Assassin's Creed: Syndicate was an excellent addition to the Assassin's Creed franchise. It wasn't an exceptional game, really, due to the rather stereotypical depiction of the Assassin vs. Templars conflict and greater difficulty at parkour but it was miles more enjoyable than Assassin's Creed V. I was, thus, glad at the prospect of a DLC expansion involving Jack the Ripper vs. the Frye Twins. So what did I think? Eh, I don't really have much in the way of any strong feelings about it. It's as fun as other Assassin Creed games but the story's potential is wasted.
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It's not great. It's not terrible. |
Twenty-years after the Frye Twins defeated the Templars in the main game, Jacob Frye loses control over the Rook gang to his apprentice Jack. Yes, Jack the Ripper is an Assassin and has adopted a policy of trying to terrify the public into reforming their behavior by sending a message through murder. This isn't actually that far from some theories about why Jack the Ripper did what he did but that's rather beside the point. The problem is the story has a really good premise but is hurt by underdevelopment.
One of the things which carries the Assassin's Creed games is the relative moral ambiguity. While the Templars can be treated as and often are cartoon villains, they have enough humanity to be interesting. Here, our depiction of Jack the Ripper is he's a psychopath who has weird messages appear in his head that order him to kill as well as his campaign to spread terror to the masses--all because his mother was an Assassin killed by Templars which he blames Jacob for. Whenever you begin a story as to why a character does what he does and it's, "because he's crazy" then you run into problems. Not only is it insulting to the actually mentally ill but it's also inaccurate. Jack the Ripper appears to have motivations beyond his mental illness, including a "Creed of Fear" but this gets insufficiently examined due to the game's presentation that he's just a murderous lunatic.
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Playing Jack the Ripper is an interesting experience and I like his "brutal executions." A nice contrast to the Assassins. |
There's a story here which is arguably more interesting than Evie tracking down the psychopath and then killing him. In a very real way, the DLC raises too many questions for the relatively small amount of time which is available to play. This storyline deserved to get its own proper game or, at least, should have been a full-blown expansion. You might have even put the Ripper DLC in the main part of the game and made the WW1 scenario of the main game as a download.
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Evie gets a more balanced share of the Frye's story since you play her for the majority of the DLC. |
I do find it interesting that Jack the Ripper, one of history's most famous misogynists is completely removed from that element in his depiction here. The women sent after him are Assassins rather than prostitutes (or they're both). Jack has mommy issues but there's no indication these are affecting his sexuality. Furthermore, the issue of "Unfortunates" and Victorian England's obsession with them is only touched upon in the lightest manner. I find this interesting given the rather obvious way they could have gone with the story and its female heroine.
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The Assassins erase Jack from their records. Unfortunately, for them, Abstergo now knows. |
In conclusion, I give this DLC a rating of "okay, but not great." There's nothing really which leaped out from it for me. There's a couple of new sidequests, some new equipment, and a decent enough story but there's way too much going on for the DLC to really do it justice. Jack is also annoying with his scene-chewing relish and not even in a fun way like Crawford Starrick.
7.5/10