While all eyes are onAssassin’s Creed Shadowsat the moment,Assassin’s Creed Invictushas the potential to be among the series' more notable, potentially questionable releases. Given the cult status of previousAssassin’s Creedmultiplayer modes,many have high hopes forInvictus' success, though these expectations could be tempered if recent rumors are true.
Assassin’s Creedintroduced multiplayer elements during its adolescence, starting withAssassin’s Creed Brotherhoodand culminating in the open-world co-op functionalities ofAssassin’s Creed Unity. Although multiplayer has seemingly been left on the cutting room floor since the series transitioned to an action-RPG formula withAssassin’s Creed Origins, there’s a strong sense of nostalgia for these asymmetric online stealth games which, while never reaching the heights of something likeCall of Duty’s multiplayer, were well-designed and engaging enough to cultivate a strong community, and many fans have been excited about the arrival of similar gameplay inAssassin’s Creed Invictus.
Assassin’s Creed Invictus' Multiplayer May Not Be What Players Think
Assassin’s Creed Invictus Leaks Explained
While fans of old-schoolACmultiplayer have beenanticipating more of the same withAssassin’s Creed Invictus, though with notable improvements, this may not be the case. According to reliableACleaker j0nathan on Twitter,Invictuswill take heavy inspiration, not from olderAssassin’s Creedtitles, butFall Guys, with matches including at least 16 different players. He purports thatInvictuswill incorporate arcade game elements, with players assuming the roles of variousAssassin’s Creedcharacters and competing in mini-games, and that victory in each game will reward upgrades that can be used for an advantage in subsequent games. Supposedly, the slew of game modes will include:
Theaesthetic ofAssassin’s Creed Invictuswill also be a significant departure from the mainline games, according to j0nathan. The camera will be pulled back, making each character appear small and leaning into the game’s overall “arcade” style. Combat will featureSmash Bros-esque bubble shields and lack the visceral nature of mainline entries, once again suggesting a less realistic, more cartoonish tone. Finally, j0nathan states thatInvictuswill incorporate elements from variousAssassin’s Creedgames, drawing in playable characters and levels from several different entries rather than just one.
What Assassin’s Creed Invictus' Leaks Could Mean for the Game
It should come as no surprise that these rumors haven’t gone over well with many fans. For one thing, theFall Guyscomparison seems incredibly bizarre; although there are plenty of multiplayer games thatAssassin’s Creed Invictuscould theoretically draw from for great results,Fall Guysdoesn’t seem like one of them, as it has virtually nothing in common with the stealth-action series. Naturally, the idea of mini-game centric, arcade-inspired games looping in several differentACcharacters in aPlayStation All-Starsstyle crossover isn’t what most were expecting fromInvictus.
As some fans have already pointed out, the game that j0nathan is describing sounds more like a free-to-playAssassin’s Creedmobile spin-offthan a full-fledged entry, and it certainly doesn’t come across as the ambitious multiplayer experience that many were hoping for. Certain aspects, like the wide assortment of different mini-games rather than a focused stealth or combat sandbox, suggest thatInvictusmay lack focus, and the arcade-inspired gameplay could make for a less mechanically robust experience, removed from the building blocks of majorAssassin’s Creedgames. All in all, the leaks paint a picture of a more scattered, tonally incongruous, and derivative multiplayer experience.
Having said all that, it may still be worth holding out hope forAssassin’s Creed Invictus. For one thing, none of the leaks suggest thatInvictuswill adopt much-maligned MMO live-service elements, which would not have been an unreasonable assumption given the franchise’s current trajectory, and the arcade-style gameplay, while perhaps disappointing, could be fun if well-designed. And like with all leaks and rumors, it’s important to take j0nathan’s statements with a healthy dose of salt, despite past reliability.
