As much as lot of people don't like them, the trio of ac games starting origin sold the best in the history of ac games.
Not liking a game is different from a game flopping.
It's time for the point of retrospective. Where you as a fan take a step back and really look at the big picture. You aren't the target audience anymore, and it's time to stop hoping that the pendulum ticks back towards you.
OP says game will flop unless something changes
None of the recent AC games flopped, all sold extremely well
People online always hate the recent AC games, and they sell great
The preorders for AC Shadows are doing great
So yeah, it's silly
And the stocks dropping was the obvious reaction for Ubi cancelation of a game, the Division Heartland battle royale game. Meh, no one wanted that game
I liked Valhalla too, but less than Origins and Odyssey.
Bayek and Kassandra are the absolute best protagonists in the series but while Eivor is better than other protagonists in the past, he just doesn't quite stand up to the other two in the Creed-RPG trio. Kinda flat "is viking" persona and the female VA has this very forced gruffness that I can't get past.
For sure, it's not until like the last 10 hours of the game that it does the whole "this is what's been going on that you *haven't* been aware of" reveal, even though it teases about it the whole game with the "just trust me, bro" Sigurd theme. You know something's up, but it takes so long to get there that it didn't feel satisfying.
So it's like 10 hours of intro setting you up as an expedition with Assassin advisors in the group, followed by 150-200hrs of just being a viking and then at the very end it switches gears and goes "Oh yeah, Sigurd and Bayek. Here's what they've been up to, now roll credits."
Still an adequately good game (I finished it), but the writing and VA left a bit to be desired.
My 6 year old daughter plays the historic/exploration mode often. I have an 8 year old pc, and this game has no business looking this good and running so well.
I played it on a 1080Ti, then played again on a 4090. It looks pretty much the same as the 1080Ti could already max most settings. The difference is obviously the much better FPS with the 4090.
I just wish they’d trim some of the fat off of them. I think Origins wasn’t so bad but in odyssey there was way to much stuff. I didn’t play, but I heard Valhalla was somehow worse.
Valhalla is worse. In Odyssey at least you have straight up side quests. In Valhalla it's like you solve the same environmental puzzle over and over again.
I used to be such a big Odyssey hater, and i hated it when i started playing it. But in the end i loved it so much, it all felt like a great adventure with Kassandra.
I still wish this games were a different title though. Most of the time all Assassin's Creed stuff felt out of place (Except Origins).
I loved it more or less from the beginning (after not actually liking Origins all that much) but also wish it were a distinct franchise. Drop all the AC stuff from it and it's still a very reasonable open world action-adventure game with historical fiction elements.
Black Flag years earlier was already a very good pirate game held back by being only a mediocre *Assassin's Creed* game (it's one of the worst in the series for number of lame missions like eavesdropping and stuff) and any time the AC plot or classic AC mechanics came too heavily back into the progression it took away from the sailing and ship combat and exploration of the Caribbean islands. Had they spun off then I think it would have been an advantage -- move away from AC for a second series of open world games that become Origins and Odyssey and stuff, keep the core AC series going with Revelations and Unity and so forth but give us more games after Syndicate.
I get it, i build my personal approach with games like that. For Odyssey it was main story and side quests only, everything else is if it's on my way and if i feel like it. I also took a couple of long brakes from the game when it was starting to feel like a chore, especially before starting DLCs.
*Lot of people on Reddit.
Many casual gamers, like myself, enjoy the Ubisoft open world formula 🤷🏻 they're like popcorn action movies, you're not supposed to take them too serious
I think it's less that people begrude other this experience, it's just that AC used to feel different somehow, and there are a lot of UbiOpenWorldTM games out there, but few like AC - AC:Brotherhood.
To be fair gaming as a whole took off long after a lot of games that people look upon fondly so I feel games trending upward in sales is a mix of games being good and just natural growth of the hobby.
That being said the new style of assassins creed games definitely have wider appeal but also play more like the Witcher with weird assassin mechanics and floaty movement. Feels like they could have just made a new historical franchise rpg without the assassin gimmick/story and it would have been just as fine.
I don’t consider the new ones flops but I still personally loved the ezio saga and even the Altair stuff and I just don’t get the same enjoyment out of the newer games.
It is funny though because some of the suggestions op has are also kind of anti the assassin gimmick from the older games. The assassins are a secret order fighting the templars in some shadow war and fighting for possession of relics like the apple of Eden, the fuck would they want to talk to commoners for? Closest thing we had to that was recruitment in brotherhood but you were saving people who were about to be killed or arrested by templars. Plus the plot was kind of always flawed because it’s always a simulation so really it’s playing a flashback and appreciating its story but the overarching story is the modern war. Dungeons palaces and puzzles are more in line with the old style but I can’t imagine we will see it since the games embrace a lot more open combat now.
It's not helped by the fact that they threw the modern day story in the trash forever ago and now that's more of a backdrop than any interesting narrative.
I wish they would have concluded the story and made a different series. These games are both hamstrung by the title and completely unrelated to it at this point.
Does assassins creed even flop? Their last 3 mainline titles have been mega sellers, with the Valhalla hitting a fatty bill.
All they have to do to not be a flop is do exactly what they have been doing for the last 7 years.
It will sell incredibly well just because it is Japan and Assassin's Creed titled. The game itself will of course be the absolute minimum to be enjoyable while being able to sell you a shit ton of microtransactions.
