Every Game, Ranked By How Long They Take To Beat

Key Takeaways

• Assassin’s Creed
  games span various eras in history, thrilling fans with rich lore and engaging gameplay experiences.
• The franchise’s diverse titles cater to different playstyles, from short but intense adventures to lengthy, immersive narratives.
• Assassin’s Creed
  remains a beloved series, offering a mix of traditional stealth action and new RPG elements for players to enjoy.

Often, video game franchises outlive their expiry and span for several games longer than they should. Assassin’s Creed is not one of those, despite being a series consisting of countless games. Assassin’s Creed is indeed a phenomenal franchise, and fans are always eagerly waiting for the next installment.

The following completion estimates are based on the Main Story tallies from howlongtobeat.com. The Assassin’s Creed games are now more prolonged and more immersive than ever before. Exploring eras from world history to combat the Templars, or whatever form they might take, is gaming at its peak.

Updated on October 28th, 2024, by Rhenn Taguiam: With the 2023 release of Assassin’s Creed Mirage marking the celebration of the franchise’s 15th Anniversary, fans of Assassin’s Creed who want a return to form for the franchise may finally use this story’s adventures of series newcomer Basim Ibn Ishaq to go back to the series’ stealthier origins. However, fans who want to choose other Assassin’s Creed titles to play might want to check out just what other entries are available in the franchise that they can enjoy while waiting for new releases like AC Shadows. Thankfully, players looking for both shorter and longer experiences can count on a plethora of Assassin’s Creed titles to scratch that assassination itch. However, when choosing an Assassin’s Creed game to play, just what did each title offer the franchise?

23 Assassin’s Creed Freedom Cry

4 Hours

Gamers will be in for a short but very special treat as they join Adéwalé in an escape from captivity. There is perhaps no Assassin more worthy of the Order than this one, who understands, at a painfully personal level, that freedom is not merely a philosophical idea.

Freedom Cry is the shortest game in the series because it was originally scheduled to be DLC for Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, but with a unique protagonist, Ubisoft, and gamers, agreed that, though short, it deserved to be its own game.

Assassin’s Creed Freedom Cry: What Made It Unique?

This separate title acts as more of a standalone accompaniment to Black Flag, retaining much of the game’s structure and mechanics. Freedom Cry introduces a new gameplay feature where players can now free African slaves—an act that lets players accumulate resources to upgrade Adewale’s armaments and weapons. Players can also recruit Maroons to help them in combat. As with its accompanying mainline title, Freedom Cry lets players commandeer ships and engage in naval warfare to capture other vessels.

22 Assassin’s Creed: Altair’s Chronicles

5 Hours

Many people haven’t tried out Altair’s Chronicles, an Assassin’s Creed game on the Nintendo DS that was surprisingly engaging in its own right. This game made the most of the hardware it was on, using a 2D sidescrolling format along with the ingenious use of the DS touchscreen to make it a great game for fans to check out.

The game features Altair in a leading role, which is apparent given the game’s title. Fans of this protagonist who want to explore another adventure with him should definitely check out Altair’s Chronicles, which is still an engaging game to play through, even if it may feel dated at times.

Assassin’s Creed: Altair’s Chronicles: What Made It Unique?

This title isn’t open world, although many of the franchise’s trademark elements remain: stealth assassinations, hack-and-slash combat, and parkour. Combat is made more simplistic, with strong and weak attacks forming the basis of a majority of combos alongside a blocking feature.

21 Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India

5.5 Hours

The Assassin’s Creed series isn’t really known for experimenting, so the Chronicles trilogy was a pleasant surprise indeed. The shift to 2.5D environments with classic Assassin’s Creed gameplay is a blast.

It helps that the series tackles various environments around the world that haven’t been explored in these games before. This includes Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India, which is a great game in its own right and clocks in at just shy of 6 hours.

Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India: What Made It Unique?

Chronicles: India retains the 2.5D gameplay style of the other Chronicles games. This time around, it has the Silencer rank that can be obtained when taking down enemies through non-lethal attacks. Protagonist Arbaaz Mir has a sword, an urumi (sword with whip-like blade), a chakram, a katar with a bagh nakh, as well as a slingshot and smoke bombs.

