Assassin's Creed® Revelations

Gameplay : 5/5
Graphics : 3/5
Audio (Sound effects, voice acting) : 5/5
Soundtrack : 5/5
Story : 5/5
Characters : 5/5
Worldbuilding : 5/5
Immersion : 5/5
Replayability : 3/5
Bugs Cleanliness : 2/5
Price/Quality Value : 5/5

Difficulty (1-Very easy, 5-Very difficult): 2/5

Overall : 4,4/5, Amazing

Still my favorite AC. Ubi added Steam achievement support after almost 15 years, but it doesn't work flawlessly. There's high chances you will be stuck at 47/48 achievements or even worse, if you don't own the DLC you will be locked out of half the achievements. If that matters to you, maybe consider skipping it for now.

The AC2 trilogy is one of the better games in the series when taken as a whole.

game controls are annoying

personal verdict - ★★★★★★★★☆☆ "8/10" ✅

DLC: The Lost Archive - ❌

It's a beautiful game like AC 2 and Brotherhood but compared to them it has less creativity in missions, side quests etc...
I expected more but it's good enough to give it 8/10
Ezio Auditore is one of the best characters in the gaming industry
i will wait for remake of 1 and Ezio collection.

I don't care what others say about this game, or the fact that while yes, (there's an issue with getting full achievements on this version of the game), I really honestly don't find that bothers me in like any way at all, or rather, liking the game for the fact it is a good game and not for little quirks that seem to really piss some people off, idk.

The story isn't perfect in all areas, but the ending coupled with Jesper Kyd's brilliance in composure gave me the same wow factor that the other Ezio titles did, only this one felt a bit more - especially towards the end. At this point I have beaten this game probably 3-4 times and still go back in every now and then just to mess about.

Every time I have beaten this game, I've been left with the same feeling of a chapter closing (all the years I spent playing the other Ezio Assassins Creed games), and a warm closure as the credits roll each and every time. I guess you could say the ending was rather...revelating...(if that's even a word).

great game it feels so good playing as altair and city is also colorful and immersive

Opened to replay the game to 100% it now that they added trophies. Sections of this game are simply unplayable (Desmond Sequences and The Lost Archive) since they removed files that were necessary for them to function. Too much tinkering is needed and you can't even get The Lost Archive anymore.

just dont buy this game u'll have to mess with the files and that just sucks, also a lot of crashes so u need to play 60hz. except that the story is ok but slow not like previous ones and gameplay is imo worse cuz its slow but complicated

I recommend this game, but only if you're willing to do more than just install and play. With a lot of older games like this, they will perform worse with more modern CPUs with multiple cores (I experienced the same thing on Far Cry 3). In this review I will go over the things I had problems with and the ways around them and also my review of the actual game..

This game is one of the worst old AC games I've experienced playing on steam recently. When I was playing in Cappadocia or any mission reliving Altaïr's past, my game would crash really frequently. There were other moments when it would happen randomly, but those were the main moments. The way around this is by limiting how many cores of your CPU is being used when running AC Revelations. I do this by installing a program called Process Lasso and I disabled all cores except core 0. There is guides elsewhere on how to use the software specifically, but just know that it's safe and a normal procedure for playing older games on a modern gaming rig.

Another issue with this game is they removed multiplayer. To be fair, I don't mind it because I didn't wanna have to do those achievements, but during that process somehow they messed up the Desmond missions and The Lost Archive and you can't access any of that content without either your game crashing or being stuck in an infinite loading screen. To fix this, I followed a steam guide someone posted where basically you revert to an older game save before they removed multiplayer and it'll allow you to play the Desmond and Lost Archive missions perfectly fine. If you have already played these missions in the past, you know there isn't anything special about them because they're just obstacle courses with collectibles. They're very boring and take not a lot of time to 100%. The only reason I went through all the work of being able to play them is because I wanted to obtain all the achievements legit. Note: I did this after I got all the achievements in the main part of the game and it didn't erase my save data or anything.