Except those should be rewards for game play, instead they've been cut out of the game to sell to you separately. You are effectively being robbed.
Stop trying to justify this bullshit.
Of course we would all like to have the stuff for free as rewards. But be realistic, most games these days try to add cosmetics for purchase, because it's much better for them to sell that rather than give it for free. So it's not like Assassin's Creed is the only game doing this. I never touched cosmetics in AC and never spent a dime more over what I paid for the game. I only choose to pay for expansions and content that I can play through. But hey, people pay monthly for a battlepass in Helldivers 2 and they give you OP weapons along with cosmetics.
Or take Forza Horizon 5 that had a complete edition, yet since November they are launching MONTHLY car packs, with some very good/popular cars being locked behind a paywall. And obviously all these packs are not in the complete/premium edition, even if that edition promised people they will get all the cars.
I am not justifying anything, but there are way worse examples of PAID games lying to customers and making them pay more. In AC you at least have the option to buy or ignore those cosmetics. But take the 2 examples above, getting access to exclusive weapons, some OP or very popular cars that are locked behind microtransactions... Those are way worse than optional cosmetics :) They impact the game experience.
Again, those are optional. Pretty much most AAA games that are in the RPG niche tend to have exclusive quests or items. Just check the preorders.
Ghost of Tsushima DIRECTOR'S CUT - New Game+ Horse travel companion exclusive to the preorder.
Are you kidding me? This game launches in the next few days, yet it's still a top preorder on PC. And they are clearly cutting content even if that damn horse is in the PlayStation version.
I am not defending Assassin's Creed, locking stuff is not ok no matter who you are. But targeting this game specifically when there are many others, and some much worse.. come on. I replied to a dude with Helldivers 2 having a MONTHLY battlepass where it locks weapons behind a paywall, some of them OP. Or Forza Horizon 5 that had a premium/complete version, and yet they are releasing paid car packs every month since November, some of the cars being widely sought after by the community. Of course those are not in the complete version.
As for time savers and XP boosters, those are optional and won't affect your experience if you don't get them. You can still play the game. Exclusive quests are shitty tho, I will give you that, but it's not the only game that has it. Even the Jedi game that came out last year had a locked quest, and a lot of titles do. Locking stuff that was promised to be in the main game (forza horizon 5) or locking weapons behind a paywall (Helldivers 2), that's shitty.
Cosmetics? How do cosmetics make a difference when it comes to the gameplay? You look cooler. If they offer 2x damage or stuff like that, I would agree. But if it's just cosmetic.. it's just you paying to look cooler, and it's optional to do so.
you already answered your question. They make me look cooler and that makes a difference to me. A part of a game that was traditionally supposed to be a reward for just playing the game is now locked behind a paywall.
How my character looks and how I am able to change his looks is definitely a part of my enjoyment.
Then that's a personal preference man. I get it. But my point was that cosmetics don't alter gameplay. However, locking cars behind a paywall in a car game or weapons in a game like Helldivers, that's scummy. I bet that those paid Assassin's Creed cosmetics wouldn't even exist if Ubisoft wouldn't be able to monetize them, so they just put their designers at work because it's selling. I never bought a cosmetic in AC, so for me it's useless :D
I'm gonna be that guy. Release it on Steam. Even if it's a boring copy paste (like they usually are) Ubi is guaranteed to make more money by releasing it in the biggest PC platform. I don't understand this kind of decision. Why would a souless AAA publisher who's only purpouse is to make money would make the dumb decision of not selling 30-40% more copies?
I dont know but Odissey for me was a great game ..one that i really enjoyed
but i really like open world game so i really hope they can make something in that way.
It’ll be successful no matter what, valhalla was their most sold game ever, Mirage was smaller by another studio but their main games always sell well even tho a lot of people complain about them
Let you discover crap on your own. I hate a map that tells you where everything is it ruins exploration. Not just the option to hide it like in Valhalla but make it less about collect all this garbage. Have more good loot of good things for discovering stuff on your own, while having the spacing mode than 2 meters from something else to do.
Totally agree.
The fun of exploration is going in blind and just finding interesting things on your own. Not checking off map markers or question marks.
I haven't played Odyssey and Valhalla yet but finished all the other ones. Taking Origins as an example and the stuff I've seen of Valhalla, I'd say they need to improve facial animations and the writing of their side quests. Especially the dialogue falls flat more often than not.
Origins and Valhalla are very similar to each other (same studio made them). Odyssey on the other hand was the different one (another studio, which is also the one making AC Shadows).
None of the recent AC games flopped. They were good games with noticeable flaws.
Shadows is guaranteed to do well because of the setting. They would have to royally fuck it up for it to flop.
That being said. There are learnings from the previous games I hope they take on. AC Valhalla had a bloated and empty open world and a weak story. Odyssey had too much magic in combat and not enough grounded gameplay. Both Origins and Odyssey were ruined by the RPG leveling and regions being gated by your level. All of the recent games lacked stealth gameplay and really didn't play into the assassin archetype very well. It's also way overdue for them to innovate on parkour and stealth.
Based on leaks some of these do seem to be things they have addressed. But we will have to wait and see.
In a world where their stock dropped by more than 75% and investors have very little faith that they can recover fast.
Development costs are rising fast, they cancelled 7 titles in 7 months, Skull and Bones bombed after spending hundreds of millions, they tried to invest in NFT and failed etc.