20 Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines

6 Hours

The Assassin’s Creed series has experimented with its fair share of portable titles, with Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines easily being their most ambitious title by far in this context. This game serves as a direct sequel to the first title and is a great game to check out for fans of the series who want to experience another adventure with Altair.

The game may be pretty simple nowadays, given the modern standards of Assassin’s Creed titles, but there’s no denying that it has its fair share of draws that make it worth checking out for fans of the series. Playing this game can be pretty challenging in modern times, but fans of Assassin’s Creed who have the means to check out this underrated title should definitely do so.

Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines: What Made It Unique?

One of the most noticeable aspects of Bloodlnes is the presence of very few civilians, which makes social stealth almost impossible except in select areas. In fact, the PSP’s limited hardware makes stealth extremely limited—scaling is much faster, blending is more simplistic, and profiles (high/low) aren’t as elaborate. One unique feature in the game is how Altair can reclaim his throwing knives, done by walking over them.

19 Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China

6 Hours

• Platform(s): PC, PS4, PS Vita, Xbox One
• Released: 2015-04-21
• Developer(s): Climax Studios

The first game in the Assassin’s Creed Chronicles series was set in China and is a ton of fun to play through. Players follow Shao Jun and the trials she faces as one of the last members of the Chinese Brotherhood of Assassins.

As is the case with most of the Assassin’s Creed Chronicles games, the 2.5D gameplay of the series is quite fun indeed. It’s surprising to see just how well the gameplay of the Assassin’s Creed series fits within these restrictions.

Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China: What Made It Unique?

This 2.5D title is rather straightforward in its gameplay and missions. Players use stealth to hide from enemies or create distractions to avoid getting in their vision cones, lest they run the risk of being overwhelmed by enemy forces. Moreover, players have to fight enemies using light or strong attacks to weaken them enough for assassinations. Protagonist Shao Jun has a jian sword as well as firecrackers, throwing knives, and distracting darts.

18 Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russia

6.5 Hours

• Platform(s): PC, PS4, PS Vita, Xbox One
• Released: 2016-02-09
• Developer(s): Climax Studios

The final game in the Assassin’s Creed Chronicles series takes place in Russia. The game is set in 1918, which is a setting that’s quite a blast to explore.

Players control Nikolai Orelov as he strives to complete one last mission for the Order before fleeing the country with his family. It’s a harrowing and brilliant tale, although the gameplay of the series might get pretty stale by this point.

Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russia: What Made It Unique?

The gameplay in Chronicles: Russia is similar to the other Chronicles titles, with mission ranking now including Silence should players take down foes using non-lethal attacks. Protagonist Nikolai Orelov has a unique Berdan rifle equipped with a bayonet, allowing from to attack in melee or range at the same time. His grapnel gun can produce electric shocks to kill opponents standing on puddles or short-circuit electronics to create shadowy areas in which he can hide.

17 Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation

8 Hours

For a spinoff, it’s amazing to see just how much work has been put into Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation. It might not do a lot to innovate upon the gameplay of the series, but it’s still fun to play through regardless.

Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation is a fun romp, although it might be limited by its identity as a spinoff. This reflects in its runtime too, which isn’t really all that impressive either.

Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation: What Made It Unique?

Chain Kills are introduced in this Vita title, allowing Aveline to kill many enemies in quick succession. Aveline’s personas also provide unique fighting styles, such as the socializing Lady, the social-stealthing Slave, and the combat-oriented Assassin. As the game uses the same engine as Assassin’s Creed 3, many of its animations are reused, with the overall gameplay retooled to be compatible with the Vita’s touchpad, gyroscope, and cameras.

16 Assassin’s Creed Rogue

10.5 Hours

Assassin’s Creed Rogue is the second-shortest game in Assassin’s Creed mainline history. It was released after Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, and it incorporates ship-based combat like its predecessor. The length is misleading, as the main character Shay Cormac kills some very significant characters in the Assassin’s Creed universe.

Although not as highly acclaimed as other installments, completionists will find around 40 hours of engaging content. It’s worth noting that an Xbox One and PlayStation 4 remaster of the game are available for purchase.

Assassin’s Creed Rogue: What Made It Unique?

