Syndicate might be the most fun I've had playing an Assassin's Creed game...ever.
There was literally never a time besides literally one or two side objectives in missions that I was bored or didn't enjoy myself.
(I'm biased, Jacob's my favourite protag, and Evie is up there, let me have this one)
Despite this, I can recognise that this game is very similar to Unity in terms of quality.
Whilst Unity's biggest issue was the boring side content and the bugs/janky combat/stealth sections, Syndicate's was the fact that the story is just good, and it mostly relied on fast-paced, solidly placed gameplay and sections.
I suppose we can start with the story, then. The story has one very interesting aspect, which is the clash between the Frye twins. In terms of how much presence the main villain has and how much he shapes the story, Starrick pretty much does nothing besides existing and being rumoured to be incredibly powerful, ruthless, evil, etc.
He is a big threat, for sure, and his voice actor delivers a great performance. What I did enjoy about him was that he was more on the performative side, clearly a character that enjoys the arts, theatre, philosophy and the likes. However, as a villain, as I said, he pretty much does nothing the whole game until the final act, where his boss fight is one of the more enjoyable ones that I've found in AC.
He is eerily similar to Cesare in Brotherhood in that aspect, except Cesare appears more in cutscenes and has a more active role in the game. Nevertheless, Starrick's probably the weakest aspect of the game.
The big clash between Jacob and Evie is actually really well done. Jacob wanting to let go of their father's legacy, forging his own whilst quietly respecting their father's, while Evie honours their father by mentioning him and abiding by his way of living basically every step of the way. It's only at the end that the two realise that each have to compromise to be around each other. Jacob has to be less aggressive, think more, and be more emotionally available to his sister, while Evie has to sometimes realise that not everything their father did was complete gospel to follow, and make her own choices that she would personally enjoy and benefit from.
A lovely, lovely connection the twins have.
The side content is incredible. Specifically what you have to do to conquer the boroughs, the bounty hunts, the templar hunts, the gang wars...I literally enjoyed doing every single associate activity on those lists...
EXCEPT for the really stupid and slow carriage rides you have to do in Jack the Ripper where Evie has to escort a person suspected of being Jack very, very, very...VERY slowly through the streets.
Regardless, both the associate activities and also the London stories, whether it was Bell (I'm counting him despite his missions being part of the main quest) giving you new equipment, Marx trying to defend his freedom of speech and expression, and Dickens and Darwin having very enjoyable missions, as well. They all felt very distinct, unlike Unity which was mostly a lot of stealing documents and killing people.
The absolute most enjoyable side stuff or me were bounty hunts where you had to kidnap Templars and the fight clubs because...well you just beat the ♥♥♥♥ out of dudes for like 10 minutes, what's not to like?
The combat is one of the biggest things people say Syndicate failed at, even though I believe this is one of the best combat systems in AC.
It's incredibly fast-paced, almost like your character is sped up whilst hitting opponents, which can feel spongey and not very satisfying, but I think the amazing-looking multi-finishers, the variety of combos you can perform, and the overall feel of taking an enemy down makes up for it quite a bit, especially when you get a little (not overly) stronger than your opponents, so you don't have to hit them too many times to trigger something similar to killstreaks that Ezio has in Brotherhood.
(can you tell I'm playing through Brotherhood rn)
Combat's very satisfying, it flows well and it's plenty more enjoyable compared to Unity's, which was very buggy and overall a mess when any sort of NPCs were around, which was a lot of the time.
The parkour is just an upgraded version of Unity's, it's the standard for that engine, less expressive than Ezio's parkour and less satisfying than the Kenway saga, but it's definitely the most efficient, and with the grappling hook (and even without it tbh), it's the fastest, so I'm glad it's distinct enough from the others before and after it.
The atmosphere around industrial London is really good, but not the best in the series. Unity's setting was more immersive and definitely a lot more satisfying to be travelling through, Ezio's settings were a lot more nostalgic, tight and felt very bright, colourful and full of life, and the Kenway saga setting was just a joy to explore. Certainly, London is a blast to go through, the NPCs are as lively as Unity's, the overall tone and mood fits a lot of the areas around that time, and just driving through London in your carriage is a really good experience.
Will quickly cover the DLC - amazing.
Jack's one of the better villains in AC, is INCREDIBLY powerful, and proves how much of a menace he and the Frye twins are, considering they had to go up against him (both), lived despite being injured (Jacob) and beating him (Evie).
I adore Evie's older design. She looks exactly like her lore says, she's been living in India with Henry, so she her skin tone's naturally darker, she wears more neutral colours and even uses the weapons + fear mechanic the Indian Assassins supposedly used.
The whole DLC fear mechanic is amazing, too, had plenty of fun using it. Some of the associate activities in the DLC specifically are lackluster, but overall, it's better than Dead Kings in Unity, imo.
The side objectives in the DLC were more tedious, as it was mostly "don't get seen" or "don't kill anyone", which is always a drag if you're entering massive areas with collectibles that I needed for the 100%.
Overall, Syndicate offers you a LOT, but, primarily, it is incredibly fun to play and explore, and the characters keep you tuned into the game a lot. The side stuff keeps you going, the main quest assassinations are fantastic, and some of the missions are brief and simple, whilst others are longer and harder, which is a great balance to have, you need a bit of both.
I rank this higher than Unity purely based on the fact that I adore the characters, specifically the protagonists, so so much, and that it was INCREDIBLY fun to play, I always had a blast picking it up and playing.
8,5/10, a strong top of A tier for me.
Would recommend it, but DO NOT think it's a masterpiece, it is simply a very fun experience and a great depiction of London, they really did a good job of making this one feel unique!