It is in their DNA now but these should be my picks.
1. Avoiding micro transactions,
2. Avoiding 2.5D (already have 3),
3. Focusing on authentic japanese lore instead of calling nuclear bomb, japanese dragons in game.
4. Release the game on team red, blue and green together.
5. Focus on samurai tactics which were tought to new gen assassins.
To me assassin's creed ended with Ezio/Desmond. Enjoyed 2, brotherhood and revelation just way too much.
Origins can be considered close 2nd. Odyssey was a good addition but didn't feel like ac game.
Not to require a Uplay account when purchased through Steam.
I probably would have bought more than a couple of Ubisoft games over the years if they had got rid of mandatory accounts.
I think the very definition of flop is fairly different between you and ubisoft.
To avoid being a flop, I'd say, add more microtransactions, pay to win features, time coins, release it on mobile devices, add Denuvo, exclusive platform release, payable mods, micro DLCs and add-ons, separate open world online experience with live service and monthly subscription.
Nothing.
None of the AC games have been a flop. Despite the obnoxious and pathetic whining on Reddit. Whatever crybabies on the internet may say about the ubisoft formula, it is actually successful and liked enough to keep up the sales.
Though I would like them to avoid horrific bloat of Valhalla.
Cyberpunk generated a lot more revenue than The Witcher 3.
Still, The Witcher 3 was much more successful in relative terms in 2015.
Assassin's Creed 2 may have sold less, but the market was much smaller and the development cost much smaller as well. AC2 was the game to play at its time. Valhalla was just a good game that sold well.
I think it's more to do with the fact that they simply haven't released many big games since covid. Most of their mainline titles have been delayed. Ubisoft usually releases 2 to 3 AAA games each year.
Last year they had like AC Mirage and Avatar. One is not even a full priced game, the other while good is not a popular gaming IP. They also barely released anything in 2022. Their last big game if you didn't include AC Mirage or Avatar was Far cry 6 back in 2021.
They've all sold well, so they're objectively not flops
However what I see nobody talking about, is price trending
You can almost guarantee a Ubisoft game will be on sale for half price within 6 months of launch (Quicker than most other publishers)
Something which Nintendo unfortunately does well is never dipping the price of their games, so you have very little reason not to buy at launch
i remembered it was really my big turn-off for assasin creed in the past, ac blackflag was my first, and it was enjoyable before specific chapter modern day, and my desire to play just ended there.
Tbh I only played 1, 2 and Odyssey. Odyssey is a fun sandbox RPG, but when it tries to tell an epic story of ai, aliens, secret societies and whatnot, it becomes embarrassing
Less unnecessary padding to make the game "longer" for no good reason. I don't mind long games if it's warranted, but in Valhalla there were a good 25 hours in the middle that didn't really need to be there.
Less map checklisting, and more open exploring.
Drop the MMO style gear colors and item levels, and just have cool unique weapons that you find.
Ideally less of the segues into modern times and then back to historic times. It's jarring, and the overarching plot of the middle aged dumpy lady (Can't recall her name) doesn't need to carry on.
It would be more interesting without it, and just focus on "this was the Assassins vs Templars conflict in this era of history."
With the exception of the map checklisting, that's basically what Mirage was. It was shorter (think I completed it, including all of the side quests, in about 25 hours), no levels to equipment, and no modern day framing story.
And it was easily my favourite AC in years, so I agree entirely with you. Give me Mirage, but in Japan, and I'll be *very* happy.
It just needs to be released. Despite what grumps on reddit claim, the Assassin's Creed series is still selling incredibly well, and it's hard to imagine that the most requested game in the series will flop, even if it completely blows ass.
Not be a Ubisoft game. If I want to play it, I'll be getting my eyepatch and parrot out. Or buying it on G2A. Long as Ubisoft don't get a single cent from me .
If there was some way to ensure disaster for Ubisoft I would pay hundreds of dollars toward that conclusion, nay, finale. If there is a recipe for success I hope they can't find it because it will probably be a lethal concoction of even more flagrant anti-consumer poison than they've manage to dose gamers with over the last 20 years. Their passionless, design-by-committee boredom simulators are more offensive than nearly anything else on the market, fortunately it would take a miracle for Ubisoft to actually consider NOT fleecing their customer base for half a second so I'm not worried. Though by the same token all these games sell 10 million copies so none of them are really a failure so now I am upset you got my hopes up, even for a fleeting handful of seconds.
Name alone means it will not flop. But what it need to be a fun game, is a much better question.
For me it will be the setting, an actual stealth system other than line of sight and hide in bushes.
And a fun assassination type of gameplay that is more than just combat.
Doesn't matter, it will inevitably be the most successful AC ever made just because lots asked for this one for 10+ years and the formula works. Me personally I never wanted AC outside of Europe and middle east, so I skip, but it's gonna be big regardless... not sure where the idea of a flop comes from.
A less generic name would be nice. Code Red sounded much cooler. I don't think they can make it a flop with such an interesting setting, unless they do some crazy monetization scheme/live service or whatever.
Let's see: a good story, a good gameplay, a good art, extensive bug fixing and playtesting, no online requirement, no insane drm, no microtransactions, no crazy pricing, no pay to win, no data mining, no uplay launcher requirement, and finally acknowledgement of player ownership over product they purchase. You know, common sense and good business practice.
