Assassin's Creed is one of the most iconic series in gaming thanks to its mix of historical intrigue, bananas lore, and satisfying stealth action. The latest entry, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, has just added to its impressive reputation. So what should you play when you've finished going on Viking raids, and worked your way through the entire Creed back catalog? Which games can capture those same captivating core mechanics of exploration, combat, and climbing that keeps us so enthralled? We've got the answer with these ten games like Assassin's Creed that will keep you busy until Ubisoft reveals that next big Assassin's Creed game, or at least some sweet DLC.
Dishonored 2
Available on: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Arkane’s Dishonored series will delight stealth-focused Assassin’s Creed fans who enjoyed the more focused earlier entries in the series - where you couldn’t just whip out dual scimitars and go to town on enemies. One of the finest modern Immersive Sims, Dishonored 2 is still a revolutionary stealth game with toy box levels designed for critical thinkers and tinkerers. Whether you want to set traps, possess foes or use acrobatics to get around a problem, Dishonored 2 offers you that bandwidth alongside some genius level design, creating maps full of clever environmental storytelling - spaces begging to be explored. Sure, it’s a harsh switch to the first-person perspective, but the stealth ethos of Creed is present here, a style you should be familiar with if you’re an old-school stealth game fan. If you find yourself enjoying Assassin’s Creed’s stealth gameplay, Dishonored doubles down on that fun, and offers an engaging story to boot.
Uncharted 4
Available on: PS4
Assassin’s Creed’s stealth gameplay has always taken first priority over its story, so perhaps you’d be interested in Uncharted 4, which takes inspiration from Creed’s parkour clambering but delivers one of the best modern narratives in video games. A globe-trotting tale following pretend Archaeologist Nathan Drake (who secretly just likes to blow stuff up) as he deals with his most intrepid foe yet - settling down. A moving story that melds emotional lows with adrenaline-pumping highs, Uncharted 4 will suit any Assassin’s Creed fan who is looking for a little bit more oomph in the story department. It also has an incredibly cool rope-swinging mechanic. Think Tarzan but with like… guns and explosives. That’s me sold.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Available on: Nintendo Switch
A game that quickly became near and dear to every early adopter’s heart when it dropped alongside the Nintendo Switch in early 2017, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is an utter masterpiece, a holistic reinvention of Zelda that pushed the series away from the trappings of the past and into the future. It’d be hard to argue it doesn’t evoke some of Assassin’s Creed greatest qualities in its open-world design and clever climbing mechanics. You can climb anything in Breath of the Wild, much like you can scale most structures in Rome in Assassin’s Creed 2. Where Assassin’s Creed offers chaos and bloodshed, Breath of the Wild is a breath of fresh serenity, and can be incredibly therapeutic and relaxing when you’re not being chased by Cucco’s or aggravating fire dragons. Easy to recommend in general, Breath of the Wild is an even sweeter deal for Assassin’s Creed fans, who should feel right at home clambering up the face of cliffs across its 50-hour story.
Hitman 3
Available on: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X
If you're really all about the stealthy murder, Hitman 3 delivers it by the bucketload. The latest installment of the series takes you everywhere from a Knives Out style murder mystery in a mansion to hanging off the side of the tallest building in the world dressed as a waiter. Hitman 3 might not deliver the same open-world exploration, but it does offer you the same wealth of choice when it comes to how you complete your objectives. Whether you're in a Berlin club or at a wine mixer, the game is a big old toybox of death to play with, with assassination methods far more sophisticated than a quick stab with a hidden blade.
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Available on: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Originally released in 2009, Batman: Arkham Asylum kicked off a series of modern Batman games that are considered the Caped Crusader’s best video game outings. In 2019 it's available as part of the Return to Arkham collection, remastered for next-gen consoles. Don’t let its age fool you, this is a timeless classic that will delight comic-book fans and gadget-savvy Assassin’s Creed players who enjoy the counter-based combat seen in Assassin's Creed Origins and Assassin's Creed Odyssey. With an exciting linear narrative and a host of collectables to pilfer for as you explore the dreaded Arkham Asylum, the world feels deceptively open, despite the game being on rails. Sneaking around atop of gargoyles and swooping down to knockout goons is still as riveting as ever, especially for Assassin’s Creed players who love to systematically wipe out a room with stealth tactics and smoke bombs.
