Assassin's Creed Syndicate's DLC Sends You After Jack the Ripper
Syndicate's DLC is a story add-on instead of taking the Syndicate era in a different direction.
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Today during Sony's pre-Tokyo Game Show presentation, Ubisoft revealed that downloadable content for Assassin's Creed Syndicate would involve players hunting down Jack the Ripper. The DLC campaign will take place two decades after the events in Syndicate. During the Ripper's Autumn of Terror in 1888, players will work with Inspector Frederick Abberline of Scotland Yard to stop the murderer terrorizing Whitechapel.
The information we have on the campaign is relatively scant. You're hunting Jack the Ripper. It takes place after the end of Syndicate. We don't know if you're able to play Evie or Jacob in the campaign, probably because Ubisoft doesn't want to spoil if one or both of the Frye twins survives the events of the main game. So the question is, how much you care about the hidden story behind the Jack the Ripper mythos?
I admit, I'm a bit disappointed in the announcement. So far, the DLC campaign sounds like a 'plus one' campaign, telling an additional tale with the existing characters from Syndicate. Similar to Assassin's Creed Unity's Dead Kings, this seems to be the Frye twins running up against another famous historical figure from their era. That's fine, but I tend to want more from Assassin's Creed DLC.
I'm more of proponent of the more ambitious download releases that joined Assassin's Creed III and Assassin's Creed: Black Flag. Ubisoft set a high bar with both offerings. Assassin's Creed III's The Tyranny of King Washington explored a whole new alternate reality, with a vastly different Connor in a changed America. Assassin's Creed: Black Flag's Freedom Cry campaign led us through the exploits of Adewale, as he sought to free his people from slavery. While Edward's campaign was great and action-packed, Adewale campaign had a heavier subject matter to explore.
I was hoping for a further exploration of Henry Green, the Frye Twins' assassin mentor. Green is an Indian immigrant who eventually becomes leader of the British Assassins. He also has connections to a previous Assassin's Creed spin-off: Green is the adopted son of Arbaaz Mir, the protagonist of the Assassin's Creed: Brahman comic.
Imagine seeing his rise within the British ranks, an Indian immigrant taking the reins of the Brotherhood in city undergoing such a great expansion. That's a situation rife with great internal and external conflict, a recipe of solid drama. Ubisoft is going to explore Green's tale in the upcoming novel Assassin's Creed: Underworld, but my guess is it's a story that deserves to be playable.
Which is not to say the hunting Jack the Ripper won't be fun. I'm sure I'll probably enjoy playing the campaign. I just want more from Assassin's Creed's DLC and spin-off works. As I've said before, those fringes are where Assassin's Creed takes more risks, which pays off in better stories. I'm sure the series will do so again in the future, but this feels like a missed opportunity.
If Jack is your jam, you can pick up the DLC campaign separately for an undisclosed sum. ($9.99 if I was a betting man.) Alternatively, you can get the DLC as part of the Syndicate Season Pass, which also includes the The Last Maharaja mission pack, the A Long Night exclusive mission, an hour of extra gameplay in the Streets of London pack, additional weapons, and an experience boost.