Speaking of achievements, they added achievements to a ton of Ubisoft games (mainly Far Cry and AC games). So that's the main reason I replayed this game. Getting all achievements is simple. This game has a really small map and the story is fairly short. The achievements that'll take you the most time to obtain will be getting 7 of your assassin trainees to Master Assassin rank and purchasing all the books. Purchasing all the books takes a lot of money. Getting your assassin trainees to Master Assassin just takes a lot of time, so there isn't a lot to it. For the books, there are 18 books total to purchase from book shops (14 in Constantinople and 4 in Cappadocia) and 10 books that can be found doing the book missions. The books in the shops are really expensive (especially in Cappadocia). In order to do accumulate the money needed for this fairly quickly, I just didn't buy much of anything during my play through and just spent all my money on renovations to increase my revenue. Doing this + story missions + Mediterranian defense game will help you generate a lot of money over time.

Overall, this game is definitely the most dull out of the other Ezio AC games in my opinion just because you're playing as a much older Ezio and the colors/theme is just darker, but it isn't terrible and still a fun AC game to play. I'm biased because I'm an Assassin's Creed fan, but realistically Revelations is not the greatest. I was close to giving this game a thumbs down because of the crashes you can experience and all the issues you can run into, but I didn't because the game isn't exactly unplayable. You just need to do some adjustments before you're able to play stress free. The story is focused mainly on Altaïr and Sofia more than anything so the story is eh. The den defense mini-game is weird and seems like it should've been a mobile game instead. The good from this game is definitely that amazing classic AC game atmosphere, the music, the characters, and ya boi Ezio Auditore da Firenze.

If you're interested in playing this game, only buy it on steam when it is on sale and be willing to tweak your game in order to experience the entirety of what the game has to offer.

Loved the game, honestly much better than i anticipated. Althought game crashing issue that I had to fix by limiting FPS via nvidia control panel, DLC no longer available to buy and play and game not loading Desmond memories almost made me not finish playing it, I still enjoyed the core story. Looking forward to playing the rest of games.

This is my least favorite Assassin's Creed game to date, which sucks because the meta plot progression makes it essentially required to understand the meta plot in the first several titles.

The grenades are overcomplicated and add little to the experience, I never had to use the tower defense mode again after the tutorial for it (because it usually occurs if you make a mistake), Ezio's plots are extremely dull, and while I liked the city of Constantinople it had very few interesting platforming sections. This game had a focus on setpiece moments and I honestly don't think they added that much. There's content here I didn't play, but I was honestly just desperate for it to be over by the end. Personally, I would recommend just watching the cutscenes elsewhere and skipping this title.

I sure do love it when a Triple-A company can't be fucked to make achieving all achievements possible. If you do not own The Lost Archive (or even if you do, cause fuck the people who gave them money I guess), you cannot 100% the game without pirating The Lost Archive (and Desmond's Journey, cause they also removed that). This is because, when they were removing the multiplayer from the game, they wanted to spend as little amounts of time and money removing it as possible, so the simple solution was to delete the files connected to the multiplayer, but in doing so, they also deleted files that are more vaguely connected to the multiplayer. Desmond's Journey has multiplayer unlocks in it, but instead of removing the unlocks, they delete the whole thing. I'm not sure why they deleted The Lost Archives, there's nothing in it that connects it to the multiplayer at all.

If you want to 100% the game, there are guides in the Steam guides section that provide a download link for The Lost Archives and Desmond's Journey. It's really disgusting that we have to resort to risking our PC's to download the DLC we already own or cannot buy legally, and then they throw salt into the wound by adding achievements linked to these DLC's.

As for the base game, it's been a while, but from what I recall, it's a pretty good conclusion to the triology started with Assassin's Creed 2. It has that same time sink that I didn't like in Brotherhood, but it's not required for 100%ing the game, so I'm ignoring it for the most part.

A good way to wrap up the Ezio and Altair era of AC. Getting to experience not only Ezios final adventures but also more of Altairs life was so interesting. The modern day is the weakest it has ever been in this one. Ends on a good setup for AC3. 100% grind is not so bad here, den defence missions are painfully boring and you can tell they are starting to run out of ideas for the 100% grind in this format of AC. Now that Ubisoft is finally listening to users and adding steam achievements to the old games I hope it continues for all their releases

One of the best games I've ever played. Amazing story, amazing details, and a great way to finish off the Ezio trilogy. Strongly recommend it!

