The approach they took with the framing device really confused me. I very much enjoyed the Desmond arc, until it ended abruptly, never delivering on what it promised.

The following games seemed to be a scattered mess that I found difficult to follow.

I very much enjoyed being able to exit the Animus at any time, have a wander around, talk to friendly characters, and take a breather. I found the Animus concept worked well for me as a way to suspend disbelief. Why can’t I go over there? Because the person I’m playing as never did! Oh, I died? Well that didn’t happen, so let’s rewind that and get back into synch.

There’s some good stuff there, but it’s such a fragmented mess that it feels hard to retain and contextualise.

Why can’t we have some present day sections that advance the overall plot? Feel free to write the protagonists being defeated, or having to flee, or whatever if it’s needed to keep the saga going. Let them win sometimes and lose others.

In general the framing device makes me like the series a lot more than I otherwise might. It allows for all sorts of fun things (such as the reason for things like the cyclops to exist).

At the point, I would consider the author’s scepticism being true a best case scenario, with every new piece of information I learn about Shadows.

It is baffling that it required so many years and attempts for Ubisoft to realise that their modern day storyline sucks. I would argue that it was a glorified side quest even during Desmond’s arc though it went downhill soon after that arc “closed”.

There is absolutely nothing that Ubisoft can say or do to win back my trust. This game is going to be as shallow as any of their recent entries, if not more.