Assassin's Creed has cemented itself as one of gaming's best franchises over the past two decades by introducing entirely new styles of gameplay, delivering engaging storylines and transporting players to breathtaking locations all over the world -- and across time. Ubisoft, the massive studio behind the award-winning series, has explored several pivotal and even difficult moments throughout our shared human history through the lens of shadowy killers with secret agendas changing the course of nations, keeping us entertained with action and drama for hours on end.
The newest of these, Assassin's Creed Shadows, brings players to feudal Japan in an era of civil war. Controlling two distinct characters -- the stealthy shinobi Naoe and the brawling samurai Yasuke -- players will experience a story rooted in a pivotal moment of the past. Per our review, Ubisoft has pulled off another exciting entry in the series.
As you dive into Assassin's Creed Shadows here's a look at some of the best games to come out of the storied franchise.
Assassin's Creed: Valhalla continued the trend started in Origins and Odyssey of taking players out of the smaller, more sandboxed environments of Renaissance Europe or even the Carribean and dropping us into a massive, endlessly-explorable open world. Instead of the ancient worlds of Egypt and Greece, Valhalla treats players to the beautiful islands and waterways of the British Isles during the Dark Ages. As the name suggests, players get to explore the world as a viking, Eivor (either male or female), pillaging and plundering their way across England while also seeking to build a home and alliances to retain and expand their power.
Valhalla didn't just introduce a new locale, however. The combat system was reworked to be more impactful, and while stealth was still quite prevalent, it took more of a backseat to how you accomplished each mission. Also, the amount of loot and objectives to accomplish was mercifully dialed back quite a bit, so it didn't feel as much like a never-ending slog to complete everything. That being said, the exploration and discovery were quite a bit more enjoyable as they came about through world events as opposed to standard NPC side quests and missions.
Really, the only knock against Valhalla is that the story and characters aren't quite as deep as we've come to expect from an AC game. Also, the Assassin's vs. Templars story seemed a bit of a stretch at times in Viking land, but it worked. Overall, it's one of the best and one of my personal favorite entries in the series. There's plenty to do, and it's varied enough to not get too repetitive.
Release Date: November 10, 2020
Assassin's Creed Shadows is the latest entry in the saga, this time set in feudal Japan during the time of the warring warlords. While it still fits comfortably in the world of Assassins and Templars, it represents the biggest change in gameplay that we've seen from any AC game thus far. Once again, it's an open-world adventure with two protagonists, but this time, instead of simply choosing between playing as a male or female avatar, the two characters Naoe and Yasuke have notably different playstyles, with different weapons and tools as well.
Yasuke is more combat-oriented and attacks head-on, while Naoe relies on stealthy approaches, closer to what we're used to in previous games. No longer is every tool or action available to both characters -- instead, you'll need to learn a different approach to missions for each of them. For example, only Naoe can use the assassin's hidden blade or even Eagle Vision, which have been staples of every mission since the first game. You also can't blend into crowds to strike from the (ahem) shadows if you play as Yasuke, which makes the whole thing feels a bit less assassin-y than before.
That's not to say the game is bad; it's still thoroughly enjoyable, and I had fun all the way through. Long-time fans might be a bit jarred by some of the changes, but newcomers will get to enjoy a new take on the series.
Release Date: March 20, 2025
Assassin's Creed II is one of those rare occasions in entertainment where the sequel is better than the original in almost every way. It took players into the beautifully recreated world of Renaissance Europe and introduced us to the series' most iconic hero: Ezio Auditore. Nearly anyone who has spent any time with the series will agree that AC2 is one of the best in the entire franchise, and it earned several perfect scores from reviewers.
More than anything, this is the game that really cemented the franchise as something that was here to stay. The unique concept and gameplay of the original was proven to work wonderfully, and it forever established the age-old conflict between the Brotherhood and the Templars. The characters, including an entertaining Leonardo DaVinci, were also rich and vibrant.
The most exciting part was that it took all the best parts of the original's gameplay, like assassinations and roof-climbing, and made them even better. The fact that it's still fun to play 16 years after its release is the strongest testament to just how good it is.
Release Date: Nov. 17, 2009
Mirage marked a strong return to many of the things that made Assassin's Creed so great. After a few years of open-world outings that seemed to get ever bigger, Mirage dialed everything back into a smaller, much more focused experience. Instead of gallivanting across endless landscapes, players were treated to a gorgeous 9th-century recreation of Baghdad. The raids and large-scale battles of Valhalla and Odyssey were gone, and we once again had to plan, sneak, loot, and assassinate our way through the story.
Speaking of the story, it also was much improved over the somewhat bland and lackluster narratives from the previous few iterations. It followed Basim, who we actually met in the British Isles of Valhalla, and every twist and turn of his story kept us wanting more. In short, it was a love letter to all that made us all fall in love with AC in the first place and is one of the many reasons it ranks highly on nearly every list of best Assassin's Creed games.
Release Date: Oct. 5, 2023
The one that started it all. Assassin's Creed not only introduced us to the world of assassins and Templars, and, of course, the Animus machine, it also firmly established the stealth action genre as an incredibly entertaining fan favorite. And, at the time, it was one of the largest and most ambitious games we'd ever seen. The scenery was gorgeous and the stealth approach to missions, combined with the fun, yet somewhat janky wall climbing kept us wanting more.
The better part of two decades after it came out, the original Assassin's Creed's graphics don't quite hold up as well today, and the limited gameplay mechanics get a bit repetitive, but it's still worth playing through, if for nothing else than to engross yourself into how it all started.
