Assassin's Creed: Unity - Constructive Criticism

This time we will take a look at Assassin's Creed: Unity and its gameplay-related issues and design decisions that I disagree with.

Before I begin with the problems, I would like to discuss my understanding of why there has been a drastic change in the combat system for this game in the series.

The developers wanted to introduce an equipment system that would make the player feel like they are progressing as a combat and stealth machine. In previous games, all you needed were your trusty hidden blades, and you could take down an unlimited number of guards if you time your button presses correctly. You didn't even have to worry about being stealthy, unless the mission objective required it.

While staying unscathed can still, theoretically, be attainable in Unity, it is significantly more difficult without proper equipment. As you get close to the end of the game and obtain the best weapon in a category, you will, once again, be able to one-hit-kill most opponents. This signifies that you are now a master assassin capable of dispatching your foes with relative ease, instead of being a master assassin throughout the whole game like previous AC protagonists.

And now onto the problems.

Problem 1: Eagle Vision Targeting

When eagle vision is turned on, you cannot see target outline on the character you are about to assassinate. This is especially a problem with dual and air assassinations where you need to precisely align the camera to assassinate the intended target(s).

Suggestion:
Bring back being able to see the targeting outline on enemies when in eagle vision mode.

Problem 2: Equipment Skins
Unity introduced character equipment customization. Each piece of clothing has a unique style and belongs to a set. However, you may opt out of getting a full set because you don't like the stats that the other pieces in the set will give you. This causes you to forgo equipping a piece that may look favorable, but does not have favorable stats, and instead equip something that looks not as good, but with better stats.

Suggestion:
Interchanging skins of equipment without affecting stats. You still unlock and equip new equipment with better stats, but you can also equip equipment as costume items that affect appearance, but not the stats, as seen in many MMOs. This idea is technically already in the game via the outfits selection, but I would like to change the individual clothing pieces as well to create a unique look, especially since there is now co-op where you can show off your look.

Problem 3: Battle Camera

The camera during battle is too close to the character. This makes it difficult to see and react to enemy attacks that begin from outside the camera view. Too often I was hit by an opponent that jumps out from outside the screen with an attack. This distance used to be just fine in previous games, now it is noticeably insufficient.

Suggestion:
Increase the distance between the camera and the character while in combat.

Problem 4: Out of Combat Gunfire

When out of melee combat you are stuck with eating bullets fired at you. There is no way to dodge them, since the dodge-roll move is disabled when out of melee combat, and running in zigzags doesn't help either. This is an issue when trying to escape and when using pistols and rifles to take out enemies at range.

Suggestion:
Let the player use the dodge roll move if the character is being targeted by a pistol or rifle.

Problem 5: Real Estate Earnings

Going back to the Cafe Theatre to collect your earnings is a needless chore. And if you do not do this chore, you will lose income since the money chest at the Cafe has a capacity limit.

Suggestion:
Letting the real estate money go straight to the character's pockets, or making the Cafe chest have unlimited money capacity.

Problem 6: Whistling

Previous AC games let the character whistle from cover to attract attention of a nearby guard for a stealthy assassination. For some strange reason, this mechanic has been removed in Unity. It may be due to the introduction of the cherry bomb that now acts as a distraction and lure, but I would rather not waste my limited amount of bombs when we were able to attract attention through whistling in previous games.

Suggestion:  
Return the ability to lure unsuspecting enemies with whistling.


Take a look at the Reddit discussion of this topic if you are interested.

Did I miss any other important problems with the game? Have more suggestions on how to fix these problems? Let me and the developers know in the comments.