Which Assassin’s Creed Game Should I Start With? – A 2025 Beginner’s Guide All The Way to Shadows

Even if you’re not neck deep in the world of video games every day, it’s pretty likely you know about Assassin’s Creed. In addition to being one of the biggest game franchises in history with well over 200 million sales, Ubisoft’s action-adventure blockbuster has spawned dozens of spin-off mobile games, a feature length movie, a ton of crossovers, uncountable merch, and an upcoming live-action Netflix series. Ubisoft has just dropped the fourteenth mainline installment, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which takes us to the Sengoku Period of feudal Japan. If you’re not familiar with the games, they’re historical fiction pieces that insert a two thousand-year-old brotherhood, the Assassin’s Creed, into major world history events. The assassins have been fighting for the common people against the empires of the world since 49 BC. Likewise, most of history’s major wars have been manufactured by an opposing brotherhood called the Templars. All of history for the past 2000 years has actually just been a back and forth battle between the Templars and Assassins!

It’s not as simple as good and evil, though – in effect, the Assassins fight for the good of the individual while the Templars fight for the good of the whole. In one sense, the Assassins have caused their fair share of strife as well, because their whole thing is disrupting imperial systems, but overall are presented as arbiters of justice. They move in the shadows, kill those who would oppress the common people, and never seek fame or fortune. The Templars believe in the concept of The Greater Good and that any loss is an acceptable loss, including freedom, in the pursuit of peace. Each game sees a person in the modern age using a machine called the Animus to relive their ancestors’ memories, unlock secrets about the past, and use that knowledge to fight the Templar threat in the present. Before you get too caught up on any of this overarching lore, remember that each story is relatively standalone outside of The Ezio Collection, which must be played in order.

My love for the series mainly stems from my love for world history, as Ubisoft pays pinpoint attention to the most minute details about culture, architecture, language and historical figures. If you want to dive in and actually live out history, there’s no better place to do it. Thing is, a lot of the consecutive titles are extremely similar to each other in gameplay. Like virtually indistinguishable. You’d be forgiven for thinking to play them in release order, but I advise a little remixing to break up the monotony. Some of these games are 50 hours to mainline, after all. Below is each main series game in release order along with a description, my short review, unique features, where you can play it now, and a recommendation on why it is or isn’t a good place to jump in. Time for a leap of faith!

1. Assassin’s Creed (2007)

I don’t have too much to say about the original Assassin’s Creed. While it introduced the Animus, the lore, and the detailed open worlds that the series has become famous for, I don’t feel that it left a huge impression on me. Desmond (who you may remember continues as our present-day protagonist in Assassin’s Creed II) is forced into the Animus and into the memories of his ancestor Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad during the Third Crusade in Jerusalem. While it has a great world design, the parkour mechanics aren’t quite there yet and the camera control hasn’t aged well. The combat is also pretty secondary to stealth, almost an afterthought, so it almost necessitates playing it stealthy and safe to beat the game. While the story is interesting, the original Assassin’s Creed feels like a relic of its time in a way that the sequel doesn’t. It’s possible this is due to the fact that this game was originally developed as a Prince of Persia title for the PlayStation 2, and was remade into a new game for a new console halfway through development. Regardless, I’d love to see Assassin’s Creed get a full ground-up remake sometime, to make it a little more accessible to modern players. As it is, I do not recommend new players begin the franchise here. Assassin’s Creed is available only on Steam, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.

2. Assassin’s Creed II (2009)

Assassin’s Creed II is actually when the series exploded, and is still very much one of the best games in the long-running series to date. Assassin’s Creed II is a direct sequel to the first game, but the present-day protagonist Desmond Miles gives a quick recap to new players that more than suffices. In the present, the Templars have formed a worldwide megacorporation known as Abstergo Industries. Desmond reaches to the past to his ancestor Ezio Auditore da Firenze in Renaissance Italy. Ezio is one of the few examples in modern media of the Han Solo-type done right. He’s rude, quick to temper, adventurous, promiscuous, and will stab you as quick as ask for your name, but underneath there’s a genuine heart of gold. His ferocity and emotion comes from his drive to protect his sister and mother in this beautifully structured recreation of Florence, aided by historical figures such as Leonardo Da Vinci.

