This review contains spoilers
Story and Characters
-Assassin’s Creed Unity’s story follows Arno as he joins the Assassins Brotherhood and seeks to avenge the death of his surrogate father, who was the Grand Master of the Templars. The story is not overly complex, but it actually works quite well for the structure of the game. Each target that you kill leads to a flashback involving that character where you learn a bit more about the conspiracy and what is going on amongst the Templar ranks. The story is not particularly memorable nor does it contain too many shocking moments, but there are some fun twists along the way.
-The betrayal of Bellec, Arno’s mentor, could have been done a bit better I feel, at least built up to in a more impactful way. When he kills the existing head of the Assassin’s and it’s revealed to be him, it doesn’t feel all that memorable because we didn’t get to spend much time with that character.
-A major part of the narrative is the relationship between Elise and Arno and unfortunately, this is another weak point in the story for me. Their relationship is not dwelt on enough to really make the player care and when Elise eventually dies, it doesn’t have the emotional impact that it should. I think spending too long on the romance would have bogged the game down, but I think we needed to see more chemistry between the two of them to really make the narrative work in that regard. Other than the scene when they kiss in the balloon, Arno and Elise just seem like good friends, and not lovers with opposing ideological viewpoints.
-Arno is the standout of the game as he is very charming, but also a flawed character that struggles and makes mistakes. He is even thrown out of the Brotherhood for not listening to his leaders and this leads him to a sad path of drinking and brawling. Arno is very likable and his motivations are always quite clear.
-Overall, Unity has a story that isn’t overly impressive, but it’s also on par with many of the other AC games. There are certain aspects of the game that I wish had been explored deeper, but the story worked well for the gameplay and I really liked seeing a different side to the Templars and Assassins.
-Unity also has very minimal modern day and no walking around with the tablet, so I really liked that.
Gameplay
-The stealth in Unity is a mixed bag for me. The ability to now crouch is huge and makes stealth feel much better. They also added a cover system that allows you to take cover behind certain objects and along walls. This system is a nice addition, but it could also use some refinement. Sometimes objects that looked like you should be able to hide behind them wouldn’t let you and other times you would get stuck on a certain object. Exiting cover was sometimes difficult to do for whatever reason which could make using the system more frustrating. Also, enemy detection is very unforgiving and guards can spot you from a decent way away. They also will notice you if you ever on a rooftop above them which, while realistic, can lead to frustration as well.
-The tools you have to play with are all fun, but I really didn’t use all the game had to offer. Smoke bombs are very effective at helping you get away and the new phantom blade is a fun way to silently kill enemies, reminiscent of the crossbow from Brotherhood.
-Combat can be both fun and annoying as well. You no longer have the ability to grab enemies and use them as human shields when you are being shot at, which makes things far more punishing. The parrying also feels a bit janky at times and there were times when I was certain I pressed the button in time, it just didn’t work. I also did not like how when you are locked into a finisher animation, your character can still be harmed and shot. The animations are all fairly good though and the combat was satisfying when everything worked like it should.
-The animations in this game really elevate it when compared to other AC titles. The finishers are cool, but the hidden blade takedowns are really sweet and there are a lot of different ones. The animations for all the parkour also look great and make your character really feel agile and quick.
-Climbing and parkour are very good in this game. You still cannot climb any surface, but there were often many pathways to climb up and Arno is a quick climber, so this did not annoy me. The player has a lot of options with parkour and the city was very much designed with that in mind so it all feels very good.
-This game introduced what are called black box missions in AC games which is essentially where you have different options for how to kill your targets by finding opportunities in the world. This was a great change and makes the older games feel more dated by not having this feature. It also helps replayability because you can approach a target in a totally different way than you did before.
-They removed the ability to use enemies' rifles to shoot or fight with which was a bit disappointing.
-They basically removed the notoriety system which I actually found to be a welcome change. In games like AC3, you were constantly getting pursued by dozens of guards if you did anything wrong and it was annoying to get rid of. Now if a guard sees you do something, he may try to attack you, but if you get away you are free to wander around without being hunted.
-Unity added a leveling system and skill tree which is cool, but many of the skills don’t really feel like they make too much of a difference. Being able to do double assassinations and pick locks are some of the few skills that really felt important.
Side Content
-The murder mysteries are a fun idea and are something different for AC. I liked these although they could be very easy. But it was a nice change of pace from the usual missions.
-Unity has riddles you can try to solve in the world to get treasures and these are fine, but sometimes they can be very difficult and frustrating. I didn’t spend too much time doing these.
-Most of the other side content are just normal AC missions where you kill someone or protect someone. There are some side missions where you talk to someone and there is almost a story, but these missions are very uninteresting and just feel fairly pointless.
