I'm no critic and what follows is purely my own opinion. So please, try not to hate me..
I've been playing Assassin's Creed Syndicate for over 10 hours now. Yes, I was eager enough to buy it during a midnight launch and played all night..! I'm going to keep this as spoiler free as I can, assuming you've seen the tailors and have read GS's reviews first.
London; Victorian London is as fascinating as you might imagine it to be. It looks posh and classy from the outside but grim and ever so hopeless from the inside. And who's responsible for this..? Why the Templars of course! Ubisoft Quebec has done a marvelous job at recreating the classical era for players who love exploration in the AC franchise.
For those who want a down right comparison of AC Syndicate with the latest games released this year, here's an easy breakdown:
1. Visuals:
London looks gorgeous no doubt, but this is no improvement over Unity's Paris. In fact, the buildings you scale and rooftops you jump over look pretty much similar. In direct comparison with MGS5 or Witcher 3, I think both of them look way better for a Next-Gen game.. Sorry Ubisoft.. You could have done better though.
Result: A let down.
2. Audio:
Now this is one strong points for Syndicate. Be it music you hear in the background or people chattering when you walk past them.. Or the simple tune that plays when you're out assassinating, it just feels amazing! The synchronization music, one thing I pay close attention to in all AC games is extremely satisfying. Witcher 3 has a brilliant soundtrack. I loved the way it sets the mood but Syndicate definitely wins this round.
Result: Good Job!
3. Gameplay:
This is an important factor for any game and sadly, Syndicate didn't really push the envelope. After playing MGS, stealth is no more AC's strong aspects. A thug won't notice his buddy being killed only but a few feet away from him As long as he has his back turned, you can do whatever you want. That feels downright silly now and makes infiltration a child's play. If an enemy sees you, he's alerted and heads your way but if you can manage to get rid of him, it's all good. There are absolutely no consequences for slipping up when you're being all stealthy or 'assasiny'.. Try that in MGS, all hell breaks lose when you slip up in an enemy base! Having said that, the parkour element still remains and even though it's sometimes slightly glitchy, it does a decent job.
Oh! and did I mention you get a grappling gun! AC tried a few things when it comes to traversal.. Remember Ezio's hook blade..? Although that didn't work so well, the grappling gun turns you partly into Victorian Batman! Yup.. Zip-lining your way through London streets is all so awesome! This truly makes you feel like an assassin.
The combat is just ok.. You press the right button at the right time and you're pretty invincible. Nothing challenging. Remember the old AC games where you're easily killed when you face more than a couple of foes..? I really miss that. You're no longer an assassin who takes his/her time finding your target, studying his/her weaknesses/vulnerabilities and attacks at the right time. Nope, you just waltz right up to him and kick his arse! Along with a dozen other gangsters all single handedly and if you're careful, get away without a scratch!
Result: Could have been better.
4. Story: (May contain spoilers)
This is a really crucial element, one which is extremely subjective. MGS has a really really weird story (You're probably nodding if you've played it) one which I tuned out earlier on in the game to focus on the gameplay. Witcher 3 has a splendid story line and for Syndicate's benefit (and also since Witcher 3 is based on a series of books), I won't compare the two. If that exception is made (I can't believe I said that), Syndicate has a good story that's well worth digging deeper. It starts at a good note (remember Assassins's Creed 3?) and easily picks up pace.
The opening sequence is sleek and waste's no time getting your hands dirty. There's the usual Templar-Assassin conflict going on but this time, you go all gangster.. Victorian era gangster mind you. You play as the twins Evie and Jacob Frye. One's the serious, smart and vigilant assassin, the other's a fun loving and goofy idiot. a bit of a mix of Connor and Edward (if I can be so bold). After the tutorial, you step into London and take it back from the hands of the ruthless gangs.. Only to form one of your own :P. You meet historic characters from the era like Darwin, Alexander Graham Bell and Charles Dickens to name a few.. There are story elements connected to each of them, but nothing way too exciting. Yes, the Queens there too! And no, you can't assassinate her.. Trust me, I tried! You save London from oppression, free children from labor and oh, yes.. occasionally kill Templars!
Result: Nothing awe inspiring but a good job.