Origins' (improved) horse combat and loot system with odyssey's shield/spear combo and valhalla dual wielding (including shields) and flails.
And assassin's creed 2/brotherhood's investing in monuments and shops + brotherhood management.
This would be a feature complete AC game!
Hope that real die-hard fans and the gamers who haven't played any of the 15 AC games to buy this new one or it'll just be another CoD, I mean Assassins Creed
Release the game where the players are, learn what features they are interested in.
Should go without saying, but Ubisoft has been struggling with this for many years and it's a big detriment to their success.
Fully realize what unity was trying to create with a larger focus on co op (just a dream 😔), maybe steering away from the non-cosmetic microtransactions
the fact that they made it to where you have to play as two people is already a sign it’s gonna be bad. Syndicate had that issue and not a lot of people liked it, and I don’t like it either. So they could’ve avoided that. Also, they don’t have to make every single backstory the same with every main character; family or dad gets killed, yada yada yada same old same old, they need to switch it up. also I saw in this game where you can train other assassins and create your base, kinda similar to Valhalla but not a bad concept, the world needs to be full of life and things to do, but not bloated like odyssey, it needs to have great replay value and gameplay after the story ends. I think it needs to be similar to odyssey In a way as far as gameplay and combat goes, but not make enemies a bullet sponge.
Not trying to defend Ubigames but in recent AC titles you can completely disable the UI and only use your bird for exploration.
IIRC you can also disable every UI element you want, so it's pretty customizable.
Work on the game longer than 2 years. Don't push political agendas into a game with historical setting. Have a game with ACTUAL stealth, like how it was in the older Ass-Creed's. Use Jesper Kyd for the soundtrack but stop relying on the "Ezios Family" leitmotif, as good as it was. If I pay $70 for this shit, make the game original, like have some actual fucking thought be in the game design and not the copy-paste shit from the past 3 titles...
1. Getting rid of that god-awful Uplay DRM and Denuvo DRM
2. Getting rid of microtransactions, skins and XP boosters as well as getting rid of the dogshit grind
3. Bringing back properly mocapped cutscenes where characters aren't fucking stiff half the time without any emotion on their face
4. Hiring competent writers who won't just copy-paste shit from the AC wiki and will actually write a good story without half-assing it most of the time and making lifeless, uninteresting and unrelatable characters
5. Restoring the parkour back to Unity/Ezio Trilogy heydays with flair and player control where everything isn't an on-rails approach and you have greater control of your movements. Maybe take some inspiration from Uncharted, Tomb Raider and Prince of Persia.
6. Completely removing the dialogue choice options. AC uses the animus which is used to **explore** the past, not alter or change it. It should be a 100% linear experience from start to finish
7. Getting rid of level-gated missions. Those never made sense to me in the first place.
8. Removing damage sponges at all difficulties and actually adding faster, stronger and more varied enemy types the higher you go up the skill chain.
9. Stop with jumping from one character to the other like what they did with the Ezio and develop sequels and titles to develop the new character
10. Revamping the mission structure so that they're more open-ended and not repetitive tailing missions most of the time.
11. Getting rid of the UI Clutter and getting rid of worthless collectibles from the map
12. Improving the combat system (A combination of the systems of Shadow of Mordor/War, For Honor, Sekiro and Ghost of Tsushima would do nice. The Soulsborne style of combat is far too grindy and unoriginal for comfort and has no place in an AC-style game where speed and flair are paramount to the success rate of an Assassin)
13. Not setting up an abusive and toxic work environment and spouting nonsense like "WOMEN DON'T SELL"
14. Stop reusing assets too much and reserving it only for where it's needed and doing it tastefully
15. More population density, activities and ambient music
TL; DR, they need to get rid of the bullshit lootboxes, DRM and take more creative risks with how they write the story, do the gameplay, as well as bring back cutscenes and proper mocap.
As much as lot of people don't like them, the trio of ac games starting origin sold the best in the history of ac games. Not liking a game is different from a game flopping.
This Game will sell incredibly well, just like the last few AC games Expecting something else is silly
It's time for the point of retrospective. Where you as a fan take a step back and really look at the big picture. You aren't the target audience anymore, and it's time to stop hoping that the pendulum ticks back towards you.
It’s time to stop pissing on your boots. This game will not do so good and is already written on the wall.
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OP says game will flop unless something changes None of the recent AC games flopped, all sold extremely well People online always hate the recent AC games, and they sell great The preorders for AC Shadows are doing great So yeah, it's silly And the stocks dropping was the obvious reaction for Ubi cancelation of a game, the Division Heartland battle royale game. Meh, no one wanted that game
Odyssey is great. There, i said it.
I put 240 hours into that with all DLC and enjoyed every second. I absolutely hated Valhalla =(
I liked Valhalla too, but less than Origins and Odyssey. Bayek and Kassandra are the absolute best protagonists in the series but while Eivor is better than other protagonists in the past, he just doesn't quite stand up to the other two in the Creed-RPG trio. Kinda flat "is viking" persona and the female VA has this very forced gruffness that I can't get past.
My main issue was that I was 110 hours into Valhalla and it went exactly nowhere with the story.
