Throughout the video, we get a look at the original combat system, which revolved around counter-attacks, and how it evolved and got refined with 2009’s Assassin’s Creed 2, 2010’s Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, and 2011’s Assassin’s Creed Revelations. 2012 would bring a major change in the system with the release of Assassin’s Creed 3, which gave protagonist Connor more weapon variety to fight with, as well as a bow. Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag would bring in another shift in 2013 with the inclusion of guns as part of Edward’s arsenal.

While much of the same combat system would be seen in 2014’s Assassin’s Creed Rogue, the year also saw another shake-up with Assassin’s Creed Unity, which made combat slower-paced and raised the difficulty. In 2015, the same system would be further refined in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, which placed quite a bit of emphasis on brawling with its two protagonists—Jacob and Evie Frye.

While the series would see a bit of a break after Syndicate, just a couple of years later, it would see its biggest shift in combat mechanics with the release of Assassin’s Creed Origins. The 2017 title introduced deeper RPG-styled mechanics, with weapons and armors having their own distinct stats and special effects, which could be used by Bayek in his quest to hunt down the Order of the Ancients. The same system would get expanded with the release of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey in 2018, which brought in even more weapon types as well as deeper RPG mechanics. The last game where we would see this system, at least for now, would be 2020’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, which introduced a posture system for its enemies.

In 2023, the series would go back to some of its older styles of combat with Assassin’s Creed Mirage, with players taking on the role of Basim and fighting foes in the streets of Baghdad. Most recently, the franchise introduced further refinements to its combat systems with Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which provided two distinct styles of play thanks to its deuteragonists—the action-oriented Yasuke and the stealth-focused Naoe.

While Ubisoft hasn’t recently made any major new announcements for the Assassin’s Creed franchise, rumors have been flying around of a remake for Black Flag, which is believed to be titled Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced. The overall themes of synchronization in the video would indicate that there might be a deeper connection between it and the much-awaited announcement. The company had confirmed that such a remake was in the works last month.

In the meantime, Assassin’s Creed Shadows has continued to get updates a year after its release, with the most recent one bringing in support for PSSR 2 on PS5 Pro, and mouse and keyboard controls on Nintendo Switch 2. Check out our review of Assassin’s Creed Shadows and its Claws of Awaji expansion for more details.

Though Assassin’s Creed’s second era titles – Origins and Odyssey – aren’t available on the Switch, Ubisoft has still been putting out older games from the series on Nintendo’s system. Earlier this year, Assassin’s Creed 3 and Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation launched on the system, and now, the next two games in the series are out on it as well.

Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection compiles Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag and Assassin’s Creed Rogue in one single package. Black Flag is one of the best games in the series, and its massive open world and naval combat and exploration make for an excellent pirate adventure. Meanwhile, Rogue is worth playing just for its story, which puts a unique spin on the Assassins vs Templars schtick that the series has always stuck to. The Rebel Collection also includes all single player DLC for both games, as well as added motion controls.

Check out both games in action in the launch trailer below.

As reports had suggested prior to Nintendo Direct, Ubisoft is bringing Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag and Assassin’s Creed Rogue Remastered to the Nintendo Switch. Bundled together as Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection, it will release on December 6th for the hybrid platform. Of course, all of the single-player DLC is also included. Yes, even Freedom Cry.

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag focuses on Edward Kenway, a pirate who stumbles into the Assassins’ fold and eventually wars with the Templars. It built and expanded on the ship combat and sailing mechanics from Assassin’s Creed 3, with numerous islands to explore and treasures to seek. Overall, it received a good amount of critical and commercial acclaim.

Assassin’s Creed Rogue Remastered is a high definition port of the previous generation title. It focuses on Shay Patrick Cormac, an Assassin who eventually joins the Templar side and hunts down his fellow comrades. The game serves as a parallel story to Assassin’s Creed Unity and brings some new weapons and mechanics to the table.

Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection will feature support for HD Rumble, touch screen interface, motion control aiming, and even an optimized HUD.

We recently got Assassin’s Creed 3 Remastered on the Switch (which also included Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation), but it seems Ubisoft isn’t quite done yet with remastered Switch releases of its famous franchise. New developments suggest that more Assassin’s Creed game is inbound for Nintendo’s console- and this one is going to make Switch fans very happy.

Greek retailer The Console Club recently put up a listing for Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag and Rogue Remastered on the Switch. The listing seems to have been removed since then, but you can see a screenshot of it below (courtesy of ResetEra). The listing suggests that it’s probably going to be a single package containing both games, similar to Assassin’s Creed 3 and Liberation earlier in the year. What’s even more interesting is that Niko Partners senior analyst Daniel Ahmad (who goes by ZhugeEX on ResetEra) is also confirming it’s real.