The nostalgia is still there but the conversion to PC is garbage.
Consistent crashes, movement problems, mission glitches; the works.
ON TOP OF HAVING TO SIGN INTO UBISOFT PLAY STORE EVERY-TIME YOU LAUNCH THE GAME.
EVEN WHEN THE ONLINE MULTIPLAYER HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED.
Glad to see my hatred for Ubisoft has been reinforced.
A 14 year old game should not require a sign on, period.
Sad I didn't pirate it. Ubisoft does not deserve another cent.

Full disclaimer:
* I have been employed by Ubisoft for ~8 years (Up until 2021) and worked on the Assassin's creed series for most of that (multiple titles from AC 3 to AC Odysey, from quality assurance to level design and technical direction)
* I bought this game with my own money.
* This is my personal opinion, and nothing else.

Now with that out of the way:
Getting 100% was... an exercise in finding workarrounds for incompetence.

approximate amount of time to 100%: 30-50
Estimated achievement difficulty: 4/10
Minimum number of playthroughs needed: 1
Multiplayer achievements: No.
Missable achievements: No. (DNA select available)
Grinding Achievements: YES!. Multiple "collect all" type achievements that slowly unlock as you progress the main game.
DLC-Only achievements: YES.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DLC with 10~ achievements is no longer available for purchase !!!!!!!!!
Time-gated achievements: No.
Speed-run achievements: No.
RNG-achievements: No.
Does difficulty affect achievements: No difficulty choice.
Glitched/Unobtainable achievements: YES.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Had to restart a save file since achievements weren't unlocking anymore. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Note:
* You think you hate Ubisoft enough.. but you don't
* some (SOME, it's random) achievements synk from Uplay, but some don't ... as far as i know it's random. Good luck.
* The excelent guide on how to access The lost archive by .:Assassin:.wOw~ on steam works like a charm (requires nexus mod account). I recommend it if you are stuck getting 100%.
* Despire re-doing most of the missing achievements the game sometimes failed to grant them despite me being 100% sure i did the actual correct event.

Yeah i think it's the last time i fall for "ubisoft added achievements" trap.
These negative reviews just remind me of the pain i feel when returning to the AC games (arguably the first series to get me into completionism and achievement hunting) and being met with all this jank unworthy of the AAA Gaming company ubisoft pretends to be for years.

Under 49% (way under)... not recommended.

Main history is good, but the game is broken. DLCs are no longer available and the Desmond Sequences (which are included in the game itself) can't be accessed, users need to config their game if they want to play something that is supposed to be playable!

overall fun game. just beat ac2 and moving to revelations is a smother experience with a similar level of fun.

A good presentation to close Ezio's story, From mentor to master.
Nothing is true, everything is permitted.

Great game loved every second but frustrated that Ubisoft glitched out the Desmond Journey so your achievements are stuck at 67%.

Good sequel with great story and just slightly below Brotherhood. Recommend JA

The memories of Desmond, Ezio and Altair are so Vibrating a lot on Windows 11 that it makes me, as a latecomer, want to vomit.😵‍💫🤢

And what hurts me a lot is that there is no The Systemdetection.dll file. in the installation folder.🤔😅

Ubisoft once again does not fail at disappointing everyone. They make 100% impossible by completely removing the lost archives dlc which also means you can't fully experience ac revelations. It annoys me how Ubisoft keeps stealing from people who have rightfully purchased the game and don't give a shit about it. F. U. Ubisoft.

If you've played AC2 or Brotherhood before then you know what to expect. A few new additions here and there, such as a new tower defense mini game which is honestly not very good or being able to recruit new Assassin's and send them in different missions to places around the Mediterranean sea, but the core gameplay mechanics remain mostly the same. Revelations is also the end of the Ezio trilogy so don't be an idiot like me and go play AC2 and Brotherhood before you play this one. Constantinople is both rewarding and fun to parkour around, but I'm surprised a 50 year old man can still do acrobatics like he's in his 20s. Just like other old AC titles, in my opinion, they havent aged too well. There is a level of clunkyness to these games that is completely gone in the newer entries which really wear down the experience, but in Revelations' case, you can't go wrong for 15 bucks, especially with a story this good.

