Assassin's Creed Syndicate - Which Twin Should You Play As?

For the first time in the Assassin's Creed series you can play as two different characters in Syndicate - but which is better

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is coming in October and for the first time it lets you choose between two protagonists in the same era. The lead characters are Jacob and Evie Frye – 20 year old twins and assassin’s living in 1868 who head to London on a special mission. We got a chance to play as both, so see just how different they feel.

Evie is the more cautious of the two, something which becomes obvious from their every interaction and that’s sure to cause tension as the story progresses. She’s more stealthy in her approach, with a special skill that makes her all but invisible. But she’s also fully capable of getting into action mode, using her speed and dexterity to end her enemies.

Jacob is brash and impulsive, prone to going off on missions half cocked. He’s the more obvious figurehead of the Rooks, a street gang which will spread its influence throughout London during the game. He’s stronger in combat than Evie and tends to aggravate her in cut scenes. Both characters can also be upgraded extensively via their skill trees, so you’ll be able to further adapt your play style.

In a refreshing change from the norm for the series, you’ll be able to switch between the characters at any time during the open world gameplay and in most of the missions. Certain story sections will have to be played from one perspective or the other, which makes sense from a narrative point of view.

Actually switching between the two of them is a simple matter – just head into the menu and push in the right thumbstick (on PS4) and it happens in an instant. One important point to note is that whenever you earn a skill point as one twin you also get one for the other – so if you’ve been playing as Evie for awhile before sure to go upgrade Jacob as well.

During our gameplay session, we got the chance to talk to director Scott Phillips and asked about just how much you’ll get to play as either character – is it roughly 50/50?

“It sort of depends on who you choose to play – there are missions for Jacob and for Evie but then there are also missions that are for either one of them. We can’t really put a number on it because a lot of it is up to the player.”

That’s good to know, with the suggestion being that there’s a lot of freedom, rather than being forced in a certain direction. Presumably Ubisoft hopes that players will get used to using them for different circumstances, especially seeing as they’re openly suggesting one is more stealthy and the other more brawly.

There’s also another element to consider – which character people prefer playing with. So we asked Phillips who he tended to use for missions.

The marketing to date has tended to show Jacob in gameplay situations, but that’s likely more a case of defining a look for the game, like when BioWare used the male Shepard model to promote Mass Effect.

It’s clear that a lot of time and effort has gone into giving players real freedom and choice in Syndicate, above and beyond what we’ve become used to from open world Assassin’s Creed adventures. Evie and Jacob not only feel different in game but their different personalities help to define every aspect of the game as they struggle to free the people of London from the terrible ties of the Templars.

For my part, I’m probably going to play as Evie – she seems a sensible and stealthy sort.

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate comes to PS4 and Xbox One from the 23rd of October 2015.