Which Assassin’s Creed RPG Game Is Best?

The recent trilogy of Assassin’s Creed RPG games have certainly come with their controversies, but it seems this style is here to stay. Personally, I quite like this new direction … it’s the execution that sometimes leaves a lot to be desired.

I have a general idea of which games are my favourites, but I got to thinking – which game is the best at stealth? At combat? At telling the story it wants to tell? Through a series of trials and tribulations, I will officially and statistically work out which title reigns supreme.

For clarity, the three RPG AC games are Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla. Also, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

Plot

BEST: ORIGINS [8]

Revenge plots are pretty common in AC games, but I don’t think any story of vengeance has been as bitter and visceral as Origins’.

It drags a bit in the middle, but Bayek and Aya’s quest to avenge their son’s death was both captivating and extremely moving. Other AC games have gripped me more, but this is the strongest of the RPG trilogy.

RUNNER-UP: ODYSSEY [7]

Some people were quick to complain about Odyssey’s story and plot upon its release, but I think that’s a little harsh. Sure, it hardly breaks new ground, but it’s a mythical tale that I enjoyed playing through.

The story of siblings separated at birth is a tale as old as time, and Kassandra’s quest to turn Deimos to the side of good is clichéd but interesting. Again, like with Origins it drags in the middle, but I wasn’t too annoyed about that.

WORST: VALHALLA [5]

There’s splatters of Valhalla’s story here and there, but by the time you slog through the hours of filler you’ve practically forgotten all about it.

The individual region storylines got very stale very quickly, and the main plot was hardly worth writing home about either. On the whole, the weakest story in the franchise and it’s not even close.

Side Quests

BEST: ODYSSEY [8]

Out of all three of the RPG games, Odyssey felt like the only one that tried to make its side content interesting.

A lot of the side quests are really funny and well-written, and the characters you meet along the way are always a laugh. It’s annoying that they ended up being compulsory grinds, but I can’t fault their quality.

RUNNER-UP: VALHALLA [7]

Valhalla replaced traditional side quests with more off-beat “world events”, and at first that was really interesting.

It gets stale quick, though, and most of the world events end up being time-consuming forays into random regions of the map.

WORST: ORIGINS [6]

Despite my love of Origins, the side quests in it are way too mundane for my liking.

Almost every quest is either “go here and fetch this for me” or “go here and kill these bandits for me”, and it got so bad that I ended up ignoring the side quests completely.

Protagonist

BEST: ORIGINS [9]

The general consensus is that Ezio is the clear best protagonist in the series, but that’s only because he got an entire trilogy to flesh out his character. In terms of one-game wonders, Bayek is the best we’ve had.

He, and later Aya as well, are driven completely by parental revenge, and that made them so captivating. With stellar voice acting on top of that, I think Bayek might even be better than Ezio. Maybe.

RUNNER-UP: ODYSSEY [6]

Odyssey is a fun, harmless romp through ancient Greece, but the character you play as is hardly the reason why.

Both Alexios and Kassandra are as mundane as protagonists get, with hardly any endearing or remotely unique character traits. They shine once family is involved, but 90% of the plot is them just being a mindless passenger.

WORST: VALHALLA [4]

I don’t know how they managed to make a protagonist more boring than Odyssey’s, but Eivor lacks any personality whatsoever.

All of the problems I had with Kassandra and Alexios are multiplied tenfold, and pretty much any other character you meet along the way would have made for a better protagonist.

Stealth

BEST: ORIGINS [8]

Origins is the only game that remotely attempted to uphold the classic AC traditions.

It blends the open world dynamic with the classic assassination mechanics brilliantly, but the open-endedness leads to less exciting missions than in previous titles.

RUNNER-UP: VALHALLA [6]

Valhalla improved ever so slightly upon its predecessor, but it still wasn’t great.

