 Hey, everyone, I am the hook and I'm the blade All right, so and Together yeah, Jesus Christ you know Genuinely forgot that that was the next part. It's been a minute. All right. It's a gather we're Jesus Welcome to the hook blade podcast a show about all things assassin's creed I'm your host Lawson with me as always is my co-host Tim And it feels very weird saying all of this again because at can you believe it's been 10 years since our last episode? I can actually Well, I mean we just finished season 5 of AC Netflix It's getting better It's picking up Something finally happened. They just brought Danny Wallace back. So I'm pretty happy about that Just to be upfront at the top this is just a little I don't know It's a cheeky little one-time thing. We're we just it's a because we feel like it episode But we figure with with the announcements that have been made We we kind of we have an opportunity to really deliver The the hook blade to end all hook blades because we've got like the next five years lined up So if we play our cards, right? We don't have to do another one of these for Until like 2026 essentially. Yeah, I mean There's a lot of mileage that we can get out of this one episode here. So Now I think it is important to to reiterate as has been iterated by many And I don't know it seems like in all the all the swirl of hype for AC Mirage people have kind of forgotten about this but Ubisoft is still a terrible place to work It still really sucks and blows and has a lot of serious problems And their CEO Eve Guillemot is a real fuck Like I just read a thing like the other day where he said that the all those sexual misconduct allegations He chalked it up to and I quote Generational differences. Oh man. Isn't that wild? That's not a good book. Who knew that it was just generational differences that made his Wow, all of his employees toxic abusive monsters interesting. Well, but there's also the read of that where he's saying that like the younger people I guess that are maybe I think that is. Yeah, it's like. Yeah, just get over it Get over it kids. You're all too sensitive and weak Little snowflakes now, let me grope you Jesus Christ Yeah, so I was reading a Twitter thread from at a better Ubisoft. They've been you know sounding the alarm this whole time 25% of people who signed their open letter as current employees have quit Ubisoft to work elsewhere And it seems like to the the story going around with red in particular codename red one of their announcements with you know is being is being run by Jonathan Dumont and He's got such a terrible reputation at this company and in this industry that people straight up Don't even want to work on his game don't want to work for him at all and I think if you've got an idea as theoretically exciting as next-gen Japan Assassin's Creed and people are like fuck that. I don't want to work for this guy You've got some serious problems. I think yeah, I mean that's essentially like the biggest That's prime to be the biggest Assassin's Creed game. Maybe ever. Yeah and for you to kind of turn down those opportunities, I mean Correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel like a lot of the people on the development team also can get bonuses based off of sales and stuff Yeah, so like to turn down all of those opportunities. It's not just a matter of like Generational differences like there's something going on there. That's pathological so yeah, I think it just we needed to kind of reiterate that Hashtag hold the Ubisoft accountable still technically exists even if people aren't really using it anymore and They're still a company that is not a very good place to work and doesn't deserve our financial support at all. So that is still the reality But all that aside Tim, let me ask you a question. Okay, how Are a how excited are you for the future of Assassin's Creed like on a scale from one to ten? Sure probably like a minus two I Mean I won't lie that the Mirage trailer was very nostalgic, but also and it felt very like It felt nostalgic of course because there's a lot of there's a lot of I There's a lot of iconography in there and whatnot But also it just feels like oh, yeah, a new Assassin's Creed story awesome Like it took me back to like watching the Unity trailers. Yeah So the trailer was very well done. I like the trailer a lot I think it's like the second best one only being beat out by Revelations trailer, but As far as the game itself, I mean, I guess I'm focusing on Mirage only in that and that answer Generally speaking. Yeah, I mean, I don't who gives a fuck about red. I mean It's an RPG. Like I mean, they're being very transparent about it. So no, thank you Um Hexy no one no one knows enough about it. I feel like to really be excited Mirage is the only one I can understand excitement about at this point and it really to it It's kind of astounding to me to think when you consider how excited we were for Valhalla when that was announced and you compare that to Mirage has just been announced and it literally is the Complete execution of most of the things that we have been asking for and wanting for years but our faith in the company and their ability to actually deliver on that promise the the ability for this game to actually be good has Decreased so substantially That it it's honestly hard for me to even be excited for it because I'm kind of just like Ah, well if I guess if it's everything they say it's gonna be then cool and good But if not, it'll be this, you know, it'll be this good old Assassin's Creed as usual, right? Yeah, I I agree Chronologically speaking the next thing coming up is interesting because it's technically not Mirage But Assassin's Creed Valhalla the last chapter You see that yeah, I saw the little like I Saw the little thing showing animus anomalies, but I feel like I feel like in that thing. They showed it. They showed it as um, oh No, this is bad. I'm blanking on her name Avar the main key that no Oh damn The modern-day lady in origins Layla Layla, I feel like in a snippet of that gameplay showed Layla in the animus anomaly not Bassem So that's Maybe I could be totally wrong. It could be footage from the could be footage from the normal game. I don't know Anyway, cuz we heard Bassem's voice in that little teaser didn't we? Yeah, I I think you're right about that. I mean more animus anomalies That's like the best part about Valhalla. So I'm I'm open to that. I guess it's it's and it's for free That's pretty cool. It's coming out for free. Well, and what's interesting to me about it is I mean one it's like pretty rare for any Assassin's Creed DLC of any kind to like involve the modern-day story and This is now of particular interest just due to the fact that This might be it This might be the last real modern-day thing we get right because I Mean word on the street now is Mirage has almost no modern-day component. I think they've said You have a cutscene of him getting into the animus the start of the game and a cutscene getting out of the animus The end of the game and really how substantial