Assassin’s Creed Identity – Recensione

Article by Samuele Zaboi

As known, this year the Assassin's Creed series will take a year off but despite this Ubisoft will not completely abandon the franchise. From today it is in fact available Assassin's Creed Identity, title for iOS devices that will bring you back to experience the atmosphere of the chapter perhaps most loved by fans, Assassin's Creed II. Florence awaits you and is close at hand.

A heart attack

Assassin's Creed Identity is a title created and designed for mobile devices. This simple statement is not as trivial as one might think: the game, it should be noted right away, is very distant from the products seen on consoles and therefore it is necessary to be aware of this when approaching AC Identity. This product, rather than being a real title studied ad hoc, seems to be, from the first approach, a tribute to the second chapter of the main series, right from the intro that will show you Florence and, in this case, the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, stand on the screen of your device.
In Assassin's Creed Identity the players will be called to take on the role of a Renaissance assassin who will have to solve, without revealing too many details, an intrigue, the Mystery of the Crows, which once again sees the Templars as protagonists and which will bring to light characters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolò Machiavelli and Cesare Borgia, with the same features already seen in Assassin's Creed II. This will make the hearts of longtime fans of the Ubisoft series leap, bringing back a strong nostalgia for what is considered the best title in the saga. If on the one hand this can provoke a sense of pleasure, in being able to see Monteriggioni and Villa Auditore once again, on the other hand it will not be able to curb that feeling of disbelief, for having violated a sort of sacred and untouchable universe.

Fast and (in) pain

The main campaign of Assassin's Creed Identity, which winds through ten missions (others will arrive in the future with new updates, ed), ends in a couple of hours, with the addition of some secondary missions necessary to level up. To access the main sequences, your assassin, whose name and face you can choose from among some available options, will have to reach a certain level. To rank up, just complete the main and secondary quests to get the points needed to level up. The game controls are extremely simple, designed specifically for the touch screen: an analog stick on the left side of the display will make your character move while a counterpart on the right can rotate the camera. There will be a button to attack and another to activate the abilities that your assassin is equipped with, including the well-known "Eagle Eye". Assassin's Creed Identity, in addition to having a low longevity, despite the presence of many secondary quests updated continuously, it also has a low level of difficulty to the point that you can complete all the missions without ever failing, even reaching the optional objectives. It is undoubtedly appreciable the possibility of carrying out kills with the blade hidden from above or from a hiding place but there is no doubt that the most loyal fans of Assassin's Creed will hardly find satisfaction from this mobile product, also due to the presence of the never revitalizing combat system. in the main series, with the Templars attacking once.

No free-to-play, sì pay

Assassin's Creed Identity it is not a free-to-play title since in order to install it on your device you will have to spend an amount of 5 euros but despite this there will be In-App purchases. In the title it will be possible to choose, for your assassin, among how many different classes, each of which will have particular skills that can be enhanced thanks to the experience points and coins earned in-game. The latter will also be useful for forging new elements, such as boots, armor or new swords: however, you will soon realize how the amount of coins available to you is overall small and to be able to have more it will be necessary to put your wallet through the In-App purchases or execute and complete secondary missions until you drop, not a very happy choice given the amount invested, unusual for the mobile market.

Final comments

Assassin's Creed Identity it is perhaps not the product expected by fans looking for something different while waiting for the new main chapter, due to a campaign that is too short and a difficulty that is anything but high. The presence of In-App purchases, despite the game being paid, further lower the overall level of the game, despite the setting so loved by fans and the discreet graphic level achieved by the title.