00:08Welcome to MojoPlays and today we're looking back at 10 things that we miss
00:13about classic Assassin's Creed. Minor spoilers ahead, so you've been warned.
00:23Before we begin, we publish new content all week long, so be sure to subscribe and ring
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00:32The Rope Dart, Assassin's Creed 3, this versatile tool hasn't appeared in a mainline entry since
00:48Rogue back in 2014, unless you count the ability version in Valhalla, of course.
00:59It allowed for creative, physics-based stealth kills, such as hanging enemies from rafters,
01:04or pulling them into a blade from a distance. It effectively bridged the gap between traversal
01:09and combat, offering a sort of predator feel that the modern games lack. While it did appear in the
01:14Chronicles China spin-off, the primary series has shifted toward heavy weapon skills and supernatural
01:19abilities. We miss the tactical variety this gadget provided, as it rewarded environmental awareness
01:25and inventive playstyles.
01:34Hunting and Crafting Assassin's Creed 3
01:43In titles like AC3 and Black Flag, hunting was a core progression mechanic, rather than just a
01:49background activity. You track specific wildlife to craft unique gear upgrades, such as additional
01:55holsters or specialized armor pouches. Revelations even featured a robust bomb crafting system. Since
02:01Origins, these survival elements have been largely hollowed out, replaced by gathering generic leather,
02:06or iron, for incremental RPG stat boosts. The loss of specialized crafting makes the wilderness feel
02:12more like it's just there to look good, and for the most part, sadly it is.
02:24Immersive Fast Travel Assassin's Creed 2
02:34Before the franchise adopted massive open world scales, fast travel was an integrated part of the
02:40world's logic. You see, to move quickly in Brotherhood, you had to unlock and navigate the
02:44Roman sewer system. AC3 required exploring the Boston underground, and AC2 used a system of carriages and
02:51ships that required payment at stables to return to previous areas. These mechanics
02:56force players to learn the layout of the environment, instead of just skipping over exploration
03:01altogether. Today, instant teleportation to any viewpoint is the norm, which is convenient,
03:06for sure, but strips away the feeling of an actual journey.
03:26The gentle push was a subtle but iconic mechanic from the original games that added a layer of
03:32grounded realism. By holding a button, the player character would basically physically part the crowd
03:37with their hands to move through things like busy streets without actually breaking a stride.
03:42A small detail, of course, but it added a touch more realism to the games that actually had it.
03:47Modern entries see characters doing this automatically, following the trend of them having less and less
03:52mechanical depth overall. Heck, you couldn't even run back then without crashing into everyone.
03:56You had to hold the shove button or risk actually stumbling and falling.
04:06Less looting Assassin's Creed
04:17Older games prioritize narrative progression over constant inventory management. Your arsenal was
04:23typically tied to story milestones, like in the first one where you unlock all the gear as part
04:27of the story, or in Assassin's Creed 2 where you can get stuff like the armor of Altair through very
04:33specific objectives. The newer games like Odyssey and Shadows are the worst defenders of the loot
04:37systems, forcing players to manage gear levels and stat bonuses for every single item. While Mirage and
04:43Valhalla attempted to improve the upgrading system, Shadows appears to have regressed into more complex,
04:48numbers-heavy, loot gameplay loops, but in the original Assassin's Creed you couldn't even loot enemy bodies.
05:00Naval Combat Assassin's Creed 3
05:13It has been eight years since Odyssey offered a full-scale naval warfare system. While you can
05:19sail longboats in Valhalla, they are strictly for transport and for raiding, with no ship-to-ship combat
05:25mechanics. The thrill of broadsiding enemy vessels, managing crew upgrades, and boarding ships in the
05:30middle of a storm was some of the most fun people had associated with the series in a long while.
05:41While this was downgraded in Valhalla, or simply gone in later entries, is a mystery to us,
05:47especially when the ships were actually fun to upgrade.
05:59A true villain, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood.
06:02In the beginning, we set our truths to parchment, to stone, to the memory of men.
06:13The modern-day story has lacked a compelling central antagonist ever since Juno was killed
06:18off-screen in the comic series. She was a looming god-like threat that unified the historical and
06:23present-day conflicts.
06:38While she had a brief cameo in Valhalla's Jotunheim section, no one has effectively replaced her as the
06:44face of the Isu or Templar threat. There were expectations that Basin might fill this role
06:49after the events of Valhalla, but his absence in shadow suggests the story is once again aimless.
06:54Without a clear big bad to oppose here, the modern-day segments sadly just feel like they're
06:59actually missing their edge.
07:01And when I have them, I will put them to good use to find my children and bring my family
07:10back together.
07:12The Apple of Eden, Assassin's Creed.
07:15What could I possibly fear? Look at the power I command!
07:24In the earliest Assassin's Creed games, The Apple of Eden was treated with a sense of cosmic horror
07:30and singular importance. It was a rare, world-altering artifact that felt genuinely dangerous.
07:35But anybody increases knowledge, increases sorrow.
07:43Recent entries in the series have diluted this mystique by introducing an overabundance of precursor
07:49items, things such as shrouds, spears, and other weapons. The Apple briefly appeared in Valhalla in
07:54the Isle of Skye DLC, but these artifacts have not been central to the story for a while. In Shadows,
08:00it makes no appearance at all. When Brotherhood lets you use it, it was actually one of the most
08:05cathartic moments in the entire story.
08:15Desmond, Assassin's Creed.
08:16Alright, I'm in. Tell me what you need.
08:19The modern-day narrative felt cohesive when it was anchored by Desmond's journey. Since his
08:24death in AC3, the gameplay outside the Animus has struggled for identity. Players have it like
08:29subsequent protagonists like Layla Hassan, who is now dead, and the story feels fragmented across
08:34different studios. While the Basim arc showed promise, Ubisoft Quebec didn't touch it in
08:39Shadows, seemingly leaving it for Ubisoft Montreal to pick up in Hex. Now, we missed the era when the
08:45present-day segments kind of felt like an urgent connected race against time, and seeing Desmond
08:50grow lethal due to the bleeding effect was awesome. Especially the mission where you have to actually
08:54infiltrate Abstergo.
09:04Multiplayer, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood.
09:15Starting with Brotherhood, the franchise offered a unique social stealth experience that hasn't been
09:20seen since Black Flag. Unlike traditional deathmatches, players had to blend into crowds and mimic NPC
09:26behavior in order to stalk targets while avoiding their own pursuers. This psychological cat-and-mouse
09:31game created a tension that perfectly translated the single-player fantasy into multiplayer gameplay.
09:44Since the pivot toward massive RPGs, Ubisoft has abandoned this mode entirely. We briefly had
09:50multiplayer co-op in Unity as well, and even though it was a buggy mess at times, it still dearly
09:55missed,
09:55and we honestly hope it comes back one day.
10:05So, which thing did you miss the most from the classic Assassin's Creed games? List them in the comments below.
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