Similar to Black Flag, the gameplay in Rogue emphasizes ship-based movement and combat on the open seas, with enemies now able to board the player’s vessel. Players also get access to an air rifle that can take out enemies at a distance. Assassins that players fight in the game possess a similar skillset to that of the player, including air assassinations and social stealth. Shay’s equipment and ship can be upgraded via crafting.

15 Assassin’s Creed Revelations

12.5 Hours

The final game in the Ezio Auditore da Firenze trilogy comes to an end in this epic journey. The game focuses on Ezio’s adventure as he follows his mentor, Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad.

For reference, Altaïr was the protagonist of the first Assassin’s Creed game. For those wanting to gain insight into integral characters of the franchise, Assassin’s Creed Revelations is a must-play. It will take players, on average, 12.5 hours to complete the main story.

Assassin’s Creed Revelations: What Made It Unique?

Controlling a more aged Ezio is reflected in the adjusted mechanics of Revelations, where the Hidden Blade is now replaced by the Hookblade that can help him climb buildings much faster and traverse Constantinople via ziplines. In combat, the Hookblade can pull enemies to Ezio for attacks. The game now allows players to create a variety of bombs to use in their missions. Territories also make a return in the game, where players can slowly take over Templar territories in Constantinople and even recruit Assassins who they can train and station there. Unlike in other games, leaving an area alone for too long or without expanding territory can see the Templars attempt to reclaim the area, forcing Ezio into a mini-game where he and other Assassins have to defeat Templar forces.

14 Assassin’s Creed

15 Hours

This next entry brings us to the first Assassin’s Creed game ever made. Many will criticize the game for its stagnant player movements and repetitiveness, yet it laid the framework for later Assassin’s Creed games.

Inspired by Prince of Persia, which is a spiritual predecessor, we’re glad Ubisoft didn’t give up on this IP. It takes 15 hours to beat the original Assassin’s Creed, and it offers less value for completionists compared to other games in the series.

Assassin’s Creed: What Made It Unique?

Being the game that started it all, Assassin’s Creed introduced many of the fundamentals in the series. The open-world, third-person environment made it refreshing for players to explore, especially with the accurate depictions of its historical settings and slightly interactive NPCs. In the game, players need to find the Brotherhood HQ in each city before being given a mission, during which they need to embark on quests such as reconnaissance missions and exploration before engaging in the actual assassination of a major NPC. Side quests involve collecting memory files to improve the player’s (and Desmond’s) understanding of Altair. The game’s stealth mechanic is a refreshing take on the genre, as Altair can use social stealth to blend in with crowds and evade enemies by climbing to high surfaces or hiding in haystacks.

13 Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood

15 Hours

The second installment of the Ezio Auditore da Firenze trilogy deserves recognition for being an overall solid game. The story focuses on the Templars, who essentially plot to take over the world. They believe that humanity is inherently corrupt and that only they can bring balance to the world.

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood takes players, on average, around 16 hours to beat the main campaign. It’s shorter than most Assassin’s Creed games but well worth a playthrough.

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood: What Made It Unique?

This game puts more emphasis on aggression, with first-strikes being far deadlier than counters. The more aggressive NPCs also mean Ezio can use both melee and ranged weapons at the same time, with throwables making it easier to kill multiple opponents. The game’s titular Brotherhood System allows players to recruit Assassin trainees that they can call into battle or assign to missions, for which they can either permanently die or return and gain experience.

12 Assassin’s Creed Mirage

15.5 Hours

The fact that Assassin’s Creed Mirage finally went back to the series’ roots after it dabbled way too much in massive worlds and RPG-esque design was a source of great relief for many. Sure, Mirage may not be perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but players who don’t mind the corners this game cuts will have a great time with what’s on offer here.

Mirage is a pretty short game where quests can be tackled in any order. Unfortunately, the lackadaisical nature of the writing leads to plot threads becoming rather muddled and disconnected from the main, which isn’t really all that satisfying.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage: What Made It Unique?

