With the critical and early commercial success of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, it seems as though more Assassin’s Creed remakes are on the way, something backed up by previous reporting. But there are so many paths to take here. Which titles should Ubisoft do first? How intense should these remakes be? These questions — and many more — are ones Capcom has to regularly answer with Resident Evil, which may be a fitting model for Ubisoft to look at (including not laying off employees just after shipping a beloved remake).
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Here are the pros and cons of remaking various Assassin’s Creed games before Origins and what one deserves it the most.
7) Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is the most recent entry before the soft reboot and is therefore, unsurprisingly, the one that deserves a remake the least. This doesn’t mean Syndicate is the best entry — it still hovers around the middle of the pack — but it doesn’t have glaring enough problems that call for a remake.
Ubisoft could tweak the controls and user interface and bring those up to par with the modern installments, but it would need to truly go in and make sweeping changes to improve this game in order to give it more life. This includes giving Jacob and Evie different abilities, adding more variety to the combat and mission structure, and rewriting its terrible ending. If Ubisoft truly does start remaking more Assassin’s Creed games, it should get to Syndicate one day, but only after it has gotten to the other and more fitting titles.
6) Assassin’s Creed 3
Assassin’s Creed 3 is one of the more controversial chapters, as the setup of being a Native American fighting against his Templar father during the Revolutionary War is quite unique. However, it’s got more than enough room for improvement.
Separating all the maps from one another added a lot of loading into the mix and made everything feel so separate from one another. One of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced’s greatest additions was its seamless map, and a remake of AC3 would greatly benefit from the same treatment. Linking together Boston, New York, the wilderness, and the homestead would make the game feel more connected.
AC3 would also benefit from a Resynced-like control overhaul since it’s cut from the same cloth. Connor was predisposed to running up the wrong walls and also wasn’t able to crouch, both of which limit the gameplay and are only annoying now. And speaking of retooling, its Tyranny of King Washington DLC never even comes close to fulfilling its promise and is still one of the worst expansions in the series.
Streamlining how Connor moves through the world and rewriting its awful DLC wouldn’t be the most outwardly exciting changes to hang a remake on, but they would help greatly. AC3 is a divisive entry, so there also may not be an appetite to go back, but that just means it has more room to smooth over the rough edges and cause some to reappraise it.
5) Assassin’s Creed Rogue
Assassin’s Creed Rogue is the most underrated entry, a status it partially gained because Ubisoft, for some ridiculous reason, put it out on the same day as Unity. Unity’s calamitous launch hogged the spotlight, so Rogue never quite got the respect it deserved. Rogue plays like a better version of Black Flag with its more aggressive ship combat and slightly upgraded arsenal, fitting of a vengeful Templar like Shay Cormac.
Resynced’s changes would fit so well in Rogue since Black Flag and Rogue are so similar, too; Shay would benefit from a smoother control scheme and lack of loading screens just like Edward Kenway. Since Resynced already exists, Rogue would likely be one of the easier Assassin’s Creed games to remake. And while Resynced-like changes would better highlight why Rogue is so great, a remake would also give this game another chance to get the recognition it deserves. However, Resynced‘s existence makes the idea of going back and doing more pirating a little less appealing. Going for a Rogue remake so soon would probably lead to players largely ignoring it once again.
4) Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation
While it has already been remastered, Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation was always held back by the Vita hardware. Scope has always been important for the series and it greatly suffers when put on inferior hardware. It’s smaller scope was restrictive and didn’t help its underbaked story and clunky gameplay.
Some may see it as a game to cut and run from, but the premise of being an aristocratic biracial Assassin living in New Orleans is too great to just pass over; it’s much more interesting than “a dude who becomes an Assassin.” Living a double life in multiple ways has such rich storytelling potential that, sadly, Liberation wasn’t able to fully mine. It would need a more drastic reinvention than is likely possible, especially since Ubisoft — through its alleged canceling of an Assassin’s Creed game set during Reconstruction and its unwillingness to remaster Black Flag’s excellent Freedom Cry expansion — seems too cowardly to touch such topics again. But if Ubisoft truly committed and rebuilt this game from the ground up, Liberation would be one of the more intriguing remakes to tackle.