can that be? Yeah I mean it's not a matter of like syndicate situation where there are cutscenes throughout the game Yeah, if these are just like a preliminary modern-day cutscene and then just to give context to oh, yeah You're still using an animus, you know, whatever but I I feel like It's weird because obviously I don't think that an Assassin's Creed game should have no modern-day like Unity's modern-day is abysmal and it's it's not really justified but it is interesting to think that like Assassin's Creed like like the animus is not only It is a kind of a MacGuffin because it allows you to like go to any time period you want and That's always gonna be motivated and somewhat by like how marketable is this is this is a location gonna be or whatever sure and It's not like in the lore The assassins and Templars only exist within the animus or anything like, you know, if you're a random person in The year 2000 you could come across an assassin you don't need an animus to experience that process. So I Don't think it's like lore breaking or or anything like that to like show an Assassin's Creed story without the use of an animus It's just the breaking of a tradition and I and obviously like I Understand why people are upset about it and I'd prefer there to be modern-day Yeah Especially in the back-to-basics game, you know, that's that's really what did it for me is this like They're they're putting all of this effort to say that this is the you know, classic It's a celebration of our roots Assassin's Creed game and like what better way to Really emphasize that like to the cater to that player base than to have a real-deal modern-day story. So it's like confusing that of all the games to to Directly minimize it and even say up front that they're minimizing it like this is a surprise to me And it makes me like, you know, if it's not going to be this game that has good modern day Then what faith can you really have for any subsequent, you know, infinity game? Yeah, I have good modern day I mean Darby McDevitt who's writing on Codename hexi hexa hexa. I don't know how to pronounce it He says that, you know, he never wants people to be doom and gloom about modern day He's always like guys. We're trying and trying our best. Yeah, and I Still it cannot really be Like I'm just I doubt I press X to doubt It's difficult. I don't envy the position that the people behind Mirage are in because it's like Let's say you do a modern-day story for Mirage. I feel like Because codename red and hexa you're gonna be so vastly different at least that's what they're promising that a modern-day story in Mirage Would need to have a beginning and middle and a conclusion within Mirage itself Which isn't typical in Assassin's Creed because you know, Desmond story spanned across many games so if you do the modern-day story and you have this like and you introduce this whole big plan and Then you can't execute it across the infinity games like red or hexa even then I could see it being better off just not to bother with it You know what I mean? Sure. I don't agree with it, but yeah, no, and there's always the implication. It seems that You know, it can really just come down to time cost budget reasons You know on a smaller game like this that you just don't have the resources to pull off a playable interactable modern day Right or even I mean I imagine the cutscenes in syndicate I mean they were contracted to an outside vendor I think which is why the art style was so different and I'm sure they weren't cheap to do. Yeah, but it's still just like it's never that You can it's you can tell a good story in any number of ways with this franchise and with this concept so Neglecting to do that always is gonna feel like laziness more than anything to me If a game like brotherhood had no modern day at all then like that would be pretty insulting But I feel like At this state if I was going to play Mirage, I would count my blessings I guess and I would say well, okay It's an Assassin's Creed game in every other aspect. So I'll take no modern day, you know, like sure I love the modern day. I would I would play a modern day only game I would watch a modern day only thing because I'm invested in the lore and the franchise but If I had to pick between like huh interactive modern day or you know decent Assassin's Creed fantasy I'd pick the latter Ultimately at this state that was with where the franchise is So I'm not as if I was going to play Mirage I would not that wouldn't count me out because there's no MD Same thing goes for red and hexi if those end up being Assassin's Creed Light experiences, you know, like no modern day is it's not gonna It's not gonna make me never play a part of the or an entry in the franchise again You know, you're saying it's not like the deal breaker to you that it seems to be for some people Yeah, but I would argue it isn't to them either. I'm all of those people are gonna play Mirage in their Gonna enjoy it. They're not gonna miss the modern day at a certain point, you know, I I think you might be right I mean, let me consider it like so like think about like the modern day even at its best was like 20% 30% of the experience, you know, I'm no I'm not anti modern day at all I don't think it's boring. I like being pulled out of the animus. Whatever, you know, so yeah, I don't hate it I like it when it's around But I do feel like it's always been supplemental to the historical stuff and Until I mean, obviously, I think everyone would agree on that But you have to consider how small of a part of the experience it is so I can't I Can't just like hate on Ubisoft for not prioritizing that it's you know, it's like Allow me to live the Assassin's Fantasy in the way that like the old games provoked Um First and then we could talk about modern day, I guess. I don't know No, that makes perfect sense. And that's probably a good segue into Let's just talk about Mirage and talk about what we're supposedly getting How would you rate your excitement out of 10 for Mirage? It's difficult because I I have pretty much decided I'm not gonna play it And that's nothing that's nothing to do with like I think it's promising and there's obviously the like skepticism I have because I don't want to Get excited for it and play it and be disappointed Oh, but also I don't know I just feel like they had their chance to keep me on as a fan and I'm It's just not like they missed it Obviously, they're not they're not upset that I'm no longer a fan I guess but you know what I mean like the opportunity was missed and whatever So I like What I've seen I like the trailer obviously as I said before I like the screenshots the concept art the iconography that they're like They're embracing it so hard. I saw a tweet. Yeah That was like how it started and it was all tired and then it was like how how it's going and then it's bassin With the hidden blade and everything. It's like, okay, cool. Awesome, but don't pretend for the past Five six five hundred years you've been pretending like assassins don't exist, you know Yeah, stop