Assassin's Creed: Syndicate Reviews - 12 Shocking Critical Reactions You Need To See

5. Stealth & Combat Finally Receives An Overhaul

"The combat has improved dramatically in Syndicate, like the fluid transitions from hand-to-hand combat to using an item. You can easily fire off a pistol in between punches, as key items are mapped to a single-press button that can be toggled without bringing you to a standstill. There's no awkward pausing to access weapons or items. Combat is fast paced and brutal, with fluid attacks, dodges, and transitions." - Lizzy Finnegan, The Escapist"Gone are the days of snapping to cover and blending into crowds. In Syndicate, a white "Threat Ring" appears around your assassin when enemies are near [...] This tool makes stealth much easier and allowed me to gauge who to take out first based on how close they were and whether they'd noticed me." - Alexa Ray Correia, Gamespot

Much has been made of the game's sped-up combat and apparently reduced 'bleed' between one animation ending and the next beginning, and that seems to have paid off. Jacob can reportedly dart between various enemies at an increased speed than that of Evie, dispatching them all in a blur of broken bones and brutal finishers. Stealth, on the other hand has seen Ubisoft take Metal Gear Solid 4's 'threat ring' to indicate where enemies are in the world, still keeping the Eagle Vision filter, but also letting you feel far more comfortable whilst moving, without constantly being spotted from across the map.