Release Date: Nov. 13, 2007
Assassin's Creed: Unity returned players to Europe after a few years of games taking place overseas in the Caribbean and the American colonies. It was set during the French Revolution and at the time was one of the most graphically impressive games ever seen. Launching around the time of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One series, it delivered stunning scenery and huge crowds of NPCs that hadn't been technically possible before.
The game itself had a bit of a rough start with several bugs and glitches that took a while to fix, but that didn't take away from the intriguing story and the tension of a revolutionary backdrop. It was also the first game to allow for co-op play meaning you could bring up to three other friends along on missions for some extra backup. Ubisoft also introduced some more detective-based gameplay elements which almost made us feel a bit like Batman fighting our way through 18th-century Europe.
Ubisoft thankfully got around to fixing most of the issues and it's well-worth revisiting today.
Release Date: March 20, 2020
Origins brought a few different 'firsts' to the AC franchise. Most notably, it was the first game to introduce a truly open-world, RPG-style experience to the franchise. Ancient Egypt was beautifully and meticulously recreated, giving players a wealth of places to explore and nearly endless treasures to uncover. It's hard to overstate just how beautiful the scenery is in Origins. The developers deserve a ton of credit for creating such a breathtaking backdrop to murdering and killing.
Origins' gameplay was revitalized as well. Sneaking and stealth killing was still a big part of it, but it was no longer the only way to go about things. There was also a new leveling system introduced and a huge array of new gear and weapons you could acquire.
Lastly, as the name might suggest, this was the game that pulled back the curtain to show us how the Brotherhood of Assassins came to be in the first place. The story was engrossing, and it was truly just fun to play. It has certainly earned it's spot among the best games in the franchise.
Release Date: Oct. 27, 2017
Assassin's Creed: Odyssey took the new formula established with Origins and built on it in every way. The world was bigger, the combat was more engaging, and the stories and characters were more engrossing as well. It took players even further back in time, from ancient Egypt to ancient Greece, during the time of the famous war between Athens and Sparta. It's one of if not the biggest world in the entire franchise, meaning there are nearly endless things to explore.
Players choose either the male or female protagonist from the get-go, and the story provides different choices for each character, depending on which one you choose. Both characters are quite enjoyable to follow, but Kassandra is the stronger of the two and arguably one of the best protagonists we've seen in the series thus far.
My personal favorite part was how the combat system was tweaked to allow players to partake in large-scale battles between the Athenians and the Spartans. How well you eliminated the other side's soldiers on the battlefield would determine which side was winning the larger war for Greece. It was just a ton of fun. Plus, it brought back and improved upon the naval combat players had come to love from the previous games.
Release Date: Oct. 2, 2018
It's hard to find any long-time Assassin's Creed fans who don't hold a place in their heart for Black Flag. Story-wise, it was quite a departure from the intrigue and mystery of the previous half-decade of games, and it also introduced one of the most unique settings we had seen up to that point. Plus, the naval combat system from the controversial Assassin's Creed 3 was one of the primary means of combat. Needless to say, it was a big risk for Ubisoft that paid off beautifully.
Plundering your way through the Carribbean during the height of the pirate menace was just a blast, and the naval combat was endlessly fun. Black Flag offered the perfect combination of exploration, stealth, and both land and sea combat and the result was a world that you never wanted to leave. It certainly helped that the protagonist Edward Kenway was entertaining and rougueish in the best way possible. Black Flag is a fantastic entry into the series and laid the foundation for many of the other best AC games to come.
Release Date: Oct. 19, 2013
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood had big shoes to fill as it came hot on the heels of the smashing success of Assassin's Creed II. It was released so soon afterward that many fans, myself included, didn't think there was any way it could even come close to being as good as ACII. Thankfully, we were all in for a pleasant surprise.
Brotherhood is certainly not as good as Assassin's Creed II, but it was still much better than almost anyone expected. It continued the story of Ezio Auditore, this time seeing him become more of a leader as he began to recruit other assassins to join the cause. Players could send out other members of the Brotherhood to carry out missions of their own, or they could join Ezio on his missions for some good old-fashioned group assassinating.
This was also the first game to introduce multiplayer to the franchise, giving players the chance to test their skills against other real-life members of the Brotherhood. Overall, it was a lot of fun and deserves a place among the best games of the franchise.
Release Date: Nov. 16, 2010
Assassin's Creed FAQs
What is the newest Assassin's Creed game?
Assassin's Creed: Shadows is the newest Assassin's Creed game. It was released on March 20, 2025.
What is the best-selling Assassin's Creed game of all time?
According to currently available data, Assassin's Creed III is still the best-selling game in terms of the number of units sold. However, Assassin's Creed: Valhalla is the highest-profit game.
How we determined CNET's best Assassin's Creed games
We considered a variety of factors when creating this list of the best Assassin's Creed games. Primarily, we looked at how enjoyable each game was to play, which included factors like how engaging the story was, how varied and intriguing the missions were, the quality of gameplay and combat mechanics, and the graphical quality as well. We also considered if any of these games, or at least a significant feature of them, contributed to helping improve the franchise as a whole and introducing things that went on to heavily influence the rest of the series. These games are not ranked in any particular order, these are merely the ones we feel are the best representations of the franchise and simply the most enjoyable to play.
What is the best Assassin's Creed game?
Assassin's Creed: Origins is the best overall game in the series. It gets almost everything right across every aspect of the game. The setting is one of the most breathtaking ever seen, the combat is entertaining without being too repetitive, the story is engaging and provides a strong backstory for the series, and the side quests and loot is well-designed to keep players wanting to search for more. It truly shines as the pinnacle of what an Assassin's Creed game can be.
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