Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate Demo Shows Off New Gadgets and Evie’s Stealth Gameplay

With the upcoming Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate release, many players are excited to be able to play as both Jacob and Evie Frye. In the PAX Prime 2015 Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate preview, players were granted the opportunity to experience the Evie Frye gameplay firsthand.

One of the best features of Assassin’s Creed games is the amount of options players are given for ways to complete the objectives. The Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate Evie Frye Demo immediately gives players a multitude of possible pathways to complete the objective.

Ultimately, the goal is to complete the assassination of the British Templar Lucy Thorne. However, she is in a locked building that needs to be infiltrated. To do this, you can start by just stealing the tower master key from the guard and climbing the tower. However, if you’re more interested in teamwork, then there is also the option to meet with one of your guard-disguised associates who can sneak you in, provided you eliminate some enemy muscle first.

As you move around, finding your way in to the tower, you may notice one of Assassin Creed: Syndicate’s most fun and new features. Evie Frye can travel around the map with the use of a grappling hook similar to the one used by Bruce Wayne in Batman: Arkham Knight. While this grappling hook makes it significantly quicker and easier to scale buildings, it is not completely reliable. You need to make sure that you have a grapple point highlighted on your screen, which is easier said than done. But overall, the grappling hook is a great addition.

As you make your way towards killing Lucy Thorne, you may also notice that there is a new item players can use called voltaic bombs. These bombs are able to incapacitate multiple enemies with the use of explosive electrical damage. When you use them, blue and white chains of electricity flash across the room as if you were Static Shock. These bombs are a lot of fun to use.

When you finally reach Lucy Thorne and assassinate her, you will be rewarded with the same type of short cinematic cutscene that we have seen in previous Assassin’s Creed games. Evie gameplay feels smooth, exciting, and fun. Some of the controls may take a little bit of getting used to in the beginning, but for the most part, the combat system is a better version of everything we’ve come to know and love so far.

It’s easy to counter attacks. If you’re being shot at, you still get a warning to take a hostage as a bullet shield. And it doesn’t take too long to kill the enemies. However, keep in mind that there are a lot more guns in this time period than in previous games so you can’t take on hordes of enemies without dying as easily.  One of the best parts of the combat is watching the different variations of moves and techniques that Evie performs as you press the attack button.

Unlike her brother Jacob Frye, whose more brutish, skull-smashing combat was featured at E3, Evie Frye’s style has a feel harking back to classic assassins. She’s sleek, focusing on cloak and dagger technique. She has throwing knives that allow her to silently take out enemies from a distance, as well as a Chameleon stealth power that allows her to disappear from sight when standing still and provides increased stealth when moving. Of the two, she seems to be working from the shadows, while Jacob seems better suited for creating distractions or drawing attention. 

As for the storyline, it’s hard to tell how Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate will deliver from just the demo. A major criticism of the franchise is that the story fell apart after the death of Desmond Miles. But from what we’ve seen so far in the little bit of demo gameplay as well as trailers, we have reason to hope that this game’s story will feel more rewarding and in-depth than the last.

Are you excited for the new Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate game? Waiting to hear more opinions before you make yourself vulnerable again and give Assassin’s Creed another chance? Be sure to let us know in the comments.