul to spare. Ziplining through London is thrilling, and the game allows you to organically discover missions and leaves you open-ended solutions lets you to create a meaningful, personal experience within its world. Coupled with strong, loveable leads and a seemingly endless procession of ways to leave your (fictional) mark on London’s history, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is a shining example of gameplay and storytelling.
Pushsquare 6/10
Much like the Victorian city that it’s based upon, you have to dig into Assassin’s Creed Syndicate in order to identify its problems. The core gameplay loop is solid and it’s built upon a sound structure, but familiarity and filler lessen the appeal of this open world outing. Vastly improved performance and all around impressive presentation mean that London’s most definitely not burning – but there may be a little panic in the offices at Ubisoft.
Videogamer 5/10
Syndicate is a compulsive game, and in places a fine one. When it is good, when the AI is behaving and it’s running well, it’s very good. But Syndicate is so adept at self-sabotage that it’s nearly impossible to enjoy this world missions, this game. It constantly rips you out of the experience, whether that be from frustration at the mechanics or outright bugginess.
The Telegraph 2/5
Syndicate is a massive shame. Ubisoft’s yearly development cycle is really beginning to leave its mark on the series. Assassin’s Creed has been good. It is a series that can be great, but unfortunately Syndicate is a misstep. For a series concerned with making its players historical tourists, it is ironic that it is so stuck in the past.
Hardcore Gamer 3/5
Sure, this isn’t the broken mess that Assassin’s Creed Unity was, but in some ways it’s more of a blemish than its predecessor. After all, this is a functional game that simply isn’t all that fun to play, which is far more damning than any technical glitch could ever be.
Polygon 8.5/10
That’s really Assassin’s Creed Syndicate’s biggest triumph: It pushes back against the collected cruft of eight years of releases and spinoffs, an imposing accumulation of mechanics and lore and expectations. Syndicate doesn’t get everything right. It doesn’t solve all of the series’ problems, and at this point, I’m not sure if any one game could. However, it’s the first step in a uniformly positive direction that the franchise has taken in years.
God is a Geek 9/10
Ubisoft has tinkered around behind the hood and gotten this series back on the right track. Long may it continue, as Syndicate is the best Assassin’s Creed game in a long, long time.
There seems to be quite the disparity between reviewers on this one; some find it a step forward while others are finding it to be a step back.
The good news is (and we can confirm this after playing a few hours) that the performance is definitely a step forward. Frame-rate drops are few and far between and it just feel a lot more responsive.
We’ll be posting our review in the next day or two, so be sure to stick around to see what The Games Cabin makes of Ubisoft Montreal’s first Assassin’s Creed.