At the latest Ubisoft Forward, the developer finally announced the long-awaited Assassin's Creed set in feudal Japan, but it may be too similar to Ghost of Tsushima. Assassin's Creed Codename Red will bring the series to one of the most requested settings, and fans could not be more excited to see what it will entail. However, there is also a bit of worry about what this game will look like. Sucker Punch already explored Japan in its own action-adventure title, and Assassin's Creed will need to do its best to forge its own path.
Sucker Punch released Ghost of Tsushima in 2020. The game was a brand-new IP that instantly captivated its audience and served as a great way to fill the void left by Assassin's Creed avoiding the region. While Ubisoft could have been the first to Japan, it is now going to be playing catch-up to Ghost of Tsushima. That game showed players what a fun action-adventure title in Japan looks like, and Ubisoft needs to make sure that Assassin's Creed Red is more than a clone of its competition.
Assassin's Creed Was Beat to Japan
Fans of the Assassin's Creed franchise have been calling for the series to explore Japanese history for a long time. The series has explored a lot of Europe and North America, and it even ventured into Egypt for a bit. It has generally stayed away from Asia, except for a small appearance in the Assassin's Creed Chronicles trilogy. No matter how many players called for the series to go there, Ubisoft seemed committed to staying away.
In 2020, Sucker Punch came into the fray with its brand-new IP Ghost of Tsushima. The game was an action-adventure game heavily rooted in Japanese history. It put players in control of Samurai Lord Jin Sakai as he embarked on a mission to expel the Mongols from the Japanese island of Tsushima during the first Mongol invasion. The world was beautifully constructed, the gameplay was a lot of fun, and the story was a fantastic ride.
While Ghost of Tsushima was its own thing, many people couldn't help but compare it to the Assassin's Creed series. Some people felt like it was going to be the closest thing to an Assassin's Creed in Japan that they would ever see, with many mechanics feeling very similar to Ubisoft's franchise. Players would travel across this historical setting and sneak around encampments, taking out foes from the shadows while using an assortment of items to distract them. This concept formed the backbone of the Assassin's Creed franchise and was one of the things that many fans were desperately missing from recent entries in the series.
Ghost of Tsushima felt more like an Assassin's Creed game than the actual franchise did at the time. The series had released Assassin's Creed Odyssey two years prior which was a far cry from the core Assassin versus Templar storyline. The title also put less of an emphasis on stealth gameplay, so Ghost of Tsushima came in to pick up the slack.
Sucker Punch's work generated one of the fastest-selling PlayStation games. Now, Ubisoft is finally preparing to deliver on the fan requested setting, but it feels a little too late. Players have seen what a fun action-adventure in Japan looks like, and Assassin's Creed Codename Red will no doubt draw comparisons to Ghost of Tsushima. The studio will have to tread carefully if it does not want to be called a mere clone of its competitor.
Assassin's Creed Cannot Be a Ghost of Tsushima Clone
Assassin's Creed Red is a longtime coming, but Sucker Punch beat Ubisoft to the setting of Japan. If Ubisoft wants to avoid these comparisons then it needs to try its hardest to differentiate Red from Ghost of Tsushima's Samurai story. The time period and the story need to be very different, otherwise Red will not be very special.
Assassin's Creed Red already has one thing going for it and that is the protagonist that Ubisoft has chosen. Ghost of Tsushima put players in control of a Samurai and Sucker Punch crafted a story around the journey of a Samurai in Japan. Based on the quick reveal trailer, Assassin's Creed Red will be giving players control of a Shinobi and will provide players a more fantastical type of story. That means that the story will at least deal with an entirely different journey, but the time period also needs to be very different.
Ghost of Tsushima told a story during the first Mongol invasion of Japan, and all that Ubisoft has said so far is that Assassin's Creed Codename Red will take place in Feudal Japan, which could be an advantage. Codename Red should let players do espionage and assassinations in a Japan free from invasion, or else the two stories may share very similar story beats.
There is place for more than one action-adventure set in Japanese history as the setting has so much to explore. The studios just have to make sure that the games are different enough to warrant their creation. These next couple years will show fans if Ubisoft is up to the challenge or simply chasing a fad.
Assassin's Creed Codename Red is currently in development.