Assassin’s Creed II has a perfectly sized open world that mixes quests with open ended adventure to let you play your way but still with direction. The stealth feels good, the combat is still passable in 2023, and the story is riveting. And it’s also the perfect length to feel like a full adventure without overstaying its welcome. Ezio has proven to be such a beloved character that he still is the mascot of the franchise, appearing in crossovers like Fall Guys, Fortnite, Final Fantasy… and that’s just the F section. If you want to start the series where it really started all these years ago, being your journey with Assassin’s Creed II. The original release of Assassin’s Creed II is available on Steam, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3, while the remastered version is listed as The Ezio Collection on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. The remaster is great and doesn’t lose anything from the original, so I recommend it even beyond ease of access.

3. Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood (2010)

In the name of narrative cohesiveness, it’s best to continue and finish Ezio’s trilogy before proceeding. Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood is a direct sequel to Assassin’s Creed II , following Ezio and Desmond’s next joint adventure to defeat the Templars. Ezio, now a master assassin, travels to Rome to restart the brotherhood known as the Assassin’s Creed. Brotherhood continues the story exactly where Assassin’s Creed II left off, so you do have to play that game first. I should note that outside of the Ezio trilogy, the games can mostly be played in any order. There is of course an overarching story concerning the Templars seeking the pieces of Eden to achieve ultimate power, but that story is frankly thrown to the wayside more and more with each subsequent entry. By the time we get to the Ancient Trilogy, it actually just doesn’t matter at all.

Still, Brotherhood continues Assassin’s Creed II‘s gameplay style with a few small quality-of-life updates and a new world to explore. If you’re, for some reason, not feeling like hanging out with Ezio anymore, I might recommend a jump on over to Assassin’s Creed Black Flag. Definitely do not play this game before Assassin’s Creed II! Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood is available on Steam, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3, while the remastered version is listed as The Ezio Collection on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

4. Assassin’s Creed Revelations (2011)

If you’ve played Brotherhood, then it is surely now time for Revelations, the finale of the Ezio Trilogy. As Desmond continues his fight in the present time to destroy Abstergo in what I think is the only interesting present-day story in the franchise, Ezio continues on to Constantinople during the rise of the Ottoman Empire. The story concludes with a big bang, and after some devastating losses of beloved characters over the course of the series, Ezio takes the fight to the Templars one final time by depending on memories of the protagonist of the first game, Altair. I don’t think knowledge of the first game is necessary to enjoy this development at all, but you’d also be fine just reading a plot summary or video to that effect.

Gameplay sees a little more of an upgrade this time, adding a hookshot to aid in both combat and traversal, as well as upgraded Eagle Sight. Revelations is interesting because it has an air of melancholy to it as the trilogy reaches its conclusion, so I recommend sticking with it. There’s less happy-go-lucky running about on rooftops and a lot more contemplative loss, which I think the series loses as it goes on. Reminder, you must play Assassin’s Creed II and Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood before picking up Revelations. As with the previous games, if you want to play the original release you can find it on Steam or buy a physical copy for the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. However, you can easily find the remaster as part of The Ezio Collection on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

5. Assassin’s Creed III (2012)

I insist that you either save this one for last or skip it entirely, because it’s probably the worst of the main series games. The camera, combat, parkour, story, writing, and protagonist are somehow all worse than the Ezio trilogy, even though Assassin’s Creed III was made directly following those games. While the setting is promising and it introduces a wealth of new weapons and mechanics, none of it meshes together quite right and the level design seems antagonistic to exploration. The coolest thing about this entry in the franchise is that it is the first major video game to feature a protagonist from the Mohawk tribe, and one of the few still to feature a Native American protagonist. As it’s set during the American Revolution in the 1770s, the Native American tribes play a crucial part in the story and in fighting back the British from their lands. Ubisoft went all in on making sure the Mohawk culture was represented authentically, from food to clothes to language, by working with long-term consultants from the tribe.

