Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China

Impulse GamerDakoda Barker

Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China is the first in a three-part ‘spin off’ series—and it must be called a spin off, because Chronicles: China represents the

PC GamerDavid Meikleham

83/100

A pared down 2D take on Assassin's Creed with nimble kills and satisfying stealth.

ShackNewsSteven Wong

8/10

Despite its issues, Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China is one of the most entertaining experiences I've had from the series in a while. I wasn't a big fan of last year's releases of Rogue and Unity, which both look a lot better than they play. It's nice to take a break from the increasingly convoluted plot of the main storyline with a straightforward tale of revenge set in a historic corner of the world that often doesn't get a lot of attention in Western video games. This might not be the Assassin's Creed players asked for, but it's one that I'm thankful to have.

And yet despite those two criticisms, here is a game that I played through in a couple of long sessions of play, and typically my patience with 2D platforms is very, very limited. I could have done with a stronger and more robust narrative, and I would have loved to get to know Shao better, but where I generally tolerate the gameplay of an Assassin’s Creed game because I find the world and history so inviting, this time around the reverse is true, and I rather like that.

Capsule ComputersJamie Laike Tsui

7/10

No summary available

Pure XboxKen Barnes

7/10

Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China is a fun and enjoyable game that does the franchise justice while taking it into another genre. There are some truly fantastic ideas here, some super-smooth parkour, brain-tingling puzzle challenges and occasional flashes of brilliance when it's time to get down and dirty in combat. Some ideas haven't been explored as thoroughly as we'd have liked, and there are a few rough spots, though. We're looking forward to the next installment.

GRYOnline.plKrystian Smoszna

7/10

I don't recall a situation where Ubisoft has ever outsourced the production of an Assassin's Creed game to an external studio. This treatment turned out to be beneficial, Shao Jun's adventures bring a breath of freshness to the series.

Press StartJames Berich

6/10

Heck, everything in Chronicles: China just feels like it’s almost there but just missed the mark. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a reasonably enjoyable platforming game with some light if not abusable stealth mechanics. But it should be so much more – it’s an Assassin’s Creed game (kind of) that’s set in China! Hopefully the developers will do more with the upcoming India and Russia instalments, because quite frankly it’s disappointing to see China wasted like this.

VideogamerTom Orry

6/10

Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China feels like an Assassin's Creed game without the sense of adventure and scope, and a Prince of Persia game without the cool platforming and exciting combat.

Attack of the FanboyAOTF Staff

Without a better story, and the game ending before you can really ever test your mettle, Assassin's Creed Chronicles feels lackluster.

Game RantAnthony Taormina

Unscored

It’s hard to imagine too many players feeling that urge, though, as 4 hours with Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China is more than enough. We wouldn’t say that the game overstays its welcome, but by the midway point getting through the levels starts to become a chore. The visuals and level design shine thanks to the minimalistic, hand drawn aesthetic, and the gameplay has some really smart concepts at play. But, in the end, the game faces the same struggle of the average stealth game: how does one make a game about avoiding action engaging? At times Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China offers that...

Xbox AchievementsLee Bradley

Unscored

Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China is like a diet version of a full fat AC game. It's a 2.5D side-scroller that almost slavishly includes nods to many of the series' conventions; the memory synchronising, the combat, the long dives into bales of hay. But what's most notable about the game is how it ramps up the importance of something AC has never properly nailed: stealth.