One month ago, we were treated with the world premiere of this year’s Assassin’s Creed game, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. Set in 1868 Victorian London, two new protagonists were revealed with new weapons and, for the first time in the series, vehicles.
While the world premiere gave us all the basics, including an October 23rd release date, E3 is where the hype train really starts to pick up. And after two days of E3 press conferences, it definitely did.
E3 Cinematic Trailer
Another E3, another cinematic trailer. At Ubisoft’s press conference, the E3 cinematic trailer for Assassin’s Creed Syndicate was revealed, showing the customary flying eagle, a horse carriage falling into a river, and lots of British smoke.
Apart from that, we get a good look at the all-new Rope Launcher and some very cool environmental combat involving chairs, chains, and blinding enemies. It is safe to say that some aspects in the trailer may or may not be present in the final game. But, doubts aside, Victorian London sure does look gorgeously slick.
Gameplay Walkthrough
Oddly enough, Ubisoft decided not to show any gameplay footage from Assassin’s Creed Syndicate at their press conference. Instead, they proceeded to post a gameplay demo on Youtube at the same time as the cinematic trailer was shown at their press conference.
Once again featuring Jacob Frye, the second gameplay walkthrough released so far shows us combat on carriages, trains, and a gang war street brawl. The footage also demonstrates how the Rope Launcher can be used for horizontal movement as well as vertical. The melee combat does look a bit cartoonish at points due its fast pace, but the use of Jacob’s cane, which includes a hidden blade, makes the hand-to-hand combat impressive to watch.
Evie Frye Trailer
After a month of focus on the male protagonist, his twin sister, Evie Frye, finally gets some attention with her own trailer. Besides looking badass taking out templars and throwing them into furnaces, new weapons like the cane-sword and throwing knives get a taste of the spotlight, much like in Jacob’s trailer.
With stealth, hand-to-hand, and environmental combat all looking like a piece of cake for Evie, it seems that she’ll be a female protagonist we can all be proud of.
The Dreadful Crimes
Last year, Assassin’s Creed Unity was heavily marketed with the Xbox One, with console bundles and better graphics as fruits of that collaboration. This year, it’s Sony’s turn, with 10 side missions in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate announced as exclusive to PS4 at Sony’s E3 press conference. Called The Dreadful Crimes, the 10 missions involve investigating murders, kidnappings, and other crimes throughout London for special rewards and exclusive artwork.
Similar to Unity‘s Murder Mysteries, witnesses have to be interviewed, and suspects have to be accused. This follows Sony’s collaboration with Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, where 60 minutes of gameplay was exclusive on the PS4.
For now…
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate‘s E3 releases may be done and dusted for now, but for those in London, Paris, Madrid, Milan, Amsterdam, Berlin, Stockholm, and Sydney, the opportunity to experience Assassin’s Creed Syndicate first-hand presents itself through Assassin’s Creed Syndicate: The Tour from June 16th to 18th. Registration is available here.
For others not in the vicinity, we can all wait for the worldwide release of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate on October 23rd – only four short months away.