-The game did introduce online co-op which was a cool idea, but I did not play very much with it.
World/Level Design
-Paris is quite possibly the best city in any AC game. There are a ton of famous landmarks, the streets are packed with detail and massive crowds and the level design is built perfectly for parkour and stealth.
-Paris has far more interiors than any other city before it and this makes running from guards and getting around even more fun. It also adds a lot more variety to the missions because you are not always just walking around outside, but you can be sneaking through massive palaces.
-A minor nitpick, but the major river going through Paris is basically empty with just some boats docked along the side. I think it would have been really cool to have boats sailing down the river and it would make that part of the map feel more alive.
Graphics, Music and Glitches
-The music in the game is very good and helps to set the atmosphere of the game.
-The atmosphere is also enhanced by the noises of large crowds and the ringing of bells when you are by a large cathedral like Notre Dame.
-The graphics in the environments and with the facial animations are still quite good, and while they may not live up to the games of 2023, they are quite remarkable for a game released in 2014. The lighting in particular looks great and makes the interiors feel very well designed.
-Glitches are still common in the game, but nothing game breaking from what I experienced. The crowds often have a flicker to them which can be distracting and there tends to be a decent amount of pop in with the NPCs and that was also annoying. There were times NPCs would just float down the street or get stuck in buildings. Luckily, most of the glitches were harmless and I only experienced one crash in my play through.
Main Positives of the Game
-The parkour and animations are incredible and hold up very well. Many of the AC games that have followed do not look as smooth or feel as good as this game does.
-Arno is a great character who manages to be likable, but also flawed. He is probably one of my favorite protagonists in the series.
-The setting is awesome and perfect for an AC game. There are a lot of historical events represented in the game that fit right in, but it never feels like too much like it sometimes did with AC3.
-Paris is an incredibly well-designed city and one of, if not the best city in the series.
-I like the addition of the skill tree and the customization you have with your tools, weapons and clothes.
Main Negatives of the Game
-The story is fine, but it could use some work, especially with the big moments like Bellec’s betrayal or the relationship between Arno and Elise. More time should have been spent with these characters to really make those story beats more impactful.
-The game still does have a lot of minor glitches, especially with the big crowds that make it less enjoyable and less immersive.
-The combat and stealth can both be frustrating due to both new and removed mechanics and while they feel great when they work, restarting entire missions when they don’t is very annoying.
Overall Score: 8/10
-Assassin’s Creed Unity’s story follows Arno as he joins the Assassins Brotherhood and seeks to avenge the death of his surrogate father, who was the Grand Master of the Templars. The story is not overly complex, but it actually works quite well for the structure of the game. Each target that you kill leads to a flashback involving that character where you learn a bit more about the conspiracy and what is going on amongst the Templar ranks. The story is not particularly memorable nor does it contain too many shocking moments, but there are some fun twists along the way.
-The betrayal of Bellec, Arno’s mentor, could have been done a bit better I feel, at least built up to in a more impactful way. When he kills the existing head of the Assassin’s and it’s revealed to be him, it doesn’t feel all that memorable because we didn’t get to spend much time with that character.
-A major part of the narrative is the relationship between Elise and Arno and unfortunately, this is another weak point in the story for me. Their relationship is not dwelt on enough to really make the player care and when Elise eventually dies, it doesn’t have the emotional impact that it should. I think spending too long on the romance would have bogged the game down, but I think we needed to see more chemistry between the two of them to really make the narrative work in that regard. Other than the scene when they kiss in the balloon, Arno and Elise just seem like good friends, and not lovers with opposing ideological viewpoints.
-Arno is the standout of the game as he is very charming, but also a flawed character that struggles and makes mistakes. He is even thrown out of the Brotherhood for not listening to his leaders and this leads him to a sad path of drinking and brawling. Arno is very likable and his motivations are always quite clear.
-Overall, Unity has a story that isn’t overly impressive, but it’s also on par with many of the other AC games. There are certain aspects of the game that I wish had been explored deeper, but the story worked well for the gameplay and I really liked seeing a different side to the Templars and Assassins.
-Unity also has very minimal modern day and no walking around with the tablet, so I really liked that.
Gameplay
-The stealth in Unity is a mixed bag for me. The ability to now crouch is huge and makes stealth feel much better. They also added a cover system that allows you to take cover behind certain objects and along walls. This system is a nice addition, but it could also use some refinement. Sometimes objects that looked like you should be able to hide behind them wouldn’t let you and other times you would get stuck on a certain object. Exiting cover was sometimes difficult to do for whatever reason which could make using the system more frustrating. Also, enemy detection is very unforgiving and guards can spot you from a decent way away. They also will notice you if you ever on a rooftop above them which, while realistic, can lead to frustration as well.
