Art Direction Vs Graphics in Assassin's Creed 

I'd argue the biggest reason why AC1 and Unity still hold up so well is due to them using baked lighting instead of limited dynamic lighting that can be inconsistent to the artist intend.

Dishonored 1 and 2 have an amazing art direction even if dishonored 1 is from 2012 and dishonored 2 from 2016 they still hold up

honestly suprised you didnt mention Ac 2. The game has this Renaissance painting look which looks really nice and fits the setting really well

The Wind Waker came out 21 years ago, but thanks to its art direction and style, it will always look relatively fresh.

One of my favorite aspects of art direction in the older AC games is the choice to constantly remind the player that what they’re playing is a simulation. From tne unusual sci fi esque HUD design for a historical setting, to the loading screens being just a white void littered with abstract geometry that the world is then literally built from in front of your eyes, to the way the animus starts glitching as soon as you desync from the memory you’re experiencing. This serves a narrative function bc even within the game’s world we are playing a simulation (and i love that all the hud elements completely disappear as soon as you exit the animus aswell) but to me it also bridges the aged graphics really well

What about AC Revelations? I feel it took one of the best art directions in the whole series. The colour palette during day and night is so vibrant, the environment and atmosphere is very immersive too.

AC1+Ezio Trilogy+ 3 and Black Flag feel so much more real despite worse graphics.

Assassin's Creed shouldn't forget this. The reason I love Origin and Odyssey and even Valhalla (although I stopped playing them after one playthrough) is that the historical setting was already functioning as ART DIRECTION. They applied a history that creates and justifies the setting. I feel that history and immerse myself in the atmosphere. But today's Ubisoft seems to be focused on the historical setting itself. I honestly think realistic graphics and designing beautifully enough to be immersive go hand in hand. I just loved the beautiful atmosphere that Watch Dogs 2 gave me, Its bright skies and beaches were very beautiful. and as long as the graphics just feel beautiful to me, I'm fine with it. A rainy sky also can be beautiful, but Watch Dogs London has depressing Faded sky, and the more I played it, the more depressed I became. With this kind of ART DIRECTION, I'd rather get on a plane and go to London myself. Why don't they just use Art Direction to get looking-good graphics? (used translator so some might be incorrect against my intention)

Great analysis. AC1 and Unity strike a subtle chord for me. They are immersive, beautiful, timeless. They understand their own identity and themes and stay true to them, not only with their art and graphics but also with their gameplay and fantasy. I consider both pinnacles of Assassin's Creed. As far as I know about the future of this franchise, they will stand alone in this regard.

Another great video my freind also Ac Red aka Ac Shadows premiere trailer on May 15!!

I'm not sure that I agree with Odyssey and Valhalla having poor art direction. They both have their own distinct visual style, mood and atmosphere. In Odyssey, the colour saturation is dialled way up and it makes it feel distinctly Mediterranean. In Valhalla, they have done the opposite with a much darker colour palette, mainly featuring green and orange, which gives England a medieval feel whilst the very blue and greyish feel of Norway gives it a distinct mystical feel. The geographic setting of Valhalla may not be as interesting as Origins but I would argue the developers did much more with the art of Valhalla to compensate for England's banality.

I'm a 19 year old who's doing a game dev course in uni, I'm only here because this series is my favorite form of media, just know you're cracking open my mind and showing me why I love this series more than anything else. I wanna be involved in a future instalment of this series someday and its videos like these that are teaching me the way. You're the non toxic part of this fanbase that just analyses the tiniest and most intricate details that made this franchise iconic, especially the overlooked ones, such as how thought provoking and philosophical it is, which I feel isn't appreciated enough. Astounding stuff man.

Moral of the story: vibes > looks

In fact, when your choice is AC1, that is actually the right choice as a good art direction parameter. In this AC, I can differentiate all the elements and components in this game. Even the three big cities each have their own character and provide a striking 'nuance'. When else can we 'feel' Masyaf like we are in a holy place? When will we see how desperate Arsuf and Acre are? What about Damascus? I really agree with you, that AC is one of the games with good art direction.

