And at last, the final episode of Assassins Creeds whimsical alternate reality reaches its launch date and
The Tyranny of King Washington finally comes to an end. All in all,
The Redemption is a dynamic, fitting end to an interesting story, though I wouldnt go as far to say that it was the best in the series. The third instalment adds little to the gameplay, other than the newest spirit power which is that of the great bear. After
The Betrayal brought the eagle power to the table, I had my doubts about how the follow up could possibly be any better but I was wrong. Though the eagle power remains my personal favourite, the power of the bear turned out to be a strong contender. After having stealth and movement abilities, a little more variation is added to the combat and New York is swarming with Blue Coats that at a glimpse of Connors wolf cloak will attack without warning. And there are hoards of them. If there was any criticism about the original narrative about killing hundreds of British soldiers, then
The Tyranny of King Washington makes up for it with killing hundreds of Blue Coats. And unlike the eagle power, you have to be careful when using the bear. The drain on Connors health if much more extreme than the other, tallying only two chain attacks at the most and when health doesnt regenerate until youre out of combat, youve got to pick the right moment without risking being overwhelmed by the survivors. Theres a lot more strategy to such a power than players will realise, but is something that needs to be credited. Other than that, there is very little change to the game. You can still find the same pointless side missions dotted around the map, more chests than you can count and little else. This wouldnt have been that disappointing had the main story been longer. The missions are engaging and satisfying but there doesnt seem to be that many of them. After a blockbuster opening, reminding everyone how awesome the naval combat is (throwing more ships at you than ever before); you unite with the local resistance and before long youre fighting your way through King Washingtons temple. Surprisingly though it didnt feel rushed, yet the only primary objective is to take down the King with no other story elements to flesh out the finale. Some may not see this as a bad thing. It remains firmly focused on what it set out to be, but compared what weve already had, I couldnt help but feel a little annoyed. There is also little connection at all to the bigger picture of the Assassins Creed franchise. Other than a name drop of future protagonist Edward Kenway, there is nothing that explains or hints whats going on in the modern day world. Neither does it explain further the power of the Apple. If you were wondering what happened before the alternate reality kicked in, you will be sorely saddened, for there is hardly any explanation at all for the whole trilogy. With this being labelled as canon I would have expected a little more, but it ends with a noble monologue by Washington himself as Connor sails away on the Aquilla. It was similarly disappointing that none of the characters from the main narrative made a guest appearance not even Achilles, who was heard to still be alive by one of the guards from
The Betrayal, so if you were expecting to see any more familiar faces youre going to be unsatisfied. I had speculated after Episode Two that Haytham Kenway and his band of Templars would be working with Achilles to overthrow the King. Having said that Im still not entirely sure what happened in this alternate timeline before Washington took power, in which case this theory could have been thwarted by the fact that Haytham and his Templars were all dead but who doesnt want to see more Haytham.
With the negatives aside,
The Redemption simply offers more of what the entire
Tyranny of King Washington has offered the same assassin experience in an alternate reality with a set of supernatural animal powers. The story that they set in motion gets a fitting finale with a final showdown with the King himself, which regrettably only echoes what weve already seen in previous encounters. The colossal pyramid in the centre of New York personifies the magnitude of the threat they face as you are constantly reminded while traveling the city, since its almost impossible not to get a glimpse of it from anywhere on the map. But other than that, everything remains the same but the new environment, being within the pyramid itself, offers enough to add a bit of freshness for the final skirmish. And the cinematic in-game cutscenes are some of the best weve ever seen, showing off some slow-mo in combat and a scene filled with hundreds of AI civilians that shows the scale and depth of what the developers have achieved. For those of you who have been following
The Tyranny of King Washington from the beginning, youll find disappointment in places but once you look past them, its just as enjoyable as the previous instalments. But for now, with no future DLC been announced, well just have to wait until Edward Kenway takes us to the high seas. Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.