Am I glad that they dialed back on RPG elements? yes. Am I glad that it feels like they dialed back on everything else? no. Having played this series for well over a decade, every new addition feels like one step forward and two steps back. Assassins Creed Unity, while flawed, had so much to offer in terms of versatility and animation that is missing in this entry nearly a decade later. Also I didn't play Valhalla so I didn't understand the ending AT ALL lol

Quirky rail shooter with an emphasis on writing & characters, at the sacrifice of gameplay. Was kinda ready for it to be over by the end of the game lol

Oh man. This game kicked my ass for a long time before it finally clicked for me. After that it became much more enjoyable and one of my favorite games of 2022. Mastering different combos is fun, until you find a few relatively OP moves and spam those on everyone you see. Really entertaining for fighting & non-fighting game fans alike