I would talk about the Lost Archive DLC but you cant even buy it anymore sooooo yeah.

7/10

AC: Revelations continues the story of its predecessors in a really worthy way. The new mechanics are fun and engaging. There are some bugs here and there, but nothing too oppressive.

They added achievements and then removed the Lost Archives DLC, now you cannot 100% the game without the DLC.

Within the first minute of playing, I already knew that this game would get a negative review. What they were thinking when designing the control layout is beyond me. And even though I eventually got used to these dreadful controls, it doesn't change the fact that you can't customize half of them in the first place. I have no trouble believing that this game was made in just 8 months. Only the last few sequences feel like a story, everything up to that point is either a tutorial or another filler mission. The amount of climbing you have to do in this game is also absolutely ridiculous. Normalize grappling hooks for all AC games from now on.

The achievements were mostly passable. Although to get one in particular, you will need to save up roughly 500K Akçe, just to purchase a bunch of expensive books. The maximum income you can generate through property ownership is around 30K Akçe for every 20 minutes. But that's assuming you purchased all the expensive properties too, most of which costing more than the income you generate at once. Thankfully I stumbled onto a guide for quick and easy cash flow, otherwise, the grind for this particular achievement would have forced me to keep the game running for an entire day.

Unfortunately, thanks to the average incompetence at Ubisoft I'm now locked out of 100% achievement completion. They took notice of their DLCs not working anymore, hence why they decided to just purge them from the store. I would have been grateful, had they also decided to purge the corresponding achievements. Only those who have initially purchased that DLC can still acquire those achievements through a simple workaround. I however am locked out. Ubisoft, even if you fix this, I won't purge this review. However, I might purchase your upcoming and last AC game that you will ever make.

Edit: A friend was gracious enough to provide a solution for the Lost Archive DLC. After sitting through that torture, I wish I could downvote that DLC into oblivion as well. Just what were these developers smoking when making this dogshit 'expansion'? It's basically Portal for the mentally challenged. Ubisoft, my previous offer is off the table. You had your chance. Because of your insolence, this will be the last year for your company. I almost shed a tear but then I remember all the misery you put your customers through. Good riddance, don't crawl back.

A great game with an amazing story. However, do NOT buy ay dlc's as they are impossible to activate. Check out the comments here for more info: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3208375262

If you've always wanted a game where you can drop assassinate, flirt with a sexy bookshop owner and buy a mosque then this could be for you. This is the oldest of the AC games I've played (the others being Syndicate and Odyssey) and I can see where other reviewers are coming from: it's worth playing for the story which ties up the threads of Altair and Ezio's lives but as a game its not that great. The combat is adequate: you can stealth kill by dropping on enemies, kill with throwing knives or poison darts, or just straight forward melee opponents. Movement wise it has excellent parkour and introduces the parachute as a way of traversing the map (this option appears a bit undercooked though as you need to use for only one mission late in the game). As with Syndicate though if you're on mnk you have to get used to pressing two keys plus a mouse button to jump which is a bit awkward but after a while you get used to it. The game in many ways feels fragmented: there is a tower defense mini game introduced at the start but as long as you keep your Notoriety rating low (and unless you're intending to pillage the city like a viking this is pretty easy to do) you'll never have to play it again. There is a mission system where you can "send" your recruited assassins to gain xp and level up: this gives financial rewards and if a recruit levels up sufficiently it triggers optional Master Assassin missions. This takes far too long and you'd need to play for hours more than the story allows to trigger more than one of these missions, It feels like these aspects were either added as an afterthought or just had further development shelved. The missions themselves are OK: they fall into stealth, combat or what I'd call special missions: for example, carriage driving, parachuting or fetch and carry and they're OK. What is missing though (which makes this game far inferior to Syndicate) is any sense of humour: Syndicate had side quests featuring Charles Dickens, Alexander Graham Bell etc which added some colour to the setting and the story; in contrast AC Revelations is just too serious: there are no side quests apart from those required to recruit more assassins (which is pointless unless you want to play the overseas mission minigame to death) As usual in the AC universe there are various "modern world" sections which completely break the immersion of the world so a bunch of dull as ditchwater Primark hoodie wearing bores can explain the story: I hate these bits and they completely ruin every AC game. That aside Constantinople looks great, the story missions are pretty fun, the parkour is excellent, so if you want an adequate AC game to wrap up the story of Altair and Ezio then go for it: otherwise try one of the other AC games I've mentioned above: they are greatly superior.

