Spoilers only discussed at the very bottom


You couldn’t tell from the lack of recorded activity on my Backloggd account, but Assassin’s Creed is arguably my favorite video game franchise of all time. It took that title from the Donkey Kong Country series, which was no small feat given the latter’s presence in my childhood, but took it, it did. Every kid with too much time on their hands has that one piece of media that they’ve become heavily immersed in the mythology of, from Lord of the Rings to Mass Effect to Star Wars to Game of Thrones, etc.... And AC is that for me. I know the lore and history of this series like the back of my hand, and that has made me look forward to digesting every entry, mainline or side.

That being said, I’ve staved away from writing reviews on them for a number of reasons. First, I tend to only scribe extravagant write-ups for indie/lesser-known releases, and AC being the flagship AAA moneymaker for Ubisoft has ensured that it receives sufficient coverage from mainstream and independent critics alike. And secondly is the fact that part of the reason I write reviews is to create a reference point for me to refresh myself of a title’s individual components should I inevitably forget about them over the years; yet, because of my intimate knowledge of AC, I can near-perfectly recall the gameplay and narrative aspects of every entry regardless of the time gap from when I last played them.

So why write a critique of one now? Well, for one, no matter your familiarity with a subject, it’s always a good habit to collect your thoughts to better articulate yourself. Two, I intend on writing on every entry eventually as my thoughts will carry some unique POV in the conversation, no matter how narrow (it’s why I always encourage every gamer I speak with to write on things- they could bring something to the table that no one would’ve considered before) and this is as good a place to start as any. And three, the Chronicles games flew pretty under-the-radar by AC-spotlight standards, so there’s more to be stated here.

On that front, let’s talk about what exactly the Chronicles games are. They were a standalone trilogy released for consoles, PC, and eventually Vita (strange that it was the last platform to get them given that they seem built for it), focusing on three different eras in the Assassin Brotherhood’s history. Unlike the main series, these weren’t open world games, instead 2.5D platformers with levels that prioritized stealth.

China is the first one, centering around a, you guessed it, Chinese Assassin named Shao Jun. If you’re a long-time fan of this series, chances are you’ll recognize her as the acolyte Ezio trained in the animated movie Embers that simultaneously served as a conclusion to his story and introduction to her’s. While it isn’t necessary to watch Embers before playing ACCC given that all her biographical/background information there is conveyed through dialogue and collectible scrolls here, I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t help you appreciate the character more.

That being said, the story is unfortunately disappointing. It’s clear that developer Climax Studios was more interested in prioritizing gameplay over story, but it’s particularly saddening here given the unique time period. ACCC is set during the height of the Ming Dynasty, and is surprisingly accurate in terms of the figures and actions it chooses to highlight, from the making of the current Jiajing Emperor’s regime to the conflicts with the Mongols. There’s a ton of interesting backstory here, yet it’s all cast to the side in favor of a generic “good vs. evil” trope that’s been seen a dime a dozen (on a side note, it just came to my attention that I have ironically used that expression a dime a dozen times!). There was an opportunity here to do what many AC games before and after have done, which is interweave historical events with the personal tale of the protagonist; however a lot of the more interesting machinations are not only used purely for backstory purposes, but also not expanded upon beyond a black-and-white veil. Prior to the events of the game, for example, the Templars (represented by the Eight Tigers group) successfully took control of the Emperor’s throne and purged the Brotherhood from China, representative of the real-life event wherein the Eight Tigers slowly slipped into an influential position over Zhu Houcong’s Administration.

And yet, all that is a pretense for your atypical “there has been a corrupt takeover of a peaceful government.” By all accounts, the working-class citizenry were not that much better off beforehand, so why is the Templar control objectively bad? What are the goals of the Eight Tigers? How are they treating their subjects? Did them being castrated influence their choices at all? There was one decision at the end that particularly baffled me(+), but the fact is if you go in expecting any nuance, then be prepared for disappointment because the answer to everything is muwahahahaha evil/insertarchetypalvillainy. These guys are depicted as iron-fisted and sadistic, engaging in acts of corruption while committing horrible crimes against their constituents in the name of eliminating opposition and cementing their power (exs. tormenting slaves/concubines; razing the the port city of Macau [despite their being no record supporting this action]).

