Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China Review

I have a weird soft spot in my heart for Assassin’s Creed. I know Ubisoft has gone to the golden goose one too many times, revisiting the Templar / Assassin saga ad nauseum, but when it comes to historical fiction that isn’t an RTS, the pickings are pretty slim. The most recent of these AC-branded adventures comes in the form of Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China. The first part of the three game series - which may or may not all come out this year - AC Chronicles: China is a nice break from what one would normally expect of the franchise. The game swaps the expansive, side-quest-heavy epic world for a small, two-dimensional stealth platformer. The first entry in this Chronicles trilogy is a bit rocky, but its smart visual design helps keep the effort interesting.

The aesthetic is perhaps the best part of AC Chronicles: China. Ever since we’ve bid Ezio Auditore arrivederci in Revelations, the series has been dominated by Western locations. Colonial America, the Caribbean, and revolutionary France are fascinating historical settings, but they are all filled with Western European influence. Getting the opportunity to sneak about ancient China is a welcome change of pace for the series. The new architecture, language, and costumes are enough to make you dream about a full-fledged Assassin’s Creed adventure set in the Far East, but there’s still a lot to appreciate in this bite-sized adventure. The combined efforts of Climax Studios and Ubisoft Montreal have produced a nice art style that blends the traditional photo-realism of the franchise with an appealing Chinese watercolor style.

The visual design heightens the game’s stylish assassinations, as sweeping brushstrokes of red fill the screen when going in for the kill. There isn’t an over-abundance of eye candy, but it’s the intelligent use of vibrant colors and beautiful backdrops which makes the game stand out from its counterparts. Given China’s beautiful geography and culture, the game could have easily smothered its look with stunning visuals which would become passé, but instead shows an uncharacteristic amount of restraint for the series. The choice to indulge in these beautiful moments makes them all the more special and the game, all the more gorgeous.

Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China goes backwards in the franchise’s timeline to 1526. The Templars have taken China and killed all Assassins, except for Shao Jun. After training with the legendary Ezio, Shao returns to her homeland with vengeance on the mind. It’s pretty typical AC-fare. We’ve seen many members of the brotherhood dishing out helpings of revenge killings to the Templars, but it’s competently written with all of the sleek skill one would expect from Ubisoft. Shao might only be the second woman to star in her own Assassin’s Creed adventure, but her lust for blood makes her indistinguishable from the male counterparts.

The narrative is actually a pretty small part of the package in AC Chronicles: China. It zips along in motion-comic cutscenes which all last less than a minute. Mostly, these cutscenes serve to sum up whom you have killed and who you will take down next. The Assassin’s Creed stories have never been phenomenal, but this one feels particularly phoned-in. You can go back and start the game in new-game plus mode after you’ve beaten it, but it’s hard to imagine who needs another go ‘round with the 6-8 hour campaign a second time.

Taking the gameplay of the Assassin’s Creed series and smushing it into a two-dimensional world is quite the challenge with AC Chronicles: China. Sometimes it’s handled well, coming off a bit like a less-polished Mark of the Ninja, other times it’s clear to see where things have been forced into place. Mechanics like Eagle Vision or Synchronization are important in most of the entries in the series, but here they are hardly used.

There are times when the mechanics are a little more interesting, even if they’re derivative from other titles. As opposed to other AC games, the guards' field of vision is always on screen. When you’re spotted, their yellow cone slowly turns red, counting down the time until they call in reinforcements and force you to duke it out. Like many Ubisoft adventures, the game is constantly throwing up text and instructions on screen, terrified that you might forget to use one of your abilities or techniques.

Even if you’re able to ignore these constant directions, there’s little challenge to be found in the game. The only difficult part of Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China is the quirky controls the game employs. It’s not unforgivably bad, but - in true Assassin’s Creed fashion - the game’s controls are sluggish and slow to respond at times. Picking up a body and hiding it can be an annoying exercise, getting Shao to jump to the right spot can be weird science. In many way it feels like you are playing any other Assassin’s Creed game, using the same buttons to do the same things. It would be smart if it wasn’t so unpolished.

The level design is also a mixed bag. Every now and again, alternative routes will allow you to bypass fights or sneak past a guard; there are also secondary objectives and collectibles that can force you to think outside of the box. When reaching high points of the level, you will automatically Synchronize your map and reveal ammo and other objectives. While levels can branch a few different directions, the gameplay remains the same. A few levels change from the standard infiltrate-and-kill design to running, which forces players to make mad dashes through the level as quickly as possible. But aside from the few scripted events like this, the gameplay loop gets pretty dull.

At the end of each level your performance is evaluated based on your stealth skills and remaining undetected. These scores pop up after each section of a level, showing if you’ve scored a bronze, silver, or gold for the segment. When these scores are tallied, a certain amount of points will unlock upgrades like a health bonus or increase in ammo. It might give you a little pause before barreling through the secondary objectives, but the game is easy enough that you’ll pick up plenty of these upgrades without much effort.

The new setting and art style are the saving grace of Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China. The story is so superfluous and blows by so quickly with its so-so gameplay, it’s a sharp relief that you get some cool visuals and one of the most interesting locations in franchise's history to play around in. It almost feels like a waste. There’s so much that could have been done with China as a setting, to see it be cast aside on such a small and unrefined game is a bummer. The title isn’t a train wreck, but it’s kind of what we’ve come to expect from Assassin’s Creed and Ubisoft as of late, safe and uninventive.