Discover the Top Assassin’s Creed Games with Unforgettable Side Content!

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Summary

  • Over the years, the Assassin’s Creed series has changed its approach to optional content and side activities, adding more RPG mechanics.
  • Among the older entries, AC Brotherhood, Unity, and Black Flag offer the most generous and meaningful optional content, despite their maps differing greatly in scope.
  • Later action-RPG entries like AC Origins, Odyssey, Shadows, and Valhalla feature vast worlds with plenty of optional content for different tastes.

The Assassin’s Creed game series has undergone significant transformations throughout its history, as each new release aims to provide larger game worlds and a wider variety of player activities – occasionally even exceeding expectations in terms of scale. Unlike the earlier games that primarily emphasized the narrative, recent versions have moved towards incorporating extensive main stories supplemented with numerous side activities, a wide array of collectibles, and abundant optional content.

Regarding the most popular versions of the video game “Assassin’s Creed,” opinions often differ among fans, with rankings influenced heavily by factors such as setting, characters, and narrative. However, it is simpler to assess “Assassin’s Creed” games by focusing on the quality and richness of their optional content. Each title presents a unique collection of side activities, quests, and exploration options, separate from the main storyline, which contribute significantly to the game’s world-building. The list below ranks “Assassin’s Creed” games solely based on the quality, diversity, quantity, and overall satisfaction derived from elements outside the primary narrative.

ranking of “Assassin’s Creed” games based exclusively on the quality, variety, amount, and enjoyment of content offered beyond the main storyline:

1. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
2. Assassin’s Creed II
3. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
4. Assassin’s Creed III
5. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood
6. Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate
7. Assassin’s Creed: Origins
8. Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
9. Assassin’s Creed Unity
10. Assassin’s Creed Rogue

7. Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood

Optional Content Feels Meaningful & Tied To The Central Narrative

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood stands out as a shining example of prioritizing quality over quantity. At the same time, it’s one of the most generous games in the Assassin’s Creed series during its era, mainly due to its innovative assassin recruitment system. Training new assassins, using them in battles, or sending them on missions across Europe is thrilling, almost like a separate game within the game, while also showcasing Ezio’s transformation into a strong leader throughout the trilogy from a narrative perspective. Moreover, Brotherhood manages to fit an abundance of side content into a single, compact (compared to today’s games) city, and it offers an optional city renovation mechanic in Rome that adds depth to gameplay.

Although some may find it a bit reliant on collectibles (a trait shared with previous Assassin’s Creed games), there are also Borgia tower liberations, missions involving factions and Romulus followers, as well as Templar lairs featuring challenging platforming for parkour enthusiasts. Despite its relatively small scale, the richness and seamless incorporation of additional content into Ezio’s larger narrative make Brotherhood one of the most memorable early Assassin’s Creed titles, a recognition it truly deserves.

6. Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Focusing On Assassinations Above All Else

In response to Valhalla’s critique on bloat, Assassin’s Creed Shadows adopts a distinct strategy for its optional content, eliminating nearly all elements that don’t align with the game’s primary assassin theme. The optional content in Shadows mainly centers around numerous targets scattered throughout the expansive Feudal Japan world (accessible only during certain seasons). Players are often left with vague hints about each target’s location or if they should be eliminated or spared.

This motivates players to venture across the map, uncover hidden spots, and make use of the latest scout features to strategize their next move. Keeping this in mind, Assassin’s Creed Shadows could prove particularly captivating for those seeking an authentic assassin adventure they’ve long craved.

In addition to assassination missions, players can expect a variety of supplementary activities and items, many of which contribute to character advancement and skill acquisition for both Yasuke and Naoe. The game offers additional objectives such as clearing various optional castles and fortresses, which, when combined with the polished stealth mechanics of Shadows, can provide a satisfying experience independently. Furthermore, the Hideout settlement system is the most customizable and complex in the series yet, enabling players to design their League’s base according to their imagination and then share it with fellow enthusiasts.

5. Assassin’s Creed Unity

Presenting The Most Dense & Vertical City That Feels Lived-In

Assassin’s Creed Unity was initially marketed as the authentic next-generation addition to the Assassin’s Creed series. The city of Paris, meticulously replicated to match its real-life dimensions, and populated with bustling crowds and spontaneous events, offers an immersive environment for exploration. To this day, Paris stands among the largest and most intricately detailed cities in the franchise, offering a compelling feeling that there’s always something interesting to discover. Even a casual rooftop journey through towering buildings feels delightful due to Unity’s vertical design and polished movement mechanics. The game was also the first to incorporate cooperative missions, a feature that some fans still miss in subsequent releases.

