Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection Switch Review In Progress

February 16, 2022: only Assassin’s Creed II was available to press prior to release. I haven’t yet been able to play Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood or Revelations as part of the Ezio Collection. Here are some thoughts on ACII only – a full review will follow.

There’s a specific magic to playing open-world videogames on a handheld. Even if you’re just sitting on the couch, the freedom of a different world in the palm of your hand is something special. I think that it’s key to the success of the Nintendo Switch. Not just launching with one of the best open-world games in recent memory, but also having a steady flow of new worlds to explore, as well as the old, familiar worlds to go back to.

When I played Assassin’s Creed III on the Switch, I completed everything. I got every last collectable. That’s ridiculous for two reasons: not only does it take ages to get all those collectables, but ACIII is also not very good. But with the ease of access to this world, the mindless collectathon that is most AC games is actually more enjoyable. I found a new love for a not-great game on Switch because of the console itself. And these games need to be reviewed with that in mind.

This happened again with the Rebel collection, which features Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (a great game) and Assassin’s Creed Rogue (a better game than people say), both games which thrive on Switch. Sailing through endless seas is a wondrous experience on a portable. It’s just so exciting. It’s the stuff I got excited about as a kid. It’s why I picked up a PSP and GTA Liberty City Stories when I was still a pre-teen. It’s something I always wanted, but could never quite have. Now I do have it, and I couldn’t be happier. But has the gimmick worn off? Does that magic raise the Ezio collection to new heights? Do three of the most beloved AC games hold up?

Well, sort of…

Assassin’s Creed II

The first Ezio game is quite difficult to go back to all these years later. It has a slow introduction, sometimes irritating parkour, and overall serves as an excellent reminder of how much better the Assassin’s Creed games have become. It still has a great, ridiculous story and some charming characters, but it all feels much older than I thought it would. As a very big fan of the games I’m more than happy to suffer through this, but I can feel Assassin’s Creed II’s age throughout.

That’s not really a criticism, more a warning. The whole point of the collection is to play old games in a better form. Of course, playing a 13-year-old game will make you think of how far games have come. That’s how it works.

This is still the same excellent game from 2009 that lets you explore a detailed recreation of Florence. And I think that’s its main selling point (the same applies for any early Assassin’s Creed game). Running around, ticking boxes, picking stuff up, fighting, running around some more… it’s all just wallpaper for the main event: the world and the story within it. So don’t worry, that’s still here.

But, while the world is there, it doesn’t always look quite right. Of course, old games etc., but there are some strange graphical glitches throughout. For something designed to be the definitive way to play these three games, it doesn’t often feel like it.

From the top, then, literally and figuratively – the first thing I did in open-world Florence was climb to the top of the tallest building I could see. As I climbed, I felt the same thrill I did when I first played this game when I was 11. It still gave me that feeling of freedom to conquer the map in a way I had never seen in a game before.

I’ve seen it a million times now, and it still gets some strange excitement whirring. But, once at the top, I looked out and saw a disappointing view – repeated textures for the streets and alleys in the distance, half the river reflecting light but the other half not, some buildings appearing to glisten in sunlight during the nighttime. This is meant to be the game’s party piece, and it was just… ok.

There are a few other moments like that. For example, while climbing, as the camera pops over the top of a building and reveals the skyline, there’s a split second until everything appears in the distance. It’s minuscule but noticeable. This happened to me running through the streets too, turning a corner and seeing a strange sudden bit of movement, like the buildings were pulsating, just because the game was a fraction too slow loading in higher-res textures. Then there’s the aliasing, these strange white lines that appear in the distance, moving and shimmering. That’s everywhere, easy to forget, but still occasionally jarring.

I could go on about the graphical presentation of the first game in this collection, but it adds nothing at this point. The most important thing is that Assassin’s Creed II definitely looks better now than it did when it first came out. Colours pop, rather than having that washed out beige filter that plagued noughties games; faces are more expressive, even if they still look a bit wacky; and the sky and the lighting are vastly improved. It’s just a shame that Ubisoft didn’t iron out every wrinkle.

Again, though, this is more of a strong warning than an all-out criticism. Assassin’s Creed II is a great game and this is the only way to play it on the Nintendo Switch, and it’s a good enough way to do it. To simply explore Renaissance Florence while on the bus or lying in bed is a real treat. If that’s what you want, that’s what you’ll get.

For now, I’ve only had a chance to play the first in this collection, so I’m not going to give a final review score. I’ll do that once I’ve had the chance to give Brotherhood and Revelations a good go. My secret opinion is that both those games are better than Assassin’s Creed II, so watch out for that when my full review is up.