04/01/2026
I'm a huge fan of the Assassin's Creed series. I've been playing them since 2007 when the first game came out, yet I have never played any of the side-scrolling titles!
The franchise has had multiple spinoffs that many people don't know about, ignored, or stopped playing because they were a different type of game. While the main entries have always been open-world—ranging from action-focused to the later RPG-style games—the spinoffs have always been a bit more experimental, specifically dabbling in side-scrolling platformers. While the PSP game Bloodlines and the PS Vita game Liberation tried to translate the console experience to a handheld, the Nintendo DS received two side-scrollers: Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles and Assassin's Creed II: Discovery.
Still, that's not where I'm starting this journey. I began with 2015's Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China, Ubisoft's attempt to appease fans by releasing more AC games in frequently requested settings. Seeing as they only released three games in this style over two years and never touched the side-scrolling genre again, they must have sold terribly.
I don’t see why, though. Maybe they released too many too fast? Maybe they were too obviously a cash grab? Or maybe people just weren't ready for the genius of these games back then? Personally, I enjoyed the game; I thought it was well-designed and a great start to the sub-series.
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China introduces us to Shao Jun after the events of the animated short Assassin's Creed: Embers, which serves as the final story for ACII’s Ezio Auditore. In that short, we see Shao Jun receive a Precursor box and undergo training by Ezio. It felt as though they were setting up China and Shao Jun to be the leads of the next big game. Yet, the next chapter of her story wasn't told until four years later in a game that felt a bit rushed just to satisfy fan demand. We had just seen AC3 take us to the American Revolution, AC4 to the Caribbean, and Unity to Paris during the French Revolution. All of those had beautifully rendered 3D settings, only for China to end up with a very focused, stylistic 2.5D approach. I still get a little heated thinking about it!
But I digress. Let’s talk about the game itself. It’s a fun experience that does a lot with moving in and out of the foreground and background, making the setting feel more alive than a typical side-scroller. The developers gave the game a beautiful watercolor brush look, where all movements and actions are exaggerated with brush strokes. it makes the gameplay feel very dynamic.
Speaking of gameplay, I feel they translated the core mechanics from the mainline games very well into this 2.5D environment. While certain mechanics feel a bit stripped down, they also included features that are highly requested in modern games, like social stealth. Granted, the game doesn’t always give you those options, but it’s nice to see them attempt it. You can play as an action platformer or a puzzle platformer if you want to be stealthier. Being able to choose between the two styles on the fly provided a nice change of pace that kept the game from getting boring.
The game has a serviceable soundtrack, but the best song is easily the one that pays homage to the AC2 theme. In fact, it’s the only truly memorable piece of music. That’s not to say the rest of the tracks are bad, but nothing else stood out enough for me to add to a playlist.
Finally, the game was produced by Climax Studios and published by Ubisoft. At that point, Climax had plenty of experience, having produced many games over 20+ years in the industry. They weren't just random developers; they were a trusted studio, and I’d argue they delivered a great product.
I recommend this game to any Assassin's Creed fan looking for something a bit different from the standard offerings. If you enjoy side-scrollers, this is definitely for you. However, I wouldn't recommend it to someone strictly looking for the mainline gameplay style.
Anyway's here are some screen shot's from some of the still cutscenes which I thought could make great wall papers. (To whoever actually still changes their desktop backgrounds.)