stop pretending like like this is the newest entry and nothing has changed, you know God forbid any of your characters wear a hood. This has been happening since syndicate like you guys are you're so phony, you know The existence of Mirage Exactly confirms that you guys have been neglecting the core fan base for years It's it's interesting you say that because I have the same Response where there's like an alternate universe where if assassins creed hadn't gone in this wildly different direction for the last However, many years that Mirage could feel like the most boring assassins creed game totally because it would just be baseline I mean it used to be that there had to be a twist on it There had to be something new about the setting about the protagonist that they had to introduce these gimmicks And they had to do these other things to make these games interesting But now they've gone so far off the rails that you can essentially make a game that follows Roughly the template and style and tone of what the very first game did and have it feel fresh and exciting and new to people 100% I'm kind of with you on the Like my gut feeling right now is I want to say that like I won't play it just for the same reasons You said of like, you know, I've already this far disengaged from the franchise. I've already like Lost all and and as we as we're gonna get into We know that this is not Promising what's to come in the future. It's not like Best case scenario is Mirage rocks our fucking socks off And we love it and then we just have to sit with the knowledge that it's the last of its kind and that Nothing on the horizon for the next five years is going to deliver more of that experience. That's already frustrating Yeah, 100% but I also just know I have this like toxic trait or pattern of like being so fucked off with Assassin's Creed and then like it leads right up to the The day the game comes out and then I see people tweeting about playing it and I just buy it and I play it I don't know. I'm probably gonna play Mirage. I just don't I don't trust myself not to but I If I had to say like ranking my excitement out of ten It's probably like a four just because yeah, I am intrigued by what they're promising, but like it is really disconcerting that For a game that now is tentatively just that they they couldn't give us a date They just said 2023 not even a quarter mind you not even like a summer 2023 Fall 2023 that that's how vague they're being and they're opening pre-orders, which fuck you Opening pre-orders without a release date But no gameplay question mark I thought for sure we'd see some gameplay of this thing at this event At least a little demo or tease of some kind But it's got to be in pretty rough shape for them to be handling it this way I was almost certain that like when I Went on YouTube to find the the trailers and stuff that I was gonna see a demo. I I was so surprised that there wasn't one. I mean in for a game. That's coming out next year You know, I feel like that's very surprising. Yeah, I get not seeing gameplay for red or hexi I'd rather those games that have been announced, but I get why they did it But yeah, it's like all all we've gotten that's more than the confirmation of red and hexi is that there's There's a cinematic trailer attached and like some screenshots That's it. Like so we essentially know About just as much like obviously there's a lot more story details that we know and a lot more developmental details that we know about Mirage, but like it still feels like for a game that's coming out next year We know very little about it. Yeah, especially compared to other assassins create a marketing cycles I mean by this point the AC Unity story trailer was already released. So it's really weird Now that's a very good point and it's it's it's a bizarre way that they're handling this this game It is also going to be It's a lower price. It's like $50 instead of $60 which Honestly surprised me. I would never have expected them to take anything less than the most amount of money They could get for something But I do think that signals it's gonna be a much shorter and smaller game which obviously We are okay with I do just wonder though if you really compare it directly to like all right something like Unity You know I feel like in this framework the engine that they're they're running with It's not like we're going back to you have 13 memory sequences, right? Like that's not the vibe Yeah, so my question is like, you know compared to say rogue Rogue was cheaper and smaller of a game, but it still felt very much like a full fledged experience It still was a satisfying game to to play through and 100 percent complete And i'm i'm curious if if mirage will be or if it'll actually Just due to development time and scope feel so light on the bones that it actually underwhelms even compared to the games of the past That feels possible to me. Yeah, I mean, I really think That what what kind of happens to everyone you've made this observation is like within the first like month or so Everyone's gonna love mirage Yeah, and then maybe a year later once we've had time to sit with it We'll start realizing like, you know mirage actually like the parkour kind of sucks I I heard something that like they're using unity's movement system. Is there any basis on that? No, okay They're not using unity's movement system and and for good reason because unity's movement system I've I've heard about this from from folks who have more knowledge than I do about the game development process Unity's movement system being what it was even as broken as it was is still a miracle just based on the complexity of what they were trying to do um I think the most they've said about parkour from mirage is that they Are inspired by unity's parkour and that bassem will have A new move set with new animations that is much faster Than the parkour experience was in origins odyssey valhalla And I suppose that's encouraging But I just still I'm trying to picture how fun a parkour system can be that's just you know, let's say origins with prettier animations and 30 faster and Will it be more fun to use than it was in that game? Sure, but like Will will we get a parkour system that is so Inherently gratifying to use that you can actually sink time into just running around with no direction the way I can in unity Or even syndicate to a lesser extent. I doubt it is the thing. I don't think they can Do that this well and with this game, you know, yeah, I I agree it's it's also difficult because it would be easier to perhaps accept that like Oh, wow, this is this is a ubisoft's like, you know last hurrah until they Go away from the from the roots of the series forever But it started as like a dlc, you know, like this wasn't playing from the beginning. I will say the first glimmer of not being like I I didn't understand this until I read it in an interview with the creative director on this game, I think but The whole narrative that it was a dlc that was graduated into a full release game Apparently is a