Kingdom is a truly beautiful game that takes the core concepts of strategy games and cuts the genre's mechanics to the bone. This minimalism cuts both ways, leaving some parts of the game obtuse or frustratingly uncontrollable. Despite this, Kingdom is relentlessly addictive and replayable.
Read Only Memories is an outstanding game that seamlessly blends 30 years of adventure games and interactive fiction to tell a compelling cyberpunk story. It handles delicate social issues without being condescending or preachy. The fascinating characters and well-written plot keep the game interesting from the opening cutscene to the closing credits.
The bottom line is that Syndicate isn't as ground breaking or entertaining as Black Flag was, but it's not the mess that Assassin's Creed 3 or Assasin's Creed: Unity were. Do you need your yearly Assassin's Creed fix? Syndicate will do just fine. If you're sick and tired of the formula, though, there's nothing new here that's going to change your mind.