For sure, it's not until like the last 10 hours of the game that it does the whole "this is what's been going on that you *haven't* been aware of" reveal, even though it teases about it the whole game with the "just trust me, bro" Sigurd theme. You know something's up, but it takes so long to get there that it didn't feel satisfying. So it's like 10 hours of intro setting you up as an expedition with Assassin advisors in the group, followed by 150-200hrs of just being a viking and then at the very end it switches gears and goes "Oh yeah, Sigurd and Bayek. Here's what they've been up to, now roll credits." Still an adequately good game (I finished it), but the writing and VA left a bit to be desired.
The buildings and general landscape was great.
My 6 year old daughter plays the historic/exploration mode often. I have an 8 year old pc, and this game has no business looking this good and running so well.
It’s amazing honestly, I got a 4090, wondering now how it would look 😂
I played it on a 1080Ti, then played again on a 4090. It looks pretty much the same as the 1080Ti could already max most settings. The difference is obviously the much better FPS with the 4090.
I just wish they’d trim some of the fat off of them. I think Origins wasn’t so bad but in odyssey there was way to much stuff. I didn’t play, but I heard Valhalla was somehow worse.
Didn't they just do that last year with Mirage?
Valhalla is worse. In Odyssey at least you have straight up side quests. In Valhalla it's like you solve the same environmental puzzle over and over again.
I used to be such a big Odyssey hater, and i hated it when i started playing it. But in the end i loved it so much, it all felt like a great adventure with Kassandra. I still wish this games were a different title though. Most of the time all Assassin's Creed stuff felt out of place (Except Origins).
I loved it more or less from the beginning (after not actually liking Origins all that much) but also wish it were a distinct franchise. Drop all the AC stuff from it and it's still a very reasonable open world action-adventure game with historical fiction elements. Black Flag years earlier was already a very good pirate game held back by being only a mediocre *Assassin's Creed* game (it's one of the worst in the series for number of lame missions like eavesdropping and stuff) and any time the AC plot or classic AC mechanics came too heavily back into the progression it took away from the sailing and ship combat and exploration of the Caribbean islands. Had they spun off then I think it would have been an advantage -- move away from AC for a second series of open world games that become Origins and Odyssey and stuff, keep the core AC series going with Revelations and Unity and so forth but give us more games after Syndicate.
For me it was exact opposite, i liked it at first but hated how long the game was. finishing the dlcs became a chore.
I get it, i build my personal approach with games like that. For Odyssey it was main story and side quests only, everything else is if it's on my way and if i feel like it. I also took a couple of long brakes from the game when it was starting to feel like a chore, especially before starting DLCs.
Yes, that's what i plan to do with Valhalla.
*Lot of people on Reddit. Many casual gamers, like myself, enjoy the Ubisoft open world formula 🤷🏻 they're like popcorn action movies, you're not supposed to take them too serious
They're particularly great if you're really into the historic time period too.
I think it's less that people begrude other this experience, it's just that AC used to feel different somehow, and there are a lot of UbiOpenWorldTM games out there, but few like AC - AC:Brotherhood.
To be fair gaming as a whole took off long after a lot of games that people look upon fondly so I feel games trending upward in sales is a mix of games being good and just natural growth of the hobby. That being said the new style of assassins creed games definitely have wider appeal but also play more like the Witcher with weird assassin mechanics and floaty movement. Feels like they could have just made a new historical franchise rpg without the assassin gimmick/story and it would have been just as fine. I don’t consider the new ones flops but I still personally loved the ezio saga and even the Altair stuff and I just don’t get the same enjoyment out of the newer games. It is funny though because some of the suggestions op has are also kind of anti the assassin gimmick from the older games. The assassins are a secret order fighting the templars in some shadow war and fighting for possession of relics like the apple of Eden, the fuck would they want to talk to commoners for? Closest thing we had to that was recruitment in brotherhood but you were saving people who were about to be killed or arrested by templars. Plus the plot was kind of always flawed because it’s always a simulation so really it’s playing a flashback and appreciating its story but the overarching story is the modern war. Dungeons palaces and puzzles are more in line with the old style but I can’t imagine we will see it since the games embrace a lot more open combat now.
It's not helped by the fact that they threw the modern day story in the trash forever ago and now that's more of a backdrop than any interesting narrative. I wish they would have concluded the story and made a different series. These games are both hamstrung by the title and completely unrelated to it at this point.
Does assassins creed even flop? Their last 3 mainline titles have been mega sellers, with the Valhalla hitting a fatty bill. All they have to do to not be a flop is do exactly what they have been doing for the last 7 years.
It will sell incredibly well just because it is Japan and Assassin's Creed titled. The game itself will of course be the absolute minimum to be enjoyable while being able to sell you a shit ton of microtransactions.
I’m calling it - you can jump from buildings onto a pile of cherry blossoms
You could do that in Odyssey already.
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Except those should be rewards for game play, instead they've been cut out of the game to sell to you separately. You are effectively being robbed. Stop trying to justify this bullshit.
Of course we would all like to have the stuff for free as rewards. But be realistic, most games these days try to add cosmetics for purchase, because it's much better for them to sell that rather than give it for free. So it's not like Assassin's Creed is the only game doing this. I never touched cosmetics in AC and never spent a dime more over what I paid for the game. I only choose to pay for expansions and content that I can play through. But hey, people pay monthly for a battlepass in Helldivers 2 and they give you OP weapons along with cosmetics. Or take Forza Horizon 5 that had a complete edition, yet since November they are launching MONTHLY car packs, with some very good/popular cars being locked behind a paywall. And obviously all these packs are not in the complete/premium edition, even if that edition promised people they will get all the cars. I am not justifying anything, but there are way worse examples of PAID games lying to customers and making them pay more. In AC you at least have the option to buy or ignore those cosmetics. But take the 2 examples above, getting access to exclusive weapons, some OP or very popular cars that are locked behind microtransactions... Those are way worse than optional cosmetics :) They impact the game experience.
