Well, with this game being on the Micxrosoft Game Pass and me being an Xbox Gamer working my way through the Assassin’s Creed franchise, the powers that be deemed it appropriate for me to review Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. Expect a few jokes, a historical accuracy rant and a review…

The plot

The plot is set in 1868 in London. We are at the heart of England’s industrial revolution as we follow twin assassins in their attempts at freeing London from the claws of the Templars. They’ve been controlling London for an implied number of centuries, and have their traces everywhere.

Assassin's Creed Syndicate PS4 Review: Getting the Gang Back Together |  USgamer
The red areas are where the Templars control

Who do we meet in this game?

They’re led by a cartoonish Disney-esque villain called Crawford Starrick, and he’s brutal. The protagonists will encounter a lot of London’s most famous Victorian residents as they progress. This includes Charles Darwin, Alexander Graham Bell, Charles Dickens and your mum (only kidding)!

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The Launch Trailer is so hype,

There’s a mixture of historical events and myths to enjoy in this game, including catching Spring-Heeled Jack. This feels like a missed opportunity, because well, the character is an urban legend with an MO that matches the Assassin Order. According to Penny Dreadfulls at the time, Spring-Heeled Jack appeared out of nowhere, killed someone, and vanished in smoke. Is it me, or does that sound like a certain order’s MO?

Found in the Collection: Spring-Heeled Jack! | Billy Ireland Cartoon  Library & Museum Blog

At the end of the game, the two protagonists nearly split over differences in how to help London before stopping an assassination. Make all the jokes about irony you want here, but my heart was well and truly in my mouth as I raced to stop Queen Victoria from dying. Seriously.

Seriously?

Yes. It’s another one of those moments for which the franchise never gets enough credit: Making the gamer emotionally invested enough in the outcome that tissues are required. Seriously, this plot ending is a different kind, but I love it.

The protagonists

This is where the game comes into its own. Obviously taking the hint from Grand Theft Auto V, You play as twins in this instalment. They’re twentysomethings Evie and Jacob Frye, and I’m just walking past the fact that Frye is an old Yorkshire name here… The Frye twins have an Assassin father, and whilst Evie is the more devoted assassin, Jacob is the social reformer in this game.

Twin Dynamics

The differences between the twins creates some truly gut-bustingly funny moments between the two at points. For example, when Evie and Jacob discuss Henry Green (accurately represented), there’s a “You fancy him” tease that cuts tension and gets a good laugh.

Deathstroke (Arkham) vs Evie and Jacob Frye (Assassins Creed Syndicate) -  Battles - Comic Vine

Evie’s more suited to stealth, which comes in handy during one mission early on, whilst Jacob is more of a fighter. I’m not commenting on the inherent sexism here, because the game does later on. Evie is definitely no slouch when it comes to fighting. She’s more agile than Jacob, and it shows during multi-kills. She’s not afraid to tackle her male opponents at crotch level, and it’s had me wincing a few times.

Assassin Creed Syndicate : Evie Frye Fight Club One. - YouTube

Jacob’s more of a fighter in the game, and whilst Evie is lethal, Jacob’s the more brutal one. From the moment go, he’s not afraid of using torture to get information, and the bar fights with him are just a whole lot of fun. They really are. Although the majority happen later on in the game, they’re worth waiting for. Keep your eyes out for bar fights: They’re great for quick money instalments and experience upgrades. This and gang fights are where Jacob Frye comes into his own, and dear lord, it’s fun.

Assassin's Creed Syndicate: Fight Club: Jacob Frye - YouTube

The Gameplay

The Gameplay is a massive improvement on Unity and certain aspects of Black Flag in terms of the franchise’s hallmarks. Parkour is a heck of a lot sharper here. No more falling off pirate ships or jumping in the wrong direction, this game feels more intuitive. The only time I had an issue with this was during a mission climbing Big Ben. For more info on that, check further down to the Graphics section of this review.

Climbing Big Ben - Leap of Faith - Assassin's Creed Syndicate - YouTube
Yes, that really IS “Big Ben”!

The fights are brutal, and reminiscent of both previous instalments and Rocksteady’s Batman Arkham franchise. There’s a lotr of directional countering to be done, and getting the hang of this requires timing. Get the hang of this, and both the “Flawless Finisher” and “No Touchbacks” perks should be yours quickly.

A Spanner In The Works (Sequence One) - Assassin's Creed Syndicate eGuide |  Prima Games
Complete these quickly to lower the difficulty early on in the game

Pro-tip here for you, keep an ear open for the dynamic soundtrack, as this gives you an idea as to when the time to be aggressive is. Sometimes, escaping a fight with the aid of a smoke bomb and a poison dart. It took me a while to learn this, but the audio cue here was superb. And speaking of soundtracks…

The Soundtrack

I guess I’d better start with how the soundtrack is used because I’ve just brought it up in the previous paragraph. The way this soundtrack is used in the game is second-to-none in gaming, and par for the course in the Assassin’s Creed franchise. From calming music as you walk the streets of Whitechapel, to the surging music as you race horses through the strand, this soundtrack is cinematic.

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So, we’ve talked about the usage of the music, what else is there to enjoy audio-wise? Well, the soundtrack makes use of a full orchestra, with Double Basses and Violins heard frequently. You will hear the odd timpani occasionally, but the only thing that gets me a bit annoyed is the bagpipes used to introduce Alexander Graham Bell. It’s a good musical cue, but frankly unnecessary.

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The voice acting in this is brilliant. There are multiple accents from around the UK to enjoy, including what I suspect to be Ralph Ineson’s dulcet Yorkshire tones. There’s Cockney (of course), as well as Welsh, Glaswegian, Edinburgh and a few different English accents to listen to. The actor for Henry Green has done really well with the accents too.

Graphics on the Xbox One

Well, this where I get quite nice for a change about a game. The graphics in this game are simply stunning, even on my Xbox One S. There are details packed absolutely everywhere. Pay particular attention to the rooftops, as the moss on the individual rooftop tiles amazed my significant other (sadly not your mum, unless you’re her child reading this, and in which case, go and clean your room)…

Assassin's Creed Syndicate: a cross between Far Cry and inFAMOUS? –  Consumer Outlook

One of the things I really loved was the attention to detail used when it came to designing the costume. It might have spawned a lot of cosplay at conventions, but to be fair, people have been dressing up like that at Halloween in Whitby since the 1980s. Point is, for a game with a female protagonist, the clothes don’t hug Evie Frye’s figure to enhance her assets too much. Sorry teenage nerds, but there’s nothing about her design that makes your trousers feel two sizes too small.

Assassin's Creed Syndicate Quad Kills & Triple Kills with Evie - Flawless Fight  Club - YouTube
Sorry, Pervy gamers, you won’t see much more of Evie than this.

Jacob’s design is similarly well designed, and quite elegant too. The fashion element is definitely there, particularly with the different costume colours. I can’t help but feel that Ubisoft missed a trick here though. They’ve taken the Injustice 2 approach here, and most of the costumes are re-skins of the same costume. Considering the wide variety of fashion from that historical era, we could see far more in this game. Top Hats disguising smoke bombs, knives hidden in people’s boots, plus the fact that most poisons were legal in that time, we could see more of this element. Imagine a Hitman style mission using Bella Donna (Deadly Nightshade to the uninitiated) to take down a Templar in Victorian London. I’d pay good money for that!

Length

Dear lord, it seems that with every instalment of this franchise, the length keeps extending. This game has been my lengthiest playthrough yet. I mean, okay, I might have been parenting whilst playing through this, but even when the kid has been in bed, this game is long. There are thousands of little side-quests to do as well as the main story, and this game is packed to the rafters with call-backs to previous instalments in the franchise. The best of these was a visit to the Kenway mansion, where there is a nod to Edward Kenway’s time as a pirate, but also, it’s downbeat. This badass pirate ends up betrayed and assassinated, and we have to leave the place to the Templars once again.

The Kenway Mansion! Assassin's Creed Syndicate Let's Play Part 6 - YouTube
Notice a certain ship in the picture?

All in all, without the DLC, which will get it’s own review near New Years’ Day 2021, this game took a stonking 48 hours from start to finish, and that’s without going for all the little bits. Add on the chests, the side-quests and train robbing, and expect for a solid week’s worth of gaming. Money well spent if you’ve bought this game from the online store for your console, but at times, this game felt more like a full-time job than a game to play at your leisure. Hopefully, Assassin’s Creed Origins will hit that sweet spot between length and enjoyment, and you’ll be able to find that out for me in mid January.

Overall

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is a great game to play with breath-taking views and graphics which brought the game franchise kicking and screaming into the modern era of gaming, with a somewhat left-of-centre political bias and enough sights of Victorian London to satisfy your inner London-phile. The characters aren’t perfect, but Evie is by far the more nuanced protagonist. The secondary protagonists in this game are fun, even if Dickens doesn’t sound exactly like he should do. Karl Marx’s hammy “Hans-and-Franz” accent can pull you out of the game, but there’s nothing too seriously offputting. This game isn’t offensive, but suffers from a bloated plot length and lack of multiplayer options.

Assassin's Creed calls on historian Judith Flanders to ensure accuracy in  London edition | The National
There’s no place like London…

So far, I’d put this instalment in the Assassin’s Creed franchise at the secondary tier, but it’s not as bad as Unity or Rogue are. Get this game to zip line and go wild in Victorian London, stay for the historical characters and how they fit in with the narrative.

So, that’s my review! Did you agree with me, or do you think I’m being too kind to the game? Either way, you can let me know in the comments section or here. I’m sorry this came a bit late, but I’m going to be putting a new addition to the Assassin’s Creed reviews up every three weeks until I’ve completed Valhalla.

For the Gamerhub, I’ve been Davey.