3) Assassin’s Creed Unity
Assassin’s Creed Unity was such a big mistake that it seemingly changed the trajectory of the series. It was a laughing stock and had such a terrible launch that Ubisoft gave away the first and only expansion for free as an apology. Syndicate was met with softer-than-usual reception the following year seemingly paying for Unity’s flaws, all of which led to the franchise taking a break and then being reinvented with Assassin’s Creed Origins.
Many of the bugs were smashed over numerous updates, but they didn’t change how lackluster the game was at its core. There was something there with its black box missions and more acrobatic parkour, but those qualities were buried underneath the usual cruft and weak story.
However, it’s those qualities as well as its visuals that have made this entry persist over the years, despite its litany of problems. It’s clear Ubisoft ran into issues coming into the then-new generation and didn’t get to develop the most fleshed-out and even game, something of its leads recently admitted. Unity‘s glimmers of potential make it a great candidate for a remake because it would mean Ubisoft would be able to better realize what was there under the bugs and intimidatingly cluttered map. Like Liberation, it would take a lot of reworking to be worth the effort, yet the potential is there.
2) Assassin’s Creed: Ezio Trilogy
Ezio’s story took up three games, but it would be hard to argue that they’re not one big episode. Just remaking one part wouldn’t make sense, either. So even though that might give this saga an unfair advantage, this trilogy is one of the most deserving parts of the series to get a remake.
Assassin’s Creed 2 was beloved when it came out, but it has aged somewhat poorly. The wonky controls and janky visuals are ever-present and make AC2 one of the harder entries to return to. Brotherhood is a tad smoother, but it still doesn’t hide its age and suffers from many of the same ailments. Revelations is similar to Brotherhood, yet has the most superfluous elements and bore the brunt of the fatigue that started to infect the series from that point on.
Going in with a more complete understanding of Ezio’s overall story and the series itself would give the space for Ubisoft to make these three games more consistent. Combat should be more unified and get away from the strict reliance on counters that plagued this whole generation of Assassin’s Creed. Parkour should be more reliable, as well, and move away from the puppeteering control scheme that was only a great idea in theory. And since Resynced opened the door for tampering with the modern elements, it would likely be a great idea to snip out the worst parts of Desmond’s storyline, as many of those threads went nowhere or fizzled out. Load times should be kept to a minimum, another tenet of Resynced future entries should steal.
Despite the three games having many of the same problems, they all have their own issues a remake could address. AC2 could have more direct foreshadowing and a better ending. Brotherhood would be improved by a tighter story with less fluff. A bolder remake would combine AC2 and Brotherhood into one title, but it’s doubtful Ubisoft would sign off on a project that audacious (and one that would nix its ability to sell two games). Revelations is the most flawed of the three and has the most room for improvement. Ubisoft could rework the bombs so they are more useful, give more utility to the hook blade, and just remove the tower defense missions and modern-day puzzles.
Remaking this trilogy would assuredly be a massive undertaking. There’s a lot of ground to cover and a lot to improve, but it also has a ton of potential. And if anyone deserves such treatment, it’s Ezio.
1) Assassin’s Creed
Assassin’s Creed started it all but is, unsurprisingly, the most difficult to go back to, and that’s not just speaking to the inability to play it on modern PlayStation hardware. Missions are extremely repetitive, combat is shallow, the maps are empty, the story falls apart near the end, and the tentpole assassinations are thwarted by its awkward controls. It’s great the team got another shot, as modern Ubisoft likely wouldn’t be as patient for a game with review scores this lukewarm.
However, modern Ubisoft is in a better position to right the first Assassin’s Creed’s many wrongs. Freeform missions with greater variety, more responsive controls, deeper swordplay, and more engaging worlds would put this entry more in line with the modern entries. Making this version of Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad more consistent with the version in Revelations would also be a fitting change, especially since Altaïr was initially rather dry.
But that is a lot of work and makes this remake a tall task. Upgrading this 2007 title would likely be something the team would have to entirely start over on, unlike Resynced, which uses most of the overall structure from the game it is remaking. Even though there’s a certain magic to the debut installment, a remake that simply uses the original scaffolding would be a bad idea and would be handicapped from the start.
Black Flag made for a solid starting point for this remake initiative since it is a relatively singular entry, but this applies even more so to the first game. Despite the work it would take to properly bring it into the modern era, it has the most room for improvement and sets the stage for the other remakes, including the Ezio trilogy, rather well, making it the most deserving entry to get the Resynced treatment.
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