AC1 is a perfect example for art design, something about that game is just so special and I love it (not to mention it has my favorite AC character and an amazing story)

You really nailed it. I think that AC1 is not that controversial, because the art direction Is something that enter in your soul every time you play it. I play AC1 every 3-4 months only because I want to immerse myself in another world where everything that you see, is there on purpose. Ac1 it's what the brand it's all about, because in the lore you play the memories of your ancestor, not the objective real world, so every detail, colour, element is diegetical. This is a great way to use the limitations of the console as an advantage, because you can isolate the elements that bring weight in the code and explicit the little elements that you can use as a benefit for the plot, so even if in real life it does not exists filters, they can be use for both art direction and narrative direction for explicit the Altair's state of mind in that momento, also the blood is not present, but in some cutscene or dresses you can see it and you can link this not as a flow, but as a memory, Altair maybe in that moment remember the blood that was poured by a target or a civilian. I hope that one day AC could return to this elements

Another great Art Direction in AC was Revelations! Constantinople feels so great to just walk around. The music, people, shops, ambient noises, buildings, lighting, outfits, anddd the grey, brown, orange colour pallete! When you climb the Galata Tower, you can see the whole city and the reason it feels so beautiful is because of art direction. Agreed on everything except Odyssey 😂 Odyssey has the perfect art direction for a game set in ancient greece. Lighting, buildings, the whiteness you can see on structures, the blue sea, sculptures, flowers and the UI of course. And the storms in Odyssey are second to AC black flag. It definitely doesn't give a dark brooding assassin vibe, but that is not the intention of the game. I wish Quebec took a more dark approach to AC Syndicate, because in my opinion London would have definitely benefitted from a darker art direction. Of course the story would have to be serious as well.

I think a good example example of your point regarding art direction vs graphics outside of AC is ghost of tsushima. It may not be top tier in terms of shear realism it may not be top tier, but the art direction the colours the leaves falling, the wind blowing creates this deep atmosphere and immersion. It succeeds in creating a game environment that match our idealized perception in what a game environment of that setting looks like. Another good example is cyberpunk with its neon aesthetic

This is such a great analysis, your videos make me excited about AC again despite it not heading the direction I'd prefer

My favorite AC looking game is Odyssey, the graphics are way better and more detailed than valhalla's even tho its older and the art direction is insanely beautiful. You can can tell its Greece even from a single random screenshot, the vibrant colors and the color scheme overall shows the Greek world so lively just like it is in real life

Sensational as usual I agree that art direction can make or break an ac game Just look at ac2 and ac unity Both games have amazing art direction that just gives me a feeling no other video game does

I always loved black flags very rough yet vibrant art style. It suits the setting so well it shows the beauty of the Caribbean from its lush jungles, white sands and deep blue oceans and yet shows how grimy and rough it was to be on a ship or walk through all these underdeveloped settlements in the Caribbean. Everyone looks sunkissed, parched and battle scarred. It was a period of survival. People came to the new world for opportunity and worked hard to reap its benefits and I think the game displays that so well

Old monster hunter games understood the importance of style which made them far ahead of anything in that generation.😊

Man I'm so pissed they gave up and played it safe after Unity. Everything was on point, the game literally looked as good as the prerendered trailer for the first game. Even the missions were good with alternative hitman style routes. I was so excited when I heard the Ezio trilogy was gonna get remastered because I thought they were gonna use the Unity engine, but nope they gave up and decided to try to make boneless witcher.

Totally agree with you. After AC3 I returned to AC1 and was amazed by the graphics. Was thinking I am playing remaster for a moment.

People always judged me for favoring AC 1 over 2 and it's branches, I loved the atmosphere and artstyle of 1 it's so intense and real that you feel like an assassin and you feel that era's atmosphere. Black Flag is my next favorite one based on the Story and Pirate setting more than anything else.. Unity had the best gameplay and graphics/ art style and everything afterwards was a downgrade sadly.

I love these analysis vids

I think you hit the nail in the head. I knew Origins was just far superior to Odyssey and Valhalla, even though it's the older title. It's use of color and environmental variance make it stand out much more. However, I would add that another part of what makes games like Origins, Black Flag and Unity hold up better is that they're simply more grounded. The floaty mechanics in Valhalla, the arcade gameplay and janky animations in Odyssey, and the horrible voice acting from much of their cast are simply not on par. They bring down the experience and often remind you that they're video games. I could get into a whole tangent about storytelling and VO performance, but I think Ubisoft has dropped the ball majorly in these categories for quite a few years now

good stuff brother!!