little overblown. Okay, because the idea is they were like they had pitched it as a dlc, but they were literally like two weeks into the process of Of envisioning that dlc when it was decided that it should be elevated to a full game So it's not like they got anywhere in developing the actual game as a dlc It was it was built from the ground up as a new game, which is good. Yeah, I think but But that is a bit like, you know It started as a dlc and quotation marks would still be true and accurate enough for someone like jason schreyer to print As as part of the rumor so and I don't want to I guess suggest that like oh it started as a dlc not playing it because my favorite game in the series started as like a handheld experience so I mean that is the thing too. I I think you hit the nail on the head. I think you I think you um Touched on exactly why even if you are super excited for for mirage it's difficult to be excited for the future of assassin's creed because mirage comes out and then That's it. Goodbye. You know unless Unless you'd be soft as blown away by the support that mirage sees post launch. I don't see them Doing any more of these kinds of games Especially like when they took the time to address that red is going to be an rpg And that hexi is going to be something that's not mirage either and that's that's kind of a good segue into Although there is one thing I wanted to say about mirage, which is just that I think mirage is One of the best subtitles in the franchise. I think it just is cool and sounds good I don't know. I just wanted to throw that out there. It's much better than syndicate Syndicate might be one of the worst, but that's a whole other discussion Um mirage. Yeah, so we've pretty much covered how we're feeling about mirage And that that brings us to infinity and beyond uh Assassin's creed infinity. I I want to just start by saying I think The one thing we can really say we've learned About assassin's creed infinity broadly speaking Uh, it seems to me like they still have no idea what the fuck it is It it really feels like they Are the way they're talking about it There is just no clarity to like what we can actually expect like everyone comes away from this whole showcase with a different understanding of what Infinity actually is and I've even seen articles like Talk about mirage being the first part of it like nobody understands what's going on with this And like yeah, we got some pieces clarified. So like you and I have always speculated And and this was something we talked about in our very last episode about infinity, which was that Surely for anything that's going to be a quote-unquote live service There's going to be a multiplayer component. Um, we didn't know if that would be co-op or competitive It does seem like now it's confirmed that there will be a standalone competitive Component to infinity which is has its own codename. That's ac and victus and That that's one thing we learned we learned that it you know exists and that it is still called infinity, which is But but they're treating it like like it's a launcher of some sort like this is just the software that launches these different games and that The actual games themselves which are being developed simultaneously by quebec and montreal They're not really going to share much of the actual Base level gameplay system and I I'm curious like At a certain point the question has to be asked if the sales pitch to us is that these are going to be very different games from each other But they're part of this service If they're going to be that different what what is the point ultimately of Bundling them together at all in any way, right? Like what do you gain as a company? What does ubisoft gain and what do we gain as a player slash customer? having red and hexi Live on the same platform Yeah, um I I agree with that Because if they're going to be like completely just different experiences, you know, yeah I mean what is the utility to not just releasing them as two separate assassin screed games? Um, which it seems like obviously infinity and hexi are going to be on store shelves Right, but like yeah, all right. So is infinity like because because if you recall The way infinity was always described by you know, jason schreyer and other leakers is that it was one game That had multiple settings. Right. Yeah, that would be updated continuously or whatever and now the The line the the pitch is not one game with multiple settings. That would be one thing. It's two games two developers But they'll be part of it. They'll be part of infinity in some way It's all very its head scratch inducing and and mac was saying about how like they want to support these games for longer periods of time As if a as if a holla hasn't been supported for years Um at this point, but like so red or hexis Like by that statement, you know could have years worth of content being released for it So maybe that's where infinity comes in. I I don't know maybe I don't I don't get it and I and I do think that the most like Logical scenario is whatever the standalone multiplayer thing is it would be what kind of unites the experiences because I would imagine You know, okay, Invictus launches. Let's say alongside or close to red And you have maps and cosmetics for your Invictus character that are all pulled straight from red But then hexi comes out and you get maps and cosmetics from that game that are part of Invictus But like, you know, it's like you could do all of that the same way Fucking Call of Duty does it where you don't need to put Black ops 12 and warzone on the same launcher. You know what I mean like Yeah, I mean, it's like warzone is getting its update with the release of the modern warfare 2 remake So it's like, okay. So now warzone is going to play like modern warfare 2 have fun And if we if we literally just take them at their word for what this is going to be and let's just forget all this infinity nonsense And when we get down to it, there's two games coming on the horizon where there's red, which is feudal japan open world rpg ubisoft kebeck jonathan dumont Yeah, so if that's one of them, you know, the question is Who cares feudal japan right has been like an exciting and like often Requested setting and one of my you know, if it would probably be my top three settings. I've always wanted to see I mean, I don't want any game from jonathan dumont. I don't want any of this and I don't like that it's Being directly pitched as carrying on the the legacy or what have you of the the odyssey approach to these games Yeah, no, thank you. Geez that said that there's the one if I'm if I'm gonna force myself as a as a podcast host here to be Like optimistic or give the benefit of the doubt which which fundamentally I don't want to do There is a part of me that says that Whatever it gonna whatever it's gonna end up looking like The idea of just seeing how ac evolves For something that's going to be next generation only is intriguing to me Only in the same way that seeing anything that will be fully next gen only is