Look, obviously the Ming Dynasty was a cruel period in human history (the prevalence of foot binding, conduction of family exterminations, mass kidnapping/rape of young girls to be concubines, the popularization of the “death by a thousand cuts”, and more), and I wouldn’t want AC to sanitize any of it by any means. But things are always more complicated than they appear, and those kinds of gradations are what separate a good work from a great one. Every single Templar here is cartoonish in scope, and while that might have been more tolerable if ACCC had been released immediately after Revelations, the fact is it came out post-ACIII, which went back to the greyish morality of ACI. Even if you go into this game not familiar with many of the other entries, I guarantee you that you’ll find ACCC lacking in narrative depth.

But okay look, even if it falters in properly representing the era, surely the personal account makes up for it right? Jun is after the Tigers for what they did to her former comrades, and we all know from playing Origins that a glorified revenge tale can be a powerful experience regardless of lack of macro aspirations. Yeah, except that THAT isn’t well-done either. See, despite the writers committing to portraying the Eight Tigers as this degenerate group, they made the boneheaded decision to craft a “revenge is wrong” arc for Shao Jun.

Ohhhh man. I ranted about this trope enough in my TLOU II review (https://www.backloggd.com/u/RedBackLoggd/review/348721/), but needless to say, I hate it. It simplifies an emotionally-evocative subject under the pretense of a “holier than thou” attitude that comes off as pretentious. Here it makes even less sense given that Jun had to eliminate the Templars anyway as part of her duties as an Assassin, and every action she takes isn’t impulsive- it’s agreed upon beforehand with her Master. And while killing each Tiger does generally result in a negative consequence, the game doesn’t focus on THAT as a problem, but the OVERALL act of going after them. It’s hypocritical, underdeveloped, and generally makes no sense when you put even a little thought into it (AC Syndicate, released later that year, would do a much better job of demonstrating this).

It’s a shame given that ACCC bears a striking resemblance to ACI in terms of its structure- you have real-life targets without much real-world information who are dispensed exactly when they died/disappeared in real life. And yet the “confession” scenes don’t take advantage of this to give you anything more than just “you may have stopped me now, but the war rages on!”. There’s also something to be said about the missed opportunity to incorporate/contrast popular religiophilosophies that were roaming the Ming Dynasty at the time (Neo-Confucianism, Buddhism, Legalism) against the Assassin and Templar beliefs.

If I can say one semi-positive thing about the writing, it’s that the database entries are terrific. Like the ones in the Ezio Trilogy (really all ACs), they manage to condense major trivia/info about the society into bite-size paragraphs that taught me a lot. This level of compact data conveyance extends to Shao Jun herself, whose ENTIRE upbringing is disclosed through collectible scrolls). While I would’ve preferred a more cinematic rendering over hard-read, I can’t deny that it’s well-done, though keep in mind that I did notice some minor typos in them.

Graphically, ACCC is stunning. Despite being made for the bigger consoles, it’s clear Climax Studios was given a budget to work with, and yet they did wonders. For all my complaints about how Ming society was depicted narratively, artistically it is a masterclass to behold. From popular locations like the Forbidden City and Great Wall to general-environs like the industrialized Nan'an, 16th Century China looks exactly like I imagine it looked at the time (granted, it seems to be eternally Fall, but that’s a small quibble). There’s a water-coloury feel to the landscapes that stylizes them whilst simultaneously managing to keep the aesthetic soft on the eyes. It’s not that you don’t get any bright or primary hues, but more that they’re utilized in a way that is more reminiscent of a pictorial vista- a natural part of the terrain (minus the splashes of red meant to indicate the presence of a parkourable avenue). Plus water surfaces depict reflections of Jun!

The most impressive part has to be the subtle blend of shades and colors on objects like columns and textiles and surfaces: it reminded me a lot of Half Past Fate (https://www.backloggd.com/u/RedBackLoggd/review/279145/) in the sense that this aesthetic blend accurately reflects the way color works in real-life. None of this is even taking into account the actual backdrops, which tend to include a gorgeously-rendered panorama of an environmental feature like mountains or trees, with clouds and billows of mist slowly swirling about.

