Need to rant on this because I'm kinda pissed off. Let me preface this by saying I have played this game to death, along with older and newer titles.
I grabbed Unity on a sale in 2020, when people talked about how "underrated" it was. They praised the parkour, combat, story, stealth, and co-op. I didn't necessarily have high expectations, but hope that at least it excelled in one of these categories.
My first thoughts. Unity was only my second AC game. Origins was the first, and so I could only really compare Unity to Origins. Graphically, these games were on par with each other; Paris looked as stunning as , say, Memphis. The parkour also looked prettier. The combat, more dangerous. I could only see the positives because it was hyped up so much, and I'd played so little of AC.
In time, I uninstalled it because I simply forgot about the game. Come November this year I decided to install it again and come back at Unity with a refreshed mind and interest after finishing Rogue, Black Flag, and the Ezio trilogy. I was severely dissappointed by every aspect of the game and uninstalled it after 20 more hours of gameplay.
Let's start with the big one. Parkour. I have to admire the effort they put into the system. The animations were beautifully done, and Parkour Down was a godsend and worthy successor to AC1's vaults. But there were some jarring changes. Side ejects were now contextual for some reason, and catch ledge was just gone. Furthermore, (and this is the big one), the snap system was horrible. Unlike in previous games where it worked like a charm, Arno's jumps were incredibly inconsistent.
The stealth suffered too, quite heavily. Using items from cover was an instant detection, and their line of sight was broken; about 1 in every 4 walls could be seen through. Firecrackers worked only by visual detection, and double assassinations were straight up impossible if you were on a ledge. Every aspect of the game was compromised to favor and encourage stealth, yet it was frustrating and unpredictable. No stealth game should have inconsitent mechanics.
The combat. On the (extremely common) chance you get detected, you'll unsheathe your weapon and fight anywhere from 1 to 15 guards. In Unity, almost every guard type has access to a pistol, and if they're holding it when you're detected they will fire it with no warning. Even if you do get warned of a gun, dodging it will almost never work, and you'll probably be caught in one of the game's beautiful, but painstakingly slow counter or finisher animations. These enemies love to use guns and bombs. Fighting 1 or 2 at a time is decent enough since their distance and attacks are manageable, but anything more than 4 is at best a slog, at worst a death sentence.
Customization is one aspect of the game I honestly loved, and I wish it was further expanded upon. Having vanity slots would allow me to tailor my outfit to my aesthetic appeal, instead of solely to my playstyle. The tier system was pointless and most people just used tier 1 equipment until they could farm enough money to buy tier 5 items.
The story was enjoyable... for the first hour. After Arno donned his cape and hood, every character, without fail, became uninteresting and even boring. The story revolves around avenging Arno's adopted father (He apparently doesn't care about Shay killing his actual father), but the story becomes extremely repetitive. Arno's motives become muddled and many of the side characters we meet dissappear into obscurity. It's a generic, cliche revenge story with lifeless characters and a boring ending I don't even want to talk about.
The environment I truly loved. Paris was a joy to behold. There was always a huge swarm of french "people" to blend into, an interior to run through, and an event going on at every corner. The sewers were forgettable, though, and the rift areas felt like hamfisted gimmicks for the already-dead modern day aspect of AC.
Co-op worked pretty well, and I didn't encounter any technical issues. Playing it certainly alleviates some issues because of the difficulty reduction as opposed to playing solo. The missions, however, were... (not) interesting.
I should get to mission structure in general. The black box missions were a hit and a miss. It felt like there was only one right way to do a mission, and the opportunity system was not handled right. Sometimes there was no apparent benefit to doing an opportunity because you don't know how it'll help. Or it could be detrimental and give you an equally difficult route. I wish there was more thought put into opportunities and the black box assassinations as a whole.
Co-op missions were meh. Playing through them with friends was alright, although they were somewhat tedious. Heists were more of the same, but only benefitted stealth players (come to think of it, I dont think anyone favors combat over stealth). Yes, I replayed that one painting heist for hours on end.
All in all, I can see why Unity feels like the best assassin fantasy on a surface level. However, its different systems don't work and don't complement each other. For all its shortcomings, it had many good ideas with which I want Ubisoft to experiment more with.
It's 12:02 am and I sure as hell am not going to edit this.