Considered a return to the form of the classic Assassin’s Creed titles, Mirage follows a more straightforward gameplay loop instead of the RPG-esque flow of the “RPG Trilogy” titles. Mirage introduces a new ability called Assassin Focus that lets players kill many enemies at once, which can then be recharged by performing stealth skills. Activating Assassin Focus slows time to a halt, allowing players to mark up to five foes to be included in a fast-paced stealth kill animation. The game retains the Black Box system for creative assassinations, as well as a skill tree to upgrade weapons with different skills. Player character Basim retains his Eagle Vision and bird companion, allowing players to scan various areas. However, the avian companion can be detected and shot, requiring players to kill any marksmen first before using their bird once more.

11 Assassin’s Creed 3

16.5 Hours

Assassin’s Creed 3 scored above-average reviews when it was released in 2012. Like many of the games from the Assassin’s Creed franchise, Assassin’s Creed 3 was eventually remastered. The game’s stealth-based combat is awe-inspiring.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see this game remade years from now. Set during the American Revolution, completing Assassin’s Creed 3 takes players 16 hours on average as they take down British occupiers and some critical templar targets among them.

Assassin’s Creed 3: What Made It Unique?

This game trades freerunning for a more fluid parkour system that makes running and climbing a more natural part of movement—a welcome addition alongside the game’s weather system. The more lush environments contribute to environmental stealth, where grass and snow can decrease the player’s visibility. Players can now dual-wield weapons and even access pistols, although the close-combat part of fighting no longer requires locking on to opponents. Players can recruit up to six Assassin recruits with unique personalities, and their skillset includes setting up ambushes, providing cover, and even starting riots.

10 Assassin’s Creed Unity

17 Hours

Assassin’s Creed Unity put a unique spin on the Assassin’s Creed franchise by introducing online co-op. This open-world game may have remarkable gameplay, but numerous glitches prevent the game from reaching its potential.

This game will take players around 17 hours to beat. With the help of friends, however, players might be able to beat the game in a mere 12 hours. A second player also alleviates the recurring issue of female characters not getting enough screen time in Assassin’s Creed games.

Assassin’s Creed Unity: What Made It Unique?

The game features a near 1:1 recreation of Paris divided into major districts, with a crowd system that enables as many as 30,000 NPCs to appear simultaneously—perfect for the game’s French Revolution setting. Side quests are divided into various types and can be triggered depending on how they are encountered. Combat heavily features fencing, with stealth kills involving the new Phantom Blade that blends the Hidden Blade alongside a crossbow. Linear assassinations are traded out in favor of the Black Box, which makes kills more creative. Crowds conduct various activities organically, which players can join in on and use for their missions. This is the first game in the series to feature a skill system, as well as co-op, where many players can join in on missions.

9 Assassin’s Creed Syndicate

19 Hours

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is set in the Victorian era in London. Players experience a sense of realism as they delve into its immersive world that looks like something straight out of a Charles Dickens book.

The Jack the Ripper DLC adds so much to the original game and is well worth the purchase. Being able to play as a male and a female was a nice turn for the franchise and offered variety to the gameplay thanks to the characters’ different movesets.

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate: What Made It Unique?

Aside from the more “modern” setting of the second Industrial Revolution, players are introduced to Evie, the first playable female character in the mainline franchise (Vita exclusive spin-off Liberation excluded). Syndicate has a more creative set of weapons, such as brass knuckles, cane-swords, and compact revolvers. Clothing and a separate skill system now expand the player’s abilities, with the combat system now involving chaining attacks. Players can take enemies hostage and get access to special assassinations based on existing conditions. Side content now involves the creation and expansion of a street gang known as the Rooks.

8 Assassin’s Creed 2

19 Hours

Released in 2009, Assassin’s Creed 2 is widely considered the best Assassin’s Creed game for its polished and dynamic gameplay, and it didn’t hurt to have the intriguing and beloved Ezio as a protagonist, either.

It takes approximately 19 hours to beat the game’s campaign. Its story includes historical figures, such as Leonardo da Vinci and Pope Alexander VI. Small nuances like being able to collect income from the Villa Auditore, a familial home, make Assassin’s Creed 2 stand out in the best way possible.

Assassin’s Creed 2: What Made It Unique?

