Assassin’s Creed Has a Lesson or Two to Learn from Doom: The Dark Ages

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This year, Assassin’s Creed has returned, with some fans seeing Assassin’s Creed Shadows as a strong follow-up to the RPG structure that the franchise has recently adopted. However, others have contended that AC Shadows doesn’t push the boundaries enough from what was established in Assassin’s Creed Origins, and may still suffer from the same issues of excessive content, awkward gameplay, and bloat that were present in earlier games. To these critics, Shadows feels like a rehash of familiar territory.

It’s intriguing to note that the new installment of the Assassin’s Creed storyline arrived close to the anticipated release of Doom: The Dark Ages, both being popular series with a long history and recent revamps. However, a comparison between Shadows and Dark Ages shows they couldn’t be more dissimilar, not just in gameplay, narrative, and tone, but also in their underlying design philosophies. Doom: The Dark Ages emphasizes daring innovation within its genre, opting for novel approaches rather than rehashing familiar elements, while Assassin’s Creed Shadows seems like another incremental update on the Origins blueprint. Despite the contrast between these two games and their franchises, there’s much that Doom: The Dark Ages could potentially teach Ubisoft’s signature stealth-action series.

Future Assassin’s Creed Games Should Take Inspiration from Doom’s Inventiveness

Modern Doom Puts Innovation First and Foremost, for Better and for Worse

Inquiring about a preference among Doom fans regarding the best game from the last three installments would seldom yield agreement. Each title in the recent Doom series offers a unique experience. The 2016 reboot initiated the contemporary direction for the series, emphasizing storytelling. Doom Eternal amplified intensity and speed significantly, building on the weapon-swapping system introduced in its precursor, while also making it more tactical. In contrast, Doom: The Dark Ages transforms the player into a massive, destructive, and violent wrecking ball.

These three games were designed with key fundamental ideas always at the forefront, ensuring they influenced every detail. There’s an impressive uniformity across each contemporary version of ‘Doom’, showcasing Id Software’s dedication to a clear and distinct vision for each iteration, regardless of potential obstacles. In essence, Id Software had a predefined strategy for each new ‘Doom’ game, making it one of the most mechanically varied franchises in gaming history, while many other AAA studios resist such modifications.

Assassin’s Creed Could Learn from Doom’s Enthusiastic Embracing of Change

Change is an unavoidable part of life, and it appears that franchises like “Assassin’s Creed” adapt to it only when they are left with no other option: innovation and development within the AC series at times seem more influenced by market trends and player preferences than any internal creative motivation. In simpler terms, in recent years, “Assassin’s Creed” seems hesitant to embrace change, standing out as a stark contrast to titles such as “Doom,” which consistently choose to evolve, even if it means risking the loss of some players’ interest.

This point is crucial as it signifies that Doom maintains its creative autonomy, guiding its natural progression rather than lagging behind. With each new installment of Assassin’s Creed, veteran fans may receive what they anticipate, but there’s little thrill in that, possibly explaining why the series has lost some players over time. At minimum, thoughtful and deliberate reinvention keeps a franchise engaging.

Given that Assassin’s Creed has evolved into a collection of stories, it’s high time for a more dramatic shift in gameplay style. It seems odd that fighting as a Viking should bear any resemblance to fighting as a shinobi, but in Assassin’s Creed, this is quite common. Taking a bolder stance on change could be risky, but it might ultimately benefit the series.

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2025-06-04 14:35