First Look: Assassin's Creed Nexus
This is a great fit for VR, and they've done a grand job bringing it to stand-alone. Although the low pixel density, scratchy textures, and poly-filler NPCs do smack you in the face at points, the overall world-building just works as you move fluidly amongst its elements. (And at points the sun gleaming off slanted rooftops below can look downright glorious
).
The locales are more 'chocolate box' than sandbox, but for someone's who's never visited the series' take on Ancient Greece or Revolutionary America leaping over backyard fences to baffle limeys was all good (and scurrying over ship beams brought some bonus Black Flag flickers). Clanking over the tiles of Venice was a downright delight
The 'eagle eye' view of the city-scapes gets increasingly endearing, and useful, as the playgrounds expand. Spotting prowling roof guards amongst the puffy smoke of venetian chimneys, and plotting routes, felt like a fine sunny-day distraction.
Even tired old staples like tracking a quarry unseen are that much more refreshed and intense when you're clinging to some ceramic with one hand while a gulf of vertigo chasms beneath you. Or plummeting onto canvas to keep up the chase. (Although hiding in some street topiary becomes doubly silly
)
Everything that's cool in the rooftops becomes lesser in the enclosed spaces however. Although the parkour options remain, and some civilised strealth, every aspect feels that much more trammeled, with the comparative linearity sometimes very much front and centre. (The various tunnel missions being the worst for this).
And of course the hand combat is relatively rustic. But given AC's form in that area, it barely hurts the action. It's just more motivation to use the solid bow & throwing knife & hidden-blade options to sow discord, and scamper around dividing and conquering. And at least gives you a solid reason to scarper when caught in a mob. (Not that you can't best groups of 3 or so, but once the projectiles are battering your shoulders the whole 'fight one guy at a time, TV style' approach runs out of road...)
Despite some early clumsiness with the streamlined parkour system I'm slowly learning to chain fluid motions together now. (It helped to realise that two-handed grabs tend to conflict and propel you back off ledges inconveniently, whereas a one-handed superman up onto a ledge works every time).
Now all I need is a slightly higher ceiling, for those desperate parapet lunges in the night...