Unity’s optional content is exceptionally engaging and meticulously crafted, offering captivating Paris Stories side quests that frequently involve historical figures, detective-style murder mysteries providing a unique twist for the series, and complex, puzzle-driven Nostradamus Enigmas. Additionally, it offers city renovation projects reminiscent of Ezio-era titles such as Brotherhood. Of course, Paris is brimming with various collectibles, encouraging a comprehensive exploration of every nook and cranny of this densely populated urban environment.

4. Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag

Rich Naval Aspect & Exploration Of Uncharted Lands

In the world of Assassin’s Creed, Black Flag remains one of the series’ games boasting expansive maps, largely due to its pirate-themed open Caribbean setting that emphasizes naval exploration. With such a vast map, it’s only natural for the game to be packed with interesting content. Beyond ship and crew customization, as well as naval combat more intricate than in Odyssey, Black Flag immerses players fully into the pirate lifestyle through treasure hunting, unexplored island exploration, underwater wreck diving, fort capture or liberation, and numerous collectibles.

Black Flag provides an abundance of side missions that go beyond typical assassination tasks and Templar hunts. These side missions are engaging, diverse, and contribute to making your adventure more enjoyable. Although it boasts a large map, it seems less daunting than the maps in later RPG installments. The variety of content and its seamless integration with pirate themes make the optional activities feel more thoughtfully arranged and consistent. This is why many Assassin’s Creed fans consider Black Flag one of their favorite games in the series.

3. Assassin’s Creed Origins

A Strong Emphasis On Story-Driven Side Missions

As a gamer, I’d say: Assassin’s Creed Origins marked a significant shift into RPG territory for the series, and it did so magnificently with its vast Egyptian sandbox – one of the biggest open worlds available back then. The game wasn’t just about the main story; it was filled with numerous side quests reminiscent of The Witcher 3, keeping me hooked even when I strayed from the primary narrative. Plus, there were plenty of other activities to explore and engage with, making every corner of this world feel alive and exciting.

Among the game’s highlights is the chance to delve into ancient Pharaoh tombs and even explore the Great Pyramids themselves. There are also optional challenges known as Trial of the Gods, which offer exciting boss battles against Anubis, Sekhmet, and Sobek. Other engaging content includes gladiator arenas and chariot races for Bayek, all of which leverage the game’s unique setting. Despite having less content than both Odyssey and Valhalla, Origins manages to strike a good balance between quantity and quality, preventing its activities from feeling overly repetitive.

2. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

Vibrant Setting, Sea Romance, And Dynamic Activities Make This Hard To Put Down

The stunning depiction of ancient Greece in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is its most captivating feature, and it succeeds marvelously in bringing this era to life. The game invites you on an extraordinary journey as the Misthios, a rogue mercenary, navigating through its lively landscapes, distinct ambiance, and engaging tone, offering a memorable adventure for anyone who dares to join.

The world is expansive and brimming with peculiar subplots, objectives, cult members to pursue, legendary beasts to confront, unpredictable mercenary interactions, and a host of additional elements. In the backdrop of the Peloponnesian War, Odyssey offers players the freedom to change sides whenever they wish, thereby undermining either Athenian or Spartan forces. This can lead to engaging in significant battles across Greece, with the outcomes deciding each region’s destiny in Greece.

In Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, for the first time in the series, RPG elements were thoroughly integrated, including branching dialogue options both in main missions and side quests. Furthermore, this game offers a comprehensive naval aspect reminiscent of Black Flag, allowing players to captain and customize their ships and crew. Although the naval battles in Odyssey veer slightly toward arcade-style action, they undeniably evoke a sense of liberty and adventure on the high seas, embodying the allure of maritime exploration.

1. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

Unmatched Variety & Breadth Ensure Every Fan Finds Something to Do

In a slightly different expression, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is perhaps the most distinct from other games in the series, as it delves deeply into role-playing mechanics and mythological aspects, sometimes evoking comparisons to The Witcher 3.5: Skellige Edition. It holds the title of being the most expansive and lengthy game in the series yet, with its rich tapestry of mythical realms, RPG-style side quests, a multitude of optional content, and additional game modes.

Enjoying the longest post-release support among all Assassin’s Creed games, Valhalla has been treated to three substantial expansions as well as extras like the free roguelike game mode called Forgotten Saga. Additionally, fans of the Viking theme can engage in the optional, procedural River Raids mode where they can plunder settlements and castles with their crew for treasure.

In addition, the realm of Valhalla is jam-packed with numerous side activities such as time-limited contracts, fishing, the mini-game Orlog, countless collectibles, tomb exploration, skill tests, world events, settlement development, and much more. To top it off, there are multiple mythical realms to explore like Asgard, Jotunheim, and Svartalfheim – each teeming with legendary beasts to vanquish. Although AC Valhalla has sparked some debate among fans, its wealth of optional content is second to none, allowing every player to discover something appealing while bypassing activities that might not appeal as much.

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2025-04-11 01:36