The Assassin’s Creed franchise is one of the longest running and successful Ubisoft franchise – with the first release back in 2007 right down to numerous annual releases across consoles and mobile platforms; up to the just released Assassin’s Creed Mirage. The games are known to have taken players across a variety of time periods and historical locations; with immersive environments and rich story-telling (well, for the most part) and stealth and combat mechanics.
So let’s have a look at what our writers have rated as the top 10 Assassin’s Creed games of all time – ranked based on their impact, gameplay, storytelling, and overall contribution to the series.
10. Assassin’s Creed Rogue
In Assassin’s Creed Rogue; the protagonist was Shay Cormac and the setting was North America. This game further built upon the framework set in the excellent Black Flag – more on that later – but by this time; the standard Templar vs. Assassin story had started to get a bit bland – not that the story or the setting was not good; but the feeling of been there, done that lay heavily over this game release.
9. Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
Following the success of Assassin’s Creed II, Brotherhood continued the story of Ezio Auditore and introduced the concept of building and leading a brotherhood of assassins. Released in 2010, it improved combat mechanics, added multiplayer, and provided an engaging narrative that further solidified Ezio’s place as one of the series’ most beloved characters.
8. Assassin’s Creed Unity
The game, when released in 2014 was not received well due to several technical and gameplay bugs. However, over a period of time, the game has redeemed itself somewhat on account of what is generally considered to be one of the best stealth and parkour entries – presenting the discerning gamer with a variety of choices to go around doing assassinations. Paris, during the French Revolution, has also been quite superbly realized – and these are reasons alone for this game to be at no. 7 in the top 10 Assassin’s Creed games.
7. Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
Following the annual release calendar, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate was released immediately following the buggy launch previous year for Unity. The setting this time around was Victorian London, and we were introduced for the first time to a playable female protagonist; in Evie Frye – and her twin Jacob Frye each with their distinct playstyles. Evie being the more stealth oriented character and Jacob as the combat oriented one. It subtly introduced a few ‘RPG dynamics’ with different weapons, unlocking higher damage at higher tiers, etc. As always, the highlight remained London – so much so that the graphics still hold up reasonably well to this day
6. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
The most recent mainline entry in the series, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, released in 2020, capped the ‘RPG’ trilogy of Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla. Taking everything that worked in the previous game, and multiplying it by 10 was the approach taken by Ubisoft here – which magnified the positives but also bought up the negatives under the spotlight. Repetitive gameplay, shallow combat, an endless list of collectibles and things to do overwhelming the map prevent this game from rising further in this top 10 list. The gory and (extremely!) violent combat, raids and a significant addition to the overall AC lore and mythology, plus the chance to visit the other worldly realm of Asgard were some of the positives; and were expanded in 3 very substantial DLCs; with the Wrath of the Druids especially being one of the more memorable ones.
5. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, released in 2018, took the series further down the RPG path introduced in the previous Origins, expanding and embracing all the standard RPG mechanics – a variety of weapons, choices that impact the story, skill trees to unlock. Greece was realized like never before, and there were definitely standout moments like climbing the statue of Athena. It also introduced one of the most likeable protagonists in Cassandra, and expanded the lore greatly through the main story as well as the DLCs.
4. Assassin’s Creed
The game that started it all, the original Assassin’s Creed, when it released in 2007; it was seen at that time as one of the games that while it did not immediately click; but a game whose three strong elements – intriguing stealth and parkour; compelling lore and protagonist, and fantastic world-building had a lot of promise and potential. The game had Altair Ibn-La’Ahad, an assassin during the Third Crusade as it’s protagonist and was set in the Holy Land.
3. Assassin’s Creed II
Released in 2009, Assassin’s Creed II is what really took the franchise to a different level and created a fan following for the then young series – and has continued to remain a fan favorite and a landmark entry in the series. It introduced players to Ezio Auditore da Firenze, a charming and charismatic protagonist on a quest for revenge. The game had several highs – the setting in Renaissance-era Italy, the game’s stunning recreations of Florence, Venice, and Forlì; enhanced parkour mechanics, improved combat, and a compelling narrative made this a standout title.
2. Assassin’s Creed Origins
Essentially a reset button which took the series down the RPG path from what was a stealth / parkour / assassination loop of gameplay, Assassin’s Creed Origins, released in 2017, took players to ancient Egypt. Expanded side quests, a bigger world to explore, a compelling story-line backed by an excellent protagonist – Bayek – ensured that the game was largely well received. Plus, climbing atop the pyramids at Giza and looking down and across the desert just never got old!
1. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag
And here we come to what our entire team universally hailed as the best Assassin’s Creed game – Black Flag, released in 2013. The game turned the conventional protagonist on it’s head in the form of Edward Kenway – who is not even an assassin – he just happens to rob the suit from one! The other absolutely remarkable addition was the game’s naval combat- sailing the high seas across the Caribbean, and targeting pirates and the British fleet alike has never been so much fun! This game bought back the ole’ sense of adventure that was sorely missing from the earlier games.
Do let us know what do you think of the rankings; and which is your favorite Assassin’s Creed game of all time in the comments below! Also, do check out everything that there is to know about Assassin’s Creed Mirage – the latest addition to the franchise.