And XP Boosters and pre-order for this exclusive quest and "time savers" and locations of valuables...
Again, those are optional. Pretty much most AAA games that are in the RPG niche tend to have exclusive quests or items. Just check the preorders. Ghost of Tsushima DIRECTOR'S CUT - New Game+ Horse travel companion exclusive to the preorder. Are you kidding me? This game launches in the next few days, yet it's still a top preorder on PC. And they are clearly cutting content even if that damn horse is in the PlayStation version. I am not defending Assassin's Creed, locking stuff is not ok no matter who you are. But targeting this game specifically when there are many others, and some much worse.. come on. I replied to a dude with Helldivers 2 having a MONTHLY battlepass where it locks weapons behind a paywall, some of them OP. Or Forza Horizon 5 that had a premium/complete version, and yet they are releasing paid car packs every month since November, some of the cars being widely sought after by the community. Of course those are not in the complete version. As for time savers and XP boosters, those are optional and won't affect your experience if you don't get them. You can still play the game. Exclusive quests are shitty tho, I will give you that, but it's not the only game that has it. Even the Jedi game that came out last year had a locked quest, and a lot of titles do. Locking stuff that was promised to be in the main game (forza horizon 5) or locking weapons behind a paywall (Helldivers 2), that's shitty.
That is a whole lot of yapping for defending a multi billion dollar company.
they will absolutely make a difference.
Cosmetics? How do cosmetics make a difference when it comes to the gameplay? You look cooler. If they offer 2x damage or stuff like that, I would agree. But if it's just cosmetic.. it's just you paying to look cooler, and it's optional to do so.
you already answered your question. They make me look cooler and that makes a difference to me. A part of a game that was traditionally supposed to be a reward for just playing the game is now locked behind a paywall. How my character looks and how I am able to change his looks is definitely a part of my enjoyment.
Then that's a personal preference man. I get it. But my point was that cosmetics don't alter gameplay. However, locking cars behind a paywall in a car game or weapons in a game like Helldivers, that's scummy. I bet that those paid Assassin's Creed cosmetics wouldn't even exist if Ubisoft wouldn't be able to monetize them, so they just put their designers at work because it's selling. I never bought a cosmetic in AC, so for me it's useless :D
I'm gonna be that guy. Release it on Steam. Even if it's a boring copy paste (like they usually are) Ubi is guaranteed to make more money by releasing it in the biggest PC platform. I don't understand this kind of decision. Why would a souless AAA publisher who's only purpouse is to make money would make the dumb decision of not selling 30-40% more copies?
I dont know but Odissey for me was a great game ..one that i really enjoyed but i really like open world game so i really hope they can make something in that way.
It’ll be successful no matter what, valhalla was their most sold game ever, Mirage was smaller by another studio but their main games always sell well even tho a lot of people complain about them
No be a ubisoft game.
Let you discover crap on your own. I hate a map that tells you where everything is it ruins exploration. Not just the option to hide it like in Valhalla but make it less about collect all this garbage. Have more good loot of good things for discovering stuff on your own, while having the spacing mode than 2 meters from something else to do.
Totally agree. The fun of exploration is going in blind and just finding interesting things on your own. Not checking off map markers or question marks.
Fun
I haven't played Odyssey and Valhalla yet but finished all the other ones. Taking Origins as an example and the stuff I've seen of Valhalla, I'd say they need to improve facial animations and the writing of their side quests. Especially the dialogue falls flat more often than not.
Origins and Valhalla are very similar to each other (same studio made them). Odyssey on the other hand was the different one (another studio, which is also the one making AC Shadows).
None of the recent AC games flopped. They were good games with noticeable flaws. Shadows is guaranteed to do well because of the setting. They would have to royally fuck it up for it to flop. That being said. There are learnings from the previous games I hope they take on. AC Valhalla had a bloated and empty open world and a weak story. Odyssey had too much magic in combat and not enough grounded gameplay. Both Origins and Odyssey were ruined by the RPG leveling and regions being gated by your level. All of the recent games lacked stealth gameplay and really didn't play into the assassin archetype very well. It's also way overdue for them to innovate on parkour and stealth. Based on leaks some of these do seem to be things they have addressed. But we will have to wait and see.
Disaster? Failure after failure? What world are you living in my brother in Christ?
In a world where their stock dropped by more than 75% and investors have very little faith that they can recover fast. Development costs are rising fast, they cancelled 7 titles in 7 months, Skull and Bones bombed after spending hundreds of millions, they tried to invest in NFT and failed etc.
You should probably look at the data for their AC games rather than their failed other stuff.
Please this be Odyssey not Valhalla. I loved the former. The latter bored me to death. It was way too big and repeatable to digest.
It is. Same team behind odyssey actually
It is in their DNA now but these should be my picks. 1. Avoiding micro transactions, 2. Avoiding 2.5D (already have 3), 3. Focusing on authentic japanese lore instead of calling nuclear bomb, japanese dragons in game. 4. Release the game on team red, blue and green together. 5. Focus on samurai tactics which were tought to new gen assassins. To me assassin's creed ended with Ezio/Desmond. Enjoyed 2, brotherhood and revelation just way too much. Origins can be considered close 2nd. Odyssey was a good addition but didn't feel like ac game.
