9. Create A Genuine Sense Of Progression
So you boot up the newest AC, take in the visuals on your first synchronisation, skewer a few guards in the exact same fashion as before and then hold the right trigger and press forward until you can't be bothered any more. Sound familiar? Also, can you remember the last time you actually acquired a worthwhile ability in an AC campaign? Unity had you unlocking the action to stab guys on the ground (erm... what?!), alongside letting you buy anything with real-world cash if you couldn't be bothered to play at all. The first title had you unlocking the very ability to grab ledges mid-jump, not to mention AC 2's ledge-leap that enabled you to dart up buildings faster. Following that what did we get? The hook blade? It was essentially pointless, existing to change your climbing animation slightly and allowing for zipline descents at key points in the map - hardly something that felt worthwhile. So far, outside of Altair, Ezio and to some degree Arno's paltry smattering of attributes, every other protagonist has ended their respective games with the same capabilities they started with - even Edward Kenway just straight up becomes an Assassin seemingly by staring at one at the start of Black Flag. Unity was a surface-scratching start, but would it be too much for Ubi to code a series of animations that change over time, maybe having to tap a button to regain your footing the first few times you make a huge jump, only to get better at it the more you do so? Little things like this would go a very long way in rewarding players for seeing the game through to the end, and systems like in Skyrim or Wolfenstein that procedurally unlock abilities as you use them feel like a very easy implementation to make.