Assassins Creed 1 Remake on The Horizon
There’s been a lot of speculation that Assassin’s Creed 1 could be the next game in Ubisoft’s rumored Resynced remake series.
At first glance, that seems obvious, I mean, about time, right? Why wouldn’t you start with the game that started it all?
But Ubisoft didn’t start there. They started with Black Flag. And the more I think about it, the more that makes sense.
Because Black Flag isn’t simply another old Assassin’s Creed game. It sits at an interesting crossroads in the history of the franchise.
When the original Assassin’s Creed released in 2007, the series was built around a relatively specific idea.
You were an assassin.
Not a warrior.
Not a Viking.
Not a Spartan demigod.
The core gameplay loop was about using your environment to reach a target without being detected.
Learn the layout of the city, blend in with the crowds, gather information about your target, get in for the kill.
Over the years, Ubisoft moved away from this formula. The worlds became larger and character progression became more prominent. Combat became more complex as the games evolved from Action Stealth to Open World RPGs.
Levels, gear, stats, and crafting the right build all mattered.
So Why Start with Black Flag?
Black Flag was the pivot point. It maintained many of the original mechanics. Parkour, social stealth, tailing, and assassination missions but opened up exploration with underwater areas and the fledge out naval mechanics started with AC3 in 2013.
Ubisoft announced it had 34 million player count as of its 10-year anniversary, making it the safe bet to fully modernize the title.
"Resynced" with updated graphics, gameplay and even new content, the Caribbean adventure brought us back to the Golden Age of Piracy.
AC1 would not be a lift and shift, it needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. You can't have the legendary Altaïr looting chest for swords, maces, or pants chasing the highest number. No, his stealth, hidden blade and solid narrative was the reason the game was a hit.
Pickpocketing, tailing, interrogating to find out more information to not only get to your target, but exits and potential witness that may causes issue with successfully getting out. Or you slap Altaïr in a modern game, a complete retelling, where you are boldly and unapologetically hacking and slashing you way across the Third Century Holy Land. A story told about the same legend around a separate campfire.
There lies the gamble, can Ubisoft take a stealth based action-adventure game and remake it today without explicitly turning it into a Open World RPG? Can you modernize the premise of the Assassin's Creed without losing what made the original game special?
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