Assassin’s Creed Shadows – what happens next? (Ubisoft)

The Monday letters page discusses the most overrated games of recent history, as a reader thinks £5 for Mass Effect Trilogy is disrespectful.

To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

What’s next?
I’m glad to hear that Assassin’s Creed Shadows is selling well, as I’m really enjoying it so far. That’s hopefully good news for Ubisoft in general, given their current trouble, but the obvious problem for them is that they’ve already got a gazillion Assassin’s Creed sequels and spin-offs in the work and as far as I know the one set in Germany during the witch trials is next.

People have been asking for a game set in Japan for years, but I don’t think a game where you play as a black cat was on anybody’s wishlist. I’m not saying it will be bad, that’s not the point I’m trying to make, but it’s not an obvious bestseller and that puts Ubisoft right back in trouble again.

Thing is though I’m not sure what is the next most requested setting? I’ve heard stuff about India and the Azetc era but I don’t know if they’re super anticipated. For a spin though why couldn’t they try setting one in the future? Maybe have it half and half with the ancient past? Something weird like that could be an interesting way to hype a new sequel and try and keep the momentum.
Hoosant

Previously on Half-Life
I’m seeing even more rumours about Half-Life 3 being nearly finished and coming out soon, but I just can’t believe it. How could you even hope to sell something like that to console owners, or even just younger or casual PC owners, who have no idea what the series is and even less about what happened in the last one.

Surely remasters, if not full remakes, with a big marketing campaign are essential to laying the groundwork for Half-Life 3. As I remember, Half-Life 2 only originally came out on the original Xbox, with some Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 ports a few years later – and none of them sold because no one knew or cared about Half-Life 1.

If any company is not going to care about spending money on a vanity project. it’s Valve but why not just do it anyway? I’d like a full fat remake of the two by Valve, especially if they update it with new story and gameplay elements.
Benson

Added extras
Nintendo could charge a tenner for a Switch 2 upgrade to games or provide it free out of the goodness of their own hearts. Alternatively, it could be a new feature of a Nintendo Switch Online subscription.

Either a new tier or bundled in the Expansion Pack, they could offer all upgrades for free when you’re a member. They keep talking about making subscribing appealing to players and giving value and so on. They already have DLC on there, if you keep your subscription, so a 60fps upgrade doesn’t seem too far-fetched.
Euclidian Boxes

GC: Yes, that sounds very plausible.

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Classic pricing
Does anyone else feel kind of bad when they see a great game for ridiculously cheap? I know it’s silly but when I see something like Doom or Mass Effect Trilogy for just a few pounds it seems… disrespectful?

I know what I’m saying, and I don’t consciously agree with it, because it’d be great if all games were that much, but subconsciously it doesn’t sit right. Not when I know how much trash is out there with a £70 price tag on it.

At the end of the day everything is only worth the price people are willing to pay for it and I guess with those two games Bethesda and EA reached the limit of people that were going to pay more than £5 for it. I hope they like them though. The idea of playing the whole of Mass Effect for so little is mind-blowing to me.
LemonZ

Repo man and boy
Just want to give a shout out to a fun new game that I’ve been playing with my son. I know you struggle to cover everything, so if anyone’s looking for a fun co-op with horror vibes then you can do far worse than R.E.P.O.

It’s only on PC (we’re playing it on Steam Deck) at the minute, so not sure if it will make its way to console, but if you have a few friends and are looking to laugh and cry together then check it out.
Chris

GC: The developer is very small and hasn’t said anything about console versions yet.

Netflix of Nintendo
I’ve been enjoying the love for the Nintendo GameCube recently and I hope that it will be a part of the Switch 2 from very early on. Although I don’t understand why it hasn’t been added already, given it’s not a technical issue, or at least I wouldn’t have thought it was.

I really hope that Nintendo has a proper virtual console that is a library of all their games right from the start. Previously, every time they release a new console they start their retro releases from scratch, so it’s the end of a generation before we get everything big and there’s always lots of smaller titles left out that they don’t have time for.

I’m hoping that backwards compatibility means they won’t be able to do this again but the fact that people aren’t buying the games but essentially renting them via Nintendo Switch Online makes me think that we’ll be back to square one again.

At the very least have a PlayStation style platinum tier where you get everything from the start. I know not many would pay for it, but I would. To have every Nintendo game ever in one place would be an amazing thing but Nintendo seems strangely committed to making sure that never happens.
Taylor Moon

Impulse purchase
I’m a massive fan of the first Darkest Dungeon (200+ hours) and it’s taken a while for the second to click but I’m about 60 hours in.

I’ve got the DLC and one of the trophies has a 0.9% completion rate – it isn’t even a difficult trophy! I messaged in a couple of weeks back and you said how most people don’t complete games, but do people even play them?
Simon

GC: It’s quite possible a lot of people buy DLC, because they like the main game, with the intention of playing it but never get round to it.

Overrated list
So, I mailed in a list a few months ago, detailing my ten favourite games of all time. I included titles such as Baldur’s Gate 3 and Silent Hill 2. I’d like to formally discuss another list. My personal opinion of the 10 games I consider to be the most overrated titles.

10. Assassin’s Creed – the one that started it all, but repetitive missions and clunky gameplay serve as a detriment.

9. Fallout 4 – serviceable graphics fail to mask a generic, boring, and repetitive role-player, that’s more of an action game masquerading as a role-playing game.

8. Final Fantasy 16 – the pinnacle of horrendous side missions, bloated content, and the worst role-playing game that I have ever played.

7. Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain – Kojima’s worst game and an embarrassment of a title, that features barren and empty environments. The cherry on top is an unfinished story.

6. Dragon Age: Inquisition – a textbook example of dreadful combat, mundane fetch quests, and boring political intrigue.

5. Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune – the beginning of Nathan Drake’s journey, hasn’t aged well and it is bogged down with awful platforming and below par combat.

4. The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim – adored at launch, this title barely even matches what The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 brought to the table

3. God Of War Ragnarök – tanky enemies, an unfulfilled narrative, and the premise of Ragnarök falling flat. No wonder Elden Ring beat it to Game of the Year.

2. Grand Theft Auto 5 – an abysmal story, more emphasis on the online portion, and restrictive elements. No bowling. Torturing Lazlow is always funny though.

1. The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom – a reused world. No story. No reason to care about Zelda. Link is boring and mute. Sky portion disappoints. Ganondorf is forgettable as a villain. Raphael from Baldur’s Gate 3 is more memorable. Shrines are just as repetitive and stale as Breath Of The Wild.
Shahzaib Sadiq

GC: The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 came out more than eight years after Skyrim?

Inbox also-rans
I’ve been enjoying Aliens: Dark Descent and just finished XCOM 2 again. I’m about to go back onto Halo Wars which is one of my personal favourites but I’m just curious of your opinion on the game. Did you enjoy it?
Simon

GC: Not very much, no. But Halo Wars 2 is great, with a very good multiplayer – if anyone’s still playing it.

Glad to hear that Assassin’s Creed Shadows has been a hit. I don’t want Ubisoft to go under and I like the game so far. I just hope that doesn’t mean all they’ll make in the future is Assassin’s Creed games.
Wotan

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