It’s no secret that I’m a pretty big Assassin’s Creed fan. I’ve been playing this series since I picked up Assassin’s Creed Revelations for the Xbox 360 when I was 12. Since then, I’ve played every mainline entry in the series to an unhealthy degree. When I got my PS4 and discovered the joys of trophy hunting, I made it a mission to achieve every platinum trophy (and 100% completion) for each Assassin’s Creed game. But now that it’s all said and done, how would I rate each game’s platinum? That’s what we’re gonna find out today, baby!
Note: This is a list about the platinum trophy and not about the quality of the game. So don’t get your knickers in a twist when some games are rated higher/lower than you’d like.
Starting off strong with a game that never had a Platinum (this ranking is already falling apart). But I did still get all of the achievements for Assassin’s Creed on my 360, so it sorta counts. Regardless, this was an ok experience when going for 100% completion. It was the first game in the series, and Ubisoft was testing the waters and seeing what works. That being said, these achievements were the glitchiest of the entire series. It was never guaranteed that every collectable flag or hidden Templar target would show up on the map, forcing you to restart the entire game (which totally didn’t happen to me). Throw in having to religiously follow online guides to find the flags that blended into the environment, and it was a recipe for a bad time. But I’ll still cut it some slack for being the first; some other games won’t be as lucky.
6/10
The game that many people consider to be the pinnacle of the series, and with a pretty decent platinum, Assassin’s Creed II. Gone were the disappearing collectables, and in came fun challenges and an overall chill experience. This was probably the most chill platinum of the series; you didn’t even need to complete all of the side missions. But that’s one of my issues with this plat. When going for the elusive platinum, I want to be forced to experience all the game has to offer, so not having an incentive outside of fun to play through all the side missions was a little disappointing. And while the collectables didn’t disappear randomly, it’s still almost essential to use a guide to find the tiny white feathers. Despite those issues, Assassin’s Creed II’s platinum is still one of the best.
9/10
Another fan-favourite entry is Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, and it’s easy to see why. It improved on almost every aspect of AC II, including the trophies. They made the collectables way easier to spot, allowed you to replay missions in case you missed something, and encouraged you to play all the side missions. However, the biggest new addition was the introduction of full-synch objectives for each mission.
These optional objectives would force you to play in different ways in order to achieve full sync. For the most part, they’re pretty fun, but there were a handful that made me want to crush my controller (that bloody tank mission, especially). You’re also forced to wait around while you passively receive money to buy all the necessary upgrades, which is boring as bat-shit. Overall, a pretty good platinum held back by some inconveniences (and bullshit tanks).
8/10
Assassin’s Creed Revelations was my introduction to the series, and I’d argue the best of the Ezio Trilogy (it’s true, fight me). This game continued to evolve the Assassin’s Creed formula and introduced a handful of new mechanics to keep things fresh (and unlock new trophies). The bomb crafting system and subsequent bomb missions were a neat way to mix up your stealth approach. The various traversal challenges were made even better with the introduction of the hookblade. And most importantly of all, no stupid optional objectives like Brotherhood (they’re all reasonable this time).
What was a bit tedious were the Desmond first-person missions and the tower defence mini-game. The trophies attached to both modes weren’t anything terrible (literally just play them and don’t suck), but they did drag. And once again, you’re forced to stand in one spot while you accrue money. It was so close to being perfect, but they just missed the mark once again.
8/10
THIS is a perfect platinum trophy, and who would’ve thought it would be from Assassin’s Creed III (I did, obviously)? This game (at least the PS4 remastered version) has everything that makes a platinum trophy perfect for me. No bullshit optional objectives, unique combat challenges that make you think, forcing you to explore the entire map, and rewarding you for completing everything the game has to offer. I couldn’t think of a single downside to achieving this Platinum Trophy.
Now, if we were talking about the PS3 version with all of its multiplayer shenanigans, then it’d be a different story. But, the PS4 version axed the multiplayer and put the DLC into the main list (which I very much appreciated). This platinum trophy was pure perfection and is the gold standard for AC platinum trophies.
