10 Assassin's Creed Features That NEED To Make A Comeback
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VOICE OVER: Aaron Kline
WRITTEN BY: Aaron Kline
With "Mirage" promising a smaller experience, we hope these forgotten features one day return to "Assassin's Creed." For this list, we'll be looking at features and mechanics that seem to have been lost as the “Assassin's Creed” series has progressed from stealth to a RPG focused open world. Our list of "Assassin's Creed" fatures we want to come back includes Naval Combat, the Grappling Hook, Multiplayer, Parkour Puzzles, and more!
Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re looking at 10 Assassin’s Creed features we want to come back. For this list, we’ll be looking at features and mechanics that seem to have been lost as the “Assassin’s Creed” series has progressed from stealth to a RPG focused open world. With “Assassin’s Creed: Mirage” going back to basics, maybe a few of these will sneak their way back into the series. Sharpen your hidden blade and blend in to the crowd in the comments and let us know which feature you want to make a comeback.
There’s no better thrill of jumping from one small brick to a window to reach the highest point on the map. But sometimes we don’t want to go through the hassle of strategic hand placement and well time jumps. Sometimes we want a little boost. We last saw the grappling hook in “Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate”. It only makes sense that an assassin would have an arsenal of gadgets to help them reach their target or just simply an easier way to get from building to building. Heck it even makes for a great way to pull your enemies closer for a quick strike.
For the most part the assassin’s work alone, but that can’t be said for the enemies that lay in your path. While you could chain two kills in “Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla” together, most times our assassin is up against a small army. “Assassin’s Creed III” was the peak of the chain kills or chain executions. In AC III we could leap over our foes after taking them out to quickly get to the next. If done correctly you’ll end up looking like John Wick jumped into the animus himself. It only makes sense that assassins are trained to take on multiple enemies and how to get themselves out of a sticky situation.
Cities used to be a major part of “Assassin’s Creed” games, but as the games focused more on RPG mechanics, for some reason the cities fell to the wayside. The newer games in the series have cities, but most feel similar and lack some of what made the older locations feel lived in. Cities used to be the main focus point of the franchise, each feeling different and unique. They used to have different regions, filled with all manner of people of various classes. You would see religious figures walking around, shop keeps, poor folk, and everything in between. These features in each city gave them a unique feel and the sense of life that is sorely missed.
If you’re going to be tailing a target, you at least need to make sure you’ve got the right person! Gathering intel seems like it would be a backbone feature of the franchise given that we’re playing as assassins. Back in the older games, there were three ways for your character to gather the necessary info to conform to the target. If you’re looking for more stealthy ways you could pickpocket the city folk or eavesdrop on their conversations. If you wanted to be more brutal, you could always interrogate people. Alas, there appears to be less of that these days in favor of drinking games and flyting.
While we may be getting “Skull & Bones” some day, it won’t be nearly as good as the naval combat in the “Assassin’s Creed” series. Sadly “Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla” dropped the naval combat completely, which was a damn shame. Ever since its introduction of naval combat to the series with “Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag” fans loved feeling like a pirate and are eager for it to return. We’ll even take the “Assassin’s Creed Odyssey” naval battles over nothing!
While jumping into an animus and experiencing your ancestors' past is the crux of every assassin’s creed game, it was fun to occasionally switch things up. Helix allowed player the chance to experience new and unique time periods including the likes of the California Gold Rush, the American Revolution, and the Golden Age of Piracy. It was a breath of fresh air to step out into these miniature set pieces for a little while, allowing for interesting narrative opportunities. Who knows why they never capitalized on this!
Taking on the Templars alone could be challenging, but what if you had some help? Last seen properly in “Assassin’s Creed III”, recruiting assassin’s would build an army to help with the fight against the Templars. These assassins would go out and do their own missions and gain experience and skills with each success. These recruits can also be called to aid your assassin in battle if need be. We’re all for gameplay elements that allow us to accumulate experience on the side!
Parkour used to feel amazing, scaling buildings, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, and even jumping from tree to tree. Parkour used to be implemented in more ways than just movement - anyone remember the tomb puzzles? These locations would have our assassin look to see the best paths to travel while pulling levers, switches, and tackling smaller puzzles within the larger puzzle. This was a great way to use the parkour and honestly made you feel amazing when landing the perfect run.
Just because you’re taking on a templars doesn’t mean you stop training. Ranking up your assassin used to be a major deal back in Ezio’s day. Assassin’s start off as a novice or recruit, before eventually making their way to veteran or master with enough time and effort. Not only did the leveling system act as recognition, but also added major incentive by having every new level reward different weapons and abilities. Nowadays…not so much.