intriguing to me Because there still hasn't been much, you know There still is not really a game that only exists because it's only possible on the playstation 5 Going off of that, you know the thing the thing about that that I guess I I don't share that excitement necessarily just simply because if mirage don't get me wrong Not excitement. I I can't even describe it as exciting. Most it's it's curiosity Yeah, yeah, but like if mirage was like the the promised ac next gen experience that also was so very clearly touching on the Basics of this of the series that everyone likes That'd be awesome, but I can't help. Yeah, I can't help it be like. Oh wow the odyssey design approach But next gen. Oh, so now I can fight a hundred different enemies on my screen at once like You know, I mean like there's something to be said about like What next gen can do about immersing you into a city and being a blade in the crowd and all that that i'm not sure that like The odyssey or even vahala approach to this series can nail Um Like I can ac one remake. I feel like why people get excited about that so much is because It can take the most simplistic nature of this series that everyone enjoys but like Bring in those immersive next gen details like, you know, whether it's graphical or with audio or with ai um and so The fact that red is so set on continuing the rpg trend I don't know because origins. I feel like could be described as an rpg and I like origin so It's difficult. Yeah I don't know If it's going to fall more in the odyssey or more in the origins boat because they have shown nothing and we know nothing really um I find hexi to be the more interesting of the two simply because of the team behind it But I said the same thing about vahala. So That's a good point and it's something I actually meant to bring up which was you know For as doom and gloom as you are about rpg's you did come around Quite heavily in favor of origins. It became one of your favorite games in the series um And so I was always curious like does that mean that you have a slightly more open mind to what an rpg ac could end up looking like and The interesting thing about that to me is is it's just Knowing that it's quebec and what they're describing is an rpg Just being more likely to be the odyssey approach. I mean, I'm expecting Maybe full fledged character customization dialogue options. I'm expecting a bunch of mythical bullshit in this game And surely that you know is full stop. Just not what we want. Not something we're excited for but There is still that that mindset I have where it's like Origins does kind of show that like that approach can be Satisfying. It's just I have never understood why they're so resistant to just letting an rpg like this is something we've still we've still never really seen but like It is possible theoretically To make an rpg game like the ones they've been making That has good parkour and good stealth. It is possible They've just seemingly refused to do it out of lack of interest or care Like if they're trying to make a combat forward combat focused experience Then those things are going to fall by the wayside, but it doesn't need to be combat heavy to be an rpg in my opinion I'm not saying that to suggest that I think that there's any chance that red is not the absolute personification of everything we hate And that it's just riding a horse around the countryside and fighting monsters But I still have that like feeling of well, maybe, you know stuff like hexi or stuff that comes later I mean, that's the level of copium. I'm really honest that maybe maybe Assassin's Creed will be good again in 2029 Yeah, I mean I'll always defend origins and I think if there was just a few more factors At play like if I wasn't so jaded with the series Like if origins was the only game that had just come out I would probably be excited for red. Yeah Cookie is like on my lap Looking at the microphone. It's like she's about to start talking I wish you were kind of hilarious. What do you think about red? Are you excited for hexi? What's up cookie? I wonder if you can Man, she's very interested in like, you know that foam thing I have Yeah, she she's liking she likes that Oh, the the like noise absorber backdrop thing. Yeah But yeah, if if origins had just come out, I'd be excited for red. Yeah, that's not the case I also have had years of ubisoft garbage to deal with like really Really just erode my love for the franchise. I guess too. I mean, let's let's talk about hexi then because It does seem like there's a cohort of people like a lot of the same people who are excited for mirage have this I hope I hope this microphone isn't picking up my stomach gurgling noises because I don't know what's going on down there, but Oh We're gonna find out in editing how obvious it is that I'm hungry. Anyway, um hexi I'm so I don't even want to say torn because I think I know exactly how I feel which is that I don't give a fuck And the reason I don't give a fuck is because I don't 16th century germany witches god, I sleep. I don't give a fuck about any of that This this is probably the like least appealing setting to me Maybe in franchise history. I I don't know how else to I know everyone's tripping over their dicks about a darker tone and a little bit more horary kind of direction. Perhaps I I couldn't give less a fuck about any of that So the only thing that I have that would make me even remotely curious or interested in hexi is That darby mcdevil is involved But even then now that doesn't quite go as far as it used to because I didn't love valhalla's story Exactly So there's that and then there's just the fact that It's Question mark a new thing like it like the whole thing about hexi so far has been that it's a it's a new and unique approach It's not following the lineage of the rpg stuff or the classic You know action adventure game and it's like I had hoped that the very first thing we would see on the next generation consoles Would be a new and different approach Like that would be the thing I would want if if everything else about the game gets to change because you have a new Engine new graphics new animations new hardware to take advantage of I would like a new approach. Please don't just make Odyssey and feudal japan and You know prettier with next-gen graphics and have that be the sales pitch, right? So this hexi thing where it's like witches and make probably magic and I just don't care and it's like Fuck you know, yeah, I mean the darby thing doesn't go as far as it used to Yeah, the creator director is cool. That's fine. I still I still like Like there is still I'll I'll show up for anything Darby is involved with because I do still think he's a good writer I think that the things that I didn't like about Valhalla's story were just sort of the natural side effect results of a Mandate that he had to deliver a hundred hour game You know, I think that there was no way to write yourself out of that Reality because it really did end up being like a short game that was stretched into a long one with a bunch