Since debuting all the way back in 2007, the Assassin's Creed franchise has blossomed into one of the most popular and recognizable series in gaming. Having now spawned 12 main entries, a dozen spin-offs, countless tie-ins across almost every medium, and even a polarizing Hollywood movie, Ubisoft's historical series shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon either. The noticeable impact the franchise has had on the industry during that journey can't be ignored, with a new standard for open-world games being just one of the many accolades attributed to it.
Ubisoft's blueprint for success has focused primarily on creating engaging sandboxes filled with a plethora of activities, narratively intriguing characters, and an arsenal of diverse action-centric gameplay mechanics. Naturally, all of this has ensured that the Assassin's Creed formula has led to plenty of similarly themed games popping up in its wake over the years. As a result, any fan of the franchise that's looking for their next adventure has a wide array of options to choose from.
Ghost of Tsushima
Ever since Ubisoft launched the first Assassin's Creed game, there's been a vocal section of the internet that's been eager for the publisher to create an installment set during Japan's Feudal era. In 2020, Sony's own Sucker Punch Productions finally beat the publisher to the punch with the stellar Ghost of Tsushima. Set during the titular island's First Mongol Invasion in the 13th century, the samurai themed epic has clearly taken plenty of inspiration from the Assassin's Creed games, yet still manages to put a unique enough twist on each of the hallmarks associated with the franchise.
Any fan of the pre-RPG era Assassin's Creed entries in particular will feel especially at home on the Japanese archipelago, as an emphasis on player agency makes both stealth and head on approaches simultaneously viable and rewarding. Tsushima itself perfectly exemplifies the lived-in and enticing qualities that Ubisoft's maps have offered in the past too, and is subsequently filled with enough intrigue for players to spend hours uncovering. Far from a cheap imitation, Ghost of Tsushima in many ways offers plenty of lessons for the Assassin's Creed franchise to learn from going forward in to the future.
The Far Cry Series
While a quick cursory glance at the first-person perspective that the Far Cry games embrace might appear to be a world away from Assassin's Creed, in reality both actually share plenty of elements in common with each other. In a lot of ways the formula that Ubisoft has infused into recent entries in the franchise has mirrored the third-person action-adventure series so closely, that at times they feel like distant cousins. One area in which this becomes abundantly clear is whilst looking at the open-worlds that are at the core of the two series, which always feel alive and packed with activities and locations for players to get lost exploring.
Thematically, each modern Far Cry game also focuses on the player being dropped into one of those wildernesses, whilst being tasked with completing missions, side quests, and activities, all geared towards overthrowing the local despot who controls the region. Often the Assassin's Creed games focus on real-world historical events that were whipped up by powerful groups and individuals, which mirrors the compelling fictional villains and narrative structure found at the heart of the Far Cry games. While the option to play stealthily is completely viable too, the ability to inhabit a comparative world whilst wielding guns and gadgets is a breath of fresh air that Assassin's Creed fans will likely find liberating.
Dishonored
If Far Cry represents the chaotic action and open-worlds of the Assassin's Creed series, then the Dishonored franchise is the collection of games that wholeheartedly embodies the stealth focus found at the core of Ubisoft's initial wave of releases. Arkane Studio's first-person action-adventure series takes the concept of stealthily sneaking around a map as an assassin, and dials it up to a level that Assassin's Creed has never quite dared to venture to.
What's more, a keen emphasis has been engraved into the franchise that ensures player agency and choice when it comes to handling situations is not only paramount, but also a large factor in shaping the world and story. More so than the RPG elements found in recent Assassin's Creed games, which are dictated to a degree by actual historical events.
Equipped with an array of supernatural themed weapons, gadgets, and abilities, the heroes of Arkane's politically charged world are able to pull off Assassin-like parkour moves for good measure during their quests too. While there's no true open-world environment for players to spend hours submerging themselves in, each game still features a diverse array of interlocking levels that are packed with detail and opportunities. Assassin's Creed fans won't have a hard time getting physically immersed in Dishonored, as the franchise's original protagonist Corvo, also happens to wear a hooded outfit that's a not so subtle nod to the eagle-peeked garbs Ubisoft's own Assassins have famously worn across history.
The Sly Cooper Series
Being a major influence on modern day open-world gaming doesn't mean that the Assassin's Creed franchise didn't get off the ground without its own array of influences and inspirations. Having recently inspired the previously mentioned Ghost of Tsushima, there's a hint of irony to the fact that one of Sucker Punch Productions' own classic franchises played a big part in directing Ubisoft's original blueprint. Despite their cell-shaded Saturday morning cartoon aesthetics and cast of anthropomorphic animal characters, the Sly Cooper games remain must plays for all Assassin's Creed fans.
Even though the franchise has remained dormant within Sony's library for far too long, that hasn't stopped the first three Sly Cooper games in particular from remaining beloved by those who have experienced them. Revolving around the globe trotting antics of the titular master thief and his gang, Sucker Punch's stealth centric platforming series has also aged remarkably well from both a gameplay and visual standpoint. As an added bonus the excellent fourth installment created by Sanzaru Games, also propelled the Cooper Gang through time in a thematically similar fashion to Ubisoft's own Animus. While their status as a retro games means it's admittedly harder for fans to get their hands on them, anyone with a PS Now subscription can stream the entire series on PS4, PS5, and PC.