Jesus, i was tried to explain this to my friend for hours. I'm a game artist myself and when people said AC Valhalla looks better than Witcher 3 or AC Unity, it bothered me so much. It does not matter how many trees, buildings, NPCs, or how big the environment is, it's the way you place them in the world. It's all about Art direction.

spot on

A lot of it could also just be correlation not causation as well. Generally speaking games with good graphics are newer, but games with good art direction are just better and higher quality games overall. Ubi Montreal, when making black flag, made aspects of the game which were better than Odyssey that were independent of its art direction. Black Flag has a better story, higher quality cutscenes because of Pcap, and more intriguing characters and it still would even if you gave the game shit lighting or art direction, because the studio just did a better job overall at making an assassin’s creed game. So those other aspects also add to replayability and make us choose games with the better art direction.

Assassins Creed 1. I truly hope that Assassins Creed One is getting a graphical remake. They should just work on the graphics and add more medieval arming sword options, I would love to use a beautiful Crusader arming sword as Altair. I don't care one bit about the story outside of history/the animus, I just want the historical content. My top ACs are 1,2,Brotherhood and Unity. Revelations setting of Constantinople was superb, but the half arsed npc design ( copy and paste potato face) really placed that game on the back burner for me. (Revelations Desmond looked like such a doofus.) But without a shadow of a doubt my favourite Assassin's Creed of all time still remains Assassins Creed one. The setting of the Levant is such a climax in our world's history, the numerous cultures and world views that all convened ,coexisted and cooperated at this crossroads were immense. Medieval, in cities that are policed by soldiers , guards and police forces , shows exactly why stealth and assassins were a reality/necessity. Those settings are superb. With iconic cities such as Arce,Demascus and the centre of the world Jerusalem , the world in which you find yourself is so rich in history, culture and importance, filled with peoples and packed, lively streets. In a medieval setting using European arming swords, ME shamsiers , short sword, throwing knives and your iconic hidden blade , makes the close quarters melee combat the best there ever was. I adored the melee combat in these older AC games, such beautiful, complex, flowing moves that were so elegant and deadly and AC 1 still has the best / most beautiful melee movesets of all the games. You start with just your hidden blade, then slowly as you develop your skills and rank up you gain access to more and more weapons until you are armed with some of the most elegant and deadly weapons of the middle ages. You only use a one handed weapon, thus only a single handed or double handed weapon, no Sword+dagger or sword + shield or two sword combo and that is melee perfection to me. An arming sword in the hand and nothing in the other. In the remake If they added some moves that included damaging the enemy with your hidden blade whilst in a melee duel using your sword, like when you fight janissaries in AC Revelations then it will be pure melee perfection. The stealth in AC 1 is brilliant, I love that you walk around like a praying monk in robes to blend into the city, even when crowds are unavailable, but if you walk as a praying monk, alone into a restricted area, the guards will still chase you away and become suspicious. It is so good. In Unity you use a corner to remain out of sight, assassinating an enemy around a corner you kill the target and you neatly place the body against the wall you were hiding against also out of sight. I REALLY hope this will be present in AC 1s remake. Altair is by far the most intriguing and capable Assassin to me , he is strong, calculating, mysterious and in my opinion the most skilled assassin thus far. With the most beautiful Assassin armour, on par with the Epic Templar armour of the horrendous Rouge game. You sit on benches to blend into the crowd, or you join a group of monks in prayer allowing you to vanish from your pursuers. The way the factions in the game are depicted is good, Unlike the propaganda of the repulsive woke cult of today , they don’t portray the Christian Crusaders as the villains. Although they did portray the Crusader held territories as cold, bleak, dilapidated and run down where the Muslim areas are vibrant and more appealing which I do not agree with. Especially the Hospitallar quarters which in reality were some of the cleanest and most clinical areas in the entire Levant since they specialised in surgery and the healing and recuperation of all injured / sickly people , be it wounded crusader knights or Muslim/Christian/Jewish villagers sharing the same cities. The Crusaders specialised in the construction of wells and water ways / aqueducts that facilitated the flow of fresh , clean water into controlled cities and waste water out of these cities. (Although I can’t recall if Acre was under siege at the time in game, if that is the case, that could explain the city's dilapidated state.) But be that as it may, you still fight against the Crusaders as well as the invasive Muslims. At the end they show that the enemy is not the Templar Knights , but instead the corrupt ,evil leaders on both sides of the conflict. I love that they correctly show that both factions have evil and corrupt figure heads that you have to assassinate and in turn both factions have good honourable leaders that bring so much good to the world such as King Richard the Lionheart and Saladin. I love that by the end of the game, you side with the Leader of the Templars (King Richard the Lionheart) and in turn stop/assassinate the leader of the Assassins (Al-Mualim). This game was truly visionary. The toughest enemies to fight are the Great helm wearing Templar Knights and rightly so. These special forces of their time were a force to be reckoned with and even when you use all your combat skill and tricks… you still get a proper run for your money when challenging a Templar Knight to a duel. I don't want open world, I don't want guns and I loathe MYTHOLOGICAL / MAGICAL shit looking at you AC Viking hype train. Keep it 100% Historical. I loved that AC1 gave tiny hints about God Three in One's existence/presence but that was never the focus. I want an AC with the depth and realism similar to Red dead Redemption but in a Medieval/Ancient setting. I can’t stress how much I love AC one and I can’t wait to play it again when the remake comes out. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MwI3TClqhOs.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-a2wlfzXhf38.html