of filler ass content Yeah, I mean if you consider that like, okay, he's adapting that the Icelandic sagas But like maybe that's only the only reason why that happened was because that's the only form of storytelling That could span across a hundred hour game, you know, maybe that's kind of what put him in that position Yeah, and then and I'm still I will be curious about what they had to give him or promise him or what it would have taken after years working on the franchise and treating Valhalla as this like Love letter, you know, and I don't want to ever describe Valhalla as a love letter to the fans But it was clearly trying to do something with tying in all these things from the series past and bringing a modern day experience back to the forefront After doing that, which would feel like a natural stopping point for him And then he leaves and he works at another smaller studio for almost a year What what about hex a would have Gotten him a guy who broadly seems to have the same interests and hopes for Assassin's Creed that the hardcore fans like us do What got him back on board is, you know, my question ultimately And he seems really excited about this. He was obviously really excited about Valhalla. We know how that turned out, but you know, it's like It is possible that You know, just not having to be under the thumb of Serge Hascot The guy who is broadly Responsible for that whole hundred hour directive. I mean that alone has to account for something I mean, it's even been said in the past that there were things about black flag that Were help were would have been better, but were severely limited by that guy's Flawed leadership, you know, so I'm rambling but That's my only that's my only Interest in hexa is seeing What got Darby McDevitt back on board and what he does with it everything else. I couldn't give less of a shit Yeah, the only thing that about that saying that that I am at all intrigued by is like like you said earlier The promise of it like a darker tone. Yeah, cool I guess but I'm also just worried that it's not going to involve assassins because Darby As much as he is like one of us, you know, he does like to feature stories where the assassin is not the main character Yeah, yeah, so that could this could very well be the case where you play as like a female during this time who's not in the brotherhood But maybe you come across some But I could see this being like from a civilian's point of view Perhaps when someone he was being accused of being a witch or what have you that seems like a perspective that Darby would love To start from and it's also just knowing that the franchise is now as comfortable as it is with You know, supernatural and mythical kind of elements Like there would be something intriguing to me about a witchcraft or witch trials centered game that was like still taking the Broadly realistic historical approach that assassins creed used to be known for Where it's, you know, not real because in real life witchcraft isn't real But I know that it's no offense witches listening to the pie But I I would imagine there's no Chance in hell that uv soft of today makes A witch trials game that does not feature you casting spells. Yeah, that reality kind of depresses me I That's kind of a it's kind of a bummer I think I also just think something that we're running into here And I think that all of us like in the fans and generally In general, um Is that We know so much and yet so little You know, we know about the next three games in the franchise and yet We haven't even seen A sliver of gameplay for any of it, you know All the interviews are vague as hell Darby is being forced to be vague as hell Mack is being vague as hell about everything. Everyone's being vague and I get it But it's like why do a showcase at all if if you're gonna It's so it's just so strange to me that like you would show the next like this is the future slate of assassins creed And yet you can't even show gameplay for the for the soonest upcoming game I don't understand. Yeah, and the ac netflix thing. It's like Are you even gonna show me like some concept art for it anything at all? Okay, awesome You're just telling me that still exists. I appreciate that it's still super early in development. It could fizzle out so easily I'm not excited about the showrunner I feel like I'm at the exact point as an assassin screed fan Or I will never play another game But I could I could watch the show like because Really? Well, here's the thing like I watched I like I watch shows and movies all the time So even if I wasn't acclimated with assassin screed, I I could check it out, right? And Yeah, knowing what I know about assassin screed It's gonna incentivize me a little more to watch it So I would watch it but not as like an invested assassin screed fan But like as an assassin screed veteran, you know Like as a survivor Exactly. Yeah, like That's perfect. I like that more than veteran. Yeah, the assassin the assassin screed survivor, you know Yeah, I I mean, I'll watch it just because it's kind of the best Chance you have at any sort of modern day content because I really can't imagine An assassin screed show just like I couldn't with the movie that has no, you know Modern day element and the movie had too much modern day like I would imagine their instincts Will be will be similar in that regard and and you just do more than a show because a show Let's say you you have animus chicanery in the first 10 minutes or the last 10 minutes of an episode And it teases you up for the next one But the bulk of the story is is a historical narrative that could be Cool and perfect and great, but wolf. I don't I would love if they had just said what the like historical setting would be that would have been pleasant to know. Oh wait. Yeah, Malta Just just to step on the toes of the tribute fan game that is currently in the works now I would love if they I mean the opportunity for a show or movie is that you get to do a setting that wouldn't Make great sense as a game like I always thought, you know, world war two assassin's creed would be great for show or movie There's a lot but there's so much you can do with it And they'll probably if I knowing them they'll want to tie in like existing characters and time periods and shit. I don't know We'll see Codename jade is looking pretty awesome. Oh, yeah, that's the most exciting uh Announcement is I what I what I really wanted was uh boy, there's They showed the like teaser. I forget how exactly it played out in the showcase, but The way it finally was was Said that this would be a mobile game Had me laughing lmaoing my ass off Because it was just so like aha You got excited for a moment there, didn't you china? Look at this And then dany waltz is over there just being like wow that looks beautiful. I'm just like did we just look at the same Dude, are we watching the same showcase? Isn't there like I was I mean The character that they that they show perched up posted up about to about to leap of faith Has like an assassin insignia on his on his drip