Highlights

• Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed games have had their ups and downs, but even the disappointing ones are still great in their own right.
• Some games in the series are reviled, while others are beloved, showing that player preferences play a huge role in how these games are perceived.
• From Altair's Chronicles to Valhalla, each game in the series brings something different, making it challenging to rank them objectively.

Starting in 2007, the Assassin’s Creed franchise has had its ups and downs, with Ubisoft being criticized for annualizing the games and not taking their time. That’s understandable since a long-running series such as this needs to constantly evolve to stay relevant. Honestly, though, Ubisoft hasn’t necessarily made a “bad” Assassin’s Creed game. Even the disappointing ones are still great games in their own right. Some are just better than others. While this matter is definitely subjective, players can still form rankings that fall under the general perception of these games and their quality, with most people agreeing that some Assassin's Creed games are the worst of the bunch while others are a blast to play through and have occupied a comfortable spot in the hearts of most fans as well.

While objectively ranking these games can be hard, there are certain parameters that govern this success and then some. However, a person's individual preference will always hold more weight. Of course, there are some games in the series that aren't of the highest quality, leading to most people finding it pretty challenging to try and defend these games. The prolific nature of this series means that some games that are rushed out without any proper thought end up being reviled by the masses, which ends up tainting the Assassin's Creed name for good. However, there are also some great Assassin's Creed that have aged like a fine wine and continue to wow fans to this day.

Updated on March 12, 2024 by Ritwik Mitra: Assassin's Creed is a series that has been through its fair share of ups and downs. Each and every game in this series boasts the patented stealth-action goodness that has attracted so many fans, even if some people feel that the series has languished for too long with tried-and-tested gameplay loops instead of doing something innovative. Still, during the series' heyday, fans simply couldn't get enough of the historical fiction this series served up on a silver platter. Some games in the franchise are definitely better than others, but fans will love each and every title in the series for their engaging gameplay and unique stories.

Every Assassin's Creed Game

18 Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles

Metacritic Score: 58

There was a time when Ubisoft used to develop Assassin's Creed games for handheld consoles that boasted some unique ideas and fun gameplay mechanics. After the immense success of the first-ever game in the series, Ubisoft went all out with the Assassin's Creed IP, with the company developing a handheld Assassin's Creed game that's pretty engaging in its own right.

While Altair's Chronicles may be far from a perfect game, fans of Assassin's Creed will find something to like about the first Assassin's adventures. The exploration and combat featured in this game are fairly serviceable, even if it may not be as mind-blowing as most people would want or expect.

17 Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines

Metacritic Score: 63

The PlayStation Portable is a legendary handheld that was home to many excellent, quality games during its lengthy lifespan. Fans of the biggest IPs around would love the idea of playing many quality games from their favorite franchises on this handheld, and Ubisoft wasn't far behind here with a PSP Assassin's Creed game made from the ground up.

Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines may struggle a bit with problems revolving around repetition and poor environmental design, but that shouldn't take away anything from the game's impressive achievement in terms of letting players enjoy a bonafide Assassin's Creed game on portable systems.

16 Assassin's Creed Chronicles Series

Metacritic Score: 70

The Assassin's Creed Chronicles series began in April 2015 with Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China. The spin-off game offered a complete change in gameplay direction to the main series, implementing a 2.5D side-scrolling style that emphasized the platforming, stealth, and sword-fighting elements of the series.

The game struggled to impress critics, as evidenced by its 69 Metascore for PS4. The series' fortunes with critics didn't see any improvement, as this 69 Metascore is the spin-off series' highest on the review aggregator site. Despite the lackluster reception though, the Assassin's Creed Chronicles trilogy holds some importance in the franchise, as it provides a change of style that its hardcore fans will appreciate.

15 Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation

Metacritic Score: 70

As the name suggests, Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation is a spin-off to Assassin's Creed 3 and takes place in the same period. The game was initially released as a PlayStation Vita exclusive. However, the HD re-release saw it come to PlayStation 3, PC, and Xbox 360, and it was then remastered on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 as part of the Assassin's Creed 3 Remastered package.

Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation is best known to Assassin's Creed fans for having one of the best and most fleshed-out protagonists - though the game does little else to entice players today when there are so many other Assassin's Creed titles to play.

