10 Games To Play If You Love Assassin's Creed

10 Games to Play if You Love Assassin’s Creed

Caitlin Johnson

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re looking at the best games that appeal to fans of “Assassin’s Creed” while still standing on their own two feet.

“Ghost of Tsushima” (2020)

We’re starting with the most obvious “Assassin’s Creed”-like of all, Sucker Punch’s “Ghost of Tsushima”. You’ll enjoy any of the studio’s other games, too, like the “Infamous” trilogy, but “Ghost of Tsushima” has the stealth gameplay and historical setting many “Assassin’s Creed” fans love. It also appeals by not being bogged down with the baggage of nearly twenty years’ worth of Isu lore. Even if you play “Ghost of Tsushima” for dozens of hours and pop that platinum, you’re NEVER going to encounter a giant, golden hologram who will monologue the plot to you at length. It’s also a title that’s put Ubisoft to shame in a lot of ways, with people wondering how the company will ever be able to compete with it.

“Sea of Thieves” (2018)

This one’s a little different, because it really only appeals to fans of a small number of “AC” games. Those are, of course, the ones set in the Americas. If you love the open world sailing in “Black Flag” and “Rogue”, you have a good chance of thoroughly enjoying “Sea of Thieves”, too. “Sea of Thieves” also has the benefit of being co-op, so you can play with a group of friends. There is, of course, no co-op multiplayer in “Black Flag” or “Rogue”; Ubisoft would take over ten years to release its multiplayer version of “Black Flag”, but “Skull and Bones” still can’t hold a candle to its main competitor from Rare. Plus, with “Sea of Thieves” recently landing on PS5 to critical acclaim, there’s never been a better time to check it out.

“Mirror’s Edge” (2008)

Maybe you don’t play “Assassin’s Creed” for the history OR for the open world – maybe you like the platforming and the movement mechanics, which were quite complex and often difficult in the older games. If you want a parkour system with an even higher skill level, you should definitely play the seventh gen classic, “Mirror’s Edge”. The first-person platforming does take some getting used to, but once you master “Mirror’s Edge’s” controls, it’s immensely fun. Even years on and “Mirror’s Edge” has a huge community of expert speed-runners still unlocking new tricks in its parkour mechanics. Few games are as rewarding to master as this one.

“God of War” series (2005-)

Ten years ago, recommending “God of War” to an “Assassin’s Creed” fan would have been bizarre, to say the least. But years later and “AC” has sunk its teeth deep into mythology. When “Odyssey” went to Ancient Greece and pit players against gods and monsters, the comparisons to the older “God of War” games were inevitable. And then “Valhalla” did Norse mythology two years after “God of War” 2018. If you wish “Valhalla” had even more Norse mythology – and maybe you don’t want to pay for its DLC to see Ragnarök play out – and you somehow haven’t played “God of War”, you should fix that immediately. “God of War” also has far better boss fights and its take on mythology isn’t preoccupied with otherworldly technology and deadly solar flares.

“Far Cry” series (2004-)

If people didn’t like Ubisoft’s specific brand of open world games, they’d stop buying them, and Ubisoft would stop making them. If you’re one of those players who enjoys the way Ubisoft builds its open worlds and packs them full of side content and base takeover missions, then you should play “Far Cry” and enjoy a more modern take on fighting against an oppressive regime. “Far Cry” also has something else that appeals to “Assassin’s Creed” fans: very well-realized settings that perfectly capture the atmosphere of the real-life locations they base them on. “Far Cry’s” hunting and crafting mechanics also make more sense than when the same mechanics appear in “Assassin’s Creed”.

“The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” (2015)

Similar to “God of War”, “Assassin’s Creed” didn’t used to be anything like CDPR’s massive RPGs. But “The Witcher 3” changed everything, so Ubisoft took inspiration for “Odyssey” and “Valhalla”. Ubisoft wanted to build big, open worlds full of deep, engaging side content, and went as far as saying that in “Valhalla”, all the side content feels meaningful, just like in “The Witcher”. This turned out to not really be the case, so you may feel like going from “The Witcher 3” to “Odyssey” or “Valhalla” is something of a downgrade. But still, with the next “Witcher” game seemingly years away, you can have a lot of fun with Kassandra and Eivor in the meantime. They even stole CDPR’s entire dialogue tree design.

“Mafia II” (2010)

On the surface, “Mafia” and “Assassin’s Creed” weren’t all that similar – until “Mafia III” decided to copy Ubisoft’s beloved territory takeover mechanics. But “Mafia II” may appeal to the same people who love the older games. Though it has an open world, “Mafia II” has a linear story with minimal side content, and every single story mission is stand-out. Just like every “AC” game up to and including “Syndicate”, the story never has a dull moment. For another historical action game with a “GTA”-style sandbox, you could also check out “The Saboteur”; but unlike “Mafia II”, “The Saboteur” isn’t available on modern consoles. But you still can’t go wrong with Vito and Joe.

“Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain” (2015)

There’s another key gameplay element in “Assassin’s Creed” that we haven’t touched on so far: stealth. The older games focus on stealth heavily, despite also having fun – and often, relatively easy – combat systems. But if you love stealth, you need to play “Metal Gear”. Any “Metal Gear Solid” game is a great choice, but we’re choosing Hideo Kojima’s unfinished masterpiece to recommend. As well as much better stealth, “Metal Gear” may appeal to those players who want a long series with deep lore to dig into – not to mention that it also has a historical setting, taking us to Cold War Afghanistan in the 1980s.

“Uncharted” series (2007-)

Both “Uncharted” and “Assassin’s Creed” began in 2007, but Ubisoft didn’t have Naughty Dog’s talent for action sequences and massive set pieces. Arguably, it still doesn’t, but it’s certainly tried, with bombastic sequences like Ezio’s parachute carriage chase in “Revelations” and the Lisbon Earthquake in “Rogue”. If you like learning about history, travelling the world, and unearthing ancient, semi-supernatural artifacts, “Uncharted” will scratch that same itch. And with “A Thief’s End”, Naughty Dog also implemented more stealth mechanics – though, this is likely due to the success of stealth in “The Last of Us” rather than because of Ubisoft.

“Watch Dogs 2” (2016)

Ever since the first game, people have been asking, will Ubisoft ever do an “Assassin’s Creed” game set in the modern day? We got a small taste of it through Desmond’s short missions in “Assassin’s Creed III”, but generally, Ubisoft has left the modern day alone. Perhaps that’s because of “Watch Dogs”, which essentially IS a modern day “Assassin’s Creed”, with the hackers relying on stealth and gadgets to free the world from Blume’s control. After getting off to a poor start with the first game in 2014, “Watch Dogs 2” perfected the hacktivist formula, with a cast of likeable characters, a fun setting, and an engaging story. And via Easter eggs, Ubisoft has hinted that “Watch Dogs” and “Assassin’s Creed” take place in the same universe.

Let us know what your favourite non-“AC” “AC” game is in the comments.