Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China Reviews
That is kind of the way Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China feels like in general — it starts out okay, but soon becomes dull fairly quickly thanks to a lackluster plot and uninspired gameplay. While there is a lot to explore, especially considering the $10 price tag, the poor enemy AI and almost useless gadgets probably won't have you staying in the game's visually beautiful world for long. Unless you are the world's biggest Assassin's Creed fan, you should probably think long and hard before giving this a go.
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China doesn't look like an outcast, but its tedious and bland gameplay make it the ugly duckling of the Assassin's Creed franchise. That's not to say that it's a bad or awful game; it's simply boring and forgettable, despite featuring decent mechanics and great presentation values.
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China is a wonderful setting for a competent, but fairly unimaginative, 2.5D stealth title. Hopefully this won't be Shao Jun's final appearance.
Still, I think of how The Devil Inside essentially is a film with no third act. By the same token, ACC: China never really lets the itself soar. Everything feels deliberately muted. And that leads Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China being ultimately just as forgettable as The Devil Inside.
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China isn't terrible in any particular way. It is, from top to bottom, entirely middle of the road standard at best and its main attraction is the cheap selling price for a few hours of side-scrolling action.
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China is sadly a bit of a let down. Gorgeous to look at, fiddly to control and a tad dull to experience, this is yet another AC iteration that falls flat. A bold idea, poorly executed.
Refreshing for the series, but still underwhelming
Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China could definitely be a better game, and it’s definitely setup all the foundations of one.
Assassins Creed Chronicles: China sees a massive departure from the core gameplay of the franchise, and while it is refreshing to see the game take some risks it never really finds its own identity.
I don't fault Ubisoft for trying something different with its acclaimed Assassin's Creed franchise, and in some respects there's a lot to like. However when the game stumbles it does so in grand fashion, creating an infuriating experience that makes me want to throw my controller more than continue on my quest.
Assassins Creed Chronicles: China offers some solid building blocks for this spin-off series, including beautiful art and decent stealth gameplay. The poor combat and sad attempt at storytelling, however, both leave far too much to be desired.
At this point, unless you're an Assassin's Creed diehard, this offering is difficult to recommend in the face of the competition.
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China is an absolutely solid spin-off in almost every way. Traversal is fluid and fun, combat is enjoyably simple, and the level design is often lovingly crafted, but it never comes close to stepping out of its comfort zone and trying something remotely memorable. Even outside of Ubisoft's main series, the confining walls of Assassin's Creed remain recognisable and reliable, but they're in increasingly desperate need of a new lick of paint.
This side-scrolling spinoff of the famous series is a striking, well-executed game, but it could have been a lot more.
'Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China' features a unique art style and fun level design, but the stealth-focused gameplay starts to wear thin after a while.
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China feels like an Assassin's Creed game without the sense of adventure and scope, and a Prince of Persia game without the cool platforming and exciting combat.
Without a better story, and the game ending before you can really ever test your mettle, Assassin's Creed Chronicles feels lackluster.
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China features some great stealth gameplay reminiscent of Klei Entertainment's Mark of the Ninja. Unfortunately, the mechanics lack more depth and grow tired by time you reach the end of your quest. Ubisoft also misses the opportunity to tell a bigger story. Worth playing, but Shao Jun deserves better.
It is the most sumptuous and stealth-focused Assassin's Creed yet, but Chronicles: China doesn't assemble its pieces into a gratifying whole.
As a 2D interpretation of Assassin's Creed this works perfectly well, but the workmanlike design and bland atmosphere makes it hard to get excited about.