Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China is a cool side-scrolling adventure set in beautiful 16th century China. You play as Shao Jun, a badass assassin on a revenge mission against the Templars. The sneaking mechanics are fun, with a focus on navigating rooftops and taking down enemies with hidden blades and darts. However, messing up can mean restarting the whole level, which can get frustrating. The story is a bit short too. Still, for a quick Assassin's Creed fix with a new perspective, Chronicles: China is worth a shot!

Assassin's Creed Chronicles China is the first 2.5D platformer game in the series and the first among the three in the Chronicles series. The game was released on PS Vita, consoles and PC by Climax Studios.

This game has a simple and short plot and can be finished in a bit more than 5 hours. You're playing as Shao Jun who has to eliminate the Eight Tigers who are the Templars who rules China from the shadows.
The game is divided into levels and has a nice balance between slow-paced (stealth) and fast-paced (speedrunning) levels. In the slow-paced levels, you're awarded the more points the less times you've been seen and the less guards you've killed, while in the fast-paced levels, the faster you finish the level. Those awarded points, if they pass a certain level, you get an upgrade and those points cannot be transfered later in the game, what you achieve at a certain mission that's it. New level, new points. This way the game forces you to make several attempts to achieve a better score and get better upgrades. Overall the game isn't hard, it just gets a bit complicated in the fast-paced missions, since you have to be really used to the controls to don't die while escaping a fire.
You're given many stealth options and few different routes to finish the missions, so you're probably not going to use always the same path to your objective in your next playthrough.
To be honest, even though the balance between before mentioned types of levels is great, I've expected a bit more variety and unfortunately the game is locked at 30fps (at least at 1440p, I am not sure for other settings). That framerate is great for PS Vita, but I think they could've raised the cap to 60fps for consoles and PC since this game isn't graphics-demanding at all.

All in all, I liked the change from an open-world stealth to a platformer game, the art design is great, but a longer story, more variety and an raised framerate cap could've made the experience on higher-end platforms a bit better.

PT /// English Review

Um bom jogo de plataforma 2.5D/Stealth, um Assassin's Creed mediano pros padrões da série.
Ainda que esse seja um ótimo jogo de plataforma 2.5D com elementos de stealth(com um level designe muito bom diga-se de passagem), eu achei que ele falha um pouco em ser um AC visto que esse jogo(ou série de jogos Chronicles) foca muito mais na ação doque no assassinato de individuos em sí. O jogo em sí é o velho e bom jogo de plataforma 2.5D meio estilo Prince of Persia classico com elementos de stealth ou seja....basicamente vá do ponto A ao B da fase iliminando inimigos(ou não...legal que o jogo na maior parte do tempo te da essa escolha), as fases até dão objetivos secundarios que podem ser compridos ou não mas sinceramente não achei que o jogo te da muitos atrativos pra ir atrás deles, tanto é que terminei o jogo praticamente sem ir atras de nenhum objetivo secundario, outra coisa que é bem mais ou menos nesse jogo é a trilha sonora que apesar de remeter a China antiga não é nada memoravel como a dos outros AC's da época. O jogo em sua gameplay de ir do ponto A ao B, ser stealth, etc....tambem me lembro MUITO o ótimo indie game Mark of the Ninja(lançado em 2012) mas achei ele bem menos rico em possibilidades que o jogo da Klei, visto que você basicamente só tem 4 ferramentas que são umas adagas que voce pode atirar pra matar inimigos(ainda que no inicio do jogo elas não adiantem muito), uma faquinha que você taca pra fazer barulho, bombinhas pra atordoar os inimigos e o classico assobio. Uma das coisas que eu mais gostei do jogo foi o seu visual/estilo artistico, que foi inspirado nas aquarelas chinesas e realmente são muito bonitos. O parkour do jogo tambem é bem satisfatorio apesar de não ser nada demais, mas foi bem executado pra um jogo de plataforma 2.5D. Uma coisa que eu achei bem fraquinha no jogo em termos de gameplay são os quebra-cabeça de ação, se é que podem se chamar assim, a historia em sí é bem fraquinha tambem sendo a classica historia de vingança e tals e sinceramente achei que ela poderia ser melhor explicada, mas talvez eu tenha perdido algo em termos de explicação já que não fiz praticamente os objetivos secundarios.
Enfim....um jogo divertidinho de jogar, mas nada demais no fim das contas, bom pra pegar e zerar em uma tarde ou duas.
Vamos ver se essa série Chronicles melhora no India e no que eu mais quero jogar que é o Russia.