The story of Assassin’s Creed III unfortunately grows boring quickly, and I don’t feel it finds its feet again. If you’re a fan and have enjoyed all the games in the franchise thus far, and want to 100% the series for some reason, go for it. If you’re looking at playing them in release order, I’d skip III. It does conclude the Desmond Miles storyline in the present, and frankly his is the only present-day storyline worth even talking about, so if you need some closure on that character you may want to play this entry following The Ezio Trilogy. Unfortunately, it’s paced badly and doesn’t seem to know exactly what its trying to do with the new gameplay mechanics. It’s a little different from the preceding games, but in none of the right ways. I recommend either skipping this game or saving it for last if you really want to play the whole franchise. You can play Assassin’s Creed III on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Steam, and Nintendo Switch.

6. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag (2013)

Yo-ho, yo-ho, a pirate’s life for me! After Assassin’s Creed II, I think it’s fair to say Assassin’s Creed Black Flag is the next most popular fan favorite. Storywise, I think it certainly is my favorite. The bait-and-switch opening is one of my favorites in gaming history, setting privateer-turned-pirate Edward Kenway on a journey in coastal South Carolina in the Golden Age of Piracy. I actually like Edward a lot, even if he is maybe the most blatant Jack Sparrow rip-off ever. It’s hard to blame Ubisoft – when this game was pitched a few years prior, Pirates of the Caribbean was still sailing high on the zeitgeist, and Ubisoft managed to throw a few Easter Egg references to the Disney movies for vigilant players to find. Regardless, Edward is a great protagonist because no matter what work he does for the Assassins, he’s not really one of them. He’s just a guy who was in the right place at the right time, stealing the secrets of the Brotherhood under the pretenses of a massive lie, and raking in the gold as he does it. Black Flag is technically part of a trilogy as well, with Rogue and Assassin’s Creed III, but it’s a lot less connected than the Ezio trilogy and in my opinion can be played in any order you’d like. The connective tissue between these games is weak at best.

Black Flag’s tone is very devil-may-care, and the gameplay is improved with better parkour and the famous ship combat that you’ve definitely heard about. My unpopular opinion is that I didn’t much enjoy the many bouts of ship combat in Black Flag, but I also don’t generally enjoy vehicle combat even at its best in games. Most gamers fell in love with it immediately, customizing your ship and taking to the seas in surprisingly authentic pirate warfare. Also, as a South Carolina native, it was cool to see my home featured in a video game for the first (and last) time ever. The game also features a WANTED system similar to Grand Theft Auto that makes you feel like a real pirate and makes the world feel a bit more alive. The music absolutely slaps and the bright color schemes and attention to detail in architecture make this one of my favorite video game open worlds to explore. If you’re just looking to satiate your pirate fix after the excellent Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, look no further.  I recommend Black Flag as a starting point for those who want to experience the games from a more modern era, but still want to dip into the classics of the 7th Generation. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag is available on Steam, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.

7. Assassin’s Creed Rogue (2014)

I don’t have a lot of opinions on Assassin’s Creed Rogue, and I feel like I never hear it mentioned as either anyone’s favorite or least favorite game in the series. It just kind of floats unimpressively in the middle, and is largely forgettable. Rogue stars a new protagonist Shay Cormac, a first generation orphan from Irish parents in the US. Set during the French and Indian War (or Seven Years War), Shay finds himself deep in Assassins vs Templar lore dumps more often than not. Shay is an alright character – he’s brash, bold, and doesn’t take thing seriously – but he’s not really enough to carry the story for me. It feels a bit impersonal compared to Black Flag before it.

