How Assassin’s Creed Can Fix Its Biggest Problem by Learning from 2025’s Best RPG

I’ve been quite fond of “Assassin’s Creed Shadows,” so much so that I’ve often found myself advocating for it amidst a wave of criticism that initially seemed unjustified to me. As I delve deeper into the game, though, I’m starting to see that despite numerous impressive updates, many of the flaws that have plagued the series since its transition into an open-world RPG persist in “Shadows.” This revelation has sparked thoughts about potential improvements and sources of inspiration.

As more Assassin’s Creed games likely approach, I hope Ubisoft will draw inspiration from top-tier RPGs when crafting the overall gameplay experience. There’s one key aspect in particular that Ubisoft should enhance, a shortcoming that significantly detracts from the otherwise engaging storyline of Shadows. Remarkably, there’s also a specific game that offers a perfect remedy for this significant issue.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ World Is Still Too Big

Even Despite Being One Of The Series’ Smallest

Among the standout features of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, in my opinion, was its promise to offer a more compact and refined experience compared to Valhalla, Odyssey, or Origins. Despite being smaller in scale, it still promises an expansive open-world content that the previous title, Mirage, lacked. Marketed as approximately 35 hours long with one of Assassin’s Creed’s smallest maps, Shadows was expected to deliver a more streamlined and tailored experience, free from the excess that has been a concern in the series since Origins. Regrettably, it does not seem to live up to this expectation.

The game’s level-gating feature initially improves the pace, but when players become overleveled, they must journey immense distances, making even the smaller map of “Shadows” feel overwhelming.

It’s unfortunate because the map in Shadows doesn’t gain much from being excessively vast. There aren’t many distinct regions requiring a larger space to avoid collision, and there’s not much variety in activities when exploring. You’ll find yourself repeating similar side tasks and encountering occasional NPCs for conversation. Although Ubisoft does an excellent job making Shadows visually stunning, the constant fast travel means you might miss appreciating its beauty even when it’s right before your eyes.

Assassin’s Creed Should Copy Avowed

Its Open-Area Structure Is Far Superior

I strongly oppose the idea of Assassin’s Creed abandoning its emphasis on exploration entirely, as I think it significantly enhances the historical fantasy this series primarily offers, apart from Kingdom Come: Deliverance. There’s simply nothing quite comparable to fully exploring a reconstruction of a city or vast landscape as it appeared centuries ago. This way, history, or at least our collective memory of it handed down by those who lived before us, is preserved in a manner that no other medium truly can.

As a gamer, I’d say it could transition into an open-world format, which might get rid of the issue of overloading while keeping the thrill of discovering meticulously crafted pieces of history. One of Ubisoft’s underestimated games, Star Wars Outlaws, followed this route with numerous open-world planets, each a delight to traverse and uniquely different in terms of style, terrain, and activities. The diversity made every visit exciting, and their compact size allowed for a deeper understanding and believability of each planet.

Indeed, smaller locales have the capacity to incorporate greater detail, and this was particularly beneficial for the level designers of “Outlaws.” They were able to pack in as much film lore and intricate details as possible. Similarly, “Avowed,” one of the finest RPGs from 2025 and a game I believe should serve as inspiration for the next “Assassin’s Creed,” effectively utilizes expansive areas. By opting out of an open world, each area in “Avowed” stands out uniquely, offering players the opportunity to traverse traditional green landscapes one moment and scorching deserts the next, creating a sense of diversity and exploration.

It’s more advantageous for open spaces to be the standard, considering developers have yet to master creating consistently engaging entire open worlds, apart from “Breath of the Wild”. Open areas provide developers with an opportunity to introduce a wider variety and richness of side activities, or distribute their limited options across each area. This way, players experience fresh surprises instead of discovering everything in the initial stages of exploring a single unified map. Games like “Assassin’s Creed” could greatly benefit from this approach.

Open Areas Would Improve Assassin’s Creed’s World Design

It Would Make Exploration More Varied

Enriching the “open-area” design instead of the conventional open-world approach, as commonly seen in Ubisoft games, could significantly enhance the Assassin’s Creed series. This innovative style would enable Ubisoft to delve deeper into historical periods by traversing diverse landscapes across multiple countries, or even setting an entire game within a single country instead of just a fragment. Moreover, this design could potentially foster the creation of the most immersive Assassin’s Creed experience yet.

It seems that my overall distaste for open-world games might have influenced me to view the style of “Assassin’s Creed” negatively. However, it appears there is a widespread agreement that Ubisoft, in many cases, struggles to develop fascinating worlds worth exploring. While games like “Outlaws” have made strides with their leveling system and integration of factions that influence the way you traverse each region, they rarely exceed the bare essentials. Even the faction system in “Outlaws,” which shows promise, ultimately feels underutilized and squandered potential.

Moving towards an open-world design similar to that found in the game ‘Avowed’ could potentially breathe new life into the ‘Assassin’s Creed’ series. This is because the foundation of the series lies within open-world exploration, with the second installment providing a remarkable collection of maps that showcased Ubisoft’s ability to delve deeply into its captivating settings. The smaller, yet meticulously detailed areas in ‘Avowed’ are abundant with side quests, hidden treasures, and intriguing encounters, making it seemingly simpler to populate these spaces compared to creating a single map as vast as those seen in ‘Shadows’ or ‘Valhalla’.

I’d love to see the Assassin’s Creed series feel fresh and innovative once more, with Ubisoft exploring exciting directions for this game that stands out among a few offering immersive historical experiences. While some may disagree, even though the open-world format of Assassin’s Creed still has its devoted followers, and the blockbuster aspect provides a familiar, comforting experience for many. However, there might be space between major releases like Assassin’s Creed Shadows, for the franchise to draw inspiration from games like Avowed and focus on an open-area format instead.

2025-05-18 05:38