With typical historic fantasy, Ubisoft’s first new single-player campaign arc of the year is about to arrive in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate: Jack The Ripper DLC, which will see a slightly older Evie Frye facing off against the serial killer menace of the Whitechapel murderer. Taking fragments of the accounts and wrapping them up into their eternal struggle between the Assassins and the Knights Templar it’s shaping up to be one of the most dastardly outings in the series to-date.
Release date
Set for release as a part of the Assassin’s Creed Syndicate Season Pass, it will be available from the 15th December 2015 on the PS4 and Xbox ONE, so you’ll be able to delve into the darkness and horror of the situation just in time for the tinsel and jingle bells of the holiday season. It’ll follow shortly afterwards on PC on the 22nd December 2015. It’ll set you back a not so insignificant £23.99 in the UK on Xbox ONE and PC, £24.99 on PS4, but it will also include the rest of the season DLC, including the Last Maharajah Mission Pack in early 2016.
Story
As you might expect it’s set in the Victorian shadows of the autumn of 1888, when a series of gruesome murders spread fear throughout the east end of London. As the murders seemingly confound the forces of both Scotland Yard and the Metropolitan Police Force, Evie Frye must take up the hunt in a bid to catch the illusive killer as his actions threaten the existence of the Brotherhood of Assassins.
In a bizarre twist of reality meeting fantasy, the Jack The Ripper DLC arrives just as another significant work on the identity of the the murderer hits the bookshelf in Bruce Robinson’s They All Love Jack. The coincidence is compounded by the fact that it also involves a plot that features a variant of the real life Knights Templar, three assassins and an institutionalised cover up that goes right the way to the top. Crawford Starrick would have been proud. Whether you buy into it or not, it makes for a fascinating read and a good accompaniment to the new DLC.
The other point of the story is that it will also allow you to catch up with the characters we got to know and find out what happened to them in the rest of their lives. Clearly Evie is still leading the charge as a Master Assassin, but the trailer doesn’t really give that much away about Jacob or their other London pals, including Henry Green and Frederick Abberline, with the latter named in the real life investigation of Jack the Ripper.
Gameplay
The gameplay matches that of the core storyline of the main game, which you can read more about in our Assassin’s Creed Syndicate preview. However, here it’s just Evie you control as she’s drawn into the web of terror that blanketed Whitechapel in dread during the latter half of 1888. It’s set 20 years after the events of her last battle to save London, so she’s a little older than she was before, but from the look of the gameplay trailer below she’s still got the moves.
Graphics
Again, the graphics are the same impressive Victorian visuals we’ve enjoyed in main game since its release, but with inevitably a little more darkness and shadow as all of the killings took place during the small hours. In addition to the stylised night, which is probably a good way less gritty than it actually was back in the grim late 19th century, there’s also a very unique interpretation of Jack as having worn a Scarecrow-like sack cloth around his head as a mask. It’s a novel approach, and not at all based on anything from the history books, but it should help to ratchet up the tension as you draw closer to your dangerous mark.
First impressions
Macabre, grotesque and sinister, the Jack The Ripper DLC should be a thriller of an outing for the fairer half of the Frye twins. We’re not expecting much in the way of historical accuracy, although there are a few quotes from his letters in the trailer, but if it’s as good as the main game was then it should prove to be a funny little game ha ha. If you haven’t played the main campaign yet, read our Assassin’s Creed Syndicate review to find out more.