There’s been a flurry of Nintendo-related leaks of late. Just recently, reports emerged that Overwatch might be headed to the Switch, while recent leaks have also suggested that SNK’s Terry Bogard, the protagonist of the Fatal Fury franchise, is the fourth Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC character. Stay tuned to GamingBolt for any and all updates.

FINAL FANTASY 15

Final Fantasy 15’s larger narrative is a bit of a mess, while the game often also receives criticism for how it sheds its open world approach and forces player down linear corridors in its final chapters. Not to mention the fact that after over a decade of anticipation, there were many who felt that the final product just wasn’t worth the wait. But while Final Fantasy 15 is not a perfect game, it is still a damn good one. Great combat, an open world begging to be explored, some excellent boss fights, and a memorable ensemble cast of four excellently developed characters make it a true diamond in the rough.

Do keep in mind, that though it’s natural to assume that when we talk about big game maps, we might be talking about open world games only- but that’s not the case. Whether its an open world game, or an open ended game that’s not particularly open world, or a huge map that we’ve seen in multiplayer play- it’s all fair game for this list. Also, do keep in mind that randomly generated maps were not considered for this feature.

A final note before we begin- there’s every possibility that we might have missed out on some game you were expecting to see on this list, and if we did, it’s either because the exact sizes of their maps aren’t known to us, or because we simply forgot! If it’s the former, and you know what the sizes are, please tell us! If it’s the latter, please remind us.

So without further ado, let’s jump into it.

#50. ASSASSIN’S CREED UNITY

The open world action by developers Ubisoft has its fair share of issues, sure, but its world is one aspect that can’t be faulted. It’s a joy to explore, and it’s also pretty big. At about 2.4 km2, there’s more than enough space in this virtual world to explore and lose yourself in.

January is finally over, and that means the next round of free games is upon us. We’re of course talking about Xbox Live’s Games With Gold offer, which provides a monthly slate of free games to Xbox Live Gold subscribers. This month should be interesting, as it includes Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (February 1st to 28th) and Super Bomberman R (February 16th to March 15th) for Xbox One.

Xbox 360 players get Assassin’s Creed Rogue (which is also available for Xbox One in remastered form) and Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy. The former is available from February 1st to 15th, while the latter can be claimed from February 16th to 28th. As usual, thanks to backwards compatibility, Xbox One players can enjoy these titles as well.

It’s a pretty solid line-up of games, particularly Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, which pays tribute to the older Castlevania titles on the NES. Assassin’s Creed Rogue also offers a unique take on the series by having players assume the role of Shay Cormac, an Assassin-turned-Templar. Check out the trailer below to get a better look at next month’s free Games With Gold.

Black Panther

Remember that iconic scene near the waterfall in Black Panther? No, not the second more tragic scene but the first one as T’Challa battles M’Baku for the title of king. Odyssey has a slight reference to that – just head to the Gortyn Waterfall in Messara and you’ll find two men battling it out on a cliff overlooking a waterfall. A few spectators are even witnessing this, cheering jubilantly. You can even kick one of the combatants down the waterfall and decide the battle for them, just like in the movie! Well, almost.

Ubisoft has announced that Assassin’s Creed Rogue, the last Assassin’s Creed game that was launched for the PS3 and Xbox 360 before the series transitioned exclusively to their successors, will be coming to the PS4 and Xbox One at last.

Rogue, which played a whole lot like its predecessor Black Flag, was launched in 2014 on PS3 and Xbox 360 while PS4 and Xbox One got Unity; many contend that it was the better game of the two, but sadly, it being stuck on last gen consoles put a cap on its audience. Now, at last, everyone gets to enjoy and experience this game and see for themselves if this lives up to the hype- after all, this is the only game in the series where you get to play as a Templar.

Assassin’s Creed Rogue will be launching on the PS4 and Xbox One, with the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X versions having support for 4K resolution. It will be launching in March.

Assassin’s Creed Rogue had originally released back in 2014 along with the somewhat disappointing Assassin’s Creed Unity. Although the game had released when next-gen consoles were available, the game was developed only for the PS3 and Xbox 360 (a PC version was released later). Now, the game appears to be getting remastered for the Xbox One and PS4 according to reports.

Spotted by users of Resetera, the game is being listed by different retailers for next-gen consoles. Of course, as with all such rumors, take this information with a grain of salt. In the listings, the game is set to be out in the first half of next year.

Additionally, the game can already be played on the Xbox One via backwards compatibility. If you’re a fan of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, then you’ll be happy with this game’s potential releasse since it shares some similarities with the 2013 game. Keep your eyes and ears open for any new information about the game’s release.