Rating – 5.5/10 This is such a weird product, and an even weirder Assassin’s Creed game. It does so many things right, yet some other aspects are absolutely horrendous. Visuals – The most beautiful open world I’ve ever seen. The vegetation is unlike anything I’ve seen before, even compared to UE5 titles. But then you look at the faces, both in terms of details and animation, and it feels like a Skibidi Toilet Garry’s Mod movie maker project. Story – Incredibly awful. Not just the worst story in the AC series, but maybe in gaming as a whole. The narrative structure is abysmal,  it’s actually offensive. It could’ve just been a basic revenge tale, a C-tier story with nothing special behind it. But Ubisoft somehow managed to butcher even that, turning it into a masterclass in how to ruin the simplest plot imaginable. Honestly, it’s impressive how badly they screwed this up. Gameplay – Probably the best gameplay AC has ever had. Parkour is still less deep than in older titles, but this time it’s not worse,  just different, and I’m fine with that. It looks good and feels good, unlike Origins or Odyssey. Naoe’s combat is actually great,  it reminds me a lot of Unity, which I think had the best combat style in the series. Stealth as Naoe on hard mode is incredible, genuinely challenging, with the best enemy AI AC has ever seen. Yasuke’s gameplay, on the other hand, is just… meh. Pretty much just a brainless button-mash. And that’s the paradox here. Naoe’s gameplay is good, like really good for AC. But her story? The worst thing to ever happen to this series. Even killing the main villain off in a comic book wasn’t as insulting as this. Meanwhile, Yasuke’s story (especially the flashbacks) had some genuinely good moments and an interesting concept for AC… but his gameplay is painfully boring. It feels like two different studios made this game. The opening and the flashbacks (which feel more like an actual intro) seem like Ubi Montreal’s work. You can see the potential, even a slight flirt with a Tarantino vibe. But then Ubi Quebec comes in, chops the story into pieces, sprinkles them around as “flashbacks,” and slaps on their classic “funny” tone that kills any seriousness. I almost wanted to recommend this game despite the atrocious story… until one moment completely broke me. To recruit a side character, you’re forced to trek across Japan while they keep saying things like, “Let’s not talk here, I know a better place.” Disgusting design. Imagine going on a date in London, and at the end she says, “Next time, let’s meet at my favorite spot.” Then the next day she sends you a Snap from some random Siberian village saying, “Waiting for you, XO.” That’s the level of nonsense Ubisoft pulled here. Get it on the sale if you want a beautiful Japan vibe and a gorgeous game from the tech perspective.
                                                                
                                                            
                                                            
                                                                
                                                                    
                                                                        
                                                                        
                                                                    
                                                                
                                                                
                                                                    
                                                                        
                                                                            
                                                                                the only game with assassin in the name where it forces you to not play an assassin.when i play this game i wanna be sneaky and stealthy and this game forces you to sit out in the open and fight people like its open world mortal kombat. i hate playing as the samurai character and hate boss battles where you have to widdle them down for 45 min cause its impossible to hide after you attempt one assassination