5. Art:
Now this is one aspect I look up to when playing an AC game. The art, the attention to detail, the relevance to the time period, all these factors count and in a huge way! At the end of the day, a game is also a piece of art and Syndicate draws an amazing portrait! The streets, the carriages, (yes, you can now GTA style steal and race horse chariots/carriages.. Even ram into enemy, destroy public property and kill horses!), the lighting, the clothing.. you name it. They've taken this pretty seriously and it shows. London's unpredictable weather, industrial revolution's steelworks, the ghettos, the palaces, smoked chimneys, the Thames carrying boats, steam engines, trains.. Ohh the list goes on! Several games tried showing off this.. Be it Dishonored or Thief or even The Order 1886, they all showcased a very slightly different London in the same era/universe. This is one aspect Syndicate rules hands on. I've actually spent some time on the game's database reading up on several key locations and people and AC does a nifty job at trying to show off as a history buff.
Result: A solid thumbs up!
That was an easy breakup but again, it's entirely subjective.
There's the crafting system that lets you upgrade tools and weapons. It's not as painfully boring as the AC3's crafting mechanism but feels just right. You loot chests, gather resources and put them to use in upgrading your gear.
Both Evie and Jacob get their own set of skill points that you can spend the way you see fit for each player. Evie is more biased towards stealth while Jacob is a brawler (but you already know that by now). I focused on stealth aspects for Evie and empowered Jacob with combat skills earlier on but eventually, you easily earn more skill points and upgrading a skill seems trivial. You can chose whom to play as depending on the 'mission' and your play style, but some stories are tailored made for one sibling.
None of these stories seem difficult or challenging. But carrying it out perfectly is satisfying. You really feel like an assassin when you kill that one target and one target only, and escape before anyone notices you.
Oh, and did I tell you, they've added kidnapping! Well, with the whole gang thing going on, it kinda makes sense. You kidnap a high ranking enemy.. and well, nothing after that.. You just hand him over to the cops and that's it. They really should have thought this through. I don't really see any reward in knocking one or forcing an enemy to be kidnapped and without drawing attention sneak him out in a carriage. Unless it's part of the story, I'd rather just kill him/her and get done with it.
One important aspect to bring to attention is the lack of a multiplayer aspect! Unity did a good job where friends can join you in your own assassinations, making it a really unique experience - one you can talk about with friends, plan it properly and execute it with style. All of you can plan and execute kills feeling like a true assassin guild. Syndicate has no such thing. You're just on your own. You can hire your own gang members to help you out but it's definitely not the same. This was rather disappointing. Usually, when there's no multiplayer, the story is given more focus and is enriched. But Syndicate's story is not that rich to forgive them for the lack of a multiplayer experience. For me this is a let down and I don't even play online a lot..
Then there's the sad aspect of micro-transactions. This is something that can't be ignored and is nothing but a means for Ubisoft to make more money. You can easily buy your way to being the most buffed up assassin with all the deadly gear without actually earning it. But then, since there is no multiplayer to it, it doesn't really matter if you have that amazingly deadly hidden cane or just the regular ivory and jade one. Yup, the hidden cane!
Weapons seem refreshing. You definitely have the hidden blade, I mean what's an AC game without a hidden blade! But you also get your hands on a hidden cane (trust me you feel bad ass using one), brass knuckles and then the pistol. You upgrade each of them and craft new. Hand to hand combat seems nice and smooth. You can use your throwing knives or just shoot a thug in the face! Punching you way with brass knuckles feels like such a bad ass be it on the streets of London or those underground fights.. Yup, it's all about kicking ass in Syndicate than using your sword. There are a variety of these weapons that you can upgrade and customize. You can very easily buy them up front as well. There isn't a lot of emphasis on these weapons and it's not that bad.
In all, it's a good AC game, nothing that's going to reclaim the series. I still loved AC 2 better. Ezio definitely had a thing but Syndicate isn't that good. I liked it better than Unity from the gameplay and story point of view. The lack of multiplayer is a definite bummer. In more than one occasion, Syndicate feels like a really expensive and massive DLC to Unity.
In all, I give it an 8. Please do check out GS's official review if you haven't already. At the end, they are the experts here.