Couldn't even get past sequence 7 of 9 in the main story due to the game crashing in the middle of a mission at the start of a boss fight, I had to go through several guides to find a way to get around that issue to continue. I never had this issue on console, granted I'm not surprised the sole AAAA game company is this incompetent with porting to PC.

Can't 100% this game without owning DLC that has been removed from the store:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/201882/Assassins_Creed_Revelations__The_Lost_Archive/
Not to mention the spaghetti code achievement that is a simple "craft 30 bombs" , that for some reason is a struggle to figure out what exactly makes it count and under which specific circumstances like going to a certain DNA sequence and only crafting a certain amount. This whole 'adding steam achievements' ordeal is a huge troll and only reaffirms believes that Ubisoft cuts corners wherever possible. How hard is it to just make the DLC available for free instead of butchering the whole game? You disable online services for your games while at the same time forcing your shitty Ubisoft Connect program onto everyone computers. No thanks.

The game had many bugs making some levels unplayable without doing specific things outside of the game and just as I finished the game they added achievements so if I wanted to 100% I'd have to play through the buggy mess all over again, ac2 is amazing and I like the story of Ezio but if ubisoft had taken the time to fix any bugs like this it would be far better

Assassin’s Creed Revelations is a fitting and satisfying conclusion to Ezio Auditore’s journey, offering a refined gameplay experience, a beautifully crafted world, and a story that ties together the arcs of both Ezio and Altair in a meaningful way. While it doesn’t reinvent the series, it delivers a polished and engaging experience that fans of the franchise will love.

The setting of Constantinople is one of the game’s highlights. The city is vibrant, dense, and rich with historical detail, featuring stunning landmarks and a lively atmosphere that makes exploring its streets and rooftops a joy. The addition of zip lines to the parkour system makes traversal even smoother, allowing for more fluid movement across the city.

Combat remains tight and responsive, with improved enemy variety and new tools like the hookblade, which enhances both movement and combat options. The ability to craft bombs adds another layer of strategy, allowing for creative approaches to missions and enemy encounters. While these additions don’t drastically change the core gameplay, they refine and expand on what made previous entries so enjoyable.

The story is where Revelations truly shines. Seeing an older, wiser Ezio reflect on his journey and uncover Altair’s final moments adds an emotional depth that previous games only hinted at. The narrative effectively ties together loose ends from both Assassin’s Creed II and Assassin’s Creed, giving long-time fans a sense of closure. Desmond’s sections, while not as compelling, provide important context for the modern-day storyline.

The game also introduces a new tower defense-style minigame, Den Defense. While not a major feature, it’s an interesting diversion that adds a bit of variety, though not everyone will find it necessary.

Overall, Assassin’s Creed Revelations is a fantastic send-off for Ezio, delivering a rich, immersive world and a story that brings closure to two legendary assassins. It may not be the most revolutionary entry in the series, but it’s a well-crafted, emotionally resonant chapter that any Assassin’s Creed fan should experience.

Rating: 9/10 – A beautifully crafted finale to Ezio’s legendary journey.

Why add achievements if Ubisoft removed content from the game needed to achieve 100% completion? Not only that but there are also some achievements locked behind DLC that is no longer available for purchase.

Ubisoft. Are you good? I thought you guys loved money? Either allow us to buy the DLC or add the missing content to the base edition of the game.

what an end to ezio's arc, it ties up his story in a nice bow and allows him to have his final rest. a couple bugs here and there because of modern systems, but easy enough to bypass. give it a go !

I have relived my entire childhood, aah so nostalgic.

I had played this game when I was a child on my father's PS3 yet I didn't properly understand anything back then. So I bought this game since it was at a fair discount.

Yet the feeling is quite different, not because the game is different its because I grew up. Compare to when I played before I was reckless and will fight anything, and I realized that I keep sendig my recruit to their death xD which is why I feel like there unlimited slot for recruiting.

