Ubisoft Forward just happened, and after a solid 45-minute conference, we have quite a few reasons to be excited for the company's latest titles. Additionally, Ubisoft had been keeping quiet about when we could get our hands on some of their biggest titles, but now, the release dates for many of them have been revealed.
From Far Cry 6’s incredible cinematic trailers to Assassin Creed Valhalla’s refined gameplay presentation, here are our most anticipated Ubisoft games.
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Watch Dogs: Legion
Ubisoft Forward opened up with an incredible animation by Alberto Milego, which gave us a look at the type of world we could expect to traverse within Watch Dogs: Legion. With a gripping sense of hectic style, I couldn’t help but fantasize about the entire game being animated this way, as it’s genuinely gorgeous. After this cinematic trailer was shown, Ubisoft gave us an in-depth look at how many different ways you could approach a mission.
It’s quite clear that Watch Dogs: Legion is going to have a focus on flexibility, as you can play as professional assassins, aloof hackers, construction workers, aggressive drunks or just ordinary people. Each of these playable archetypes will have their own fighting styles, arsenals and abilities. This is definitely cool, as it allows for a wide range of choice. Watch Dogs Legion is releasing on October 29.
Far Cry 6
It’s unfortunate that Far Cry 6 was leaked, because the two trailers shown at Ubisoft Forward provided an excellent mixture of mystery and tensity. The first trailer was essentially an ambiguous montage that more so resembled the opening of a TV thriller than an announcement trailer for a game. I could easily imagine fans scrambling to try and figure out what announcement could’ve been made had it not been already spoiled for us.
With the second trailer, Giancarlo Esposito absolutely steals the spotlight, showing that the Far Cry series is most certainly continuing its trend of terrifying and memorable villains. For the first time in a while, I’m actually excited to see what Far Cry 6 will look like. The tone has been established in a way that we haven’t seen with the series in a long time. Far Cry 6 seems far more serious, whereas the rest of the series has been a mixture of hilarious and insane. Far Cry 6 is officially releasing on February 21, 2021.
Hyperscape
Hyperscape is Ubisoft’s attempt at jumping into the Battle Royale scene, and they’ve definitely chosen a unique way to do so. Rather than mimicking what Apex Legends and Fortnite have accomplished, Hyperscape resembles arena shooters and classic FPS games more so than a traditional battle royale. The fast-paced nature of the movement, gravity and gunplay makes it seem like this will be an incredibly intense experience.
One thing that I’m personally curious about is this cinematic trailer, which seems like it was not at all crafted for a battle royale. There’s a lot of lore to unpack here, but the most pressing story elements refer to a dark mystery at the center of the Hyperscape.
Does this imply there will be a shifting narrative that changes the state of the game, similar to how Fortnite consistently alters their map? Furthermore, Hyperscape isn’t actually the name of the battle royale game, it’s the name of the simulation within the world. Crown Rush is the battle royale, which might mean Ubisoft intends to include other game modes under the umbrella of Hyperscape in the future. However, that’s just a crazy theory. Hyperscape’s open beta is available to all PC players today.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla shows that Ubisoft has taken criticisms of Odyssey to heart and are working on making the game the best it can be. Primarily, the combat looks far more fluid, intense and brutal. The multiple ways in which the player can smoothly dodge, strike or use special abilities creates for incredibly cinematic combat. As players have found recent entries in the Assassin’s Creed franchise to be lacking in their stealth mechanics, it seems as if Valhalla is working on restoring some of that.
Furthermore, the game’s environments seem incredibly unique and varied. The gameplay trailer shown at Ubisoft Forward gave us a glimpse at a handful of beautiful areas to explore, ones which had a wide range of color use and a great understanding of how to present fauna and flora in magnificent ways. Additionally, I’m highly anticipating how the game plays with Norse mythology to provide an experience that’s magical. Sure, the series could remain more gritty and grounded, but being able to face off against powerful monsters is sure to be a good time. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is set to release on November 17.