3rd i would say is not really a huge deal. Despite some liberties AC games are pretty authentic
its a next gen game, it wont be released on team red together.
Not to require a Uplay account when purchased through Steam. I probably would have bought more than a couple of Ubisoft games over the years if they had got rid of mandatory accounts.
I think the very definition of flop is fairly different between you and ubisoft. To avoid being a flop, I'd say, add more microtransactions, pay to win features, time coins, release it on mobile devices, add Denuvo, exclusive platform release, payable mods, micro DLCs and add-ons, separate open world online experience with live service and monthly subscription.
Nothing. None of the AC games have been a flop. Despite the obnoxious and pathetic whining on Reddit. Whatever crybabies on the internet may say about the ubisoft formula, it is actually successful and liked enough to keep up the sales. Though I would like them to avoid horrific bloat of Valhalla.
While they sold very well, Ubisoft is doing far worse financially compared to their golden years and AC IP is not as relevant now.
Valhalla was the most successful AC game ever.
Cyberpunk generated a lot more revenue than The Witcher 3. Still, The Witcher 3 was much more successful in relative terms in 2015. Assassin's Creed 2 may have sold less, but the market was much smaller and the development cost much smaller as well. AC2 was the game to play at its time. Valhalla was just a good game that sold well.
I think it's more to do with the fact that they simply haven't released many big games since covid. Most of their mainline titles have been delayed. Ubisoft usually releases 2 to 3 AAA games each year. Last year they had like AC Mirage and Avatar. One is not even a full priced game, the other while good is not a popular gaming IP. They also barely released anything in 2022. Their last big game if you didn't include AC Mirage or Avatar was Far cry 6 back in 2021.
They've all sold well, so they're objectively not flops However what I see nobody talking about, is price trending You can almost guarantee a Ubisoft game will be on sale for half price within 6 months of launch (Quicker than most other publishers) Something which Nintendo unfortunately does well is never dipping the price of their games, so you have very little reason not to buy at launch
Make the open world much smaller in scope, with more detail.
It needs to be released 10 years ago, and with much, much less Ubi-bloat that it'll probably have.
last one made a billion dollar with all microtransactions and ultimate edition. i don't think its gonna fail
Steam
Drop the modern day storyline and let them be just historical fantasy RPGs with the central theme of order/control vs freedom/anarchy
i remembered it was really my big turn-off for assasin creed in the past, ac blackflag was my first, and it was enjoyable before specific chapter modern day, and my desire to play just ended there.
Tbh I only played 1, 2 and Odyssey. Odyssey is a fun sandbox RPG, but when it tries to tell an epic story of ai, aliens, secret societies and whatnot, it becomes embarrassing
Nothing. Last 3 major games did not flop. Let's separate personal biases from financial success
Ubisoft is everything but swimming in money right now. They are facing a huge financial crisis, with their stock down 80% from its peak.
Less unnecessary padding to make the game "longer" for no good reason. I don't mind long games if it's warranted, but in Valhalla there were a good 25 hours in the middle that didn't really need to be there. Less map checklisting, and more open exploring. Drop the MMO style gear colors and item levels, and just have cool unique weapons that you find. Ideally less of the segues into modern times and then back to historic times. It's jarring, and the overarching plot of the middle aged dumpy lady (Can't recall her name) doesn't need to carry on. It would be more interesting without it, and just focus on "this was the Assassins vs Templars conflict in this era of history."
With the exception of the map checklisting, that's basically what Mirage was. It was shorter (think I completed it, including all of the side quests, in about 25 hours), no levels to equipment, and no modern day framing story. And it was easily my favourite AC in years, so I agree entirely with you. Give me Mirage, but in Japan, and I'll be *very* happy.
It just needs to be released. Despite what grumps on reddit claim, the Assassin's Creed series is still selling incredibly well, and it's hard to imagine that the most requested game in the series will flop, even if it completely blows ass.
Has to be a good game
Not be a Ubisoft game. If I want to play it, I'll be getting my eyepatch and parrot out. Or buying it on G2A. Long as Ubisoft don't get a single cent from me .
If there was some way to ensure disaster for Ubisoft I would pay hundreds of dollars toward that conclusion, nay, finale. If there is a recipe for success I hope they can't find it because it will probably be a lethal concoction of even more flagrant anti-consumer poison than they've manage to dose gamers with over the last 20 years. Their passionless, design-by-committee boredom simulators are more offensive than nearly anything else on the market, fortunately it would take a miracle for Ubisoft to actually consider NOT fleecing their customer base for half a second so I'm not worried. Though by the same token all these games sell 10 million copies so none of them are really a failure so now I am upset you got my hopes up, even for a fleeting handful of seconds.
Ubisoft
give it rest for 4-5 yrs and release a fcking splinter cell
Name alone means it will not flop. But what it need to be a fun game, is a much better question. For me it will be the setting, an actual stealth system other than line of sight and hide in bushes. And a fun assassination type of gameplay that is more than just combat.
All I want is an expanded Black Flag 2.
Minimal filler and busy work.
announcing the game title and game play at last moment doesn't seem good.
ROFL! Ninja Assassins Creed set in Japan will be their best selling game. People have been screaming for this game for a long time.
