The longer the Assassin's Creed series goes on, the more it has shifted away from its core gameplay. Black Flag was a fantastically immersive title, but more so in its naval component than the regular Assassin's Creed gameplay. Syndicate seeks to right the missteps of the series by focusing on improving the core gameplay loop that it's had from the beginning.

Syndicate has a huge game world, and after a couple of hours of hands-on time, it was clear that I hadn't even come close to scratching the surface of the various activities in the 19th century game world. Here's a tease from my preview:

The plot is carried forward by twins Jacob and Evie Frye, whose dynamic is quite endearing. They riff off each other really well, with a lighter tone overall and plenty of playful banter, despite the high stakes. The backstory is that all of London is owned and has been controlled by Templars for the last century, so the assassins tend to steer clear and stick to the outskirts. But the ambitious twins aren’t about to stand for that.

From what I played, switching between Jacob and Evie didn’t drastically change the gameplay; in fact, it didn’t change much at all. In terms of the progression system, I spied character-specific upgrades alongside the bulk of skills that were shared between the two, so those different play styles may come later in the game.

Click here to read the rest of my thoughts on Assassin’s Creed Syndicate.