Gameplay is advanced with new map features and environmental hazards, as well as bit more of a living world with Shay now being able to kill civilians and animals at will without desynchronizing. Naval combat plays a big part and is integrated into this game’s campaign more seamlessly then it was with Black Flag, although I’m still not a big fan of it personally. Don’t listen to me about naval combat though, it is wildly popular among the fandom and I’m the odd one out! Rogue is a fine game that feels heavy with exposition and light on personality, and unless you’re determined to do the whole series it’s probably better to skip this one. I don’t recommend starting with Rogue as it doesn’t offer anything you won’t find in Black Flag or Unity, which are both better executions of the same game. Assassin’s Creed Rogue is available on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Steam.

8. Assassin’s Creed Unity (2014)

Assassin’s Creed Unity is famous for being perhaps the buggiest Ubisoft game in history – and that’s saying something. Unity was Fallout 76 levels of unplayable at launch, and has since garnered a reputation for being one of the worst in the series. While it’s of course unacceptable to launch a game in that state, it has since been patched and patched over and runs smoothly on all modern hardware. Unity is not one of my favorites because the protagonist, Arno Dorian, feels kind of like a less interesting rehash of Ezio. Arno takes to the rooftops in Paris during the French Revolution to find his adoptive father’s killer. I didn’t find the story too interesting, although the cinematic trailer for Unity remains to this day my favorite cinematic game trailer of all time.

All that said, Unity innovates on the gameplay a little more than previous intervals with way more weapon and armor customization, actually usable social stealth, heist missions, and the series first co-op campaign. This is, for me, when the modern day story became a bit too goofy and underwhelming to continue to be worth it. Some folks will swear by Unity, and outside of the pretty rough AI stealth detection it’s an improvement over the predecessors as far as gameplay and map design goes. If you want to LARP that you’re living in Les Miserables this isn’t a bad place to start, but otherwise I recommend saving Unity until after you’ve played The Ezio Trilogy and Black Flag. You can find it on Steam, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

9. Assassin’s Creed Syndicate (2015)

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate was actually the first game in the series that I played. Gasp! I know, I know. I didn’t actually own a non-Nintendo console until I bought a PlayStation 4 in 2016, and one of the first things I wanted was the shiny new game from a franchise I’d been hearing about for years. I had basically no knowledge of the world beyond the fact that this was the first game with a female protagonist in the 10 year old franchise, so everything was brand new to my eyes as I made my way across Victorian England in the Industrial Revolution. I still maintain to this day that Syndicate is wildly underrated. It performed poorly due to bugs and people giving up the franchise entirely after Unity, but it’s very much the weird in-between game of the series. Not quite sure if it wants to be an old school Assassin’s Creed game or the RPG that we’d get in Origins , it simply splits the difference and decides to do both. The result is a lack of a singular vision for what Syndicate is, and it’s hard to deny that no matter how much I love it. It reminds me a lot of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, which was also the weird in-between styles game (and coincidentally also my first Zelda game).

Syndicate sets assassin twins Jacob and Evie Frye in London at the height of the Industrial Revolution. Factories tower over the cobblestone squares, children work grueling hours at the mills, and the almighty Pound is the only authority the rich, monocled titans of industry answer to. You play as both twins, sticking with a specific one for story missions but being able to choose freely who you play as to roam around the world. Jacob and Evie have their own individual arsenal of powers and abilities, which I really enjoyed, because they cater to different playstyles. Jacob is the muscle, preferring to bare-knuckle box goons into submission and yell obscenities when he stomps their teeth out. Evie is better for the stealth and tactical approach, more than compensating for her lack of brawn with clever leverage manipulation techniques to take out huge dudes. You’ll tear down the 1%, assassinate (and eat) the rich, and raise the lower classes together into a gang you form called The Rooks. And you’ll meet some great historical figures here such as Charles Dickens, Karl Marx, Alexander Graham Bell and even Charles Darwin along the way! Syndicate is a good starting point only if you’re extremely interested in the Industrial Revolution and the historical figures associated with it; otherwise I’d recommend checking it out once you have more familiarity with the series. Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Steam.