The success of the original Assassin’s Creed made Assassin’s Creed 2 much larger and much grander; a database now provides more information about the game, while the world is more immersive with mechanics such as swimming, various methods of traversal, and requiring medicine or street-side vendors to heal major injuries. Thanks to the presence of Leonardo da Vinci, players can craft various types of weapons (e.g. dual hidden blades, a hidden gun) to fight with. NPCs are more dynamic and reactive, giving Ezio the ability to cause widespread panic by dumping a corpse somewhere public. In combat, Ezio now has the opportunity to counter opponents and disarm them.

7 Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag

23.5 Hours

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag was a launch game for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It was a groundbreaking achievement for the scale of its world. The campaign has a few dull following missions, like many of the Assassin’s Creed games, yet it has a little something for everyone.

Fighting jaguars and crocodiles or a notorious group of pirates as the dynamic Edward Kenway makes the game well worth the playthrough. Completing this game will take around 24 hours, even if fewer filler sections could’ve appropriately shortened its length.

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag: What Made It Unique?

Set during the Golden Age of Piracy, Black Flag places a bigger emphasis on exploring the open seas via a pirate ship. Players can now hunt land and sea animals, as well as constantly upgrade both Edward and their ship with new features. Recruitment returns to the franchise, albeit this time, recruits can now be assigned to commandeer ships that players have acquired.

6 Assassin’s Creed Origins

30 Hours

As the first game of the “new” format, Assassin’s Creed Origins proved to gamers that a 30-hour-long campaign is not too long for Assassin’s Creed. The game contains real-world locations like the Great Pyramid of Giza, but it provides a glimpse into how they might have appeared in ancient Egypt.

Many players had issues with the RPG elements of Assassin’s Creed Origins, but there’s no denying that the game revitalized the series in a much-needed reimagining of what an Assassin’s Creed game really is. Origins set the template for later titles in the series to follow, which was either a source of celebration or disappointment for fans.

Assassin’s Creed Origins: What Made It Unique?

Origins marks the return of underwater exploration, which hasn’t been included in any game since Black Flag. The open-world exploration and XP-based gameplay is similar to Odyssey, though in this precursor combat moves to a hitbox system that allows players to damage whatever area is in range of their weapons. This causes players to occasionally miss attacks, making it a more traditional hack-and-slash title.

5 Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection

36.5 Hours

The lack of stringent third-party restrictions on the Switch has compelled many developers to launch ports of their established titles on this console, and Ubisoft is no exception to this rule. They’ve released The Rebel Collection on the Switch, which features ports of Black Flag and Rogue, two games that fans love, especially when it comes to Edward Kenway’s adventures.

Both games feature a decent runtime that can be expanded considerably if players complete all the side content present here. The collection itself stakes a claim for being one of the longest Assassin’s Creed games around, even if it qualifies for the same on a technicality. While Rogue didn’t make as much of an impression as Black Flag, that shouldn’t stop players from enjoying this title if more Assassin’s Creed is what they’re after.

Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection: What Made It Unique?

This Nintendo Switch exclusive includes not just enhanced graphics but also modifications to fit the console. Changes include HD rumble, a handheld version, a touch-screen HUD, and even aiming via motion controls.

4 Assassin’s Creed: Pirates

40 Hours

• Platform(s): Android, iOS
• Released: 2013-12-05
• Developer: Ubisoft Paris

It was clear that Ubisoft developed a winning formula when it came to naval traversal and combat in games like Black Flag. Players loved engaging in sea battles and exploring the world as a pirate, so it was logical for the company to release a mobile-only Assassin’s Creed game that would double down on the whole concept of piracy.

In Assassin’s Creed: Pirates, players control an up-and-coming pirate by the name of Alonzo Batilla, building up a crew and exploring the Caribbean on their ship as they complete various story missions and side activities. The naval combat was the title’s highlight and was just engaging enough for players to spend forty or so hours completing everything this mobile title had to offer.

Assassin’s Creed: Pirates: What Made It Unique?

This game puts an emphasis on naval combat, where players have to use Alonzo’s ship to explore new locations in the Carribean. There isn’t a modern-day story running parallel to the game, and instead, players simply find more details about the meta-story by finding lost “files.” Leveling up allows players to unlock crew members via the tavern, which is also the hub where players can unlock new skills.