Are you seated? Do you have a glass of water? A hand to hold? This is not easy to say, but I mean it with love: I am a longtime Assassin’s Creed fan, and the series has always been kind of bad.
I have played them all. I have collector’s edition statues. I have defended the Animus, the modern-day conspiracy, and the fantasy of diving into history through ancestral DNA. But let’s not pretend Desmond Miles was a masterpiece, or that the modern-day narrative was ever more than a goofy framing device. The phrase ‘Assassin’s Creed fell off after Desmond’ is nostalgic gaslighting. It never clung that tightly to greatness in the first place.
The concept was fantastic: parkour across Renaissance rooftops, stab a target from a haystack, leap off a tower into a pile of suspiciously soft civilians. That fantasy carried the franchise. It still does. But the execution has always been janky, repetitive, and uneven. Ezio Auditore’s trilogy remains a standout, yes. But even Ezio’s saga had tailing missions, clunky combat, and collectibles designed to waste your life. The series was never flawless. It was fun. There is a difference.
The Cycle of Outrage Never Ends
If you have been online since 2007, you have seen this movie. People shout that modern Assassin’s Creed is bad. They forget they shouted the same thing thirteen years ago about Assassin’s Creed 3. They called Black Flag not a true AC game twelve years ago. They called Unity a broken mess eleven years ago. Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla were each declared the death of the franchise. And now, in 2026, Assassin’s Creed Shadows has already been through the same wringer. The complaints change. The pattern does not.
I loved Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla despite their flaws. I will play Shadows eventually, even if I do not feel an urgent pull. I know I will enjoy parts of it. I also know I will roll my eyes at parts of it. That is the Assassin’s Creed experience. It is not a sacred pillar of gaming in 2026. It is a big, messy, often mediocre blockbuster that occasionally stumbles into brilliance. That is fine.
| Era | Game | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Assassin’s Creed | Repetitive | Classic |
| 2012 | Assassin’s Creed 3 | Disappointing | Underrated |
| 2013 | Black Flag | Not true AC | Best pirate game |
| 2014 | Unity | Broken | Beautiful, underrated |
| 2017 | Origins | Too RPG | Refreshing |
| 2018 | Odyssey | Too big | Beloved |
| 2020 | Valhalla | Bloated | Comfort food |
| 2025 | Shadows | Culture war, jank | Too early to tell |
I Am Not Defending Bad Games
Before anyone spams me with that one Shadows clip of an NPC with a poorly acted voice line: I know. I have seen it. I am not defending bad acting, bad quest design, or bad monetization. I am not defending Ubisoft. I am not telling you to enjoy anything. I am saying that Assassin’s Creed has always been silly, janky, and mostly mediocre, and it continues to be Assassin’s Creed anyway. The series is good. But it has always been bad. Both things are true.
What frustrates me is the Mandela Effect level of nostalgia. People act like the older games were untouchable. They were not. They were buggy. They were repetitive. They had bizarre story choices. They had mission design that could make you put down the controller. The difference is that time softens memory. A decade later, the bugs become charming. The jank becomes personality. The bad voice acting becomes a meme.
In 2026, the franchise is not going to return to its 2010 cultural peak. It does not need to. Assassin’s Creed is no longer the pillar of gaming it once was, and that is okay. It can still be a place for historical tourism, stealth chaos, and ridiculous parkour. It can still be a comfort series. It can still be a punching bag. It can be all of those things at once.
Just Move On
If you do not enjoy Assassin’s Creed anymore, do not play it. Do not shout about it for a decade. Do not convince yourself that things were different. Do not be racist about the characters or the setting. Just move on. Literally anything else. Play a different game. Read a book. Touch grass. The series will survive without your outrage, and you will survive without the series.
I will keep my collector’s editions. I will keep my complicated affection. I will keep hoping the next game is better, knowing it will probably be a little bad. That is what being an Assassin’s Creed fan means in 2026. You do not have to like that. You do not have to pretend you ever did. But I do. I love this goofy, broken, occasionally transcendent franchise. And I always will.