Assassin's Creed: Liberation HD Review

One has to wonder how long Ubisoft is going to be able to release Assassin’s Creed titles on a yearly basis, without the formula attracting the same public opinion that the Call of Duty series has garnered.

Obviously, we’re talking about the growing sense of repetition and staleness that has begun creeping into each IP, and Liberation’s HD makeover is the clearest sign yet that the series is in need of some fresh ideas. With that said, Liberation’s handheld roots are arguably the reason that Aveline de Grandpré’s adventures in New Orleans feel slightly stale, not to mention that this release comes off the back of last year’s Black Flag. Consequently, it’s a tough task to look at Liberation as a single entity, removed from both predecessor and successor; but doing so paints it in a much better light - something that it somewhat deserves.

Set in 18th century New Orleans, Liberation follows the aforementioned Aveline’s life as an Assassin under the guidance of Agaté - a master of the order, who lives in the swamps surrounding the city. Seemingly abandoned as a child by her mother, Aveline does what assassins do best - she harasses the Templars until they’re either all dead, or they grow tired of being stabbed and scarper.

The Big Easy, like Florence and Rome before it, is brilliantly realised by Ubisoft, and whilst some of the French accents may be a bit wonky, the city is a joy to explore, helped in part by the inclusion of AC’s biggest change since the transition from Altair to Ezio. The so-called persona system - which allows Aveline to switch between the Assassin, Slave and Lady disguises - forces you to drastically change how you approach combat and getting around the world.

The first of these, the Assassin, is what most players will be instantly familiar with. Both combat and free-running are a cinch with this persona, but the trade-off for such versatility is that guards will spot you much faster than in other disguises. The Slave grants Aveline access to plantations and slave camps, enables limited free-running and combat abilities, but gains notoriety faster than all the others. The last of these, the Lady, enables Aveline to pass unnoticed by almost everyone but also comes with the biggest penalty of all - the inability to free-run and the combat abilities of a goldfish.

It’s a welcome change for a series that some believe has become very formulaic, but there’s a niggling feeling you’ll get whilst playing, that perhaps Ubisoft didn’t utilise the potential of these personas to its fullest, as - outside of certain missions - changing between them doesn’t feel necessary at all. It all feels slightly arbitrary.

It’s not just in the above that Liberation’s potential feels wasted either. Perhaps it’s another drawback of being a remastered handheld title, but the story feels far too rushed. Multiple times throughout the narrative, you’ll find yourself having to travel afar to Mexico and New York, and whilst both of these are excellent, the timeskips upon your return only serve to make the pacing feel erratic at best.

A largely dull cast of characters only serves to compound these narrative problems further, and as is becoming more and more evident with the series, the most fun you’re going to have with Liberation is carving your own path through each locale, exploring at your own leisure.

There’s plenty of reasons to do so too, as the game world is littered with collectibles and activities to get stuck in to. The city upgrading feature last seen in Brotherhood makes a return, giving Aveline easier access to tailor shops and dressing rooms, and reptile eggs, book pages and treasure chests promise special rewards if you collect them all.

Put all the content together, and you have an AC title that’s comparable in length to any other entry in the series - albeit one that lacks the panache and polish of its console brothers. Either way, if you’re an AC fan through-and-through, there’s no reason not to give Liberation a try. If you’re new to the series though or have already played the Vita version, we’d suggest you try the superior Black Flag or save buying a largely unchanged HD update to a game you already have.