The Assassin’s Creed Chronicles games were a little project to make 2.5D Assassin’s Creed games set in different periods and locations inspired by the art of the culture it represented.
These games are very artistic and a lot of fun to play. The 2.5D spectrum really suits Assassin’s Creed, which is no surprise given Ubisoft’s history with another 2D action platformer, Prince of Persia.
China
The first game in this series is Assassin’s Creed: China. Taking place right after Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, the game follows Shao Jun who we were introduced to in the animated short Assassin’s Creed Embers.
For some reason, her accent was totally different. All of a sudden she sounded British, in fact. Everyone sounded British which was weird given everyone was Chinese and in China. The story is quite straight forward. Revenge is the name of the game though Shao sacrifices everything for vengeance.
Credit: Ubisoft
Gameplay
Even though the game was 2.5D, there was more than one way to get something done. Players could be sneaky, aggressive or do what assassins do best, and kill everyone without being detected.
The game scored players based on their playstyle. With an array of items available to players, such as firecrackers, throwing knives and a noise dart, they could experiment.
I really enjoyed the levels that revolved around speedrunning. There were levels that forced me to run for my life and jump over obstacles while quickly killling henchmen in my way.
Art
From the music to the colouring and style, the game really felt like a homage to old Chinese culture. It felt like I was playing on a canvas and the music felt like it suited the setting.
Credit: Ubisoft
The Chronicles games are far from a must-play for the overarching story of Assassin’s Creed but they are fun and in the end, fun is what most people are looking for.
