Recent additions to the Assassin’s Creed franchise have seen the gameplay and story grow increasingly bloated. While innovation is important to any game series, the newer entries into the Assassin’s Creed saga push how much is too much. Fortunately, with each game, Ubisoft has striven to trim the fat, addressing some of the issues of bloat that are most prevalent within its games.
Assassin’s Creed has come a long way since the release of the first entry in 2007. Through the twelve games that comprise the main series, the franchise has seen massive changes to many of its core mechanics. The greatest change to Assassin's Creed has been the introduction of heavy RPG elements, beginning with Assassin’s Creed Origins and further developed in Odyssey and Valhalla.
RPG-style features have been the hallmark of Assassin’s Creed Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla. Ubisoft has pivoted away from the stealth-focused style of previous installments in these three games, embracing the strong demand for RPGs. However, the implementation of some of the content has caused the games to become bloated, overwhelming players with needlessly comprehensive systems and innumerable pieces of gear, a problem Ubisoft has slowly been attempting to fix.
Combat has seen one of the greatest overhauls in the new generation of Assassin’s Creed games. Beginning in Origins, and developed further in Odyssey and Valhalla, a vast arsenal of weapons and armor was added to the player’s disposal. From swords, daggers, and two-handed axes to maces, scepters, and bows, Assassin’s Creed has introduced a slew of means to dispose of foes. However, this has come with certain problems. Most notable in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, inventories are constantly bloated with countless weapons and pieces of armor, nearly identical except for slight stat differences, that usually plague inventories before being deconstructed into crafting materials.
Questing is another area where Assassin’s Creed games have seen a massive overhaul. Some of the developments have been welcome, such as the branching narrative options, which make story choices have lasting consequences, but side quests are pretty bloated. Quest logs are stuffed with various activities that end up having little impact on gameplay, often rewarding players with another useless weapon or piece of armor. Points of interest experienced the same treatment - no matter the location, players raid a cave, a fort, or a camp, fighting the same enemies and acquiring more obsolete loot.
Fortunately, Ubisoft has taken steps to correct some of these issues. In Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, both the gear and quest bloat have been tempered. Each weapon and armor set in Valhalla is unique, meaning players don’t have to worry about finding fifty duplicates of the same knife. Ubisoft also completely removed side quests in Valhalla, instead diversifying points of interest and encounters within the world. Players will find a wider range of activities, mysteries, and mini-quests in Valhalla, objectives that are much more unique than raiding the same forts and camps.
Assassin’s Creed has seen a steady increase in features within the recent entries of the games. While some of the features have been welcome changes, other aspects have proven tedious. Thankfully, Ubisoft is seemingly taking notes, introducing changes that have somewhat streamlined gameplay. As for what the future holds, it is unknown. Players may hope to see more changes in the upcoming Siege of Paris DLC. Likewise, Ubisoft has confirmed it will be supporting Valhalla well into its second year, so only time will tell how Assassin’s Creed continues to evolve.
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