Assassin’s Creed Mirage Announced: We Look Back At Every Assassin’s Creed Games, Ranked From Worst To Best
Is Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood the best? Or does Black Flag take the bounty?
Assassin’s Creed Mirage is now official. The 13th main installment in Ubisoft’s most successful franchise will see gamers step into the boots of a young Basim, who we first encountered in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, chronicling his journey from a street thief to a Master Assassin. Set in Baghdad, Mirage will unfold two decades before the events of Valhalla. Promising a return to Assassin’s Creed roots, Mirage’s strength will lie in stealth-based mechanics in the lines of older Assassin’s Creed games and not the RPG-heavy Origins, Odyssey, or Valhalla. Before Assassin’s Creed Mirage hits the shelves, here’s a look back at all the Assassin’s Creed games, ranked from worst to best.
It should be noted that we have only ranked the main series instalments. So, spin-offs such as Liberation, Freedom Cry, or Identity will not be a part of this list.
Every Assassin’s Creed games ranked, from worst to best
12. Assassin's Creed Rogue (2014)
Rogue delivered an interesting storyline, revolving around Irish-American privateer and Assassin Shay Patrick Cormac, who changes sides to Templars (arch rivals of Assassins, for those unaware) to take out his former compatriots after getting disillusioned by their actions. However, the gameplay was heavily based on Black Flag’s naval battle-and-island exploration mechanics. Additionally, the runtime was too short (a little over 10 hours) for most fans of the series. Hence, Assassin’s Creed Rogue is ranked the lowest on our list due to its general lack of innovation and relevance to the franchise.
11. Assassin's Creed: Revelations (2011)
With Revelations, Assassin’s Creed fans got a fitting conclusion to the Ezio trilogy. While Assassin’s Creed II introduced the world to Ezio Auditore Da Firenze, arguably the most charismatic Assassin protagonist ever, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood saw him grow into a Master Assassin. Revelations, on the other hand, unfolded like a poignant novel. Fans got to play as a visibly aging Ezio as he travels to Constantinopole to uncover the secrets left behind by the OG master, Altaïr Ibn-LaʼAhad.
While the story was emotional, the gameplay didn’t add too many notable elements. Sure, we got to play around with the hookblade, which made traversal through the dusty rooftops of Constantinopole fun, but that got repetitive soon enough. No surprise that the hookblade never made a return to other Assassin’s Creed games later on. Additionally, the overall gameplay mechanics of building the Brotherhood and liberating Templar strongholds felt too similar to Brotherhood.
10. Assassin's Creed Unity (2014)
Arguably the most controversial entry in the franchise, Unity came at a time when Ubisoft was desperately looking to release at least one Assassin’s Creed game every year. The result? Fans were treated with a rushed release, marked by horrendous bugs and glitches that would turn any non-fan away from the franchise in a second.
It’s not like Unity didn’t bring anything exciting to the table. The game’s premise, set in Paris during the peak of the French Revolution, was quite riveting. Arno Dorian was a likeable protagonist and the parkour mechanics was one of the best the series has ever seen to date. However, the innumerable bugs and a comparatively disappointing storyline made Unity one of the weaker entries.
After Ubisoft released an array of fixes and updates, Unity does play great now without a hitch. So, if you wish to try out the game before Mirage comes out, this would be a great time to do so.
9. Assassin's Creed Syndicate (2015)
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate was quite promising when it was announced. For starters, it was set in Industrial-era London of the late 19th century, making it one of the most modern entries in the franchise. Additionally, you could play as two protagonists — the brother-sister duo of Jacob and Evie Fry — for the first time ever, each bringing their own set of skills and advantages. It also had a stellar cast of supporting characters, including the likes of Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, Florence Nightingale, Karl Marx, and none other than Queen Victoria herself.
However, the gameplay felt bulky. The horse carriages you commandeered felt like forcing a slab of granite to bend to your will on the narrow streets of London. The combat was thoroughly unchallenging, making you feel nothing short of a cheat-code-enabled character toward the end of the game. Additionally, you gain a grappling hook in the game, which lets you scale tall buildings in seconds. While fun the first couple of times, the hook makes the game entirely too easy for our taste.
