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Assassin’s Creed III Remastered review

May 8, 2019

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Assassin's Creed III Remastered

Assassin’s Creed III Remastered offers gamers a chance to relive or experience for the first time one of the best video games in the series. Assassin’s Creed III Remastered includes all the DLC from the 2012 game Assassin’s Creed III and the once PS Vita exclusive Assassin’s Creed Liberation.

Does Assassin’s Creed III Remastered include enough tweaks and revamps to warrant a purchase or playthrough? Let’s find out!

Assassin’s Creed III Remastered Details

Platform: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch
Reviewed on: Xbox One X
Developer: Ubisoft Barcelona
Publisher: Ubisoft
Genre: Action-adventure, stealth
Modes: Single-player
ESRB Rating: M (Mature 17+)

Assassin's Creed III Remastered

Fight for freedom during the American Revolution

If you’ve never played Assassin’s Creed III or need a refresher, here is a brief overview of what the game is about. As with previous games, the struggle between the Assassins and Templars is still going on. Desmond Miles, the series protagonist, must prevent the great apocalypse of 2012.

However, the only way to do this is with the help of a machine known as the Animus. By using this machine, Desmond can relive memories of his ancestors. Set during in the 18th century, the game follows Connor, Desmond’s half-English, half-Native American ancestor. Your travels will take you before, during and after the American Revolution as you attempt to gain control of the 13 the colonies.

Assassin's Creed III Remastered

Gameplay improvements

Assassin’s Creed III Remastered isn’t just about improved visuals, more on this later. The developers have also reworked and tweaked gameplay to help modernize it and improve it, while maintaining the classic Assassin’s Creed III feel that made the game so good. The stealth tools, crafting, and user interface have all been updated to align the game with some of the more recent Assassin’s Creed titles.

New stealth aspects such as hiding in bushes, whistling and double assassination in low profile have been added to the game. And, when you assassinate enemies from behind, your hidden blade is used by default. What I like about this is, now you won’t automatically alert other enemies of your presence. This allows you to quietly sneak into hiding. Furthermore, you can now assassinate 2 guards silently when approaching them from behind.

Assassin's Creed III Remastered

Many weapons now can be crafted rather than purchased at shops in the game. In order to craft weapons, the first thing you will need to do is obtain recipes. For the most part, these can be found in restricted areas of the game. However, it’s not as simple as that. In addition to obtaining the recipes, materials and elements, you will need the proper artisan level. Once all three requirements have been obtained, you can craft weapons in the Accounting book, which are located in shops and in the Homestead Manor.

Finally, the game’s UI has seen some slight improvements. These include escape routes and hiding spots now visible on the mini map when in battle. Additionally, the direction enemies are looking is now shown on the mini map.

Assassin's Creed III Remastered

Remastered visuals

In addition to gameplay improvements, the game’s visuals have been upscaled to 1080p on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Both Xbox One X and PlayStation 4 Pro sport 4K resolutions with HDR support. Additionally, textures appear to be higher res and the game’s character models look refined. The crowds in the streets are now denser and the ambient light is beautiful. Furthermore, I noticed some animations during cutscenes were off and occasional clipping.

While the visual improvements are noticeable, you can still tell that they are rooted in 2012. That’s not to say that Assassin’s Creed III Remastered doesn’t look good, just don’t expect Odyssey level visuals.

Assassin's Creed III Remastered

Assassin’s Creed Liberation Remastered included

As mentioned earlier, not only does Assassin’s Creed III Remastered include Assassin’s Creed III and of its DLC, but also Assassin’s Creed Liberation. Originally released on PS Vita the same day as Assassin’s Creed III, both games offer distinct stories.

Liberation features the first female protagonist in the series, Aveline de Grandpre. As a member of the Brotherhood of Assassins, Aveline must stop the Templars from gaining control over 18th century New Orleans between 1765 and 1777. Much like other games in the series, it features an open world and you use combat and stealth abilities to complete missions.

While Liberation is not nearly as in-depth and elaborate as Assassin’s Creed III, it offers a decent experience that is well worth your time.

Assassin's Creed III Remastered

Assassin’s Creed III Remastered is the definitive version of one of the best games in the series

Assassin’s Creed III Remastered is a great addition to fans of the series who have not yet played Assassin’s Creed III and Assassin’s Creed Liberation. The gameplay enhancements and improved visuals help modernize a game that is almost 7 years old. Considering that the game is not the same price as a new game, the amount of content included is fantastic.

On the other hand, if you have previously played these games—there really isn’t any new content here. Are you a fan of Assassin’s Creed? If so, let me know in the comments section below if you are picking up Assassin’s Creed III Remastered.

+ Two great games in one fantastic package
+ Improved visuals
+ Reworked and tweaked gameplay
+ Faster load times
+ Best way to experience both games

– At times game feels dated
– Character animations are funky at times