But now I played everything so efficiently and calculating that even den attack become less happening which I kinda sad because the most I like from this game is the fact you can defend your den, but to make them attacked if my illegal bar is red is kinda annoying and predictable. I thought when I played this before on my father's PS3 it was random, aah somehow ignorance is a bliss

nostalgia but this game makes you raging because of many crashes that you must find a solution of a unoptimized game i spent many hours on how to fix bugs,atleast the story was perfect

The trilogy of Ezio is the best of ACs I have played. Closing this arch with also closing Altair's arch is something good that could have been happened in these series

Ubisoft: Let's add Steam Achievements to our game; we gutted files from Desmond's Sequence & the Lost Archive so the game is broken, but who cares!
Community: We can fix that, easy.
Ubisoft: Hmm on second that, let's just remove the Lost Archive DLC from the store, that will fix it!
Community: Why did you add Achievements to the game then if you were going to make 100% impossible...?

Just when you think Ubisoft did something good... they re-remind you how much they hate you. Fuck Ubisoft.

my favorite part of the AC of all
yes, this game has very few contents, and maybe it's not a finished game, but I just love this for the story, graphics and new hidden blade
for me this game 10/10, but it has some issues (like most of the games AC :) )

One of the best Assassins Creed games back in days i used to play it on PS.Recently decided to replay it because Ubisoft adding archivements and pretty much for nostalgia,truth is if u own good PC that can go over 60fps expect game to crash often but theres simple trick to fix it just lock your FPS in control panel (NVIDIA) or just in game settings u will notice that in sequence 7 game will crash always when u fight that guy i forgot his name but ull see archivements and everything,u can do 100% of all but not without tinkering a bit here and there.When Ubisoft decided to remove multiplayer they messed up Desmond sequences and now it only gives u infinite loading screen but theres fixes for it online.In any case one of my childhood games simply put it was and still is perfect and one of a kind.

It's a very good game. In my opinion I could say that it is the best game in the Ezio trilogy.
A game that awakened many beautiful memories.
If there was something I don't like, it would be the lack of content because ubisoft has disabled multiplayer and online features.
And some problems related to Bugs like:
-You have to set your game to a maximum of 60 fps otherwise in some missions the game will crash.
-You cannot enter the desmond sequence.

Assassin's Creed: Revelations is a masterpiece that masterfully concludes the journeys of iconic assassins Ezio Auditore and Altair Ibn-La'Ahad. Developed by Ubisoft, this 2011 title offers an unforgettable blend of storytelling, exploration, and innovative gameplay, cementing its place as one of the finest entries in the Assassin's Creed franchise.

Revelations excels in its narrative, providing emotional closure to Ezio's story arc. The game masterfully explores themes of legacy, wisdom, and the burden of leadership. As players guide Ezio through Constantinople, they experience a mature, reflective hero, both haunted by his past and determined to leave a lasting impact on the Assassin Brotherhood. The inclusion of Altair’s memories and his evolving philosophy adds layers to the narrative, bridging the gap between the past and present.

The world of Constantinople is beautifully realized, with stunning visuals that capture the city’s historical richness. The city feels alive, with dynamic environments, detailed architecture, and an impressive level of immersion. The diverse landscapes and rich history elevate the exploration aspects, encouraging players to dive deeper into the world.

Gameplay also shines with the addition of the hook blade, bomb crafting, and improved parkour mechanics. The combat system feels fluid, and the refined multiplayer mode offers both fun and strategic depth.

*Assassin's Creed: Revelations* is a perfect blend of narrative depth, refined mechanics, and beautiful world-building. It stands as a fitting and powerful conclusion to Ezio’s journey, making it an unforgettable experience and a true masterpiece in the gaming world.

The Ezio saga holds a special place in my heart, but listing inaccessible DLCs on the store and selling them is outright ILLEGAL and I hope Ubisoft gets punished for this! Having to do gymnastics to access them is outrageous and unacceptable... I'm happy that there are achievements now, at last.

I enjoyed this game again after 13 years. I wish it was a little longer
The end of the story of ezio and altiyar.