Social stealth returned, and one-hit assassinations were a lot more doable, but it quickly becomes clear that stealth isn’t the main focus. It’s far easier to just go axe-first into an enemy base, so that’s what I did every time.

WORST: ODYSSEY [4]

A lot of people argue that Odyssey strays too far from an Assassins Creed game, and on some days I’d have to agree.

All of the nuances of stealth are completely gone, but the worst offender is the fact that some assassinations of enemy grunts aren’t even one-shots anymore. A poor showing from Ubisoft, really.

Combat

BEST: VALHALLA [8]

Considering they pretty much ditched stealth entirely, I’m glad Valhalla’s combat is good.

The mechanics work really well, and Eivor is a total beast in battle. The only draw-back is that the animations and fighting get old after countless hours of grinding.

RUNNER-UP: ODYSSEY [6]

Neither of Odyssey or Origins has good combat, but at least Odyssey has some more fun mechanics like the Bull Rush and especially the Spartan Kick.

The biggest problem with Odyssey is that the enemies act as sword sponges. Both bosses and regular foes take tens – if not hundreds – of hits to kill, and it drove me nuts.

WORST: ORIGINS [5]

Maybe a controversial take, but Origins has the worst combat of all.

It has the same problems that Odyssey has (without the enemy sponges), but it lacks the combat variety of the other two. Part of the reason I avoided the side missions was because the combat was always so dull.

Setting

BEST: ODYSSEY [10]

The only perfect ten on this list, the Ancient Greek world depicted in Odyssey never fails to astound me. Some argue that the abundant mountains ruin it, but I can overlook that when everything else is so perfect.

It’s basically Black Flag on steroids – traversing the islands is a dream come true, and the Greek villas are unbelievably gorgeous. It’s no exaggeration to say I’ve replayed this game about four times purely to experience the world once more.

RUNNER-UP: ORIGINS [9]

Just like with Odyssey, Origins’ Egyptian landscape is phenomenal. Unlike with Odyssey, I think the long stretches of sand between locations holds it back from a perfect ten.

The level of detail across the huge open world left me gobsmacked on first playthrough, and nobody will ever forget their first pyramid synchronisation.

“WORST”: VALHALLA [8]

All of the trilogy’s settings are very good, and the world design teams should be immensely proud of themselves, but Valhalla’s England was easily the least interesting.

It’s nowhere near as exotic as Ancient Greece or Egypt, and the endless fields and forests start to blend into one another after a while.

Fun

BEST: ORIGINS [8]

For how well it stuck to the classic AC roots whilst still providing a fresh experience, I think Origins is the most fun of the three.

It does drag in the middle, and some aspects – like combat – could have been handled way better, but on the whole it’s a really enjoyable experience.

RUNNER-UP: ODYSSEY [7]

With every replay I do of Odyssey it gets less and less effective, but I can still find enjoyment in its sprawling Greek world.

Spartan Kicks are the most fun thing about this entire trilogy, and the silly side quests make the mid-game grind more manageable.

WORST: VALHALLA [6]

There’s certainly fun to be had with Valhalla’s huge world and visceral combat, but it’s criminal that they stretched it out to almost a hundred hours.

No game this repetitive will ever be fun after 20 hours, let alone a hundred. Hopefully Ubisoft can learn from their mistakes and never pull a stunt like that again.

Final Scores

BEST: ORIGINS [53/70]

With an average score of 7.57/10, Origins is the clear winner. My personal score would be something closer to 8.5 – there’s lots of fun to be had here, and this is the only game that felt like a true AC outing.

RUNNER-UP: ODYSSEY [48/70]

The average score dips to 6.86/10, but personally I’d give Odyssey an 8. I know that’s unreasonable, but there’s something about the charming Greek world that keeps me coming back.

WORST: VALHALLA [44/70]

With a woeful average score of 6.29/10, and a personal score of 6.5, Valhalla is the clear black sheep of the trilogy. It gets old fast, and nothing about it is memorable.

Aaaaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: