The next title in the extremely successful Assassin's Creed franchise is rumored to be Assassin's Creed Ragnarok. Such a title implies that players will get to play a viking assassin, a prospect which excites many, yet many fans are still uncertain given Assassin's Creed's recent history. All of the franchise's recent titles have stepped away from the action-adventure style which the series was founded on and instead headed in a direction that is more akin to an action-RPG. Unfortunately, the fanbase is rather split on this decision, with some preferring the old style and others loving the new. Neither are objectively bad, and there are good points on either side.
For those unaware, there have been numerous leaks and hints that Ubisoft will be releasing it next Assassin's Creed game, Assassin's Creed Ragnarok, sometime this year. Very little is known about the game as of yet given that it hasn't even been officially announced, but that doesn't stop avid gamers from speculating about the future of the series and sharing their own wants. Although the fanbase is certainly divided on whether Assassin's Creed should maintain its action-RPG style, it seems safe to say that most would be satisfied either way. Assassin's Creed gets a large portion of its appeal from its sprawling open world locales based on real life and real history versus the actual style of gameplay.
Assassin's Creed as an RPG
Being an action-RPG has certainly helped shake things up for a franchise that was admittedly wearing out its welcome. The RPG elements of leveling up, finding better gear, learning skills, and the like lent toward a game with much more replayability than previous Assassin's Creed games, and that isn't the only benefit here. One of the most important parts of any RPG is choice and customization. Using the various skill trees available to players in games like Assassin's Creed Odyssey, players are able to customize their character to fit their playstyle. For those who miss being able to one shot assassinate nearly any enemy, there is a skill tree to help replicate that kind of gameplay, and for those who prefer to go on a wide-open murder spree, that can be done too.
But there are also some major drawbacks to including these elements. For one, a lot of time goes into developing, testing, and balancing all of these character options, and that is time that isn't spent crafting a better story or sculpting landscapes. Additionally, there are some that can't help but feel that while recent Assassin's Creed games are certainly good RPGs, they feel less like Assassin's Creed games and could be better suited to a new series.
Assassin's Creed as an Action-Adventure
The game that started it all in 2007, Assassin's Creed, is best defined as an action-adventure title. There is combat and player progression in terms of equipment and abilities, but this progression is far more streamlined and offers little customization. Even so, though, gameplay from these earlier AC titles felt great, often making players feel empowered as they mowed through hordes of enemies with ease, dispatched assassination targets, and traveled the world. The Assassin's Creed series did suffer from getting to be too easy eventually, but there must be happy medium between this and the full on RPG style of the newer games.
The Solution
Removing all RPG elements from Assassin's Creed Ragnarok would be a great way to upset a large portion of the fanbase that love the changes that have been made to the series in recent years and is highly unlikely at that. Additionally, a viking setting lends itself very well to the style of open combat found in games like Odyssey, so players should expect to see things like the war battles sticking around. That said, it would not hurt to take some of the emphasis off of these RPG elements and return to the series' roots by invoking more of an action-adventure feel. Finding the middle ground here will be difficult but would ultimately serve the franchise better.
Assassin's Creed Ragnarok is rumored to be in development.