tl;dr
Skill system is unnecessarily gated. Combat is sloppy. Parkour is still inaccurate. Equipment system has a wealth of customisation, though. Story is bare, has little to do with the French Revolution. Characters lack depth. Assassination missions are great, open-ended affairs, but side missions are plain, repetitive and lazy. Ultimately a lacklustre, frustrating game that promises much, but delivers most of it badly.
Actual Review
If there’s one thing I’ll give Ubisoft, it’s their ability to create beautifully rendered world. Paris is a wonder to behold. From pristine cathedrals, to crumbling slums; there’s a surprising amount of variety in the environments of Assassin’s Creed Unity. Crowds litter the streets in the hundreds. Fires rage, and smoke billows across the sky. It screams of next-gen.
Core Gameplay
But the meticulous care given to the environments has not been extended to the gameplay. Despite Ubisoft’s claims, little has been redesigned. Skill unlocks have been added, but most of the skills have always been a part of the series. Double assassinations. Smoke bombs. Environmental blending. And despite the addition, many skills are gated by story progress, completely subverting it’s own purpose.
The combat feels sloppier than ever. Your attacks lag behind your button presses. Dodges and blocks don’t register until your previous animation has finished. These are long animations. The game would rather appear flashy, than feel it. Some awkward button mapping has also removed the much improved ranged combat of Assassin’s Creed 4.
The parkour, leaves a mixed impression. Little has changed. Though it is faster and more lenient, it is no more accurate than previous incarnations. You’ll still find yourself leaping in directions you never intended. Too often I found myself in the middle of a chase, diving towards a window, only to witness my character dance around its frame. Fortunately, the parkour down button is a reliable method of descending to the streets.
A new crouch system has replaced much of the foliage-blending stealth of AC4, which is a shame, as the plantation missions were some of the most thrilling the series has offered. This isn’t to say the new system is bad. Heist missions in the online co-op can be an absolute blast when pulled off right, with equal parts planning, stealth and on-the-fly murder creating a satisfying cocktail.
The overhauled equipment system is a welcome addition. Similar to the system found in AC2 and Brotherhood, there is a wealth of gear to be found. Hoods, bracers, belts and more can be mixed together, giving players the ability to create their perfect avatar. Many weapons have also been reintroduced, such as spears and maces. In co-op, I never once saw another player similar to mine.
So the gameplay is a mixed bag of frustration, iteration, and a few good design decisions. The missions, unfortunately, mirror this.
Story
The story of Unity is bare, predictable and disappointingly small-scoped. For a game set during the French Revolution, there is little you do which seems to involve it. You play as Arno, a devious, playful youth, who is drawn into the Assassin’s order to do... well, nothing really.
[spoiler warning] Your father is killed, you’re raised by a templar, he is also killed, oh no conspiracy. [/spoiler warning]
It’s all rather plain. The characters have surface personas, but little depth. The Assassin’s exist, because it’s an Assassin’s Creed game. The cutscenes are gorgeous, but only emotionally adequate. It’s a shame, because a lot of heart was poured into the cinematography, and I’m sure the voice actors could have excelled had they been given a better tale.
Missions
Some story missions fare better than others. Assassination missions are sprawling affairs, set in mansions, cathedrals, and the like. They reward player creativity and autonomy, and similar to Hitman, some levels contain secret assassination methods for the perceptive to find. These missions create a personal narrative, far more rewarding than that of the game’s own. They remind me if what Assassin’s Creed should be.
A few linear missions do shine, such as an exhilarating race across the Parisian rooftops, in chase of a hot air balloon. Unfortunately, many are dull, repetitive and far too similar to missions in previous entries. One side mission had me follow a man for ten minutes. I nearly died of old age.
The random events that occur on the streets are also drab. These are repeats from older titles. Catch the thief. Kill the thugs. Assassinate the messenger. Though you can choose to ignore them, the repetitive lines of dialogue will likely haunt you for the rest of the game.
Of course, we can’t forget the addition of co-op. The concept is promising, but the execution bare. Co-op missions are mostly short, plain and few. Some longer, more creative ones do pop up near the end, but it is too little to keep you invested. At times, I also found myself wishing for more differentiation between me and my allies. Though our attires differed, our skills were mostly the same.
Conclusion
Unity is a game filled with promises, bogged down by a reliance on tiresome, outdated designs. It is a beautiful backdrop, best looked at from afar.