Sucker Punch shocked fans earlier this month when it announcedGhost of Tsushima: Legends, a completely free co-op multiplayer expansion. Despite co-op fans hopes and prayers, most games simply don’t take this route, instead preferring to focus either on single player experiences or competitive multiplayer, so for that subset of gamers, this is a gem. Of course, given how often this title is compared to those from theAssassin’s Creedfranchise, it was inevitable that some fans would viewLegendsas a sort of challenge to Ubisoft, calling out its lacklustermultiplayer history ofAssassin’s Creed.
As a new IP,Ghost of Tsushima: Legendswill be Sucker Punch’s first attempt at multiplayer within the game, but many fans are excited with what they’ve seen so far. In terms ofAssassin’s Creedmultiplayer, Ubisoft experimented with the idea for a few titles but has since dropped it in its more recent exploits, likely due to the less than impressive reception it garnered among fans. Now withGhost of Tsushimaalready claiming the title of “Assassin’s Creedin Japan” and taking the world by storm, many fans are wondering ifLegendswill promptAssassin’s Creed Valhallato up the ante with a multiplayer mode of its own.
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Assassin’s Creed Multiplayer
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhoodwas the first in the series to try and tackle a multiplayer game mode, and introduced acompetitive multiplayer experienceto the franchise. Players would select an assassin from a list of characters and then be given a target. The catch is that while searching for this target, they would be the target of another player, requiring both hunting and evasion to be considered simultaneously in order to come out on top. This is an interesting idea in theory, but it wasn’t too well received.
Further titles, includingAssassin’s Creed Rogue,Assassin’s Creed 3, andAssassin’s Creed Black Flag, all expanded on this multiplayer idea, adding a few new touches of their own. These game modes were generally well received by those that enjoyedBrotherhood’s multiplayer, but outside of that group, many never took the time to experience them, instead preferring to stick with the main single player story of eachAssassin’s Creedgame. SinceBlack Flag, though,noAssassin’s Creedgame has featured any competitive multiplayeraspects, making it seem as though Ubisoft has abandoned the idea altogether.
Ghost of Tsushima: Legends is Unique
Ghost of Tsushima: Legendsis looking like it will be very different fromAssassin’s Creedmultiplayer for a number of reasons, but the big standout is that it emphasizes cooperation rather than competition. Players will choose one of four predetermined character classes,Samurai, Ronin, Hunter, or Assassin, and must work together to overcome powerful, supernatural enemies. Sucker Punch has confirmed thatLegendswill feature a two player story mode as well as a four player survival mode, and that a four player raid will be added shortly after the launch of the free update.
Mythological elements are another thing that will setLegendsapart, as although the First Civilization plays a major role in Ezio’s story, the early eras ofAssassin’s Creedlargely steered clear of any other kind of mythology. More recent games such asOriginsorOdysseyhave since embraced that aspect of history, withOdysseyeven having the player do battle with a Minotaur and other mythical beasts of Greece, which putsValhallain a unique position. There is also the argument to be made thatGhost of Tsushima’s combat more closely resembles that of the olderAssassin’s Creedgamesthan the newer ones, something which further differentiates the two franchises.
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Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla Multiplayer
If Ubisoft does take Sucker Punch’sGhost of Tsushima: Legendsas a challenge to theAssassin’s Creedfranchise, then the best place for it to answer that challenge is inAssassin’s Creed: Valhalla. The details aboutValhallaare still rather limited, so at this point anything is possible and a multiplayer mode could already be planned. Still, given how differentValhallais going to be fromAssassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Ubisoft would likely need to take a different approach to this game’s multiplayer, perhaps insteaddrawing inspiration fromAssassin’s Creed: Unity.
This title is a sort of hidden gem, as it initially had a very negative response due to anexcess of bugs atAssassin’s Creed: Unity’s launch. Since then, most of those issues have been patched out, leaving a pretty great game that many had the chance to experience whenUnitywas made free following the Notre Dame fire in Paris. What really madeUnityunique, however, is that it is the only game in the franchise to include a co-op multiplayer mode. Players could tackle missions, explore the world, and more together for the first time.Valhallacould do something similar, allowing players to work through the main story together or take on challenging co-op missions.
Ghost of Tsushima: Legends VS Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla
Ghost of Tsushima: Legendsis taking its multiplayer out of the real world and away from Jin’s story, butAssassin’s Creed: Valhallahas an opportunity to set itself apart by doing the opposite. Though Eivor is clearly going to be the main focus of the game, there are countless other Vikings that fight by his side that another player could control. Co-op enthusiasts have no doubt imagined facing down the conquest battles andmythical beasts ofAssassin’s Creed:Odysseywith friends, and these dreams could be fulfilled inValhalla.
On the flip side,Ghost of Tsushima: Legendsalready looks very enticing to fans, and Sucker Punch has made it clear that it intends on further expanding it down the road with a four player raid. SinceGhost of Tsushimadoesn’t feature RPG elements as heavily as currentAssassin’s Creedgames, it will likely be more accessible to players and matchmaking will be much easier. The best thing to do now is simply wait untilLegendsreleases and see what fans think of it. Most agree that amultiplayer mode inValhallaseems unlikely, but perhaps Sucker Punch could push Ubisoft to do it with its own success.
