The long-rumored and leaked Assassin's Creed Ragnarok has not yet been confirmed as a 2020 release by Ubisoft but the many leaks have pointed to a 2020 release. The last time the series took a year off the next game in series was not only the most different, but it was also one of the best.
Ragnarok probably won't have as drastic as changes since the last game, Assassin's Creed Odyessy, was very well received but there could still be some change in store. Here are some of the mechanics from early in the series that we want to return and some we hope to stay gone.
10 Business Ownership (Keep)
A feature that was prominent in Assassin's Creed Brotherhood and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. Purchasing and owning businesses that would give a steady stream of income was one of the best ways to keep your pockets full and gave something to spend money on in the game.
The newer games lack something to build and upgrade with your hard-earned assassin's money. Bringing back the feature of business ownership to give a purpose for the currency.
9 Ship Combat (Don't)
The obsession with having ship combat in the Assassin's Creed can be blamed almost entirely on the love for Black Flag but it really doesn't work with the more ancient historical setting of the new games. Having ship combat with bows and spears is extremely tedious in a way that isn't enjoyable in long stretches.
It's unlikely that the Vikings inspired Assassin's Creed Ragnarok won't have ship combat since it's intrinsic to the Viking culture, but finding a way to revamp it into something more enjoyable or less frequent would make for a better game.
8 Recruitment (Keep)
Started in Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, Ezio was able to recruit new members into the Assassin's. Vikings have a strong clan culture so it would make sense to have a following of some type in Assassin's Creed Ragnarok.Â
These recruits could come into large-scale battles or even serve as party members during main quests. It makes sense with the historical context of the game's setting and brings back a great feature from earlier in the series.
7 Modern Day Missions (Don't)
On the list of things that need to stop and never return, modern-day missions in the Assassin's Creed series have never been very enjoyable. Not to say that the modern-day storyline hasn't had great moments, especially during the early games, but playing during the modern-day is just an annoying detour from the main game.
The amount of time spent in the modern-day during the recent games has varied but limiting it to cut scenes only would make the experience far more tolerable, especially with how convoluted the plot has become in the recent games.
6 Multiplayer (Keep)
This is more of a bring back than a keep but the multiplayer in the Assassin's Creed is one of the most unique multiplayer modes to ever exist and the fact that they stopped including it in the games is a travesty.
Bringing back the multiplayer, even in the new, RPG-inspired, games, an updated version of the multiplayer would be fantastic and really make the games the full experience. The multiplayer was taken out for not being a very popular mode but the series was also on a downward trend at the time so with the series being more popular now its time to give it another shot.
5 Follow Missions (Don't)
As the Assassin's Creed series has moved away from stealth many of the tropes of the genre have been dropped as well, mostly for the better. On the list of improvements is the lack of "follow" missions where you must casually stroll behind another character at a safe distance without being seen.
While it makes sense from a story perspective to have these types of missions, they aren't enjoyable to play and fall into the camp of tedious. While not every single moment of a game is going to be the best thing ever, these are almost never good.
4 Optional Mission Objectives (Keep)
While the games no longer follow a mission-based structure, embracing their open-world nature, having optional mission objectives that could provide better rewards would be cool to bring back. The original games had these optional objectives and they would be required to achieve 100 percent synchronization.
Now, without being able to replay missions easily in the new game, these objectives would need to be truly optional but it would be a great feature to return all the same.
3 Child Missions (Don't)
Playing as a child during a flashback is one of the worst things in video games, especially in Assassin's Creed games. The opening hours of Assassin's Creed III are enough to give anyone nightmares about running around as a child.
These sequences are typically reserved for tutorials or flashbacks but even then they almost always overstay their welcome. Children are naturally defenseless so playing as one in a game where you are normally a super-powerful Assassin just doesn't sit right.
2 Hidden Blades (Keep)
Look the spear in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is incredibly awesome in its own right but one of the staples if the franchise is the hidden blade.
The new games explained not having them by the fact that they take place before the invention of them but the DLC for Odyssey includes a person that uses a hidden blade so that blows that out of the water. It doesn' really seem like a weapon that a Viking would use but an Assassin Viking just might.
1 Stealth Only Missions (Don't)
There is nothing wrong with having an emphasis on stealth, the franchise was built on it. But taking a note out of another series, Dishonored, where stealth is incredibly focused on but not a requirement for getting through a level.
Getting desynchronized during a mission for getting seen or noticed is incredibly annoying and being forced to deal with your mistakes is much better. Forced stealth missions are tedious and feel very old school in the modern gaming era.