14 Assassin’s Creed: Rogue

Metacritic Score: 72

Assassin’s Creed: Rogue definitely didn’t get the attention it deserved. It was released alongside Unity in 2014 but only for Xbox 360 and PS3, making it look like an inferior product. That is a shame because Rogue tells perhaps the best story in the series.

On top of that, Shay is one of the most interesting protagonists since he chooses to abandon the Assassin Order and become a templar. Players genuinely sympathize with Shay’s motivations and why he’s conflicted. Gameplay-wise, it plays almost the same as Black Flag without many innovations.

13 Assassin’s Creed: Unity

Metacritic Score: 72

Considering its botched release in 2014, it may come as a shock to see Unity so high on the list. The thing is, Unity is awesome! Yes, it did release with a ton of bugs but playing it now in 2020 is a more polished experience. Despite its rocky launch, Unity is still the best-looking Assassin’s Creed game.

What makes Unity one of the best Assassin's Creed games is its mission and world design. There are multiple ways to tackle each task similar to something found in Hitman. Unity has also had the most fluid parkour movement to date which, for some reason, the following games seem to have downgraded.

12 Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate

Metacritic Score: 76

Syndicate had a lot to work to do to win fans back after the disastrous launch of Unity the prior year. Luckily, Ubisoft did not disappoint with this new adventure set in London during the Industrial Revolution.

The biggest change that Syndicate made was the inclusion of two protagonists, Jacob and Evie Frye, that players can switch between. The Frye twins play off each other very well, with Evie’s calm and collected demeanor complementing Jacob’s riotous personality. The recreation of 19th-century London is also something to behold.

11 Assassin's Creed Mirage

Metacritic Score: 77

After the low sales numbers of Assassin's Creed Syndicate, Ubisoft decided to put the franchise on hiatus for a year as they figured out the best possible way to revitalize interest in the games once more. This came in the form of an RPG-heavy approach and the release of Assassin's Creed Origins, which features a massive world full to the brim with secrets and numerous side quests; a formula that has since been replicated in both Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Assassin's Creed Valhalla.

However, for the next game in the series, Assassin's Creed Mirage, Ubisoft promised a return to the series' roots of classic assassination and stealth gameplay as opposed to the RPG elements that have become somewhat commonplace in the titles. Set in the city of Baghdad, players play as Basim, a street thief who gets roped into the life of an Assassin. While the game felt rather barren compared to other titles in the series' past, Mirage was still a step in the right direction. Fans can only hope that Ubisoft builds upon this foundation instead of reverting back to the RPG-esque gameplay that has become commonplace in the series.

10 Assassin's Creed Nexus VR

Metacritic Score: 78

Assassin's Creed Nexus VR is one of the best VR games on the market right now, proving everyone wrong who wondered if a VR Assassin's Creed game was even viable. The concerns about motion sickness and restrictive gameplay were warranted, but it didn't take too long for Ubisoft to prove doubters wrong with the muted brilliance of Assassin's Creed Nexus VR.

Players can actually step into the shoes of an Assassin and relive their wildest fantasies, which most people have had ever since they played their Assassin's Creed game. Sure, the experience is far from perfect, but it's a promising start for Assassin's Creed's future in the realm of virtual reality.

9 Assassin’s Creed: Revelations

Metacritic Score: 80

Revelations is where the fatigue started to become noticeable. The series had now become an annual franchise and players started to criticize Ubisoft for churning out sequel after sequel. Revelations just didn’t add anything worthwhile to the series, especially the tacked-on “tower-defense” minigame.

It was essentially the same game as Brotherhood but in a different setting. Story-wise, it’s a fitting end to Ezio’s story. Old man Ezio was a welcoming change. It was great to see him grow and mature over the course of three games.

8 Assassin's Creed Valhalla

Metacritic Score: 80

The latest entry into the Assassin's Creed franchise was released in November 2020 and took players to the Viking invasion of Britain in 873 AD. Although this was a true historical event, the story that Ubisoft tells in Valhalla is predominantly fictional. Like many of the series' entries Assassin's Creed: Valhalla doesn't try to fix what isn't broken and instead finds ways to improve upon the winning formula that Ubisoft created with 2007's Assassin's Creed and fine-tuned with the next release Assassin's Creed 2.

