Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China

Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China does a lot of the hard stuff well, but can't convey the rush of being an assassin.

It is the most sumptuous and stealth-focused Assassin's Creed yet, but Chronicles: China doesn't assemble its pieces into a gratifying whole.

A stripped down stealth offering that reinvigorates Assassin's Creed by putting attention back on the sneaky stuff.

Chronicles: China is the smartest twist on the Assassin's Creed formula yet

Though it sheds many of the series' best elements, Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China has its own charm, and is worth a play for those in search of a simple stealth experience.

This spin-off starts strong, yet loses steam the further you progress

Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China has the makings of a good 2D Prince of Persia re-awakening, but it lacks a lot of character both aesthetically and mechanically. Still, there's very little actually wrong with it if you're looking for another platformer to add to your pile. Hopefully future iterations of the Chronicles subseries can build upon the foundation that China has provided.

An entertaining if perosnality-light translation of Assassin's Creed from open-world 3D to linear 2D.

Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China is an absolutely solid spin-off in almost every way. Traversal is fluid and fun, combat is enjoyably simple, and the level design is often lovingly crafted, but it never comes close to stepping out of its comfort zone and trying something remotely memorable. Even outside of Ubisoft's main series, the confining walls of Assassin's Creed remain recognisable and reliable, but they're in increasingly desperate need of a new lick of paint.

Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China is a fun and enjoyable game that does the franchise justice while taking it into another genre. There are some truly fantastic ideas here, some super-smooth parkour, brain-tingling puzzle challenges and occasional flashes of brilliance when it's time to get down and dirty in combat. Some ideas haven't been explored as thoroughly as we'd have liked, and there are a few rough spots, though. We're looking forward to the next installment.