One of my personal favorites is the way cutscenes are exhibited- taking inspiration from Ancient Chinese tapestries and paintings (as well as contemporary motion comics), you have schemas that look like smeary ink drawings, their subjects darkened figures of mystery against a lightened, subtly-cross-stitched papyrus. Combined with the kinetic flair, this gives them a dynamic feel that provides yet another great example of how a limited budget can be utilized to match the videographic feel of full motion techniques seen in higher-end productions.

Not everything is rainbows though. Shao Jun moves, attacks, and responds well, but animations can’t help but come off as a bit janky. Character models in general have that stick-figurey quality reminiscent of AA titles ported to handheld consoles- stiff limbs and singular animations for every action. It’s not distracting, but it bears recognition for the sake of crafting a whole picture. I also experienced a couple instances of the framerate dropping. If I can end on a positive note, though, it’s that there is a great amount of heterogeneity in the stealth kill animations- while Shao Jun putting her Hidden Blade in her shoe prevents it from being used much in them, the others more than make-up for it, being semi-dependent on your movement/approach, with blood streams reminiscent of 300’s in terms of them resembling paint streaks/splashes that disperse as quickly as they materialize.

Soundwise, I can’t be as positive as I was with the graphics. First off, the audio mixing was poorly done as everything is too quiet- I had to turn the volume up all the way just to make things hearable. Secondly, none of the three subfacets are particularly distinct, starting with the voice acting. It should be noted that the major characters are given British accents, which is actually consistent with the Abstergo Animus filtering out non-western intonations for protagonists, but may be off-putting to those not familiar with the series’ tradition, especially since Chinese actors were utilized for the NPCs (who speak in diatribes repeated ad nauseam, indicating laziness on the part of the writers).

But regardless of their choice of timbre, the actors are too limited by the writing to do a good job. As I said, the Tigers are caricatures, and not only are they caricatures, but their villainy is rendered in Shakespearean-esque conversations that feel more out-of-place in the Eastern settings than the accents. I also was just not a fan of Annabelle Galea’s performance as Jun- I get that the script didn’t do her any favors, but she still opted to give Jun this “I’m superior to you and I know it” flair that didn’t fit someone who had a tragic past and spent years training elsewhere under Ezio.

Oh, and on that note, wtf were the casting directors’ thinking? In ACCC, Ezio is not voiced by Roger Craig Smith, instead given to an unnamed artist who sounds like he’s doing an Italian impression of Mr. Miyagi. Yeah, despite Ezio’s limited appearances, it’s as disconcerting as it sounds. And no, this was not a case of Smith being unavailable, as he claimed he was never asked- luckily, though, he collaborated with the YouTuber Loomer to re-record all the dialogue (free-of-charge!), and I’m hoping someone somewhere will eventually patch it into the game. Until then, you can listen to it here if you wish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAoEWB547KU

The sound effects are generally too muted for me to make a proper assessment. Tools and environmental dins like firecrackers, barking dogs, sword clangs, and wind chimes are loud enough to give off a bang, but footsteps and grips are subdued. Things are satisfactory when you can hear it, but it’s inconsistent what was programmed with an aural tick.

The score isn’t as great as it could have been. When the big action moments occur, it stands out, but for the more atmospheric times where you’re just walking or stealthing around (which, being honest, is 90% of the game), it fails to make itself known. Granted, stealth music has never been a strong suit of the series, but again, Chronicles has it worse given that it’s entirely focused on the concept.

And that’s a great transition point to the gameplay. As I mentioned before, ACCC drops the open world format in favor of a 2.5D platformer. Your goal is to make your way through specially-crafted levels that have one of two endgoals in mind: assassinate a target or run from a propulsive threat, these latter ones appearing after a main assassination.

The 2.5D scheme is honestly utilized very well. In most places, Shao Jun will have multiple methods of approach, with the ability to climb above, descend below, hang off rafters, or shimmy along sides all giving the illusion of 3D platforming perfectly. Not everything has this level of open-mindedness: there were a number of times where the game blatantly set forward a specific path for you to take (such as using the shadow rush ability to move between hiding places, as marked by an appropriately-placed helix crystal), and choosing to diverge from it would mean wasting a large number of tools or outright heavily-risking detection. But for the most part, it’s the exception, not the norm.