Hey Spaniard, you got a mention in the hidden ones video about best sequences. Made me think about how close ac community is. Maybe future collab, idk but that would be sick. Loved the vid where you brought your girlfriend on. Maybe something similar with him especially with Red on the way

As a indie game developer myself I think about this occasionaly (not that much because im horrible at art, but it is still important to know what style you are going for). I am making a 2d game and in a 2d game I have realized that it is very important to lean heavily to the art direction. In a 2d game it is way eazier to have a unique art direction and it will stand out way more and more people with click on it and buy it, and it is quite hard to make actually good graphics.

I totally agree with this video too. 100 % Art Direction >>> Graphics. Like the graphics dont really matter the way that people give em credit for , when u can even DISTINGUISH the enviroment in your head after ur playthrough , remember it and feel the irl immersion that u created in ur head without even realizing it ! That doesnt happen with modern games , at least most of the time

This is such an important thing, to understand the building of the atmosphere from the standpoint more of an art direction then graphics itself. From this perspective the AC I like the most is AC2, because of the feeling of the cities. I don't give a damn that the Florence or Venice are over-simplified and small, but they are like a character itself in the story. They have their own mood. I'm talking about the original version of AC2, in the remastered one they took those color pallets away and try to make them more diverse and realistic I think. And they look uninteresting because of that. For me the strong art vision is represented also in the old Max Payne games. They did this one kind of weather in New York. It's not full of everything, it's just some dark alleyways, dirty bars and some offices. But with the color pallet, with the constant dark sky and snow, it says something, and to me, it's still worth to look at, even if the 2001's graphics are obviously dated. And don't even get me started on what they did with the second Max Payne - that rain, the old tenement house and the "tv show asylum" - wow.

I strongly disagree with this. The art direction of Valhalla is actually pretty unique, at least for the Britain itself . The decision to present it as postapocaliptic roman setting isn't something that was predictable and it makes for a very unique setting visually with some breathtaking vistas. And it's very obvious how much this art direction adds to the experience, because the moment the game goes outside of this (in Ragnarok, France or even Norway) the whole atmosphere and world design just plummets to the ground to the point where it kills most of desire to explore the map.

Unrelated but what do we think of Assassin's Creed Shadows?