10/10
Going from one of the best to one of the most mid-platinums in the series in Assassin’s Creed Liberation. Ok, maybe that’s a little harsh, but I honestly can’t pick out one part of this platinum journey that I enjoyed or hated. It just kinda happened as I was playing the game, which in some cases is a good thing, but the game itself isn’t the best, which is why I have the reaction that I do towards it. There’s nothing offensive with this trophy list; it includes the basic trophies an Assassin’s Creed game should have. But maybe that’s the issue as well, it’s just basic.
Sure, the game had an interesting disguise mechanic and alternate endings, depending on whether you found and assassinated certain targets, but it just didn’t do it for me. The game was originally released on the PS Vita, so I’ll cut it a little slack, but it’s definitely one of the weaker platinum trophies in the series.
5/10
God, how I wish I could say that this platinum trophy was amazing, but I’d be lying. Assassin’s Creed VI Black Flag is my favourite game in the series. I own it on three different consoles (still tempted to get it on the Switch) and have 100% completed the single-player campaign more times than I care to count. I loved every moment I spent exploring the West Indies, sailing the open waters and exploring uncharted islands. I especially liked it when you would complete all the activities in an area, and the area icon would turn gold. But the single-player portion of the game isn’t the issue, it’s the multiplayer.
One of the few AC games on PS4 with a multiplayer component, Black Flag’s online mode wasn’t anything offensive on its own, but the trophies can suck a dick. You have to reach max level, use every weapon, purchase every ability, win a match in each game mode, and perform very specific actions in matches that are almost impossible to do without boosting. The multiplayer grind was miserable and I’m glad I don’t have to do it again. This would be a 10/10 without the multiplayer, but that multiplayer broke something in me.
7/10
This is what Black Flag’s platinum should’ve been, and it’s perfect. Similar to AC III, Assassin’s Creed Rogue’s platinum trophy had you experience every aspect of the game to the fullest and even threw in some fun trophies for good measure (such as killing 30 guards in a row with modifiers on). Seeing as it’s so similar to Black Flag, I don’t have much more to add outside of the lack of multiplayer being a godsend. Even if the game is a tad short, this platinum is up there with AC III as one of the best in the series.
10/10
Assassin’s Creed Unity didn’t launch in a great state with bugs galore, but I still had fun with it and went for the platinum. However, one of the first roadblocks I encountered was how massive and crowded the map of revolutionary Paris was; it was overwhelming. So much so that I had to put the game down and come back to it over the course of several years before I finally achieved the platinum. This game has a lot to take in, and if you aren’t careful, you can easily burn out. But with enough patience and determination, it still felt like an AC trophy list. That is, until the co-op trophies reared their ugly heads.
Co-op was the big selling point of this game so it was only natural that there would be several trophies attached. What Ubisoft didn’t expect was no one playing the game because it was so poorly received. I remember waiting hours to find co-op partners to tackle these missions, and when I did connect, it was so laggy I could barely do anything. I eventually got lucky and earned the trophies, but it left a stain on what would’ve been a decent platinum experience.
6/10
After the problems with Unity, I was unsure how I was going to feel about Assassin’s Creed Syndicate when it was first released, but it ended up taking me by surprise Both with how much I enjoyed the game in general and how much of a joy it was to get the platinum trophy. Maybe it’s because my brain likes seeing a map slowly change colour as you clear areas and complete missions, or maybe I’m just crazy.
Either way, Syndicate’s platinum was similar to Unity’s but without the fluff. Toned down on the map markers so you could actually tell where things were, removed the co-op, and made the act of clearing districts enjoyable with mini-boss fights. The only negative for this game is the trophy for destroying 5000 environmental objects with a carriage. No one would achieve that naturally, leading to several hours of driving in circles. Besides that, it was a very enjoyable time.