If you do wish to check out Syndicate, we suggest you shouldn’t miss the Jack the Ripper expansion. The moody settings suited London’s foggy streets the best, the dark storyline unfolded like a taut thriller (albeit with a slightly disappointing finale), and let’s face it, not many games will let you play as Jack the Ripper, taking down hapless victims. We only wish that would have been a standalone installment instead of a three-hour-long addition.
8. Assassin's Creed Origins (2017)
Origins is where Ubisoft turned Assassin’s Creed on its head. Relying heavily on Witcher-esque RPG-inspired mechanics, Origins added a certain challenge to fans of the franchise who were looking for a fresh take. Ubisoft also stepped out of its “a-game-a-year” model and took a two-year break after the release of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate and came out with Origins in 2017. As a matter of fact, work on Origins actually began after Black Flag’s release in 2013. Once you see the vast amount of changes Origins introduced, you can understand exactly where the hard work paid off.
A lot of factors worked in favour of Assassin’s Creed Origins. Firstly, you get a seemingly never-ending map set in Ptolemic-period Egypt. Ubisoft Montreal reportedly consulted with Egyptologists to make sure that the setting was as authentic as possible, from now-extinct architectural wonders such as the Library of Alexandria to the surprisingly diverse wildlife Egypt has to offer.
And then, you have an extremely overhauled gameplay that focussed on grinding and leveling up your character before venturing on to the next mission. While the varied character customisation elements proved frustrating for some, most gamers welcomed the challenge and thanks to the game’s wide variety of side quests and activities, grinding never truly felt like a chore on Origins. No wonder Ubisoft went ahead with Origins’ gameplay style on Odyssey and Valhalla as well.
Plus, the story of how the Hidden Ones came to be, who turned out to be the forerunners of the Assassins’ Brotherhood, was exciting to explore through the eyes of the immediately likable protagonist, Bayek.
7. Assassin's Creed Odyssey (2018)
If you thought Origins’ nearly 30-hour runtime was long, nothing can ever prepare you for the 50-hour grind offered by Odyssey. Odyssey saw Ubisoft’s bigger-and-better funda for Origins amped up to 11. You get a vast map dotted with Greek islands that are connected by exciting naval traversal à la Black Flag. You get a choice between a male and female character for the first time when you start the game. You have even more side quests to take care of in order to level up, which did get a little repetitive after a few hours. You have a wide variety of gameplay styles to explore, including a 300-inspired Spartan Kick. And the naval battles were the most memorable since Black Flag.
What didn’t work too well for Odyssey was the extraordinary amount of leveling up needed to clear seemingly easier challenges. From clearing bounties to doing mundane chores like gathering animals and fruits and money for characters within the campaign felt slightly harrowing at times, especially when you can’t progress to the next level/mission until you do so.
However, thanks to Odyssey’s intriguing story and solid gameplay, this one’s highly recommended to those who love to lock themselves up in front of their console/PC for days on end.
6. Assassin's Creed III (2012)
While Assassin’s Creed III wasn’t the most critically acclaimed entry in the franchise, it brought to the table a lot of mechanics that were heavily used in later games in the series. Set during the American Revolution, gamers will step into the shoes of Connor, or Ratonhnhaké:ton, as he makes his way through one historical American landmark after another.
Now, Assassin’s Creed III marked the first time players were able to climb trees. While that might sound simple, it changed the franchise’s parkour system greatly. So much so that we still have elements of Assassin’s Creed III parkour in nearly all franchise entries since then.
Even the overall combat saw slight changes here and there to engage the player. You had to time your attacks and defensive moves just right to truly experience the game’s finesse. It was also a great jumping point for Black Flag, which according to us is the best Assassin’s game to date. More on that later.
5. Assassin's Creed Valhalla (2020)
Valhalla is the latest and grandest entry in the franchise. From a whopping runtime of 60 hours, Valhalla actually made grinding fun — thanks to some of the most memorable side quests that Assassin’s Creed ever saw. You never know what you might run into — you might encounter a mysterious lady who demands snake eggs, you might find yourself losing your mind as you start counting rocks in a stonehenge (and never get the count right due to an illusion), and then again, you may just leave Medieval England behind to venture into the fantastical world of Asgard where you play as Odin, thanks to “magic” potions.