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
Available on: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Kojima’s final game before moving on to the elusive Death Stranding, Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain is his unfinished masterpiece, a bittersweet sayonara to the series which was his baby, packed with adrenaline and plenty of stories left untold. Despite the unfortunate dramatics surrounding its release, it still holds up as one of the best open-world stealth games of the last decade, and whilst it’s modern setting doesn’t reflect Assassin’s Creed, it’s toy-box design does. It’s so wonderfully fine tuned and full of minuscule details to do with physics and enemy A.I - you can really toy with your enemies in this game and make their grey matter unravel through mischievous stealth - whilst enjoying an action-packed story playing as Venom Snake. Also, if you enjoyed managing real estate and your wide net of assassin’s in Brotherhood and other later entries in the series, no doubt you will latch on to the meta game of Mother Base, raising troops of your own and expanding your offshore dominion.
Watch Dogs 2
Available on: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
A commentary on society’s obsession with technology, Watch Dogs 2 is a whole new world for Assassin’s Creed fans, as far as history is concerned. Yet it still shares a lot of the same features, given that it’s being handled by the same developers. The most obvious inspiration is the parkour, which is mostly the same as Assassin’s Creed, refined for modern architecture. Of course, you can’t quite hack anything in Ancient Greece, which adds a new layer of mischief to the gameplay. Set in San Francisco, It’s another Ubisoft open-world packed with endless things to do and most importantly - a sense of vibrancy that is missing from the early Assassin’s Creed games. With a killer soundtrack to boot, this is a leftfield option for Creed fans who are burnt out on ancient history and want a modern spin on the open-world genre with some funky flair. It also has a fun co-op mode to play if you want to get your friends involved.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Available on: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Assassin’s Creed games have recently started to use From Software’s finest features as a muse to invigorate its tried-and-tested model, most notably in the combat department, with Origins and Odyssey offering up similar cat-and-mouse gameplay to Dark Souls. As a result, if you’ve played the most modern Creed games and you’ve enjoyed taking on enemies, you might want to dip into Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. With its focus on stealth and high manoeuvrability thanks to the grappling hook, it’s the closest game in the Soulsborne roster to Assassin’s Creed. Of course, it’s a lot more unforgiving than what you might be used to, but with most AC games being a pushover in the difficulty department, the bump in trouble might feel quite rewarding.
Mirror's Edge: Catalyst
Available on: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Dropping just one year after the original Assassin’s Creed, Mirrors Edge still stands out as one of the most seminal parkour games that paved the way for many future open world movement mechanics, with some of the most fluid animations and adrenaline-pumping set pieces curating a serious atmosphere in its neon-laden world. Mirror’s Edge Catalyst is the sequel that followed suit, and whilst stumbling at a few hurdles, it’s well worth playing if you enjoy parkour games and would like to see the platforming performed from a different perspective from the one seen in Assassin’s Creed, alongside a more involved narrative and tactile melee combat.
The Witcher 3
Available on: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Easily one of the finest open world games ever made, The Witcher 3 is an absolute behemoth of an RPG that absolutely influenced the reinvention of Assassin’s Creed, from the combat to the scaling gear system. Fans of Origins and Odyssey won’t be too far from home when they step into the shoes of Geralt of Rivia, and will most likely delight in its bustling narrative and branching, lore-heavy side quests that enrich its enrapturing medieval world in a fashion that Assassin’s Creed is still trying to capture. With potent character dynamics, a fleshed-out combat system and some moving moments, you couldn’t go wrong embarking on this epic 50-100 hour tale.