I am currently playing through every major title of the AC franchise. I have had a lot of fun pursuing the Ezio trilogy and finishing it off with this game. Even though old Ezio doesn`t look a lot like the one from Brotherhood, I have still enjoyed this title a lot based on its story, its characters, surprisingly its graphics and on the ability to 100% it on Steam. Unfortunatelly the game has some performance issues whilst you play near the end, but the good old hz reduction always works.

Before reviewing the base game, A FAIR WARNING, DO NOT PURCHASE DLC AT Any cost. Every available guide out there to let you launch the Lost Archive DLC is outdated as with Ubisoft multiplayer servers gone for this game, the DLC will just sit on your main menu but will never ever open. No error. No Warning. Just nothing will happen.

Please also read the following line on the steam store page of the game : - From 25 January 2024: Multiplayer and online features will no longer be available for this product.

Somehow, they are still selling the defunct DLC separately which absolutely doesn't make any sense. You're ideally giving them a tip if you still buy it but rest I will leave it to your wise & humble choice. now coming to the main game.

I have played Assassin's Creed 2 and Brotherhood. This game starts immediately after the ending of Brotherhood,
but if you haven't played the previous two games, it seems like it's set up in a way that makes it hard to understand what's going on. But Still , I think you won't be confused by any aspects of the story progression even if this is your first time playing.

This time, the story is set when Ezio was 51 years old. He fights the Templars for the key to the vault,
and wreaks havoc in Constantinople (now Istanbul).

○ New feature "Hideout Defense"
Mainly, the Templar Knights' recognition gauge (what was the rumor gauge in the previous game) is at MAX, and if you take more conspicuous actions (defeating enemies in battle, recruiting Assassins, rebuilding, etc.), the Templars will discover the hideouts scattered around the country and they will attack you. When you go to the site and enter the hideout, the defense battle begins, and the situation will change dramatically depending on where you place the type of assassin (bow, rifle, air assassin, etc.) and whether you place or strengthen barricades, resulting in a heated battle.
Ezio seems to be able to only give instructions on placement, attack with a rifle, and where to fire the cannon.
Basically, you defeat waves and waves of enemies, raising morale, and then you use that morale to place Assassins and barricades instead of costs, so I felt that the balance was quite good, as too much biased placement can suddenly put the situation at a disadvantage.

Once you've cleared out a certain number of enemies, a boss-class temple equipped with weapons such as a large ballista and Greek fire will come and attack you, so it was pretty tough. Ezio's rifle and Assassin's attacks were no match for it. If you waste your cannon, it takes a long time to recharge, so barricades and hideouts are easily destroyed, so I felt that the key was knowing when to use the cannon.

○ About "Hook Blade"
The hook blade added this time seems to be more of a wide range when free running than a combat-oriented one.
The hook blade's reach is so long that you can reach crazy jumps, hook it to higher places and climb, and the best part is the wire action slide using the hook.
You can also use it for assassinations, so I think the range of activities has increased.

○ About "Bomb Craft"
You can combine specific materials to create a variety of bombs for lethal (attack), diversion, and support, and I felt that the range of assassinations has increased depending on the situation.
When you run out of materials, you can get them from the rebuilt tailor or pharmacy, or steal them randomly from enemy soldiers, which is fun.

●Changes
Those who have played the previous games may be confused by the slight change in button layout.
When performing the Hawk's Eye, you used to press E, but now it's the V button.
It's a bit of a hassle if you're not used to it.
Other than that, there used to be a companion named Prostitute, but this time she's been renamed Roma (?)
(No change in performance at all)
In the previous game, the stables and tunnels that were rebuilt are no longer there.

Considering what's happened so far, There was one disappointing thing.

- A bug where if you lose sight of the captain while following him in Sequence 1 the synchronization doesn't end, even though it should.
If you try to go further, you'll see the strange sight of him falling into a strange place and swimming around.

- A bug where the screen goes completely black once in five times at the start of a mission.

*However, bugs can be fixed by replaying the memory.

- The initial loading takes a considerable amount of time.

Postscript (Thoughts after completion)

These are my thoughts after achieving a 100% synchronization rate with both the sub-memory and the full synchronization of each memory.