-The tools you have to play with are all fun, but I really didn’t use all the game had to offer. Smoke bombs are very effective at helping you get away and the new phantom blade is a fun way to silently kill enemies, reminiscent of the crossbow from Brotherhood.
-Combat can be both fun and annoying as well. You no longer have the ability to grab enemies and use them as human shields when you are being shot at, which makes things far more punishing. The parrying also feels a bit janky at times and there were times when I was certain I pressed the button in time, it just didn’t work. I also did not like how when you are locked into a finisher animation, your character can still be harmed and shot. The animations are all fairly good though and the combat was satisfying when everything worked like it should.
-The animations in this game really elevate it when compared to other AC titles. The finishers are cool, but the hidden blade takedowns are really sweet and there are a lot of different ones. The animations for all the parkour also look great and make your character really feel agile and quick.
-Climbing and parkour are very good in this game. You still cannot climb any surface, but there were often many pathways to climb up and Arno is a quick climber, so this did not annoy me. The player has a lot of options with parkour and the city was very much designed with that in mind so it all feels very good.
-This game introduced what are called black box missions in AC games which is essentially where you have different options for how to kill your targets by finding opportunities in the world. This was a great change and makes the older games feel more dated by not having this feature. It also helps replayability because you can approach a target in a totally different way than you did before.
-They removed the ability to use enemies' rifles to shoot or fight with which was a bit disappointing.
-They basically removed the notoriety system which I actually found to be a welcome change. In games like AC3, you were constantly getting pursued by dozens of guards if you did anything wrong and it was annoying to get rid of. Now if a guard sees you do something, he may try to attack you, but if you get away you are free to wander around without being hunted.
-Unity added a leveling system and skill tree which is cool, but many of the skills don’t really feel like they make too much of a difference. Being able to do double assassinations and pick locks are some of the few skills that really felt important.
Side Content
-The murder mysteries are a fun idea and are something different for AC. I liked these although they could be very easy. But it was a nice change of pace from the usual missions.
-Unity has riddles you can try to solve in the world to get treasures and these are fine, but sometimes they can be very difficult and frustrating. I didn’t spend too much time doing these.
-Most of the other side content are just normal AC missions where you kill someone or protect someone. There are some side missions where you talk to someone and there is almost a story, but these missions are very uninteresting and just feel fairly pointless.
-The game did introduce online co-op which was a cool idea, but I did not play very much with it.
World/Level Design
-Paris is quite possibly the best city in any AC game. There are a ton of famous landmarks, the streets are packed with detail and massive crowds and the level design is built perfectly for parkour and stealth.
-Paris has far more interiors than any other city before it and this makes running from guards and getting around even more fun. It also adds a lot more variety to the missions because you are not always just walking around outside, but you can be sneaking through massive palaces.
-A minor nitpick, but the major river going through Paris is basically empty with just some boats docked along the side. I think it would have been really cool to have boats sailing down the river and it would make that part of the map feel more alive.
Graphics, Music and Glitches
-The music in the game is very good and helps to set the atmosphere of the game.
-The atmosphere is also enhanced by the noises of large crowds and the ringing of bells when you are by a large cathedral like Notre Dame.
-The graphics in the environments and with the facial animations are still quite good, and while they may not live up to the games of 2023, they are quite remarkable for a game released in 2014. The lighting in particular looks great and makes the interiors feel very well designed.
-Glitches are still common in the game, but nothing game breaking from what I experienced. The crowds often have a flicker to them which can be distracting and there tends to be a decent amount of pop in with the NPCs and that was also annoying. There were times NPCs would just float down the street or get stuck in buildings. Luckily, most of the glitches were harmless and I only experienced one crash in my play through.
Main Positives of the Game
-The parkour and animations are incredible and hold up very well. Many of the AC games that have followed do not look as smooth or feel as good as this game does.
-Arno is a great character who manages to be likable, but also flawed. He is probably one of my favorite protagonists in the series.
-The setting is awesome and perfect for an AC game. There are a lot of historical events represented in the game that fit right in, but it never feels like too much like it sometimes did with AC3.
-Paris is an incredibly well-designed city and one of, if not the best city in the series.
-I like the addition of the skill tree and the customization you have with your tools, weapons and clothes.
Main Negatives of the Game
-The story is fine, but it could use some work, especially with the big moments like Bellec’s betrayal or the relationship between Arno and Elise. More time should have been spent with these characters to really make those story beats more impactful.
-The game still does have a lot of minor glitches, especially with the big crowds that make it less enjoyable and less immersive.
-The combat and stealth can both be frustrating due to both new and removed mechanics and while they feel great when they work, restarting entire missions when they don’t is very annoying.
Overall Score: 8/10