Just like to point out that the footage displayed here of Valhalla is really not representative of most of the game, especially not the main game, the costume and weapon design for the main game is much more fitting than what was displayed here, these mythological armors and weapons aren't so prominent in the main campaign, and the game does a great job at displaying the difference between small scattered villages and main cities like London or Jorvik, its locations can get quite repetitive given the size of the map and all the horseriding through the woods but all in all there's more uniqueness to the locations than the average building you'd find in older games, Valhalla also emphasizes more exploration which adds a lot to the atmosphere, investigating, reading documents, listening to the music, OG Assassin's Creed was mostly running around nonstop and killing enemies easily, the moody moments were usually designed for specific story moments, they didn't flow as naturally as they do in Valhalla, i could be half an hour exploring a tomb in some abandoned Roman villa in Valhalla and that would all be deliberately done by the player, not some small linear gameplay section with some cutscene isolated from the rest of the game like it usually was in the older games. Valhalla can be visually messy in some content from the DLCs, i believe it because the game had different directors as it went on, but at its best it gives a much better selection of options for the player with some really moody exploration.

Nailed as always, hopefully for the next AC implement this although there is someone who I will always doubt and is Ubisoft Quebec that's why I'm so afraid for the new AC.

You should have covered sound design as well because it's a part of art direction

The fallout games is another one for comparison. It lost part of its aesthetic when they decided to not give 4 a color tint like 3 and NV did. 4 was too vibrant

Always when I try to play AC 1 it has weird stuttering issues (I play on PC). I was told that it was because of my graphics card ( I have a RTX 4060) and that it seems to be a problem with newer graphics cards. But I also had with my old card, which was 8 Years old

Could you do a video on the combat systems throughout the series and your thoughts on those?

The AC Chronicle games are nine years old and they still hold up well because of their unique and stylish art direction. Prince of Persia 2008 is another great example to a game that doesn't grow old and that is because of the art style even if it is over a decade old.

Too bad they fired ashraf ismail. I know they had issues with him but he did make many great choices for the franchise

You call yourself the Spaniard, but I can't help but detect a slight Dutch accent! Great video.

There is also the Batman Arkham series. Just look at how well Knight looks with the rain on Batman's cape.

Personally I think valhalla has great art direction AT TIMES. If the weather/day-night cycle and location hit at a perfect time its really gorgeous and moody even if you dont account for the graphical fidelity. However its super inconsistent, from the weird hit and miss fantasy things they have that dont really fit in artistically to the real-time lighting just not being hand made it feels almost amateurish

I think you mixed point about consistency and art direction. I mean, yeah, odyssey too large and diverse, but because of that we can feel so many emotions, moods, ambiance. And if we talk about art, in my opinion odyssey is the best. and about consistency, valhalla or mirage.

True that my sir 🙌

This is also why I don't mind the English accents in Unity; they're a clear stylistic choice that effectively convey class distinctions in the game. Plus, the harsh accents match the grim, dingy streets of Paris during the French Revolution, making the environment more immersive. I do recognize that French accents could have been used for the same purpose, but I feel some of that meaning would be lost on the average English speaker, who is the main audience for this game.

I would even point to mirage when showing what good graphics and art direction look like compared to Valhalla considering they're in the same engine and were made closer together, they really missed with Valhalla. Unity is honestly the best looking ac game period

I wanna say modern warfare 2 has a great artstyle as well. The original mw2 just have that old, classic and rusted feel and look to it. Making the game have that balance of modern and old look to it. Makes the game immersive. Maybe because of the atmosphere it has, it has alot of warm tone and dust on the environment if you're on the maps like Rust. instead of just adding a colour filter

I wonder why you never mentioned AC Mirage. I think it had a great balance between art style and nice graphics

Unity the last Assassins Creed Game. from AC1-ACU 2007-2014. Requiescat in Pace.

AC: Revelations vs AC: Mirage

Saying Valhalla has a bad art direction is fucking wild lmao

Since you love ac 1 so much can you tell what to expect since I'm playing it for the first time

Which is why people love the look of FromSoftware games for example. The art direction is top notch, even though the graphics are decent at best.

Arti direction = Architect Graphics = Civil Engineer

Remember when video games have a variety of art direction styles and graphics, and not using the same ugly ass CGI art direction that looks like something Netflix would've made in a CGI cartoon? I do

I will never understand why Ubisoft chose to switch the art direction of Unity from the E3 trailers. Compare the demos to the release version and it's a completely different vibe. A lot of this has to do with colour palette, so it's not just down to graphical downgrades.