“Assassin’s Creed” had some crazy fun multiplayer. Think of it as a big game of tag where everyone is it. The whole goal was to use all the assassin skills you’ve learned throughout the main game and attempt to fool real players. Blending in with the NPCs, keeping an eye out for any small error of other players, etc. This mode took the excellent stealth mechanics and fully used them to seem like a normal person in the crowd. Once you were detected or detected another player, the amazing parkour would come into play. Chasing down your target was a blast as they were trying to evade and slip away back into the crowd. We’ve spent most of our childhood preparing for this ultimate game of tag, so seeing its return would be very welcomed.
Grappling Hook
There’s no better thrill of jumping from one small brick to a window to reach the highest point on the map. But sometimes we don’t want to go through the hassle of strategic hand placement and well time jumps. Sometimes we want a little boost. We last saw the grappling hook in “Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate”. It only makes sense that an assassin would have an arsenal of gadgets to help them reach their target or just simply an easier way to get from building to building. Heck it even makes for a great way to pull your enemies closer for a quick strike.
Chaining Executions
For the most part the assassin’s work alone, but that can’t be said for the enemies that lay in your path. While you could chain two kills in “Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla” together, most times our assassin is up against a small army. “Assassin’s Creed III” was the peak of the chain kills or chain executions. In AC III we could leap over our foes after taking them out to quickly get to the next. If done correctly you’ll end up looking like John Wick jumped into the animus himself. It only makes sense that assassins are trained to take on multiple enemies and how to get themselves out of a sticky situation.
Unique Cities
Cities used to be a major part of “Assassin’s Creed” games, but as the games focused more on RPG mechanics, for some reason the cities fell to the wayside. The newer games in the series have cities, but most feel similar and lack some of what made the older locations feel lived in. Cities used to be the main focus point of the franchise, each feeling different and unique. They used to have different regions, filled with all manner of people of various classes. You would see religious figures walking around, shop keeps, poor folk, and everything in between. These features in each city gave them a unique feel and the sense of life that is sorely missed.
Gather Intel
If you’re going to be tailing a target, you at least need to make sure you’ve got the right person! Gathering intel seems like it would be a backbone feature of the franchise given that we’re playing as assassins. Back in the older games, there were three ways for your character to gather the necessary info to conform to the target. If you’re looking for more stealthy ways you could pickpocket the city folk or eavesdrop on their conversations. If you wanted to be more brutal, you could always interrogate people. Alas, there appears to be less of that these days in favor of drinking games and flyting.
Naval Combat
While we may be getting “Skull & Bones” some day, it won’t be nearly as good as the naval combat in the “Assassin’s Creed” series. Sadly “Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla” dropped the naval combat completely, which was a damn shame. Ever since its introduction of naval combat to the series with “Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag” fans loved feeling like a pirate and are eager for it to return. We’ll even take the “Assassin’s Creed Odyssey” naval battles over nothing!
Helix Rifts
While jumping into an animus and experiencing your ancestors' past is the crux of every assassin’s creed game, it was fun to occasionally switch things up. Helix allowed player the chance to experience new and unique time periods including the likes of the California Gold Rush, the American Revolution, and the Golden Age of Piracy. It was a breath of fresh air to step out into these miniature set pieces for a little while, allowing for interesting narrative opportunities. Who knows why they never capitalized on this!
Assassin Recruits
Taking on the Templars alone could be challenging, but what if you had some help? Last seen properly in “Assassin’s Creed III”, recruiting assassin’s would build an army to help with the fight against the Templars. These assassins would go out and do their own missions and gain experience and skills with each success. These recruits can also be called to aid your assassin in battle if need be. We’re all for gameplay elements that allow us to accumulate experience on the side!
Parkour Puzzles
Parkour used to feel amazing, scaling buildings, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, and even jumping from tree to tree. Parkour used to be implemented in more ways than just movement - anyone remember the tomb puzzles? These locations would have our assassin look to see the best paths to travel while pulling levers, switches, and tackling smaller puzzles within the larger puzzle. This was a great way to use the parkour and honestly made you feel amazing when landing the perfect run.
Assassination Levels
Just because you’re taking on a templars doesn’t mean you stop training. Ranking up your assassin used to be a major deal back in Ezio’s day. Assassin’s start off as a novice or recruit, before eventually making their way to veteran or master with enough time and effort. Not only did the leveling system act as recognition, but also added major incentive by having every new level reward different weapons and abilities. Nowadays…not so much.
Multiplayer
“Assassin’s Creed” had some crazy fun multiplayer. Think of it as a big game of tag where everyone is it. The whole goal was to use all the assassin skills you’ve learned throughout the main game and attempt to fool real players. Blending in with the NPCs, keeping an eye out for any small error of other players, etc. This mode took the excellent stealth mechanics and fully used them to seem like a normal person in the crowd. Once you were detected or detected another player, the amazing parkour would come into play. Chasing down your target was a blast as they were trying to evade and slip away back into the crowd. We’ve spent most of our childhood preparing for this ultimate game of tag, so seeing its return would be very welcomed.