9/10
Assassin’s Creed Chronicles is an oddball platinum because it’s actually three games in one. The Chronicles instalments are 2.5D games with a different protagonist and setting for each entry. There are three in total, and each can be beaten in under 10 hours. They are marketed as being very replayable. This is where the platinum grind comes into play as you have to beat each game at least two times each (if you know what to do). Multiple trophies require full playthroughs, such as going the entire game without being detected, without killing anyone, and beating the game on hard mode. It’s nothing that can’t be easily overcome with a video guide, and there wasn’t anything in this list that made me question my life, but it did get pretty monotonous, even if it was fun.
6/10
Now, we are at the RPG games and the true test of a person’s sanity and resolve. This is when the maps started to get stupidly large, which is a nightmare for any completionist. Most of the trophies in Assassin’s Creed Origins aren’t horrible and include things you’d normally be doing while playing the game. Assassinate 10 enemies in a row, sync some viewpoints, and all the generic story related trophies. It took a little bit to get to grips with the new combat and being unable to one-shot assassinate enemies without upgrades, but it was mostly inoffensive. What drags this platinum down is the trophy that requires you to complete every location.
Egypt is a big place, and Ubisoft made sure to fill it to the brim with locations, activities, and collectables, and you’ll need them all for the trophy. The level of tedium that sank in as I was going through the map clearing an identical bandit camp for the 40th time can not be understated. This rating would’ve been even lower, but the DLC didn’t require you to complete every location, bringing the score back up slightly.
5/10
Take everything I just said about Origins, times it by 10, and you have my experience with Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. By the time I unlocked this platinum trophy and 100% the DLC, I was a broken and defeated man. This has to be one of the most tedious, drawn out, and overall boring platinum experiences I’ve had, and I platinumed Avengers. The big difference between this game and Origins is that you don’t even get a trophy for completing every location/side-quest, but you have to if you want to reach the level requirements to actually have fun.
If this game had ended at the 40 hour mark, I’d be saying it’s a pretty decent game with a reasonable platinum. But it didn’t stop at 40; the base game lasted 90 hours, and the DLC added another 30. 120 hours of the same gameplay loop is a struggle and a half, and I wouldn’t wish it upon my worst enemy. I will most likely never touch this game again after this platinum trophy.
3/10
Assassin’s Creed Mirage was marketed as a return to form for the series with less of a focus on RPG mechanics and a larger focus on the series’ stealth roots. We could debate if they achieved this goal all day, but what was a return to form was the trophy list. This marked the return of an AC trophy list that didn’t take nearly 100 hours to complete, and I was very thankful for that. It involved clearing areas of the city, progressing the story, and an occasional kill trophy with very specific conditions.
What dragged this one down was the sluggish controls making everything feel more like a chore than previous entries, and some trophies were just buggy as hell. There were also a few trophies that were boring, like staying alive in combat for 10 minutes, leading to a short, yet boring, detour from playing normally because you would never get this playing naturally. It’s not the worst list, but only slightly above average.
6/10
Ok, so, this is where I reveal I told a little white lie at the start because I don’t technically have every Assassin’s Creed platinum. I’m missing Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and the soon to be released Assassin’s Creed Shadows. I haven’t finished Valhalla yet because I’ve yet to fully recover from Odyssey and I just know that Valhalla will be an even bigger grind. I have started and do plan to finish it, it just might take a little longer.
Shadows is different because, at the time of writing, it hasn’t been released yet. I’m actually pretty hyped for the game from all the trailers and gameplay demos I’ve seen so I’m hopeful that the trophy list will also be better than the previous RPG games. There have been some early trophy leaks, but I’ve avoided them so far as to avoid spoilers. Either way, I will also be adding this to my collection when it drops March 20th.
And that’s (almost) every platinum trophy in Assassin’s Creed ranked. Do you agree with the ratings? Am I completely wrong? How many AC platinums do you have? Let us know in the comments where we can share AC platinum horror stories.
