Assassin’s Creed Syndicate’s new DLC is set 20 years after Evie and Jacob took over the streets of London, a time when one of the world’s most notorious serial killers is on the prowl. It seems only a master assassin can stop the evil Jack the Ripper and his reign of terror.
There are a few things that changed between the main game and the DLC, most notably are the weapons, as they take away all the diversity in combat by narrowing you to brass knuckles. At first, I was a little bit disappointed as they are slower than the cane or kukri options previously available, but Ubisoft makes up for it by adding in a new combat mechanic: the use of Fear as a weapon. Fear is a non-lethal take down option that is useful for dispersing large crowds of enemies and police. This is very handy when investigating crime scenes or completing the associate activities. When playing as Jack (oh yes you get to), it becomes a brutal terror-inducing lethal take down and the fear’s mechanic speeds combat back up, allowing for some epic large crowd mayhem.
I was a little bit surprised to find out that Jack The Ripper would be a playable character in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. There were many ways this could have backfired, but the development team did a wonderful job. You don’t play as “Jack the Ripper” but as “Jack the Antagonist” as he never committed any of the infamous murders yet. Instead, Jack is used to progress the story and reveal information to the player. I was blown away, and slightly worried, about my own mental sanity with how impressively cool I found Jack’s character to be. As I played through his parts of the story, the world seems slightly distorted and grey washed. At random moments during the missions, carved words appear on the screen and Jack will ramble under his breath. I found myself gripped by the insanity and drawn further and further down the rabbit hole.
Ubisoft did a wonderful job with Assassin’s Creed Syndicate’s Jack The Ripper DLC. The story is both gripping and enjoyable. The missions were very well balanced in both difficulty and Assassin tasks, and you really get to think like an assassin as you work your way around the challenges each mission sets up for you. Everything from infiltration of a manor to sneaking around crime scenes undetected. I remember several times catching myself holding my breath as someone walked by my hiding spot or cursing up a storm when they surrounded me. With every mission I completed, it became harder to walk away from the game. Until the final show down, that is, and then I felt the need for more. There was still so much that could have been explored and explained with Jack and his story. I understand you have to keep DLC short, or you might as well make another game. However, I do hope maybe there is more in the future from the developers. I would love to see an origins of Jack story or a bit more about what Jacob was doing before this storyline picks up. All in all, this was a fantastic DLC that I would 100 percent play again.