Low key Mirage has a good art style

do you use visual mods and if yes which ones do you use in unity to get that insane look?

I want both, I want it all.

I'm sorry, I was distracted by the gameplay footage in the video that I didn't absorb what ye were talking about

YES to all. AC Black Flag is S tier on my list. I honestly don't know why did Disney not pull out all stops and deliver the license to Ubisoft to publish a really good Pirates of the Caribbean game right then, even if just to remaster one of their previous attempts, as it stands, the consensus is the best Pirates of the Caribbean game is actually a LEGO game, I find that both hilarious and pitiful. Unity (good game, poorly delivered tho) and AC Rogue are also S tier. The latest trilogy of AC games, Valhalla B+ (too big, too grindy and too soulless), and Odyssey (they butchered the naval combat here) would be A+, Origins is S tier. Syndicate is A+. The Ezio trilogy is not only steeped in game play, but the lore, the writing and the art direction, all PERFECT. Most excellent story arc. S tier for sure. The first AC? rather good, but not S tier since, yes, the graphics have not aged that well, yes it looks somewhat dated. Still good for an A+ tier tho. AC III? Connor Kenway or whatever his native name was, they really hurt the game by using exactly that name, it's fine that it's a native name, BUT if Ubisoft had tried a simpler name, something slightly easier to pronounce and memorize, it would have been improved somewhat. As it stands, I like AC III a lot, it set the context basis for AC IV Black Flag in parkour and naval combat and it's an easy A+. I unfortunately had to google his name, Ratonhnhaké:ton, still, very stern, stoic character. I liked him a lot. It's just the name doesn't roll off the tongue easy. All Chronicle games are like C tier? didn't like them very much, the storyline required better writing and being easy 2d games, the game play was just too alien to what the series had us accustomed to.

To me, nothing has managed to beat Dead King's look

your voice is similar to that of another youtuber who makes videos about Assassin's Creed called Altair Stealth

5:50, Great Britain did not exist in the 12th century.

I’m sorry but this is a bit silly. Back in 2014 literally no one said that AC Black flag had great art direction. In 2014 People used games like it to show how “boring realistic graphics were” and now the same is being said to Valhalla even though stylistically it isn’t that much dissimilar to AC Black flag

One thing I will say in AC: Valhalla's defense is that the ambient music kind of makes up for the underwhelming art direction in my opinion.

Ok so i just wanna say no you are wrong IMO. First thing i dont think there is any game on AAA level that dont factor in art direction when they create games. The simple fact that u may feel different about each of the games u mentioned is not asking why this and not that. The whole game cant look the same in the same filter like in ac one is the tone that may get overused making more fun and heartwarming side stories a lot less of what they are supposed to be, that why we have day and night and sunlight and rain and literally every environment effeacr in these games. Here one for you i am sure i will agree that ghost of tushima is very art sentric game right but does it shy away from creating diff lightings to hinder the tone of art direction its following? No its keep diff setting for diff experience of stories they wanna tell. And no way AC odessy is poor art direction its supposed to be greek and by all the history that i have studied they get the tone right IMO. And i can take so many more examples to make these bad art games to u seem better and the better once seem worse. Get this one thing if nothing else "ITS NOT A MOVIE" so dont treat it like one . Its an open world game not story, not semi open world where u can actually have these tones work perfectly like games people mentioned in the comments dishonored, bioshock and i will put one more for you dues ex. I dont know about you but when i play an open world i look for what i look for in life where everything is explored from jokes to tragedy, for love to hate, from happines to sadness. Sure the major events these games take place around have impact in the world its created in but they dont all kill themselves they find a way to make this thing work everything stays as it was just with one more thing to add with it. And also if anyone think i am wrong please tell me how i would love to explore things that might have not crossed my mind but untill then this is what i think.

I always feel the reason why I disliked Valhalla was that its art style lacked personality. But yes you articulated it better.

