Crikey, is it time for another Assassin’s Creed game already? I haven’t even been able to complete my Unity playthrough yet due to the repeated intrusion of game-breaking bugs. Still, Ubisoft marches on, ever undaunted by criticism, all in the name of the vaunted annual stabbity game release.
This fall’s London-based AC game has had its title changed from Assassin’s Creed Victory to Assassin’s Creed Syndicate , which seems appropriate considering that Unity was not exactly a victory. Today’s official reveal confirmed that the game is set in Victorian London during the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. Its lead character, one Jacob Frye, is a brash and hot-headed Assassin with a penchant for street fighting. He and his (probably playable, more on that later) sister Evie lead a street gang that hopes to strike a blow for the lower classes in a world in which they’re treated as disposable commodities.
Ubisoft has once again overhauled the AC combat system in the name of fast, brutal brawling. This is the first game set in a time period during which openly carrying a sword around town is frowned upon, so there will be a lot of punching and shivving instead of swordfighting. Jacob carries a multipurpose hidden blade, but also uses weapons like knives, cleavers, and brass knuckles. Hopefully, he’ll have access to a sword-cane at some point. Come on, Ubisoft, it’s the Victorian Era. We need a sword-cane!
Jacob has a few new ways to interact with the environment, as well. He’s got a rope launcher that he can use to zip up buildings. He’ll be able to use environmental objects to assist in assassinations. You know those ever-present crates that are suspended by ropes hanging around AC cities? Jacob can now use a throwing knife to break the ropes and drop the crates on the heads of his foes. He’s also got access to horse-drawn carriages, useful for zipping around the streets of London and running down assassination targets.
Jacob’s sister Evie appears to have been confirmed as a playable character behind closed doors , but she hasn’t been openly revealed as such by Ubisoft. It seems likely that she’ll appear at E3, hopefully by crashing through a glass ceiling onto the stage at the company’s press conference. Rumors heard by Kotaku suggest that she’ll star in about a quarter of the game’s missions, will be playable during the open-world free roaming segments, and is a more traditionally stealthy assassin than Jacob. Other women will star prominently in the game as well, reflecting the increasing diversity of leadership at the time.
We also know that Ubisoft won’t be excluding female characters from co-op this time – because there won’t be any co-op. The company is honing in on the single-player experience, so Syndicate won’t feature co-operative or competitive multiplayer. I hope this also means that Syndicate won’t be burdened with a bunch of “connected experience” junk like buggy mobile companion apps and the depressingly inoperable AC Initiates site (which still isn’t working properly months after Unity’s launch).
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is scheduled to launch on October 28 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Check out this morning’s reveal, below, to learn more about the title: