Here’s a look at all Assassin’s Creed games, ranked worst to best. The AC franchise has helped to define some historic moments in gaming history, but the franchise hasn’t been without its total flops and fails, either.
We think it’s safe to say that if there was a scale that could measure how great a game was, there would be enough Assassin’s Creed games to hold each spot on the sale. There are some great games, there are some terrible games, and then there are some that fit somewhere in between.
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Here’s how we’ve ranked them. If you think you’d rank them differently, let us know by leaving a comment at the end.
#11 – Assassin’s Creed Revelations
I’ll start with what It think may be the worst Assassin’s Creed game in the franchise. Revelations was a compilation of ideas that came together into this incoherent mess. It felt like Assassin’s Creed’s edgy teenage years.
The story was all over the place as the player stumbles around different environments to solve more about the protagonist’s past. Desmond, by the way, was probably Assassin’s Creed’s most hated protagonist. I think Revelations would have been okay if they just dropped the Animus thing.
#10 – Assassin’s Creed III
The first two Assassin’s Creed games brought a lot of attention from the gaming industry.
To me, it felt like Assassin’s Creed 3 was the result of a lot of pressure and performance anxiety.
The developer, and perhaps more importantly, the publisher, felt pressured to create the best Assassin’s Creed game yet with the third game.
The game felt unfinished and without true structure. The environment was interesting, but it stepped too far away from what made Assassin’s Creed interesting in the first place. The whole stealthy assassin playstyle felt less rewarding due to the larger, more open areas.
#9 – Assassin’s Creed
The first Assassin’s Creed certainly delivered a brave new concept, both in story and gameplay design.
Assassin’s Creed was a great game, through and through, but, with the exception of the games above, more modern Assassin’s Creed releases have included richer content, stronger storylines, and were more polished overall.
#8 – Assassin’s Creed Unity
I want to start by saying that Unity did an amazing job at capturing the setting. The game looked stunning and Ubisoft’s ambition to create revolutionary France was met with impressive results visually.
The story was somewhat engaging, although things took a slight detour towards Arno and Elise’s personal love story, which wasn’t bad per se, but it derailed Unity from the larger Assassin’s Creed storyline.
Unfortunately, Unity was plagued with issues, to begin with and it never really recovered from that. To add to the downsides of Unity, the whole co-op multiplayer thing should have been left out entirely.
#7 – Assassin’s Creed Rogue
Assassin’s Creed Rogue continued the sea-fairing gameplay seen in Black Flag, but somehow despite being a sequel, it felt more like a step backward.
The arctic environment made for some pretty bland environmental design, and despite being marketed as a bigger, more exciting world, I couldn’t help but feel like the world was emptier.
The story was decent and it redeemed Rogue for me a little, showing the story of Shay Patrick Cormac, perhaps one of my most favorite characters in Assassin’s Creed. He was initially shown as the anti-hero, but as you learned more about him, you’d find that he was a good guy, really.
#6 – Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate took what Unity did wrong and patched it up. Whilst Victorian London wasn’t quite as appealing visually as Paris was in Unity, but it shared similarities.
Syndicate also returned to the stealthy action, movement, and killing everybody loved Assassin’s Creed for in the first place. Syndicate featured two protagonists, one stealthy, and one that was more hands-on, which lead to some unique ways to get involved with combat.
#5 – Assassin’s Creed II
Assassin’s Creed expanded upon the original, taking the franchise one step closer to its final form.
Perhaps not the best game, but still amongst the best, Assassin’s Creed 2 delivered everything the franchise needs – stealth and action combat, a story with depth and mystery, and a beautiful environment.
#4 – Assassin’s Creed Origins
Assassin’s Creed Origins was a bold step towards the future of the AC franchise. Firstly, Origins is absolutely beautiful.
With more powerful hardware to work with and more time on their hands to sculpt worlds, it’s no surprise that Ubisoft went all out with the graphics on this one.
Odyssey feels expansive, but unlike other open world games by Ubisoft, this one is filled with content and activities to get involved with.
#3 – Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
This game built on what Origins did so well and made it even greater. With the addition of multiple choice dialogue options making the story feel more personal to the individual playing.
I could play this all over again and do everything very differently. And I probably will – will let you know how it goes!
#2 – Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
Perhaps one of the better games in the Assassin’s Creed franchise, but for a different reason to the others.
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is the furthest you’ll get from the core Assassin’s Creed experience, but somehow it still works. Black Flag is the intro to Ubisoft’s short vacation towards sea-faring gameplay, and it was an excellent direction to take.
Everything about the ship combat in Black Flag was awesome and it all tied into the rest of gameplay perfectly. All of the modern day stuff was mostly tucked away, which meant for the first time, players were given this world that was mostly uninterrupted by the Animus.
#1 – Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood is, in my opinion, the best in the series so far. Firstly, there’s everything here that makes an Assassin’s Creed game good.
You have a huge beautiful city, plenty of stealth mechanics and platforming moments, and a variety of activities to get involved in outside of the main story. Brotherhood then takes things a step further by introducing all sorts of tweaks, such as the recruit feature.
What are your thoughts on how we ranked the Assassin’s Creed games from worst to best? If you had to make this list, what would you change?