I am sure Valhalla has a good art direction, I mean the world is vibrant ,(spoilers ahead) the Asgard sequence holds its own atmosphere, and when you travel around the world you can feel difference and grittiness provided in the world . I am no Valhalla fan boy but visually that game is stunning both in fidelity and art style.(It is made by same studio that made ac1 and black flag)

Plus, Unity has the best parkour. The physics is realistic while the movement is smooth. In the PRG trilogy parkour is almost gone. In Mirage is a bit better, but nowhere near the peak of Unity. I really hope they tweak the physics engine for the new one.

I still think AC unity looked the best, best graphics and post effects, best Cutscene quality, for a game like this I wouldn't mind having realistic or srylized graphics

Mirage has the same color filter difference between districts as the case in AC 1. For me, Mirage has better art direction than Valhalla.

Glad you made this video I wasn’t a fan of the faces in Mirage and for me everything is important when it comes to assassins creed hopefully Ubisoft fixes the faces issue in assassins creed shadows. AC shadows is a pretty dope name in my opinion. I want AC shadows to be dark now I’m not saying that the jokes shouldn’t be in the game the writers can tell a joke when it fits one of the problem I have with AC odyssey is they are non stop jokes that they don’t even fit some of them are funny but some of them are not in my opinion.

100%

Assassin’s Creed is set in a parallel universe to ours, much akin to Fallout. Unlike Fallout, however, its “divergence” is much earlier on and flirts with our line of history more than Fallout did. Graphics improving to look realistic makes perfect sense for Assassin’s Creed, but they also shouldn’t take time or money away from the art direction. While the games should resemble our world, their art direction should also set the tone. For this, I understand the criticisms against Syndicate diverting from its more dark concept into a too cartoony and goofily, light toned experience. It’s ironic when steampunkxLuvcraft Bloodborne gets the Victorian era more accurate in terms of tone. (For more on that, watch An Agony of Effort: The True Story of Bloodborne by Charred Thermos.) Assassin’s Creed II still looks great for the time, and 4 better still. They’re definitely rough around the edges, but not downright uncanny. That ACII “remaster” on the other hand… If they have to keep the graphics the same for a time, to put more attention toward art direction, that is perfectly fine. Those who will complain were going to complain anyway about something else. Of course I don’t know what goes into game development, so maybe we can have both, and it’s just the directors who are the issue.

I said this one, and I'll say this again and again Ubisoft just needed 1 more year for Unity, 1 more damn year. Release it in 2015 and it could have been the best AC game ever made

fucking nailed it!

I'd rather not get any remakes of any of the prior Assassin's Creed games. The AC games today are vastly different from the AC games prior up until Syndicate. Right now, I still hold AC Unity as the best when it came to balancing challenging and simple parkour system. Which is what I think newer AC games lack, where they just seem to simplify the parkour. I'm also not really a fan of the new combat system. I know people really like it, but personally, I don't really want to see Black Flag get turned into a stat numbers game.

It is only people who are nostalgic for Ezio that say he’s the greatest? If a newcomer to the franchise had no idea who Ezio was, would they come out of playing the games saying “that guy was the best?”

Ubisoft are talented when its come to art direction especially with AC games and Thats it about . Most of their games are average or mediocre

do u like the look of ac shadows

i didnt play valhalla since 2020, what the fuck did they do

black flag remake will suck

art direction does not exist on its own. Graphics and art direction is a symbiotic relationship for a video game language. Neither is more important than the other. Graphical tech is what allows artist to be creative with visuals and moods .

the valhalla gameplay looks so ridiculous in contrast to unity and AC1, it's honestly hard to tell it apart from a generic fantasy RPG

To explain this through negation, if you want to look at a game with bad graphics and bad art direction, look no further than Assassin's Creed Brotherhood. The muddy textures and lifeless models were so atrocious ,I had neck pain every time Ezio reached forward to check a pigeon. Origins might be the Pinnacle of this graphics/ art direction coupling.

Artstyle over graphics all day

unity had the best of both worlds

I personally didn't like AC4 at all. I'm surprised so many people liked it.

Unity is without a doubt the best game artistically speaking, it’s one of the best games made to be honest, I think it is overrated same with ac3 you do gotta understand the revolution for the ac3 story to make sense and be interested

y'all gonna like Valhalla in 2035 bruh why are you like this

I was playing Black Flag the other day and I realised how totally fine I would've been if graphics had peaked then