As a strong supporter of the preservation of video games and the old-school Assassin’s Creed games, I was over the moon to find out that my favorite assassin, Ezio Auditore was making his way onto the Nintendo Switch via Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection.

For me, I just personally couldn’t seem to get into any of the modern AC games past Syndicate, what with the heavy influence of RPG elements that seemed out of place for the franchise. And while I enjoyed AC II and hold Brotherhood up as one of the two best of the series, I never quite had a chance to finish my run with Revelations.

Having played quite a bit of the Ezio Collection, I’m sucked back into that OG form of AC gameplay, for better or worse. The end result is a fun time overall with many a hiccup along the way that will most definitely deter any new fan from even attempting.

Story

I’ve got to admit, there aren’t so man game franchises that truly bring a character full-circle, as well as Ubisoft did with Ezio’s story. Seeing him start out as a young and reckless Han Solo type and slowly become the master assassin, akin to old Ben Kenobi as he wanders the world as a legend is quite extraordinary.

I’ve never grown tired of his journey and it’s amazing that over 10 years later his story still feels unmatched in the media of gaming. He has a solid beginning, middle, and end that is satisfying all the way around. Sure, his story isn’t perfect and the modern-day Abstergo events with Desmond and co. can take away from Ezio’s story momentum but even those story aspects are at their strongest here.

Gameplay

Honestly, I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting when I dove into this collection of titles. What I was hoping for was nostalgia, exploration, and that feel that AC games used to exude. And on those fronts, the games deliver tenfold. These are the games when they were hitting their stride and innovating from game to game.

Sure, the franchise is still doing that but at this point of the series, the devs were still playing around with mechanics and seeing how far they could innovate while staying true to that specific time and setting. The exploration is still incredibly fun and that sense of adventure is definitely present in all three titles. And the innovation in how you get around between each one is extremely present to the point where you really see how the devs grew with each entry.

AC II is definitely the most watered-down of the bunch but there is still a vast world to explore. I will say that I had really hoped that all of these titles would’ve been treated to an update in mechanics as traversal is abhorrent across the board. All three titles show their age horribly and I worry that the laziness of these remasters may deter new fans or even returning ones from even giving these games a chance.

You’ll constantly be catapulting yourself off of building due to the fact that the game actively works against you from moving freely across the landscapes. What makes it even worse is that the combat is atrocious as well. It’s just clunky and not user-friendly at all. Whenever you fight, you’re locked on to your enemies and there’s almost no way to run away from a fight and retreat to the rooftops. There are ways to game the systems a bit but you’ll find yourself angry more often than not in doing so.

Audio and Visuals

Unfortunately, the silly visuals within AC II that were prevalent when the collection was originally released on the other consoles a few years ago are still within the game here. You’ll often have some characters that look realistic while others look like complete cartoons. Though it is worth noting that everyone has godless dead eyes.

I think that Brotherhood looks the best overall as it maintains clean visuals throughout. Revelations looks good too but that’s only about half of the time. There’s this weird pixelation that happens very often and it seems to be in part due to the fact that the game just looks too good for the Switch to handle. At least, that’s my assumption.

As far as the audio is concerned, the games sound good but the two included short films leave much to be desired. They come in pretty low even with the Switch’s volume all the way up. It’s also worth noting that the Embers short film is actually almost unwatchable due to the fact that it glitches the entire time.

Replayability

Chances are, if you’re playing these titles then you’ve probably have played them before. The replayability is there in many ways. There’s the story, the exploration, and even some gameplay elements such as time trials. Even with their aspects that have aged, there’s still a reason to go back to these but you just have to know what to expect. Not to mention that the collection includes all DLC for all three of the included games which are pretty extensive, to say the least.

What It Could Have Done Better

I just wish that the gameplay mechanics were given more care. It’s a shame that these iconic games weren’t given an upgrade in that aspect. I’m not asking for Valhalla mechanics but at least shining them up would’ve made all the more difference.

I’ve also got to complain about the fact that there are tons of issues within these games as far as bugs go. I experienced game-breaking bugs and crashes across the titles in this collection and it’s yet another element that just makes this release feel a bit half-baked.

Verdict

When it comes to properly experience these old AC titles, while it may be the original way, that doesn’t mean that it’s the best way. This collection of timeless titles needed a bit of TLC to bring their core mechanics up to snuff for current gameplay expectations and unfortunately for Ubisoft, this just isn’t cutting it.

If you’re a nostalgia-hog like me then this collection will be enough for if you’re looking to finish the titles you missed or to just re-experience Ezio’s story. If you’re a new player though, I strongly think you should give these a chance though I fear that their dated movement and combat elements could sour your impression of them entirely