Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Developer: Ubisoft Quebec
Publisher: Ubisoft
Author: J.W.
With just a month left before its October 23 release on Xbox One and PS4, expectations are high for Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. Syndicate marks several important firsts for the franchise: it’s the first major game in the series with Ubisoft Quebec acting as lead developer, the first where the player can switch between two main characters, the first where a main character is a woman – the list goes on. The question remains, though: will Syndicate live up to the hype? How will it differentiate itself from other games in the franchise while establishing itself as a story worth experiencing?
Thankfully, Ubisoft isn’t pulling any punches in terms of new features. The most promising of these is the ability to play as both Jacob and Evie Frye, a brother-sister duo who sport unique abilities and offer different play experiences. Jacob is characterized as a “brawler” who favours close combat, while Evie prefers stealth and uses her cunning to take down enemies. This is a crucial moment for Ubisoft, who have been criticized in the past for poor treatment of female characters.
Syndicate takes place in London during 1868, at the end of the Industrial Revolution – a time of innovation, but also of great suffering on the part of the working class. Jacob and Evie’s work as Assassins sees them attempting to wrest control of London’s gangs and unite them against the corrupt Templar order. The player will take Jacob and Evie across six of London’s boroughs, including Westminster and Whitechapel, and will encounter historical figures like Darwin, Dickens, Queen Victoria, and the much-anticipated Jack the Ripper. (Note: Some of these will require purchasing the DLC or Season Pass.) To get around the massive, open-world map, players can use new methods of travel such as horse-drawn carriages, trains, and a rope launcher, which can be used as a zip-line as well as a way to rappel up buildings.
In their work to right the injustices of Victorian London, Jacob and Evie will have access to era-appropriate weapons such as the kukri knife, brass knuckles, a compact revolver, and cane with a hidden blade. Players can also utilize environmental objects such as barrels to dispatch their foes. The combat system is faster and more responsive, which will likely be most noticeable during the game’s large-scale gang war sequences. The missions in Syndicate can be completed in several different ways for both characters, allowing players to tailor their experience to their own preferences.
As mentioned above, the Assassin’s Creed Syndicate DLC and Season Pass promise even more content. The DLC will give players access to the Jack the Ripper campaign, while the season pass grants access to said campaign as well as two new missions, Victorian and steampunk-inspired gear and weapon packs, and various other bonuses. As of this writing, there is not set release date for the DLC and Season Pass.
Thus far, Syndicate looks like a great game with a good balance between storytelling and gameplay. Watch out for it on Xbox One and PS4 this October, or catch it on PC beginning November 19.
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