10. Assassin’s Creed Origins (2017)

Origins is easily one of my favorite game in the franchise, although for me they’re very hard to rank.  Assassin’s Creed Origins is a perfectly good starting point for new players, because it serves as a sort of soft reboot. Origins is the first game of the Ancient Trilogy, followed by Odyssey and then Valhalla. Here’s where things get funky. Many of the Assassin’s Creed games have exceedingly similar gameplay and features, right up until they very much do not. Origins is so vastly and unbelievably different than the last 10 years of the series that it’s hard to even believe it’s the same series. In fact, a lot of fans still say it’s not really an Assassin’s Creed game. That’s not how I would put it, but the fact that you can’t actually assassinate some people anymore was kind of a strange decision. This game likely won’t make you feel like an assassin the way some previous entries did, but it’s a hell of a good time regardless.

Origins is a full-blown hardcore open world Action RPG, complete with hundreds of weapons and armor modifications, gear upgrades, giant skill trees, XP, leveled enemies and encounters, long quest progression, and more equipment than you will ever, ever collect. In short, nothing like any of the games that game before it. Origins also totally overhauls combat, leaning into the gameplay style of The Witcher 3 more than anything else. Origins is pretty heavy on the use of shields, depending on skilled perfect parries combined with elemental damage types and a wide variety of weapons. The icing on the cake of my love for Origins is Bayek, the protagonist. He’s without question my favorite protagonist, mostly due to the amazing performance by Abubakar Salim, and is still probably the second favorite among the fanbase after Ezio. The Ancient Trilogy also veers a little away from authentic history, adding in mythical gods for the player to fight such as the crocodile god Sobek. If you are a fan of games like The Witcher 3, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Ghost of Tsushima, you’ll find a similar experience with Origins, which serves as an extremely solid entry point to the franchise.  Assassin’s Creed Origins is available on Steam, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

11. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (2017)

If you’re aware of one Assassin’s Creed game, I’d hazard a guess that it’s Odyssey. It exploded in popularity due to a number of technical and gameplay achievements, but probably none so much as that the internet is absurdly horny for Kassandra, the protagonist. I like Kassandra quite a bit – she’s got a brazen personality that matches her tough bodybuilder exterior and complements her friendly attitude well. She’s playful and lovely right up until she’s beating your butt right into the pavement. Okay, fine, I see what happened with the internet. Odyssey is not one of my favorite stories, but it does feature a ton of historical figures from 431 BC Greece such as Hippocrates, Leonidus, Plato, Sophocles, Pythagoras, and even Socrates himself. All these figures were actually present in the Greek city-states during this time, and it’s fun to see how they fit into the story while still retaining historical fact. Also, you can do the Spartan kick from 300, so that’s pretty cool.

Odyssey is probably best known for the Cult of the Kosmos – your assassination targets are a smattering of secret cult members around the world, disguised as regular civilians. You’ll collect clues and information about the whereabouts, profession, appearance, etc of each of the cult members and track them down purely by eyesight and deduction. It’s a great feature because it also leans into your own intuition rather than relying on the classic Ubisoft waypoints. I think the combat is a step down from Origins as well, ditching the shields and going for weapon parries coupled with a bigger focus on dodges. While, like Origins and Valhalla, this open world action RPG is about 20 hours too long, it’s one of the most beautiful open world maps I’ve ever explored and once again the dedication and attention to detail in architecture, food, dress and culture is beyond impressive. If you’re a big Greek mythology nerd or you want to do some Percy Jackson LARPing, you can comfortably start here just as well as Origins. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is available on Steam, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. A Nintendo Switch cloud version is available only on the Japanese eShop, but it’s easy to buy with a Japanese account no matter what country you live in if that’s the only way for you to play.

12. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (2020)

Valhalla has a lot to offer. The vistas are breathtaking; the overhaul of how quests work is very organic and removes a lot of UI nonsense; there are instances of genuine emergent gameplay wandering the open world; the voice actors for the main cast are some of the best in the series; the RPG mechanics are meaningful and manageable; you get to build your own village at a pleasant pace and watch it grow; the mini-games are all fun; the weapons and shields feel perfected from their conception in Origins; and the locations are both well designed and visually intriguing to encourage exploration by wanderlust rather than waypoints. It’s a purposefully designed game that collects the best of Origins and Odyssey and thoughtfully blends their strengths. However, there is a big ole asterisk holding it back from being one of the all-time greats. It is too. Damn. Big. I stand by my statement that the first 15 hours and the last 15 hours of Valhalla are a legitimate masterpiece. But Nirav, what of the middle 25 hours? Well, they kinda suck.

The first half of Valhalla’s story really, really intrigued me. It’s a very personal story between the protagonist, Eivor, and her brother Sigurd the Viking King. It’s that relationship between siblings that drives the first part of the story, as the two of the grow farther apart the more they accomplish and eventually turn against one another. Then, at about the halfway point, it does what most of the Assassin’s Creed games do and becomes a bunch of mumbo jumbo exposition about stuff that isn’t important to the story at hand. Eivor is also only an interesting character in terms of her relationship with her brother, so once you’re separated it become apparent she’s a very blank slate that has nothing going on. I loved my time with Valhalla, and it’s hard to describe this, but the middle third of the game is basically all the worst parts. The story is the weakest, the environments are the weakest, the quest writing is the weakest, and largely every kingdom’s quest is just “go here and kill that,” only it’s 19 kingdoms in a row. Valhalla also features my favorite location in all of video games, Glowecestrescire, right near the end. Valhalla is a strange beast that contains both some of the best video game I’ve ever played and some of the most tedious and boring. A friend who I’ll identify only as “Day One Andy” once told me “I get the same brain chemicals from playing Assassin’s Creed that I do from eating an entire bag of Doritos.” I love Doritos, and if you do too, this is as good a starting point as any. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is available on Steam, the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One.

13. Assassin’s Creed Mirage (2023)

I need your attention quickly about the last installment in the Assassin’s Creed series, Mirage;  I absolutely implore you to play it before Valhalla. The protagonist, Basim, is featured as a side character in Valhalla and plays a crucial part in the story in a way I will not spoil. However, the truth of his identity that is revealed in that game kind of kills his character’s motivations. While playing Mirage, I knew Basim’s true identity and motivation, which made it a lot more difficult to empathize with him and feel like I was part of his story. Mirage is special, in a way, because it takes the franchise back to the old ways, before the days of open world and RPG mechanics. Mirage is essentially an evolution on the basic formula from Assassin’s Creed II, but with lots of quality of life updates found in the Ancient Trilogy as well as the all powerful pet eagle. While the story is underwhelming, Mirage delivered to me exactly what I wanted as far as gameplay and surprised me in a few ways as well.

You’ll step into a beautifully recreated version of Bahgdad in the 9th century, during the height of the Golden Age of Islamic Science at its very center. For those unfamiliar with history, during medieval times, known historically as the Christian Dark Ages, the Catholic Church traveled the lands of Europe and attempted to destroy all art, science, literature, and culture created by any pagan society. That means the Ancient Greeks, Egyptians, Phoenicians, and more. The only reason we, in present times, know a single thing about those civilizations and the scientific advances they made is because the Islamic world took on the heavy task of not only preserving, but building upon those sciences. While Europe was set back thousands of years in technological advancement, Arabia flourished, and Assassin’s Creed Mirage knows and celebrates that. It also features excellent full Arabic voice acting – please, please play the game this way. Mirage is also full of notes and books detailing the real, fascinating history of The Fertile Crescent and some stellar personal stories in The Tales of Baghdad story missions. Mirage immersed me in real history in a way that the Ancient Trilogy didn’t, despite being great games, and I recommend it as a starting point for anyone who wants to feel like they stepped into the pages of a finely detailed book. Assassin’s Creed Mirage is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via the Epic Games Store or Steam.

14. Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2025)

And now to the game that likely brought you here, the much-anticipated Assassin’s Creed Shadows. This newest entry finally takes the franchise to feudal Japan, a setting that players have been begging for since the 2000’s. Some say that Gameluster’s 2020 Game of the Year Ghost of Tsushima has already done this, and done it better, but frankly I have found Shadows to be delightful in its own right even as a massive fan of Sucker Punch’s PlayStation 4 masterpiece. Shadows is in many ways a repeat of what Ubisoft attempted with Syndicate, except this time done right. The RPG mechanics are slimmed down but still meaningful; the characters are engaging; the world is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen; and additions like canon mode and immersion mode are game-changing strokes of genius from Ubisoft to make Shadows one of the best games in the series.

This open world RPG features one male and one female protagonist, Yasuke and Naoe, that can be swapped freely after a certain point in the game. Naoe is a shinobi (ninja), built entirely around stealth, with a moveset that encourages working from the shadows. Yasuke is a samurai, honoring the bushido code by declaring himself to his enemies for duels. Their builds and styles could not be more different; Naoe has tricks and traps and daggers for assassinations, but no armor. Yasuke is all bulk, a huge man to barrel forward and slash through enemies. Having these playstyles separated out into different characters was absolutely the right move – this decision allows for detail even down to the animations to fit the characters better. Naoe is lithe and moves like a snake, while Yasuke is hulking and moves like a bull.

Shadows has refined what I loved about the Ancient Trilogy, although I won’t pretend it’s going to shock you once you get your hands on it; it’s still very much Assassin’s Creed. I think of Shadows as what Syndicate didn’t know it was trying to be – serving the bridge between old AC (Naoe) and new AC (Yasuke), genuinely serving as a game fans of both styles can enjoy. Of course, in trying to please everyone, extreme fans of either style will leave disappointed. Naoe returns us to a more traditional assassin protagonist, brought into the creed from her father’s dying words, inheriting his hidden blade, and accepting her responsibility to topple the most powerful man Japan has ever known – Oda Nobunaga himself. I recommend this as an easy starting point for anyone who wants the most refined of the RPG games, as well as gamers who are experiencing some fuedal Japanese FOMO right about now. Assassin’s Creed Shadows is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Steam, and the Epic Games Store.

Spin-Offs? Spin-Offs!

Counting the mobile and handheld exclusive games, Assassin’s Creed has dozens of spin-off games that are almost all terrible and not worth your time. The only console/PC spin-offs are the Chronicles trilogy, which are 2D action platformers set in India, China, and Russia respectively. I’m mostly mad at these games because they took three of the most interesting settings in the world and wasted them on these very barebones games. I don’t recommend spending your time or money on them. Assassin’s Creed Liberation is the only spin-off I’d pay attention to, which originally launched on PS Vita but is now available on modern consoles. I’d avoid the Nintendo Switch version as it’s a pretty pathetic port, but the HD remaster of Liberation is worth looking into on Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox. It’s the first game to feature a female protagonist and also acts as a companion to Assassin’s Creed III, but better. But still not great.

So What Now?

You can feel free to remix my recommended order of games here, or play them in release order as Ubisoft intended. I strongly recommend you play the Ezio trilogy in order, but outside of that the world is your oyster! Alternatively, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is available now on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, and it’ll be a fine place to jump in. What’s your favorite Assassin’s Creed game? Got a different ranking? Let us know in the comments below!