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"Chronicles Series" attempts to blend the appeal of a 2.5D/Stealth platformer with the established standards of the Assassin's Creed franchise. However, while the game offers a solid 2.5D platform experience with commendable stealth elements and well-crafted level design, it falls short of meeting the expectations set by the broader Assassin's Creed series.

The core gameplay revolves around the classic Prince of Persia-style 2.5D platforming, challenging players to navigate from point A to B while dealing with enemies through either elimination or evasion. Notably, the game presents a refreshing freedom of choice in handling adversaries, allowing players to decide their approach. Secondary objectives are introduced within stages, offering additional challenges, but their execution lacks allure, with limited incentives for exploration.

A noteworthy drawback surfaces in the game's emphasis on action over the series' hallmark focus on the art of assassination. The narrative follows the familiar revenge trope, yet it lacks depth and fails to captivate, leaving room for improvement in storytelling and character development.

The soundtrack, although attempting to evoke ancient China, fails to leave a lasting impression compared to its Assassin's Creed counterparts. The auditory experience lacks the memorable quality found in other games of the same era.

Drawing parallels with the indie gem "Mark of the Ninja" (2012), Chronicles Series falls short in terms of gameplay richness. With only four tools at the player's disposal—daggers, a noise-making knife, firecrackers, and a whistle—the game's potential for strategic variety pales in comparison to the offerings of its indie counterpart.

Despite its shortcomings, Chronicles Series shines in its visual and artistic style, drawing inspiration from Chinese watercolors. The aesthetic is undeniably beautiful, contributing to the game's overall appeal. The parkour elements, while not groundbreaking, are executed satisfactorily within the constraints of a 2.5D platformer.

However, the game stumbles in its action puzzles, lacking depth and creativity. The overall narrative could benefit from a more intricate explanation, and the underwhelming secondary objectives further detract from the overall experience.

In summary, Chronicles Series proves to be a fun game for a casual playthrough, yet it lacks the special qualities expected of a title within the Assassin's Creed franchise. While enjoyable, it falls short of delivering a memorable experience, making it suitable for a brief gaming session but not a standout in the series. As the series progresses, one can only hope for improvements, especially in India game and the eagerly anticipated setting of Russia.

Finally, Ubisoft remembered the name of the project! Assassin's Creed. A whole series of games have already been released under this name, and they were about anything, but not about the credo. Istanbul Syndrome, American War of Independence, Pirates of the Caribbean... etc. and so on.
And finally they remembered the Credo. After the Second Assassin, we finally returned to the very essence of the series: revenge, murder and maximum Stealth.
The graphic style and two-dimensionality are certainly not familiar, but this is the idea of ​​the new series.
I recommend. Play this game - you won't regret it!

absolutely CRIMINAL how such a cool concept and setting was wasted and ruined by boring ass execution

damnit

we could've had it all

Why is my favorite Assassin's Creed game the one with the simplest plot and totally different gameplay than all of the ones that got me into the series??? I've wanted to play this game for a while now (Mostly because Shao Jun looks badass) but I could never get past the first two levels. Boy what a mistake that was.
I will admit, getting into this game is difficult. The tutorial vibes follow the player throughout the first quarter of the game, but after they fade away, this game becomes something of a masterpiece of a stealth/platformer. The level designs make the player analyze every possible solution, there are often multiple paths to the objective, and the action and chase sequences feel so cinematic and exciting! I'm so glad that Shao's master is an assassin that we already know, especially because her story mirrors his in so many ways. I cannot recommend this game enough. One of the best entries of Assassin's Creed.

It's a great pity that the Chronicles series was discontinued. China is an excellent setting!

It's very similar to older 2D Prince of Persia games and definitely had the potential to become a PoP-like game. However, they would need to polish the mechanics and rework the level design.

Compared to PoP, there is of course a lack of features, obstacles, puzzles, traps, etc.

I will definitely catch up on the other two Chronicles games!