Valhalla gets a lot of things right. From the choice of two character genders to a refreshing new take on establishment building, Valhalla made sure you were engaged through and through. Your choices had some consequence on the world around you (mostly cosmetic, but still fun). The RPG-style gameplay never felt overbearing at any point.
The best part? Valhalla introduced dual-wiedling gameplay, where you can equip two very different weapons on your character’s hands — like a mace and a sword, or an axe and a hammer, or simply two axes — with each combination bringing in a drastically different combat style. Plus, raiding English villages with your highly energised viking troops can never be not fun.
4. Assassin's Creed (2007)
The game that started it all. Released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2007, Assassin’s Creed introduced gamers to a fantastic new IP marked by a deeply engaging storyline, exciting combat, and a never-before-experienced parkour style of traversal. Sure, the Prince of Persia trilogy had a fun parkour system to boot but never before did players get to explore a sandbox world by executing cool jumps and climbs, including the now-iconic leap of faith.
The first-ever Assassin’s Creed established the secret world of an age-old feud between Templars and Assassins. Add to that a sci-fi-heavy modern-day storyline where one taps into genetic memory to uncover historical secrets — these are stuff Hollywood movies are made of.
Sure, if you compare it to later games, the parkour and combat might feel clunky. But given the time of release, it was all spell-binding, to say the least. Assassin’s Creed still has one of the greatest video-game plotlines to date, which was rehashed time and again in different forms in various games ever since. You can’t really be a true fan of the franchise until you’ve played Assassin’s Creed.
3. Assassin's Creed II (2009)
The game that introduced us to Ezio. Arguably the most charismatic and popular protagonist the series has ever seen (no other character has a trilogy dedicated to him) as well as one of the most iconic video game characters of all time, Ezio made Assassin’s Creed II, Brotherhood, and Revelations a truly enjoyable experience.
The story is an age-old tale of coming-of-age and revenge. It simply works. Assassin’s Creed II is set in Italy during the age of the Renaissance, letting you explore grand cities such as Venice and Florence. Through the Ezio trilogy, you experience a journey that starts right from birth to grueling training sessions and dangerous missions that sees him grow from being a spoiled brat and a legendary romantic, into a leader, a Master Assassin.
The gameplay was fun, the setting was engaging, and the world was rich and certainly looked the most real, as all NPCs appeared to be busy, going about their daily life as you secretly take out guards without anyone noticing. To make things even better, you get to take on Pope Alexander VI in an unforgettable fight inside the Sistine Chapel.
Assassin’s Creed II’s parkour, combat, and brotherhood-building mechanics set the tone for many games in the franchise later on, and we are thankful for it.
2. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (2010)
Straight off the bat, the second chapter in the Ezio trilogy was epic. Not only did it manage to build on a hugely successful IP, but also managed to introduce several elements of world-building without making it feel like a lot to handle at the same time (like Origins may feel to some).
Set in Rome, the story revolves around a mature Ezio as he takes on the powerful Borgia family, all the while building Rome’s economy in the background. This economy angle was fresh, easy to learn, and was a welcome change from the high-octane action the series offered.
You also get to work more closely with Leonardo Da Vinci, trying out several of his exemplary inventions, from an aerial bomber to a tank (yes, you read that right).
1. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (2013)
Black Flag is at the top of our list as it featured all the positives from all the Assassin’s Creed games so far. You want naval battles? Well, you play a pirate so there’s enough to go around. You want great combat? You get a complex fighting system that was easy to master but complex to execute perfectly. You want RPG mechanics? You have an entire ship to develop with loot and gains. You’re looking for great supporting characters? The legendary pirate Blackbeard should be enough to scratch your itch. You like parkour? You have enough ruins and jungles to romp around. You like stealth? Black Flag has the perfect balance of stealth-based mechanics and all-out action sequences to offer. No matter what aspect of Assassin’s Creed you are looking for, chances are Black Flag has all that, and more.
Set in the West Indies during the Golden Age of piracy, Black Flag puts you into the shoes of sword buckling pirate Edward Kenway, the grandfather of Assassin’s Creed III’s Connor, as he searches for fortunes while strengthening the independent republic of Caribbean pirates.
The world is rich and exploring sunken treasures is as exciting as solving puzzles in ancient temple ruins. You additionally get a surprisingly emotional storyline that goes beyond pirates and assassinations.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage is set to release in 2023 on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.
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