For fans of Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft has provided two very different updates. The older title, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, recently received a free story expansion called Valley of Memory. With this DLC, fans are given a new region, a fresh storyline, and several quality-of-life improvements. Meanwhile, the newer Assassin’s Creed Shadows launched its own free update, featuring a skill-sharing quest and a surprising crossover with the anime Attack on Titan. Given these two updates, why have fans praised one and not the others?
Assassin’s Creed’s Divided Community
The fan reception to these updates has been mixed, with many players genuinely impressed by the care put into Mirage‘s Valley of Memory DLC. Specifically, its well-directed cutscenes and emotional storytelling received praise for being a meaningful addition to Basim’s journey. Conversely, the Shadows update has the Attack on Titan quest, which has faced intense criticism.
Players describe the mission as a generic climbing simulator due to its poorly designed routes and its disappointing lack of a Titan boss fight. With this sharp contrast in quality, developers are left with a pressing question: How can two updates from the same franchise feel so wildly inconsistent? Fans are openly discussing comparisons between the high-quality mocap in Mirage‘s DLC and the atrocious and non-mocapped cutscenes in the Shadows crossover.
The Real Cost of Crossover Events
The gameplay isn’t the only thing being criticized, as fans have also sparked outrage over the reward for completing the Titan quest. Players may not earn a cool outfit, but are greeted with a pop-up advertisement directing them to the real-money store to buy it. For one player, the entire experience was simply bad. Given the situation, the series’ direction remains the center of heavy debates.
If a player can fight gods and dragons in past games, why are they now relegated to fighting a poorly-rendered zip line? Fortunately, Ubisoft hasn’t been affected by this backlash, as it reports that Shadows is actually overperforming. Not only that, but the game is set to reach a broader audience, proving that sometimes, controversy doesn’t hurt sales.