I was admittedly surprised by how well the parkour translated to the 2D interface. Shao Jun moves very fluidly, grabbing onto objects both automatically and manually as necessitated (though sometimes the manual would falter if going from a side to back environ, but then again, it wouldn’t be AC if you didn’t have sporadic moments of the parkour failing you). That being said, ACCC was too reminiscent of Unity (its direct predecessor) in the sense that jumps come off as too floaty- it made me surprised to learn that this game was made in Unreal 3.0 as opposed to the AnvilNext 2.0 as, like Arno, Shao Jun leaps/ascends at ridiculous distances.

This is, by and large, the most stealth-focused AC game ever made. Not only do you have a small health bar that can be knocked apart in a few hits, but you have all the conventions of an old-school stealth title: limited gear for distracting over dispatching; a crouch button; noise as a factor; and assassinations/subterfuge being tangibly rewarded more than combat. That is to say, completing a section with a higher degree of covertness will net you more points (Bronze, Silver, Gold rating) than going in guns-ablazing, which in turn unlock greater rewards like new combat maneuvers and increased ammo capacity.

That’s not to say that combat isn’t feasible, it’s just discouraged. What I mean by this is you have decent variety in terms of being able to weak hit, strong hit, block, kick, and flip-over enemies, as well as even deflect projectiles; and there’s also a SURPRISINGLY constant supply of new enemy types that have their own strengths/weaknesses to your combat prowesses. However, because of your small hit-box, it really isn’t worth engaging them mano-y-mano. Memorizing movement patterns, avoiding vision cones, moving from hiding place-to-hiding place, and strategically utilizing your gadgets will make things far easier for you. This has its cons though: one, obviously it is distinct from past-AC games where, if we’re being truthful, stealth was more of an intrinsically-motivated avenue that encouraged allowed players to be quicker/more impulsive in their approach given the lack of consequences for failing; trying to do that here will almost certainly get you detected/killed (score one for local respawn points though!). Two, sometimes there were inconsistencies in terms of enemy awareness, particularly when you do this one overpowered move that allows you to run-slide-kill an enemy or try to assassinate multiple guards after stunning them with firecrackers. And three, there is NO diversity for stealth goons the way there was with combat. Outside of one guy down the line who has a stronger field of perception, every single opponent class is the exact same.

And I hate to say it, but this latter point is the main reason that I ended up not enjoying ACCC. It may seem minor, but you guys have to understand that, without a strong story, the gameplay had to make-up for the lack of impetus. And when you’re cruising through level-after-level having to do the EXACT SAME TASK each and every time, it makes things grindy, no matter how beautifully-constructed the settings are. It’s kind of appropriate that I drew a comparison to ACI earlier as this was the first Assassin’s Creed since that one that I felt like I had to force myself to see through to the end, primarily because of this facet.

The Temple Run-esque levels try to add some spice, and I’d be lying if I said they weren’t fun (side note- was anyone else reminded of the Hot Air Balloon Mission from Unity?), but at the end of the day, they are purely linear, and the near-rails gameplay occasionally leads to frustrations when you don’t hit the mandatory jump prompt in time, forcing you to reset from your last checkpoint and killing the immersion these locomotive-type levels are meant to induce. They also all over-rely on the same “escape the blaze” trope.

Again, I want to stress that a lot of thought was put into the craftsmanship behind the areas you navigate through, and I loved how useful and resourceful you had to be with tools (particularly firecrackers and noise darts). It’s just that the objectives, even with the presence of full-sync optional ones and collectibles, are too repetitious for a 6 hour+ game. Combined with the story flaws and I can’t say I enjoyed it as an AC fan.
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SPOILERS
+The Head Eunuch decides to let the Mongols invade China. What? Why would you do that knowing that they would dismantle your entire empire? He claims that they will be crueler to the Chinese people if they show resistance, which isn’t wrong, but regardless their success culminates in the same result of you losing power and being subjugated. And no, in case anyone is wondering, the Mongols were not Templars in Assassin’s Creed lore, so there is no authentic collaboration between members of the same faction.
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