In a nutshell, this makes Valhalla yet another Assassin's Creed game that provides a solid and enjoyable experience but struggles to reach the heights of its respective year's best releases. The game is certainly not without its upsides though, as Valhalla's interpretation of England provides one of the best open worlds in the entire series. Furthermore, the game doesn't disappoint with its brutal Viking combat, which brings sword fighting close to the realms of the hack-and-slash genre.

7 Assassin’s Creed

Metacritic Score: 81

When it comes to video game franchises, the first one isn’t always the best. Games build off their predecessors, figuring out what worked and what didn’t. Such is the case with 2007’s Assassin’s Creed.

Ubisoft’s first entry in the beloved series clearly had a lot of potential and was overall a good game for its time. It hasn’t aged well, though. It’s extremely repetitive and Altair, despite being important to the lore, is pretty bland compared to the protagonists that would follow. Still, it would lay the groundwork for several excellent sequels.

6 Assassin’s Creed: Origins

Metacritic Score: 81

Origins is where Ubisoft finally decided to take a year off, leading to a complete overhaul of the series. They tripled down on the RPG elements with a heavy emphasis on loot similar to The Division. This is still a controversial decision since it almost feels like a new game. That being said, it still has that classic Assassin’s Creed flavor fans can expect.

Bayek is a fantastic addition to the Assassin roster and his motives are very personal. The real standout here is the open world. There’s a constant sense of wonder when exploring Ancient Egypt. Scaling down one of the pyramids never gets old! Some people curse this game for starting the trend of these titles being bloated, but Origins came at a time when players were begging for the formula to be overhauled, which made the release of this title far more important than most people give it credit for.

5 Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

Metacritic Score: 83

Odyssey follows the new RPG formula established in Origins. Odyssey took those foundations and dialed them up to one hundred with an evolved combat and loot system. It also brings back the naval system from Black Flag, which players will need since the map is absolutely gigantic.

Being able to choose between a female and male protagonist was definitely welcome, even if they are the same person story-wise. It tells a nice family drama that, despite being a little too long, was worth it in the end. It may have deviated greatly from the original Assassin’s Creed formula but that doesn’t change the fact that it was a fantastic open-world adventure.

4 Assassin’s Creed 3

Metacritic Score: 84

Fans have to give this one some credit. Assassin’s Creed 3 was bold and ambitious but was, by and large, a disappointing sequel. Ubisoft clearly wanted this game to be special with its unique narrative structure. As a video game, though, it had terrible pacing.

After all of the excellent marketing material, players couldn’t wait to step into the shoes of Connor. It turns out, they had to wait even longer once they had the game, with Connor not becoming a full-fledged assassin until a third of the game had passed. All that being said, Assassin’s Creed 3 plays great and still has a special place in fans’ hearts.

3 Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag

Metacritic Score: 88

Before its release, Black Flag wasn’t initially welcomed. Assassin’s Creed 3 was disappointing and fans weren’t too happy that Ubisoft was still annualizing the series. Boy, was everyone wrong about that. In terms of fun-factor, Black Flag is arguably the best Assassin's Creed game ever made.

Black Flag took the excellent naval combat system from AC3 and turned it into a huge pirate game. Exploring the Caribbean never got old, as there was always something to discover both on land and sea. Edward Kenway was also a welcoming protagonist as he was more of an antihero compared to Altair, Ezio, and Connor.

2 Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

Metacritic Score: 89

Brotherhood shouldn’t have worked as well as it did. It seemed to be a “side-sequel” after Assassin’s Creed 2. This couldn’t have been farther from the truth as Brotherhood is a full-fledged open-world game that took everything from its predecessor and made it better.

It takes place immediately after the second game and players get another adventure with Ezio. The recreation of Rome during the Renaissance was something to behold, especially in 2010. One underrated feature that Brotherhood introduced was PvP multiplayer, which was much better than people remember.

1 Assassin’s Creed 2

Metacritic Score: 90

Even though it came out in 2009, Assassin’s Creed 2 is still the quintessential AC experience. Yes, it may not have all the innovative new mechanics that the later games would but it established the foundation that made the series what it is today. Ezio Auditore is still the best assassin of the franchise.

The free-running system had been refined as well as the combat. 15th and 16th Century Italy was a refreshingly new setting compared to the grey and grimy first game. Players were given more tools to play around with, such as the hidden gun. Ezio’s tale of vengeance drove the narrative but the modern-day storyline was a huge focus, leading to a mind-blowing ending that the series has not matched yet.