Story ★★★★☆
In the previous and previous previous games, the rival Knights Templar were very prominent, but this time, the brothers' struggle for supremacy stood out, and I felt that Ezio was caught up in it.
In contrast, I was deeply moved by the reasons why Ezio had to build the library in Masyaf, the strong bond between Altair and Ezio, and the message to Desmond in the present day, as well as the bond that transcends centuries.
The archive DVD, Assassin's Creed Embers, is a short film that depicts Ezio's life afterwards, but I strongly recommend watching it after you've played through the main story and cleared it.

Combat ★★★★☆
Needless to say, its one of the best, but I felt that the style of assassination, which takes advantage of the stealth of the Assassin, was a little broken. There were quite a few battle scenes where you were discovered by the enemy. However, killstreaks and counters were very exhilarating. You can now steal items and money from enemies during battle, and the battle scenes using weapons were also exhilarating. Also, the strength of the elite Janissaries was incredible, and the increase in opponents that cannot be killed in one hit made the battles more rewarding.

Game Balance ★★★★★
Above all, in the previous games, the strength of the hired mercenaries and bandits was so strong that if you attacked the small fry around you, you would win even if you left them alone, but this time the elite unit "Janissaries" are too strong,
so if you attack them carelessly and leave them alone, you will be wiped out. If you don't help them out, you will not only waste money, but also waste your life.
Also, the change to the recognition gauge for the Templar Knights has made it harder to rebuild or take down the Templar Knights' hideouts one after another.
In that sense, I felt that the balance was quite good.

Few Bugs ★★☆☆☆
As expected, there were some bugs here and there. However, the parachute that was used in the previous game to forcefully remove you when you entered a tomb is still there this time. It seems that we have to accept that it is not a bug but a feature. I don't think I saw any bugs that were unpleasant to me.

Other: The graphics and music are absolutely perfect. I especially like the music's sense of tragedy, which I think matches Ezio's current state of mind perfectly.

So excluding unplayable chargeable DLC which is more than enough to take your frustration and anguish to the next level, it wouldn't do any justice to the game which is by far, one of the best open world, parkour, 3rd person, historical Constantinople, Medieval experience, enough to grip your memory forever.

Since 12/20/2024 Ubisoft Connect will not launch Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed II, Brotherhood, Revelations, III, Liberation, Black Flag, Rogue, Unity or Syndicate. Prior to this issue with the exact same setup i had over 129 hours alone on AC Revelations. Support for Ubisoft is a joke and Steam "can't do anything about it."

Prior to these issue's i'd gave the whole franchise a thumbs up cause I loved these games. Good luck. If you research these games not launching on Ubisoft Discord or anywhere online this is a plagued issue for them with no solid resolution.

Believe it or not, I've never played an AC game before this one. I was "too busy" torturing myself in Tarkov, I guess.
Looks like the main premise behind "the stories" of all AC games is a pseudoscientific BS, which I detest very much.
The gameplay, however, offers a good amount of legal cocaine (i.e. jump, run, collect useless things, occasionally murder some polygons with fluid and classy animations). I didn't expect to enjoy "parkouring" around in a game as much as I did.

What's different in a major way in all of the AC games seems to be the setting. I specifically got AC Unity (the first AC game I've paid for on Uplay/Ubisoft Connect; still haven't played it) for the the environment and architecture (yes, there was a lot of media noise generated around the famous cathedral). I also didn't expect to enjoy Constantinople/Istanbul as much as I did.

With the exception of the "Desmond" part of the game (which is kinda broken at the moment, but still playable*; it's basically a Portal mod with AC lore), it was a good surprise for me (yes, even the "tower defense" and "micromanagement tycoon idler" minigames). And it's just 9 GB, which is always a win, especially compared to the recent 70GB+ AC games.

*
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3208375262

It was one of the rare occasions where I tried to read most of the names in the credits... so many people involved and so many voice actors for at least four different languages — audio dubs are so much extra work (and I believe they are getting rarer in expensive games)! And someone did the obligatory corporate move with the "production babies" section, for the fluffy feelings. Good work, almost made me cry!

If I'm gonna compare what we called "3rd person adventure games" in the past, IMHO, AC feels way better than Tomb Raider (tried 2/3 of them since the 2013 reboot, even the old ones on my PSOne were kinda cr@p).