This game is a pretty mixed bag. It's particularly a highlight for me that Altair can't realistically fight off armies of people like in later instalments, which makes you engage with being an assassin a bit more.
The problem is that the core loop is just pretty boring and aside from the main assassination events it feels like a slog to get to where the game shines. Add to that hours of standing listening to Al Mualim chat bollocks or not really having much in your arsenal to spice up gameplay, and it starts to feel like a chore.
What's great about the game is the environments that feel lived in and the freedom to scale and explore practically anything. I also prefer the story to some other games in the series as it keeps the Abstergo stuff mysterious and is a little less on the nose with its villain. It's just that ultimately, this game feels like a pilot that would allow Ubi to take all the best elements and remove the worst moving forward.