The Assassin's Creed series is one of the most recognizable franchises in modern gaming. This Ubisoft-developed, open-world adventure series has largely been a critical and commercial success since its inception on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 back in 2007. The series has evolved quite a few times in order to keep things ever so fresh and exciting for fans over a long period of time.
It seems as if the Assassin's Creed series is shifting its focus from social stealth elements into something of a hybrid between stealth and an open-world RPG. The decision has inevitably created a fair bit of divide amongst the community, and Assassin's Creed Valhalla seems to do a lot of effort in bringing both parties to a peaceful middle ground. However, it's more important than ever to take these foundations and build upon them for the next Assassin's Creed which would be released in 2022.
The RPG Divide Among The Assassin's Creed Community
The Assassin's Creed franchise may not be the oldest franchise in gaming, but it certainly has spawned a lot of entries. The first game in the series, Assassin's Creed took the world by storm when it released in 2007, thanks in part to great visual design and at the time innovative parkour mechanics. The social stealth focus also proved to be a radical departure from open-world games at the time. The series then saw numerous iterations throughout the years since 2007, mostly improving the combat and stealth options, while making sure each game was bigger than the last.
2015's Assassin's Creed Syndicate was probably the jumping-off point for franchise fatigue, as a decent chunk of the fanbase wanted more out of the series. This prompted Ubisoft to take a year-long break from the series and the result was 2017's Assassin's Creed Origins. This entry transformed the overly familiar Assassin's Creed template and shook things up with the addition of RPG elements into the mix. Many critics, and to some extent, a large portion of the fanbase appreciated Ubisoft for the effort and wished for things to get better with newer games.
The next game in the franchise, Assassin's Creed Odyssey became subject to a great deal of controversy among the series fanbase. The game's reliance on RPG mechanics and the relative swallowing down of stealth ones weren't taken kindly by many fans. It may not be obvious, but it seems that Ubisoft is listening to the community at large and is probably working to alleviate many of these issues, and Assassin's Creed Valhalla might just be the beginning.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla Is Just A Foundation
Assassin's Creed Valhalla released in 2020 to great reviews. Many critics praised the game's open world design and improvements to the combat system, among a plethora of other things. At first glance, it does seem that Valhalla is a natural evolution of the systems and RPG elements players interacted with in Odyssey, but there's a lot more which points to another shift.
There are many clever ways in which Valhalla tries to bridge the gap between the old and new, with the most prominent being toning down the RPG mechanics. As opposed to Odyssey, Assassin's Creed Valhalla is pretty light on its RPG mechanics. Players don't need to grind out dozens of side-activities and actively hunt for better loot to complete the main quest. In addition to this, a fan-requested feature returned in the name of Guaranteed Assassination, which when turned on would instantly kill an enemy with the hidden blade.
That being said, Valhalla warns players when turning on the said option by stating this to be an accessibility option of sorts, and players should leave it as it is for the best possible experience. Much isn't known about what Assassin's Creed 2022 might entail, but signs point towards making such options an integral part of the experience again.
Assassin's Creed 2022 Needs More Stealth, Less RPG Elements
There have been plenty of leaks for Assassin's Creed 2022 regarding its setting, but the most recent leak seems to set up the stage perfectly for the case. It is rumored that the next Assassin's Creed is currently codenamed "Assassin's Creed Knighthood," and would be developed by Ubisoft Sofia, most famously known for Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation.
The game is rumored to take place in a total of seven kingdoms around Europe, and will see players taking the role of a knight under King Richard during the Third Crusade. While it does clash directly with earlier leaks and rumors regarding a female protagonist and an Asian setting, Ubisoft's vision for the next game seems to indicate a tonal shift that could very well work in favor of an emphasis on stealth.
It is rumored that the next game would be a hybrid of elements seen in the recent Tomb Raider games and earlier Assassin's Creed games. It seems that the focus could even be around survival, speculation that is bolstered by the inclusion of several kingdoms. This does work extremely well in favor of stealth elements, as the recent Tomb Raider games feature similar stealth. In addition to this, Assassins are already shown hunting from the shadows in such a time period before, which also bodes particularly well for fans wanting to see such elements return. RPG elements could see improvement in areas like improved skill trees, better gear, and tools that add gameplay variety.
Starting the game off as a knight could also prove to be a subtle way to provide the finesse in melee combat, which by extension could also translate over to the role-playing aspects of the game. Hopefully, fans get to choose their choice of approach with the next Assassin's Creed and it serves as the foundation for a peaceful middle ground where everyone seems content.
Assassin's Creed 2022 is rumored to be in development.