Assassin's Creed Unity launched in 2014 to mixed reviews. Some players experienced technical issues and graphical errors that lead to the game garnering a reputation for being unfinished. However, Assassin's Creed Unity has since become a cult classic, largely due to developer Ubisoft rebuilding its Paris landscape and the title being the last to feature an online cooperative mode. Due to this cult classic status, the game has seen a revival on digital marketplaces. Over eight years later, players are still active in AC Unity's multiplayer mode.
Multiplayer gameplay was introduced to the Assassin's Creed series in 2011's Assassin's Creed Brotherhood. However, it was best implemented in Assassin's Creed Unity, as the concept of cooperative interaction was not only a gameplay feature but a significant tie-in to the title's overall plot. Playing the role of Arno Dorian, fans were tasked with exposing the Templar ties to the French Revolution while searching for answers surrounding the death of his adoptive father. As the title implies, uniting others to the cause was an underlying theme in AC Unity, and multiplayer was the best example of the concept in motion.
Assassin's Creed Unity transitioned the series away from stand-alone competitive multiplayer by allowing players to team up and take on story-based missions and heists. Completing these activities produced an immediate reward, materials or items that could be used in the title's single-player campaign. However, these activities weren't just an add-on to complement the game's primary narrative. Assassin's Creed Unity's popularity was largely due to how much attention was given to its cooperative mode.
Assassin's Creed Unity's multiplayer missions were their own campaign, complete with cutscenes, new characters, and a story that fit together with Arno's single-player narrative. Players were tasked with completing an objective in a certain time limit or defeating a certain amount of guards in a specific location in order to advance the plot. The franchise never featured such a unique campaign again, resulting in Unity's multiplayer missions remaining active to this day.
Heists in Assassin's Creed Unity were something altogether different. Up to four players were tasked with infiltrating a stronghold and stealing a large sum of money or an artifact. Stealth was key in these missions, and required a coordinated effort from players, as a heist's layout and guard routes would be unique with each experience. Assassins could use communal abilities, if grouped together, such as strengthened "sense" that allowed the detection of guards over a larger area than normal.
Together, cooperative story missions and heists contributed to Assassin's Creed Unity's multiplayer becoming a singularly unique experience. Working together allowed players to feel like they were part of the Brotherhood of Assassins. Though the Brotherhood was heavily featured in nearly every entry in the series, it could only be experienced "live" in AC Unity. Following the mixed reception to the title upon release, sequels to Assassin's Creed Unity focused on single-player narratives and cinematic set pieces. Still, some fans continue to return to Unity's multiplayer to feel the rush of working alongside fellow assassins online.
Assassin's Creed Unity still sees daily activity in its cooperative servers. Last month, the title averaged nearly 800 players a day on Steam, with a peak of over 1600 according to Steam Database. The title is also playable on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, with some fans still hoping to see AC Unity released on the Switch. In December 2020, a port of the game was released on Google Stadia. However, that has since been discontinued.
With Assassin's CreedInvictus set to be the series's first stand-alone multiplayer entry, many fans are hoping to see the best parts of Assassin's Creed Unity carried over to the title. After eight years of Assassin's Creed focusing on single-player narratives, Invictus promises to return the series to a simpler time and improve upon the unique features of AC Unity. Though there has been little news surrounding Invictus or the larger Assassin's Creed Infinity live service platform, given how many players still access Unity for its cooperative aspects, it is likely that many are anticipating news surrounding the series' return to multiplayer.
The plot is set in a fictional history of real-world events and follows the millennia-old struggle between the Assassins, who fight to preserve peace and free will, and the Templars, who desire peace through control. The framing story is set in the 21st century and features an unidentified and unseen protagonist, who joins the Assassins as an initiate to help them locate the corpse of an 18th-century Templar Grand Master. The main story is set in Paris during the French Revolution from 1789 to 1794, and follows Assassin Arno Dorian and his efforts to expose the true powers behind the Revolution, while seeking revenge against those responsible for his adoptive father's murder. Unity retains the series' third-person open world exploration as well as introducing revamped combat, parkour, and stealth systems. The game also introduces cooperative multiplayer to the Assassin's Creed series, letting up to four players engage in narrative-driven missions and explore the open world map.
Assassin's Creed Unity received mixed reviews upon release. It was praised for its visuals, customization options, setting, and characterization. Its narrative, gameplay, mission design, and multiplayer-oriented format received more divided opinions. The game was also widely panned for its numerous graphical issues and bugs, prompting Ubisoft to issue an apology and offer compensation in the form of a free expansion, Dead Kings, which acts as an epilogue to the base game's story. Players who had bought the game's season pass (which was later made unavailable for purchase in response to the controversy) additionally received a free copy of another Ubisoft title of their choice. Despite the initial critical reception, Unity was a commercial success, selling over 10 million units by May 2020. It was followed in October 2015 by Assassin's Creed Syndicate, which continues the modern-day narrative, but has its main plot set in Victorian era London.
A number of side missions can be found and initiated from within the open world, such as "Paris Stories", which require the player to assist a non-playable character (usually a historical figure) with a minor problem; "Murder Mysteries", in which the player investigates various murder scenes, collecting clues and interrogating witnesses to determine the culprit; and "Nostradamus Enigmas", a series of cryptic riddles that lead the player to different artifacts, which can be used to unlock a special reward. Players can also find a number of collectibles scattered around Paris, including treasure chests, cockades, and artifacts, which provide various rewards, typically in the form of new gear or cosmetic options.
Unity's combat system was greatly refined over previous entries in the series, with fencing being used as an inspiration for the new system. The stealth system also saw several improvements with the addition of new features like manual crouching and the Phantom Blade, a variation of the series' signature Hidden Blade which doubles as a silent crossbow.[4] Furthermore, the linear assassination missions from previous Assassin's Creed games were abandoned in favor of a new "Black Box" design, which offers more freedom to the player in how they go about eliminating their target; the player can explore the environment to find different entry points or possibly helpful distractions, allowing them to choose the approach that best suits them. For navigation, the game introduces new "Free-run up" and "Free-run down" commands to make it easier for the player to scale buildings in either direction, allowing them to make controlled ascents and descents at will.[5] With the updated, larger crowds, new interactions with them are also available. The crowd regularly presents many activities, appearing organically, that the player can choose to engage in or not. Examples include scaring a group of bullies by pulling out a weapon, "settling" a fight between two civilians by killing one of them, or chasing down a thief who has just pick pocketed somebody.[6]
Like most previous Assassin's Creed titles, the game features an in-game economy system, which primarily revolves around the Caf Thtre, a former intelligence gathering front for the Assassins which has fallen into ruin and serves as Arno's main headquarters during the story. The player can renovate the Caf by investing in upgrades, which change the building's interior and unlock new rooms, including a secret passage to the Assassins' underground hideout. The Caf also functions as a passive business, producing revenue in the background which is deposited in a chest for Arno to collect; the more renovated the Caf is, the more money it earns. Players can further increase their income by completing Caf-related missions and purchasing additional taverns around Paris.
Unity also introduces cooperative multiplayer to the series. Players can enter taverns, which act as social hubs in the game, where they can see if any of their online friends are playing the game at the current time. If they are currently in a mission, they will appear as a "ghost" version of their character, allowing the player to approach them to request to join their mission. If their request is accepted, both players enter the same game session, where they can continue the mission from the last checkpoint. Up to four players can play together at the same time. Each player takes on the role of Arno, customized within their own game, with other players appearing as their own customized version of Arno and retaining their gear. Many missions and activities are available for cooperative play (all of which can also be attempted solo), but all of the main story missions are single-player only.[6]
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