15 things you need to, know about Assassin's Creed Syndicate and how it could save the Creed series
It’s bigger and braver
Whatever you might want to say about Assassin’s Creed Unity, there can be no denying that its re-creation of revolutionary Paris was impressive. Behind the bugs, it was a gorgeously detailed and rich world. London is that and more in Syndicate. At the height of Britain’s imperial power and industrial might, London is the centre of the world and it shows. Buildings are larger, streets are busier and the politics of the era are more nuanced and complex than those of revolutionary France. The world is building towards a confrontation between rich and poor, old world and new world. And Syndicate is placing the assassins right at the heart of it.
The Twin effect
For the first time Assassin’s Creed will feature two playable assassins through the campaign in Jacob and Evie Frye, twins from the outskirts of London travelling into the metropolis for the first time and looking to make their mark on the world. It’s believed that you won’t be switching between the characters at will however, as each has their own traits and strengths that will benefit different sections of the game. Their shared DNA has been mentioned as an important factor in them both being playable in the game, so expect some animus breaks between character sections.
They’re born to be bad
One of the things we are particularly pleased to hear about, is that these two new assassins are not new to the Order, but rather were raised in it. They know how to be assassins and know their way around their tools. What’s more, their attitude to the struggle ahead appears to be driven out of a devotion to the creed and a love of the job at hand, not revenge or some sombre inner struggle. Assassin’s Creed has been at its best when it is a celebration of freedom and the lead character embraces their skills and arsenal. Jacob in particular appears to revel in his surroundings and in the fight, so he should be a pleasure to play as. Jacob has to be one of the odder assassins see to date though, switching his top hat for a hood when he so pleases and sporting a thick London accent.
It’s Grand Theft Carriage
One of the major new additions to Syndicate also has broader ramifications for the game as a whole, carriages have been added as drivable, stealable vehicles. It brings a little of the streets of San Andreas to the cobbles of London, but also means faster ground travel as you can hop onto the back of a carriage and whip your way around the streets. The carriages, which vary from fancier closed top vehicles to cheaper, open-backed commercial setups, can also be used for stealth purposes by hiding in them, giving you some mobile cover ideal for quick escapes when you’re in trouble. The key impact it has though is much wider streets, requiring some new tools in your assassin bag.
You’re the Dark Knight of London
The addition of a grappling hook zip-line to your gauntlet adds some interesting new options to how you choose to move around the city. For a start it speeds up your ascent up the side of buildings, helping you reach the summit of some of London’s rather immense architecture in a nippier fashion. Most importantly, it can be used to zip-line between buildings across these much wider streets, bridging gaps that in previous titles would have been impossible to traverse in a single move. Whether this might remove a little of the fun of climbing that we’ve enjoyed up until now we’re not sure, but it seems like a necessary addition.
Combat has changed forever
Another logical change for the time period and environment, which has a major impact on the traditional Assassin’s Creed experience, is that in this era of history, walking around with weapons strapped to your hips isn’t looked upon very favourably. Swords, axes, crossbows and rifles are basically out and concealed weapons are in, which should be perfect for the assassin order. A concealed sword in a cane, hidden blades, a revolver, and brass knuckles have been highlighted so far as your key weapons heading into this new battle. But new weapons also mean brand new fighting methods.
Combat has been refined
We already saw a mild evolution of the combat for Assassin’s Creed Unity,; attempting to bring some new immediacy to the fight while also increasing the challenge and forcing some more tactical approaches at times. Without the heavy swords you might normally wield, the emphasis is now on being swift and aggressive, at least when you’re playing as Jacob Frye. Leaning perhaps a little on Guy Richie’s interpretation of Sherlock Holmes and his pugilistic feats, boxing and counter fighting is the order of the day, finishing things off with a small blade or gun.
It’s an age of political awakening
Set in 1868, this is the year after the publication of Karl Marx’s Das Kapital with both Marx and Friedrich Engels likely residing in London during this period. As such issues of working class rights, freedom of speech, and fair payment are as important as ever and the disparity between rich and poor is stark, particularly in the melting pot of London. Jacob and Evie step into the middle of this tense situation and immediately side with the working poor. The fact that the game is called Syndicate, referring to the unionisation of working people, points to just how important the politics of the era is likely to be.
And the government is in balance
Another major change specific to the United Kingdom in this period was the expansion of voting rights in the country, allowing even more people the right to vote. However, it would still be another 50 years before universal suffrage was applied and ten more after that before women had the same voting rights as men. Against this backdrop, there were also three Prime Ministers in 1868 with the first retiring due to ill health and the second losing an election. Expect to see Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone play a part in Syndicate's story as a result.
Boroughs break it down
Seven Templars for seven boroughs. That’s how London has been broken down as you must expand the influence of the assassin order and take back control of the streets from the Templars. Each borough has its own unique mix of interests and local population, some being richer, others poorer and each will likely present a different Templar threat that needs taking out. Bloody Nora is the first Templar boss to be revealed so far and she poses the challenge of a massive criminal network that needs beating down and convinced to switch allegiances.
And the police will act differently
One interesting dynamic element for Syndicate is the suggestion that you’ll be able to get away with certain actions in some places and not in others. To explain, Westminster for instance as the hub of politics in the capital is well policed so starting brawls and killing people will get you a lot of grief, but moving into the back streets where the police don’t patrol will give you more freedom. Likewise, there are some locations, such as Whitechapel, that are corrupted by criminal activity.
The historical figures are strong
Alongside the likes of Engels and Marx as they begin to lay out the philosophy of socialism land communism, 1868 is an age packed with good historical figures to call upon. Charles Darwin and Charles Dickens (who would pass away a few short years later) have already been confirmed for a pre-order DLC mission, but are likely to play a deeper role for all in the game. Syndicate is also set only a few years after the end of the American Civil War, so expect figures from that era to be mentioned and perhaps make an appearance. Between authors, political thinkers, activists, humanitarians and leaders, this is a rich period of history to mine for stories.
The stealth is ‘softer’
Back to gameplay, stealth has been described as ‘softer’ by the Ubisoft team. It means that the snap cover system introduced in Unity has gone in one of the few examples of a direct allusion to improvements from the last game. Instead we have a soft cover system to enjoy allowing you to sidle up to cover rather than locking to it. It’s still a button press system for entering stealth though and you can expect fun memes about where Jacob’s hat goes when he puts his hood up.
The city is your weapon
That is unfortunately a horribly generic and overused turn of phrase, but the addition of environmental takedowns is long overdue and most welcome in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. Using throwing knives you can chop down heavy objects being hauled into warehouses or shops and have them fall on enemies. There have tended to be ground-level items like this that you could interact with, but this is something much more dynamic than those pre-scripted animations.
And you might go underground
This is purely speculative, but the timing works out rather nicely for Assassin’s Creed Syndicate to take you down into the beginnings of what would become London’s Underground network. Operation of the Underground system began in 1863 with trains passing from Paddington to Farringdon, with wooden carriages and powered by a steam engine. In 1868 a line from South Kensington to Westminster was also opened. And how cool would it be to explore this early version of the massive network?