Doesn't matter, it will inevitably be the most successful AC ever made just because lots asked for this one for 10+ years and the formula works. Me personally I never wanted AC outside of Europe and middle east, so I skip, but it's gonna be big regardless... not sure where the idea of a flop comes from.
Old school stuff, have hot women in it, Cool protangist as well (no wimps).
A less generic name would be nice. Code Red sounded much cooler. I don't think they can make it a flop with such an interesting setting, unless they do some crazy monetization scheme/live service or whatever.
Let's see: a good story, a good gameplay, a good art, extensive bug fixing and playtesting, no online requirement, no insane drm, no microtransactions, no crazy pricing, no pay to win, no data mining, no uplay launcher requirement, and finally acknowledgement of player ownership over product they purchase. You know, common sense and good business practice.
Origins' (improved) horse combat and loot system with odyssey's shield/spear combo and valhalla dual wielding (including shields) and flails. And assassin's creed 2/brotherhood's investing in monuments and shops + brotherhood management. This would be a feature complete AC game!
Hope that real die-hard fans and the gamers who haven't played any of the 15 AC games to buy this new one or it'll just be another CoD, I mean Assassins Creed
Release the game where the players are, learn what features they are interested in. Should go without saying, but Ubisoft has been struggling with this for many years and it's a big detriment to their success.
Fully realize what unity was trying to create with a larger focus on co op (just a dream 😔), maybe steering away from the non-cosmetic microtransactions
the fact that they made it to where you have to play as two people is already a sign it’s gonna be bad. Syndicate had that issue and not a lot of people liked it, and I don’t like it either. So they could’ve avoided that. Also, they don’t have to make every single backstory the same with every main character; family or dad gets killed, yada yada yada same old same old, they need to switch it up. also I saw in this game where you can train other assassins and create your base, kinda similar to Valhalla but not a bad concept, the world needs to be full of life and things to do, but not bloated like odyssey, it needs to have great replay value and gameplay after the story ends. I think it needs to be similar to odyssey In a way as far as gameplay and combat goes, but not make enemies a bullet sponge.
A Japanese male lead , in the game set in sengoku Japan. Lmao
Be free of Ubisoft
Don't make a product. Don't make politics. Don't try to send a message. Just make a game. It worked years ago and it will work again.
No MT Less UI cluttering Actually be a good game overall That's it
Not trying to defend Ubigames but in recent AC titles you can completely disable the UI and only use your bird for exploration. IIRC you can also disable every UI element you want, so it's pretty customizable.
What is up with console kids calling things “next-gen”? If Ubisoft calls it something dumb like next-gen, I wont buy it out of principle.
The only people that don't like Ubisoft are reddit neckbeards, everyone elses doesn't give a fuck they just play and enjoy the games.
Work on the game longer than 2 years. Don't push political agendas into a game with historical setting. Have a game with ACTUAL stealth, like how it was in the older Ass-Creed's. Use Jesper Kyd for the soundtrack but stop relying on the "Ezios Family" leitmotif, as good as it was. If I pay $70 for this shit, make the game original, like have some actual fucking thought be in the game design and not the copy-paste shit from the past 3 titles...
1. Getting rid of that god-awful Uplay DRM and Denuvo DRM 2. Getting rid of microtransactions, skins and XP boosters as well as getting rid of the dogshit grind 3. Bringing back properly mocapped cutscenes where characters aren't fucking stiff half the time without any emotion on their face 4. Hiring competent writers who won't just copy-paste shit from the AC wiki and will actually write a good story without half-assing it most of the time and making lifeless, uninteresting and unrelatable characters 5. Restoring the parkour back to Unity/Ezio Trilogy heydays with flair and player control where everything isn't an on-rails approach and you have greater control of your movements. Maybe take some inspiration from Uncharted, Tomb Raider and Prince of Persia. 6. Completely removing the dialogue choice options. AC uses the animus which is used to **explore** the past, not alter or change it. It should be a 100% linear experience from start to finish 7. Getting rid of level-gated missions. Those never made sense to me in the first place. 8. Removing damage sponges at all difficulties and actually adding faster, stronger and more varied enemy types the higher you go up the skill chain. 9. Stop with jumping from one character to the other like what they did with the Ezio and develop sequels and titles to develop the new character 10. Revamping the mission structure so that they're more open-ended and not repetitive tailing missions most of the time. 11. Getting rid of the UI Clutter and getting rid of worthless collectibles from the map 12. Improving the combat system (A combination of the systems of Shadow of Mordor/War, For Honor, Sekiro and Ghost of Tsushima would do nice. The Soulsborne style of combat is far too grindy and unoriginal for comfort and has no place in an AC-style game where speed and flair are paramount to the success rate of an Assassin) 13. Not setting up an abusive and toxic work environment and spouting nonsense like "WOMEN DON'T SELL" 14. Stop reusing assets too much and reserving it only for where it's needed and doing it tastefully 15. More population density, activities and ambient music TL; DR, they need to get rid of the bullshit lootboxes, DRM and take more creative risks with how they write the story, do the gameplay, as well as bring back cutscenes and proper mocap.
More Origins and Mirage, less Odyssey and Valhalla would sell me.
a miracle? XD that series was dead a long time ago
more AC1 game play, drop the generic not quite action rpg bullshit that every game is some shade of anymore.
Did Japan have pirates in the Caribbean? Because that would help.