Assassin's Creed Syndicate preview - will it fix the problems of Unity?

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is coming soon, continuing the now yearly cycle of games in this long-running franchise.

It would be fair to say that there’s a lot riding on Syndicate, especially in the wake of the 2014’s Assassin’s Creed Unity which was plagued with issues at launch including graphical bugs, a glut of microtransactions and intrusions from multiplayer and the companion app elements.

A year on and there’s a new game ready for launch, so how does Syndicate plan on fixing Unity’s woes?

We put the question to game director Scott Phillips at a recent preview event, and he said they started with a huge amount of excitement for the project, taking on Assassin’s Creed for the first time:

“For Ubisoft Quebec this is our first time as the lead studio, so I joined the studio a year ago… and that’s I wanted to join them because what they wanted to deliver was really exciting.”

More specifically, they wanted to be clear that some important things have changed in the development of Unity, especially in terms of focussing the experience:

“[There are] things we’ve changed or decisions we’ve made in terms of not bringing back co-op or the companion app and focussing all of our efforts on that single player experience – what we felt was the core of Assassin’s Creed. And I think when you get your hands on the game you’ll understand everything we’ve done to deliver the best possible Assassin’s Creed.”

Luckily I then did get a chance to play Syndicate, which is set in London in 1868 and is all about Evie and Jacob Frye – 20 year old twins assassins who are set to take back the city from the Templars.

And it all bodes extremely well – the world is gorgeous and refreshingly free of intrusions. There are no blaring signs of microstransactions or messages which tell you to sync the companion app to open a chest. There’s no multiplayer either, further streamlining the process in favour of the story.

There are other more subtle changes too, like improvements to the movement controls. Upwards and downwards motions are back but they’re less rigid, while mounting walls and buildings is smoother. Entering windows now has a dedicated input which isn’t massively intuitive but is definitely an improvement over the spastic catastrophe of Unity. Though it has to be said moving around indoors is still unwieldy.

For those who are more interested in the narrative there have also been sweeping changes. For one thing, this story actually might make sense. It’s all about the twins and their place in these events, and there’s a focus to that tale which is necessary and refreshing in a large world.

That’s helped by Syndicate being really clear about who you’re after. There’s a fellow called Crawford Starrick. He is a bad man. He is also a Templar. He should be dead.

There are other enemies in the way of course, a group of lieutenants, industrialists and gang leaders, but Starrick is always there, being evil, and you’ve got a very good reason for wanting him deceased, giving you a constant target throughout the game.

I have to admit I didn’t know what the hell I was doing for most of Unity, and I certainly didn’t know why. By setting up this conflict properly in Syndicate, Ubisoft might be presenting a simpler story but it could be all the more satisfying for it.

Syndicate has plenty of its own elements to add to the mix, including two playable characters, a rope launcher, meaty combat and that glorious new setting. Combine those with the lessons learned from Unity and I have high hopes for the series’ debut on the streets of London.

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is coming to PS4, Xbox One and PC from the 23rd of October 2015.