It’s been a year and a half since my last Assassin’s Creed series ranking, and since then I’ve played “Mirage” as well as replaying pretty much every entry in the franchise.
Some games that I disliked I now love, and some that I thought were untouchable have now fallen a few places in my rankings – in other words, I was amazed by how much my opinions have changed!
Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below.
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13 – Assassin’s Creed
The original “Assassin’s Creed” has always hovered around the bottom few of my ranking, but this is the first time it has finished dead last.
Its story is phenomenal, and I’ll always appreciate the writers and developers for laying the groundwork to one of my favourite videogame series, but it has aged poorly. Mission design is at an all-time low, the characters are a little boring, and the gameplay can be so one-note it hurts.
At the very least, there’s still some fun to be had – if I learned anything on my series replay, it’s that every entry has its own merits!
12 – Syndicate
I’m trying to rank these game with a mixture of objective criticism and subjective bias, but “Syndicate” is the hardest one to place.
I remember the first playthrough being really fun, but dear lord was it a slog to liberate all the London districts on a second playthrough. I genuinely couldn’t finish “Syndicate” the second time out of sheer boredom, so I’ve knocked it down four places from where it was before.
11 – Valhalla
People have soured on “Valhalla” in the four years since its release, and I’m also running out of excuses to defend it with.
Its story is tedious and bloated, the visceral combat is fun at first but repetitive after fifty mindless hours, and all of the side content ends up being a chore. There are cool moments and quests here and there, but they’re spread out between hours of filler.
Good
10 – Assassin’s Creed III
The first AC game is considered to be poorly aged, but “Assassin’s Creed III” is the other entry in the franchise that I don’t think holds up anymore.
Connor is a boring protagonist, some of the mission design is woeful, and the open world is a bit anticlimactic. All of these factored into my choice to drop AC3 down four places in my ranking … but the cast of villains and the updated parkour and combat meant there was still fun to be had.
9 – Rogue
I finally bit the bullet and played “Rogue” from start to finish … and now I’m regretting not giving it its fair dues when I first attempted to play it. It was always last on these lists and now it’s closer to the middle!
It’s clearly a clone of “Black Flag”, but since I loved that game so much I didn’t mind at all. The story is interesting, Shay is a fascinating lead character, and some of the new gameplay elements are fun. You can tell it was rushed and undercooked, however, so I can’t rank it that much higher.
8 – Revelations
I know this is an unpopular opinion, but “Revelations” is the black sheep of the Ezio trilogy. The characters and story were good enough to rank it near the middle, but it’s lacking in a lot of key areas.
Constantinople is criminally empty, the side content is almost non-existent, and those tower defence segments were an utter mistake.
7 – Mirage
The most recent entry in the series at the time of writing, and many agree that “Mirage” is a return to form for the Assassin’s Creed franchise.
Baghdad is one of my favourite historical settings ever in the series, and the parkour and stealth mechanics have been made the focus once more. I was lukewarm on the combat and side activities, however, and the story and characters did nothing to win me over by the end.
Great
6 – Unity
“Unity” has shot up four places in my ranking since I last made this list. Needless to say, I think it’s one of the most underrated entries in the series!
Paris is a phenomenal setting, the parkour and combat are extraordinary, and the story has some genuine bright spots. I wasn’t really a fan of the ending, but everything up to that is a classic AC experience.
5 – Assassin’s Creed II
It may show its age, but I’m always baffled by the technological leap between the first and second Assassin’s Creed games.
“Assassin’s Creed II” has one of the best stories and protagonists in the series, with new and improved gameplay in every department. I would’ve preferred if the developers had focused on one great setting rather than a half dozen alright ones, and the ending is a bit naff, but otherwise the nostalgia still holds up.
Amazing
4 – Origins
“Origins” came at a crucial time in the Assassin’s Creed franchise when people were becoming disillusioned with the same repetitive gameplay, but does it still hold up? YES, especially when compared to RPG-done-poorly like “Valhalla”.
Bayek and Aya are two of the most compelling protagonists in the series, on par with Ezio Auditore and Edward Kenway, and the Ancient Egyptian setting is stunning. It could get a bit grindy at points, and the combat has been improved substantially in the more recent RPG titles, but the overall experience is still fantastic.
3 – Odyssey
I know, I know, you can put down the pitchforks. “Odyssey” is far from a perfect game. Objectively, it can be pretty mediocre at points. But my god is it always a joy to play.
I adore the Ancient Greek setting and the light-hearted dialogue and quests, and the combat has been revamped significantly since “Origins”. The characters came across a bit flat, and the enemies could be far too spongey, but this is up there with some of the most fun I’ve had with an AC game.
All-Time Great
2 – Brotherhood
For the longest time I had “Brotherhood” as my favourite Assassin’s Creed game, and it remains the title that gives me the most nostalgic joy … but even I have to admit that it aged poorly in some areas.
Ezio is a boss as always, Rome is an awesome setting, controlling a team of assassins is an amazing addition, but some of the missions could be a little drawn out or obtuse.
1 – Black Flag
“Black Flag” has always been a top three Assassin’s Creed game, but after replaying it I can confidently say it’s the best one.
Sailing the seven seas as a swashbuckling pirate is a dream come true, and the writing has never been better – the supporting characters are some of my favourites in any game, and Edward’s journey from scoundrel to reluctant assassin will go down as the greatest character arc in the series.
Aaaaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below:
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