and I don't think assassins were around yet in that time period Maybe they're like that. It's like this is pre origins timeline. We're in here And this dude's rocking the crest and thus is the problem because that whole origins nonsense with the hidden ones is a retcon of Of ac2 establishing that the fucking insignia has been around for a long time They were never they were never not assassins. Go fuck yourself and origins decided to change that I love when franchises retcon stories to make it more boring and less cool. Yeah, I mean jade is uh It's intriguing to me because I always wondered why there wasn't like it I mean phones are powerful enough that you could I mean you could probably run the fucking etio collection on your phone If you wanted to and that no one's done it no one's put it up I like mobile gaming. I have a little switch grip style controller for my phone And I play games or or I stream x cloud games to it So the promise of like play assassins creed on your phone On its own is appealing to me. I have a fucking I have the galaxy z fold 3 and it'll run that shit like a dream It'll be great The question is it's it not only is it set in china But it's also primarily targeting the chinese market, which means gotcha type bullshit Genshin impact style gameplay where it's probably as as full force rpg and You know loot boxy as possible uh, and I'm sure with having a character you can customize entirely yourself that It's not going to have the most in-depth story either so Definitely going to be a limit to how interesting it can be but there is the uh inherent to me There is an inherent appeal to I'm playing assassins creed of my phone It's on my phone. It's my telephone my mobile. Yeah, I mean it's very ubisoft because they can capture a whole new audience I always thought That the whole point I mean, we've known that there was a mobile game in china in development for like a long time and I always I I'm sure it's even on record on the podcast at some point of like Make a mobile game advertise the shit out of it in china Because they have never released a mainline assassins creed game in china to my knowledge So they don't give a fuck about the assassin's creed franchise over there But if you make a game that hits with them the way that you know those those similar games are Are successful in that market then you are able to establish some brand equity in the territory for The possibility that a bigger AAA release you could exploit that market I always thought that was the strat and that it would imply that like one of these infinity games I thought for sure infinity would kick us off in china for that reason because then they could sell the game in china And they could sell millions more copies I guess not I guess they're just doing this uh for its own sake. Yeah, I mean Whatever it kind of seemed like that was what was going to happen with all the Extended universe stuff that was being set in china like there's like a book. Yeah, like they want to establish a A reputation there and it's like I don't know there's a book series. There's like comics. I think I mean Ugh, man I just I hate assassin's creed I I hate ubisoft I don't care It's so hard. I mean I it's so hard. I um Like I care if you guys can't tell this whole this whole podcast episode was my idea Like I care because I had to bribe timothy with uh sexual favors Again, I'm gonna come on. Yeah, I mean it was worth it ultimately, but It's just I care obviously because I've dedicated a lot of my uh, a lot of my uh video game life to assassin's creed and Obviously this podcast and so I care But it's it's just the element of like I'm past the point of like I'm not gonna let you rope me in again assassin's creed just so you can hurt me It's I I'm past that point. It's just I just I just can't I can't even get excitement to begin with because I know what the company still stands for and I know I know what they're gonna do I know what they're gonna do. I don't care. I don't care that mirage exists because it doesn't mean anything Are you are you people that see hidden blade and you say thank you? You know, you're part of the problem You're part of the problem. You see a beaked hood And you see a fingerless bassam Parkouring and you accept that You are weak And I don't like you Oh man, it's uh, it's it's hilarious to me because I If I think about mirage if I really truly just try to predict what it would be And even the worst case scenario of what mirage turns out I mean, let's talk about the most busted parkour system. Let's say it's exactly like vahala's parkour Let's say it's exactly like vahala stealth. It's in fucking operable I I have to think that just the baseline facts we've been told about this. Oh, and let's just throw in like buggy is unity Let's just make it also really buggy With all of that going against it. I just have to feel like the baseline facts We have about the game the fact that it is an assassin. It's bassam. It's it's shorter. It's no dialogue options. It's an action adventure game. It's black box missions, you know all of this all of these things the the aesthetic the setting I feel like it would have to just by default be the best assassin's creed games since origins, right? Like there's just no way Even that broken That it's still somehow for me Less enjoyable than odyssey, right? Yeah, I agree. I mean just just in that like it's going to be mercifully short too like even like Really easy to pick up and play it'll be over sooner, you know No, it doesn't overstay. It's welcome. At least it's not pretending to and then there's a dlc if you want to play further Cool, you know and then if they and so if they're telling me hey, we're going to give you most likely The best assassin's creed game in the last five years I sure would like to be able to say thank you but The truth is like you said, you know, it's just that the level of interest has died down and the trust has died down and it's like I don't know. I mean it's Is it possible that we see gameplay of this thing and it just rocks our shit? No, or at least mine I know you won't probably won't carry either way And suddenly I'm like My pre-order give it to me. Give me the game. Please. Thank you. You know like I guess I guess I guess it's possible. I see that I see that as a possibility for you and I don't mean that in like a negative way I just I know your habits for the assassin's creed enough that Even if it's like a month after a couple months after you'll play mirage I'm gonna they're gonna message me and you're gonna be like, you know what? there's this really cool sequence and It really felt like because you too Because because because that's what I did. I did that for odyssey. I did that for valhalla. I was so Like I was in at the beginning. I always start I start high and they have to disappoint me so consistently and so much That it brings me down And mirage is already starting pretty high as a concept. So I guess yeah, I'll just I'll I'll drop the facade and I'll admit it I'm kind of looking forward to mirage but I still