I have played a lot Assassin's Creed Black Flag resync over the past few days, and while I've been enjoying every minute of reliving this fresh take on one of my favorite experiences in the franchise, I've also been looking forward to the possibilities of what Ubisoft might do next. At this point, the studio has proven that they know how to make a faithful remake that still feels like it belongs in the current era, so as far as I'm concerned, they shouldn't stop there. Although actually Assassin's Creed Black Flag resync rightly resurrected some that undoubtedly deserved it, there is Assassin's Creed classic before dating Black flag which I actually think deserves even more.
The thing is, I know there will be some debate about which classic Assassin's Creed the game deserves to be completely rebuilt, and that part is inevitable. Some will of course say Assassin's Creed 2and I understand why, while others might say AC3 deserves a remake, which I also understand. But as much as I wouldn't mind seeing any of these remade with a modern twist, there's still another entry that feels like the more obvious candidate, to the point that I rightly feel it deserved a remake more than Black flag. It might sound heretical to you, but Black flag was already great as it was – the original Assassin's Creedon the other hand, never even achieved “it's good” status.
Assassin's Creed should be next in line for a remake
I will admit upfront that my very first Assassin's Creed the game was actually Assassin's Creed 2not the first game. Actually, I barely knew the series existed until my cousin called me on the phone in 2009 and told me how amazing the new Assassin's Creed the game was, suggesting I try. I trusted his opinion and stopped by Vintage Stock nearby, grabbed a copy, and the rest is history. That was the day I became a lifer Assassin's Creed fan, and nothing has changed since then.
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Of course, after playing the second entry in the franchise, when I was done with it, I needed to go back and try the first. At that time there were no others Assassin's Creed game left for me to play, and I was hungry for more, so the thought of getting at least another dozen hours in a brand new entry was enough to make me buy it. Don't get me wrong, I finished the game, but I can't stress enough how painful it was to get through.
Black flag was already great as it was – the original Assassin's Creedon the other hand, never even achieved “it's good” status.
The biggest problem was how quickly the whole experience revealed its hand. Almost every murder in the Assassin's Creed followed the same grueling routine of entering a new district, climbing vantage points, and completing a collection of repetitive surveys before the game finally allowed Altair to pursue his goal. Wiretapping involved sitting on a bench and listening, pickpockets barely changed from one attempt to another, and interrogations usually involved following someone into an alley and beating information out of them.
These activities may have been tolerable in smaller doses, however Assassin's Creed leaned so heavily on them that each city's open world began to feel like the same old checklist with different layers of color. Even the kills themselves, which should have been the reward for all that preparation, were often followed by clumsy escape sequences where the controllers were more of a force to be reckoned with than the guards.
Unfortunately, the repetition was only part of the problem. Altair moved as if he was constantly a click away from ignoring my intentions, whether that meant jumping to the wrong ledge, refusing to climb anything directly in front of him, or throwing himself to his death for reasons only he knew. Assassin's Creeds combat looked impressive at first, but as counterattacks became the answer to almost every encounter, fighting squads of guards turned into a waiting game rather than a test of skill.
Assassin's Creeds open world did nothing to ease the frustration either, as most optional content consisted of rescuing citizens, collecting flags, or climbing another tower with little meaningful reward waiting at the end. Add in the sudden trips back to modern times, long stretches of exposition, and a story that takes far too long to allow Altair to be interesting, and the original Assassin's Creed ends up feeling more like an ambitious prototype for the much better game Ubisoft made just two years later.
Assassin's Creed 2 was like a highlighter for the mistakes of the original game
Now I had started with Assassin's Creed and then moved on to the second part, maybe my opinion would have been different about it. After all, Assassin's Creed 2 made significant improvements to almost every problem I had with the original game when I played it, and if I had moved in the opposite direction, I would have felt that things only got better instead of feeling like my experience with the series got worse. At the same time, the score does not lie, and even then, Assassin's Creed finished with a Metascore of 81, compared to his little brother's Metascore of 91 a couple of years later.
All of this is exactly why one remakes the original Assassin's Creed makes so much sense now. The foundation was always there, Ubisoft just hadn't figured out the formula yet, so most of these ideas were trapped in a game that repeated itself until its strongest concepts became boring. A remake was able to keep everything that worked (which essentially boiled down to the story and setting), while completely rebuilding the investigations surrounding each murder, giving players multiple ways to learn about their targets and decide how to approach them. It could also make Jerusalem, Damascus, and Acre feel more distinct, expand the role of the Assassin Brotherhood, and give Altair the character development his story deserved from the start.
Even then, Assassin's Creed finished with a Metascore of 81, compared to his little brother's Metascore of 91 a couple of years later.
In that sense, a Assassin's Creed remake may actually be easier to justify than Black flag resynced where. Black flag was already a huge hit in its day, so Ubisoft greatly improved an experience that gamers already loved. However, the first game would give the studio a chance to save one that never quite lived up to its potential. Modern parkour controls could make movement in general much less frustrating, while a deeper stealth system could finally let players feel like an assassin instead of occasionally being forced into open combat. More varied explorations, better side content, and assassination missions with the freedom seen in later entries can turn the original game into the experience its premise always promised.
More importantly, transformative Assassin's Creed would give Ubisoft the opportunity to return to the beginning of the franchise without replacing what made it important. Altair, Al Mualim, Masyaf and the Third Crusade still deserve to be part of the series' legacy, but the gameplay around them has become increasingly difficult to recommend when almost every sequel has improved upon it. Black flag resynced proved that Ubisoft can respect an elder Assassin's Creed game while making the necessary changes to make it feel modern. Now the studio should apply the same care to the part that needs it the most, because the original Assassin's Creed shouldn't have to remain a rough first draft forever.
- Released
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9 July 2026
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol, Violence / In-Game Purchases, User Interaction
