Ranking Assassin's Creed games from worst to best

The Assassin's Creed franchise has gone on to become one of the most successful gaming franchises of all time. What began as a spin-off for the Prince of Persia series went on to become a standalone title that would ironically halt the progress of future Prince of Persia games.

One of Ubisoft's most treasured franchises, Assassin's Creed has had its share of some brilliant games as well as some that failed to strike a chord with the masses. For a game series with 11 main entries and one more to be released this year, there are bound to be a few misfires.

However, for the most part, Assassin's Creed games have individually been quality Triple-A releases that offer plenty of great open-world action and stories.

Here we rank the 11 main entries of the franchise from worst to best.

Assassin's Creed games ranked from Worst to Best

11) Assassin's Creed III

Assassin's Creed III is quite decent when considered in isolation but it failed to meet the gaming community's expectations. The promise of the game that was established in the opening few moments was squandered with wildly inconsistent pacing and a somewhat bland protagonist.

However, the game has its moments of brilliance and gave the series one of its most iconic characters and villains: Haytham Kenway.

10) Assassin's Creed: Revelations

In a somewhat anti-climatic end to Ezio's story in the Assassin's Creed series, players were left wanting more from the franchise and the game. While the character of Ezio and the setting of Constantinople (Turkey) are both endlessly entertaining, the game doesn't quite hit the mark.

The gameplay remains largely unchanged from the previous title, save for the addition of a Hookblade. However, the game doesn't do much apart from being the end to the Ezio saga in the series.

9) Assassin's Creed

The first game in the franchise cannot be knocked for feeling dated in 2020, yet it hasn't really aged all that well. Assassin's Creed was a solid foundation for future games but it cannot be denied that it can feel like a slog to play in 2020.

The game feels all too repetitive with the same mission playing out 9 times with slight variation during the course of the game.

8) Assassin's Creed: Unity

Assassin's Creed: Unity's launch was a disaster, in every sense of the word, for Ubisoft. The game was plagued with game-breaking bugs, glitches and crashes that spawned countless memes and dragged Ubisoft's name through the mud.

However, underneath all the significant flaws of the game is a somewhat competent Assassin's Creed experience. While the story is one of the weakest in the series, the gameplay somewhat makes up for it.

7) Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

While a much more favourable title for the fans than its sequel: Revelations, Brotherhood is still ways away from the franchise gold standard.

Brotherhood's strength lies in its story, with an explosive beginning as well as an epic end battle. However, the game lacks in the gameplay department.

All three games in the Ezio Trilogy play all too similarly and do not innovate much or take any risks.

6) Assassin's Creed Origins

Speaking of risks, if there was one title that took on the most risk by shifting the gameplay completely from the usual standard, it was Assassin's Creed Origins.

Instead of the usual AC formula, Origins decided to go down the action RPG route, akin to The Witcher 3. The much more in-depth gameplay and combat added to the complexity of the game, making it a vastly improved experience.

However, the game's story felt too generic to be considered one of the best in the series. Having said that, it did provide a good enough foundation for future games to build on.

5) Assassin's Creed: Syndicate

Syndicate suffered more due to its timing rather than the actual game itself. The game plays almost identical to Unity, save for little details that were much appreciated by the fans.

The game came out at a time when Assassin's Creed fatigue had begun to settle on. However, it is a fantastic experience from start to end. While it isn't as story-heavy as some of the other games in the series, it is still a competent game.

Featuring some of the most iconic figures from English history, Syndicate has perhaps one of the most intriguing open-world settings in the series.

4) Assassin's Creed: Odyssey

The last entry in the franchise, Odyssey was a step up from Origins. However, players still felt like something was missing from the game. With that said, the game itself was positively received and is a quality experience.

The opening level with King Leonidas is one that Assassin's Creed fans regard as one of the best introductions in the series. However, the new RPG style of the games hasn't gotten everyone on board.

It does look like Valhalla, the upcoming game, will look to resolve some of the prevailing issues and make for a much more polished title.

3) Assassin's Creed: Rogue

Perhaps the most overlooked title in the series, Rogue went by unnoticed by a lot of the fans of the series as its release coincided with the much more anticipated next-gen title Unity.

The game flips the script- quite literally- in terms of storytelling and lets players control a former Assasin turned Templar. This is one of the rare cases where the series tells a more balanced story by humanising the Templars as well.

Shay Cormac is one of the series' most charismatic and fan-favourite protagonists and Rogue is one of the best games in the series.

2) Assassin's Creed II

Regarded as one of the best games in the series, Assassin's Creed II is still revered by many fans as the pinnacle of the franchise. The game introduced one of the most iconic characters in not just the series but in all of gaming.

Ezio's story in the series began with the sequel to the original game and is one that has captured the imagination of people ever since its release. The gameplay was a significant step-up from the original and the story was much more emotionally impactful and entertaining.

Assassin's Creed II announced the series' arrival amongst the very best open-world franchises in the industry.

1) Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

The pirate adventures of Edward Kenway has slowly become the stuff of legends. The sixth entry in the franchise dropped the heavy and contemplative nature of the previous games for swashbuckling adventures through the West Indies.

That is not to say that Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag lacks depth as the story is a compelling character study of Edward Kenway and takes place during the Golden Age of Piracy. Few games can ever evoke the feeling of adventure, freedom and exploration like Black Flag.

One of the best open-world games of all time, Black Flag will have you sporting an eye patch and singing a sea-shanty faster than you can say "Aye, Matey!".