Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India Reviews
The second episode in the Chronicles spin-off series is as good-looking and well thought-out as the first, but marred by frustrating stealth and platform sections and flawed controls. While the visuals are impressive and the mechanics mostly solid, the level design will test your patience yet leave you oddly underwhelmed. Here's hoping the last part, Russia, brings some big improvements.
If you're a big fan of Assassin's Creed, or enjoyed ACC: China, then you can pick this up without hesitation. It's more of the same gameplay-wise, but completely different story and setting-wise. Platforming fans may also want to pick this up, because there are not too many new platformers coming out on a regular basis. However, casual fans need not apply, since the game has somewhat clunky controls, hilariously stupid enemy AI that presents little challenge, and those terrible tailing missions that players of regular Assassin's Creed games hate so much.
It's a stylish game with fun platforming, smooth combat and mostly good stealthy bits - and a definite improvement on its underwhelming predecessor.
If you're a fan of Assassin's Creed then it will suit you, though perhaps you'd be better off waiting for the collection. ACC: India can be completed within a day or two, so if you're looking for something to fill the time there are worse things.
Visually interesting and competently made for the most part, but the novelty of a 2D Assassin's Creed is already beginning to wear off.
While the gameplay foundation here is still competent, Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India just finds too many petty, annoying ways to keep me from truly enjoying it.
In the end, Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India is a perfect example of "woulda, coulda, shoulda." There are so many highlights glinting out from this pile of mediocrity; if only the developers could've tied them all together, then we'd be treated to a more vivid and consistent display. But serious drawbacks like poor storytelling and acting, questionable AI and gameplay responsiveness, and a definite lack of pacing drag the whole production down.
Assassins Creed Chronicles: India hits its mark in areas where ACC: China failed to, but misses in areas where China did well. It is difficult for all the wrong reasons, but the overall presentation makes it unique and something in which fans of the franchise may want to check out.
Like it always has, your fandom with Assassin's Creed will determine your level of interest. Despite being a side-show from the annual attractions, it's still business as usual. Standard stealth with a null story amidst an interesting and unventured historical period. Like me, that last part may be enough to entice. Just don't expect the former to feel as novel.
Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India does well at fleshing out the AC Universe showing the struggle between the Assassins and the Templars reaching all cultures throughout time.
The absolute beauty of the painting-like art style also helped. There's one thing that India has that was just as amazing as it was in China.
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India is a good but still not great entry in the Chronicles trilogy. While it does manage to make a few improvements over China, the initial entry, it's still weighed down by problems like the clunky combat, the somewhat erratic AI, or sections that require a lot of trial and error to complete in the best way possible.
An improvement on its predecessor, Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India is a more varied game that at it's best, is pretty damn good. But a handful of poor choices and underdeveloped ideas hold it back.
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India learned from the missteps of its predecessor, as gameplay is more varied and its colorful, vibrant levels are both pleasing to the eye and fun to interact with in most cases. Open combat is to be avoided at all costs, however, limiting how you play the game—and some of the puzzle-platforming levels drag in term of pacing.
Our trip to India is not dissimilar to our original trip to China; the style and gameplay are almost identical to the first game, not that there is anything particularly wrong with that. Being given the choice to play stealthy or by using full on combat is refreshing and you are able to go through the whole game without directly harming a single enemy, but it does sometimes feel like you are forced into combat with the layout of the levels and the frequency of the enemies. The 2.5D style is used to good effect and works well for the assassination based gameplay, being able to dodge enemies and hide in hidden doorways in the background, or ledges in the foreground. Whilst there is no new ground being broken here, Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India is more than enjoyable to play through, especially if you enjoyed the first game, and it will surely keep you entertained until we get the chance to visit Russia the next time around.
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India makes some vast improvements over its predecessor in terms of style and gameplay while providing challenging 2D puzzles, but still lacks an engaging narrative.
The experience is also more exciting on the whole, due to a series of large set pieces. Most of these come in the form of harrowing escapes, and at one point you're asked to snipe enemies while still keeping in mind the stealth focus. Assuring guards don't notice that you're picking them off one-by-one from afar makes for a unique challenge not seen in most stealth games.
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India, isn't a whole lot different compared to China, which is either a good or a bad thing depending on your prior experience. It sports a slightly less interesting character and setting, but the core experience is replicated, and the addition of a few gameplay tweaks as well as the aforementioned challenge mode ensures that it's on the level.
The middle chapter of the Chronicles trilogy improves the formula, but doesn't perfect it.
Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India bietet eine solide Leistung für einen 2,5 Platformer, schwächelt aber etwas im Storystelling und bietet auch sonst zu wenig neues. Falls euch der Vorgänger zugesagt hat, werdet ihr auf jeden Fall auch mit dem neuesten Chronicles Abenteuer euren Spaß haben. Für alle anderen, empfehlen wir eher auf Besserungen im letzten Abschnitt der Reihe zu hoffen, wo es euch nach Russland verschlagen wird.
Review in German | Read full review