the first pre-Origins AC game I've played in four years (sorry black flag) and the first I've finished in eight (that being iii).

after 250 (or 400 according to sony) hours of odyssey and valalla in the last eight months, this was a bit scary to go return to because i'd sort of put the old school assassin's creed gameplay out of my mind and in a mental compartment under the filename 'dated'.

but i was pleasantly surprised with this. lighting was good. some nice crowds. good feeling to be back in a big city again. they really knocked old london out of the park. tons of women in big dresses, dudes in suits with hats and mutton chops, tons of child labourers working the factories and begging for change, smoke stacks as far as the eye can see. carriages in lieu of horses (or cars). a simulated city from 2015 that feels as alive and bustling as anything made since (something so spectacular about all the boats on the thames going up and down and having to manoeuvre yourself across the river by leaping from one in motion to another).

i've come to accept assassin's creed games as a tourist trap. i had long since given up on the series but now that it has its hooks back in me i remember the joy of wondering what beautifully recreated piece of history i'll get to stab dudes in next.

Reviewed on Feb 23, 2021


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