overall like that's the thing it's Mirage is like it's it's its own thing It's for me It's detached from just like the state of the the franchise because it's true that like If they just announced mirage and neither of the other games And let's say hypothetically we didn't have any leaks or rumors about next gen assassins creed It would be possible To look at mirage as a course correction and as an example of like, oh, this is what assassins creed could be now And we could just go back to how it was wouldn't that be beautiful? We could just have it like it used to be and it would just change you could go to different settings I could do different things. Yeah, I'm fucking throw some naval gameplay onto it You know, do you do do your different thing here and there, you know different time periods mix it up But it would still be at its core what we always liked Um, but that's we just know that that's not it's not possible So we're just we're a bunch of fucking clowns really this this whole fan base We're all fucking clowns and I'm I'm the I'm I'm the I'm in the circus for sure. I'm driving the clown car. I'm part of the problem, but But here we are. I think it's more likely for you to play mirage than it is red or hexi Oh, absolutely. Yeah I think if I'm being honest I think it's possible. I'll play them all Just out of curiosity. Yeah out of sure shameless morbid curiosity. I might wait get it on sale You know Well, maybe but damn maybe you could purchase the assassin's creed infinity bundle and It's like 15. It's like $15 a month And you get all of the games day one You subscribe you get all the old ac games to Christ Yeah, I can't imagine anything bleaker than being subscribed to just ubisoft as a company I just pay them to exist So I guess that about that about covers everything I think so We didn't we didn't talk much about Invictus. Do you have any thoughts about Invictus? I mean, I the kind of thing that would get you torqued. I'm an old that get you back on board I mean, I I I love the pvp Multiplayer from brotherhood and revelations Kind of dropped off with three and four, but revelations is when it was perfect for me Love that multiplayer. So multiplayer and assassin's creed is always welcome to me I also always thought that like the warzone trend would be good with assassin's creed because That's kind of what the pvp stuff was It was you and you had a target and there was other assassins around you trying to kill their targets like That yeah, that was that that's in essence kind of what warzone is today. It's just bigger maps Sure So if you put me in like fuel japan and I got to go find a target And also they're trying to kill me and also my target or whatever then yeah, I that's cool. I'm down with that I just that honestly like if you could just casually play that instead of being invested in like the lore and story That sounds like the perfect way to enjoy assassin's creed these days You know parkour rounds to have some multiplayer people but not have to care about the story and lore that's being ignored every day But no, I mean I won't play it, but you know I'm excited about I not excited, but I'm intrigued by the idea of multiplayer coming back I also think like I've said this before co-op is is a great idea for assassin's creed bring it back Yeah co-op in fuel japan That sounds Like a okay time. It sounds like a pleasant experience I can't believe that that's like a standalone thing though. That's kind of strange to me All right. I don't I mean I feel like it It makes sense with the warzone approach theoretically But is it is it going to do the same thing I call it duty's doing where like it uses reds assets That's that's what I would imagine right? Yeah, I mean maybe they that's also where they would introduce like legacy assets Like here we we did a renaissance idli map and a american revolution map I mean they could kind of do anything if it's if that's the yeah, which is what they did with in uh Like in revelations a lot of the maps were like, oh here's rome here's Here's uh this this town square in florins from ac2 um Yeah, they just never got to the point where it was like hopping generations, of course You are that you're the resident uh pvp expert because I never touched that shit You were missing out any of it. I know I know It's a lot of fun. I guess to to kind of wrap this up Since it's been a minute and I was going to maybe do this at the top, but honestly, I forgot. Have you had a good year? um Kind of sure Your answer is no, I can cut this part out, but I just you know, we haven't we haven't done this in a while and Uh, it's been a whole like over a year since the last time we did an episode Kind of detoxing from a sassus grade was nice. Um, yeah, I uh Yeah, for the most part. I think I've had a I've had a good year. Um, I'd say my answer is yes. What about you? I I think I've had a really good year. I since since the last episode. I you know, I graduated college uh moved out of My parents house in missouri. I moved to los angeles I worked on A couple tv shows one of them's airing right now the patient I worked on set for that that was fun Now I work on movie trailers and stuff which has been a cool job to have So it's been a good year and I think both of us have been staying busy, which is part of why We haven't really delivered on the idea before of like doing something else that's not assassin's creed related whether it's a podcast or a youtube thing, but You know, we appreciate that it does seem like, you know, every once in a while I'll glance at the analytics and it seems like every once in a while people come back and listen to these old episodes, which uh is really nice and and always a nice feeling to see a new comment pop up and that people are are still getting something out of these because We did it for a long time and and it was fun and it's been It's been fun to kind of uh dust off the old blue yeti And get back into it today. Yeah, totally. I definitely uh Missed doing the podcast element of it whether it's assassin's creed or whatever. So it's definitely nice to revisit this and uh, I'm sure that there are a couple listeners that will be happy to see this episode and hopefully Hopefully they agree with some of our thoughts here You know The the the main the main thesis statement for this episode I think uh, if you're excited about the future of assassin's creed that you are wrong and you should feel bad Yeah, I mean I I endorse that So let us know in the comments looking at you. How excited are you out of 10? Has as ubisoft won you back have they wind and dined you with this mirage trailer? And will you be pre-ordering and buying the special collector's edition with the I don't know. Is there a fucking figurine in there? I didn't even there is and apparently everyone has already bought it And now they're putting it up on ebay Awesome. That's sweet. That's what we like to see. That's what we like to see Uh, I've been the blade. Hey, I I've been the hook Thank you for listening. Uh, have a great year since that's probably how long