Ubisoft’s newest extension to Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Valley of the Memory, has officially released and reviews from players have been nothing but positive while the company acknowledges that Ubisoft Bordeaux is the one developing the game. The free expansion besides being a leading gamers’ best input has very much so made people validate it the best in the franchise for a long time; some have even gone to the extent of saying that the smaller studio deserves a full game budget in the future.
To start with, the Assassin’s Creed Twitter account sent out a “Happy Valley of the Memory launch week, Assassins!” message with the party emoji among others. How did the fans react? With flames literally. The gamers are super excited about the new content and one of the comments from the retailers that they are screaming out loud is that the team at Ubisoft Bordeaux understands perfectly what the Assassin’s Creed series is all about.
One gamer Ace literally put it out as such: “As an OG AC fan, this hit me with so much emotion. So many parallels to other AC stories made me feel like I was reliving experiences in the animus through Basim.” The same sentiment is very much echoed in the replies. Just to be clear, people are actually getting emotional because of the expansion? Ghost_Blade even stated, “It was so good, happy tear fall from my eye lol.” That is a very clear sign that your culinary delight has turned out to be very special.
Praise for Ubisoft Bordeaux developers continues to pour in. The development team has been pointed out by one gamer after another with one even declaring in all capitals that the studio “deserves BONUS”. Another gamer called Benz was even more blunt in his opinion: “You cooked. You should definitely give Bordeaux a full big budget for a game of their own. It looks like they’re the only one who care about real Assassin’s Creed.” Ouch, maybe they are just shooting down the other Ubisoft studios??
The most surprising part is the huge number of players who are quite vocally returning to more traditional Assassin’s Creed-style gameplay. One French player added: “The direction that Mirage and this DL push is what we want in the next Assassin’s Creed games. More linear, not RPG, strong impactful storytelling, and endearing characters.” Freddy Taplin even called it “The most faithful AC game since Syndicate.” That is quite a compliment for such an ancient release.
Nevertheless, it is not only the gameplay style that is the issue – the story content still goes a long way in keeping the players entertained. There is a whole talk about the conclusion in the comments section with Stitch saying “the ending was beautiful” although they thought Curse of the Pharaohs was “a bit better imo.” And then YooHoodY commented, “I know I don’t want it to end 😂 Basim is a great character.” The character development is clearly very powerful.
What is the most unbelievable? This content was FREE. Planetary Union Captain AuraWolf called it “a crime that this was free” because it was just that good. It really seems that when players say you should have charged money for something that you gave away for free, it is a sure sign that you have done something right.
Naturally, not everything is pristine – the quality of life requests arrive mixed with all the praise. A player made a bizarre request for an option to get rid of the ghost that appears after you lose enemies, and StitchPresley asked for an option to skip cut scenes during Animus sequences. Sulieman Job specifically sought assistance with the console motion blur. Therefore, it is possible that there is still a need for polishing.
However, the overall sentiment among the players is that they do not just want one but want many more games of the same style of Assassin’s Creed and want the creator to be Ubisoft Bordeaux. Many comments are almost pleading Ubi to allow Bordeaux to handle more games of this type, e.g. Alex saying, “I hope y’all or Ubisoft let Bordeaux make more Ac Games like this. This is what we like.”
Additionally, the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows is generating a lot of enthusiasm among the players. However, they are still very vocal about the fact that the focused, narrative-driven style of Bordeaux holds a special place in their hearts. The anticipation is so strong that Taintpaints is already asking, “Cant wait for the next entry in the series? When?” as if they have finished the DLC and are already craving for the next.
The reception that Valley of the Memory received shows that the classic Assassin’s Creed formula is still highly sought after and that if a development team actually knows which part of the series came its popularity, players would not stop showing their love and giving support. Undoubtedly, Ubisoft Bordeaux has been able to bond with the community, and if social media reaction is any indicator, the future of Assassin’s Creed could indeed be with them if they are allowed to create more chances.
