Assassin’s Creed The Ezio Collection

Ubisoft

Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo SwitchPremium

Health Score

MIXED

Watch Gameplay

About This Game

Super Review

Assassin's Creed The Ezio Collection delivers an expansive historical single-player adventure, letting players explore Renaissance Italy as an assassin. While it offers significant content and educational hooks, its mature rating is well-earned due to intense violence, sexual themes, and strong language, making it suitable only for older teens. Parents should be aware of the mature themes before considering this collection.

Super Review

Parent verdict

With a 'Mixed' health score of 30, Assassin's Creed The Ezio Collection is a qualified fit best suited for mature older teens who are ready for its violent and adult themes. This collection offers a deep dive into historical settings without any monetization pressure or social risks, providing over 70 hours of content. The main tradeoff for parents is balancing the potential historical learning with the pervasive mature content, making it less appropriate for younger audiences.

What players actually do

Players engage in stealth to track targets, infiltrate guarded areas, and perform assassinations using hidden blades and other tools, exercising patience and strategic planning.
Players navigate detailed open-world cities by climbing buildings, leaping across rooftops, and performing parkour maneuvers, developing spatial awareness and agility.
Players participate in combat sequences using swords, fists, and counter-attacks against multiple foes, requiring quick reflexes and tactical decision-making.

Where it shines

The collection provides a strong immersive historical experience with accurately recreated Renaissance cities and the integration of historical figures, which can spark an interest in learning about the past.
It offers a very large amount of single-player content, including three full campaigns and all their downloadable add-ons, providing over 70 hours of gameplay for a one-time purchase without any further monetization.

Parent watch-outs

The game contains mature content, including intense and bloody violence, which is central to the gameplay, as players frequently engage in assassinations and combat.
Players will encounter strong language and sexual themes throughout the narrative, including implied sexual interactions, making it unsuitable for younger players.

Family rules worth setting

Set a rule that gameplay is only permitted when a parent is present or nearby, especially during story moments that may contain stronger language or sexual themes.
Establish a clear age boundary for play, ensuring that only older teens who can understand and process the mature themes and violence are allowed to play.

Talk about this

Discuss the historical context and fictionalized elements of the game: How much of what players see is historically accurate, and where does the game take creative liberties?
Talk about the ethical implications of the protagonist's actions: Are Ezio's assassinations always justified, and what are the consequences of his violent choices?

Play style

This is a single-player experience with no online features, so players will engage entirely solo. The gameplay involves a mix of exploration, stealth, and combat, with missions often requiring careful planning and execution. Difficulty is moderate, with optional challenges adding complexity. Players might need help understanding some historical contexts or navigating complex mission objectives, but the core mechanics are generally accessible for experienced action-adventure players. Sessions can vary from quick assassinations to longer exploration and story progression, offering a flexible rhythm.

Score Breakdown

Positive Aspects

Educational Value

4/5

Creativity

1/5

Pro-Social

0/5

Risk Factors

Addictive Monetization

0/5

Time Pressure / FOMO

0/5

Social Risk

0/5

Content Intensity

3/5

Why this rating

Educational Value

4/5

The game scores a 4 for Educational Value due to its rich historical settings, accurately recreated cities, and integration of historical figures and events from the Renaissance. While fictionalized for gameplay, it can stimulate players' interest in learning about 15th-16th century history.

Addictive Monetization

0/5

This collection receives a score of 0 for Addictive Monetization because it is a premium, one-time purchase with no in-game purchases, microtransactions, or time-pressure mechanics. All included single-player DLC is part of the initial purchase, meaning no additional spending is required to access content.

Content Intensity

3/5

Content Intensity scores a 3 because the game is rated M for Mature 17+ by the ESRB (and PEGI 18) due to descriptors like Blood, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, and Strong Language. The gameplay frequently involves graphic violence, and the narrative includes sexual themes and strong language, requiring parental discretion.

Negatives

•Contains mature content including intense and bloody violence, strong language, and sexual themes, making it unsuitable for younger players.
•Provides very limited creative opportunities, as players control a predefined character with customization mostly limited to unlockable outfits and gear.
•Does not include any pro-social or cooperative gameplay features, focusing entirely on a solo experience.

Positives

•Provides a strong immersive historical experience with accurately recreated cities and the integration of historical figures, which can spark an interest in learning about the Renaissance.
•Offers a very large amount of single-player content, including three full campaigns and all their downloadable add-ons, providing over 70 hours of gameplay.
•It is a one-time purchase with no in-game purchases, microtransactions, or time-pressure mechanics like daily rewards.
•As a completely single-player game with no online features, there is no risk of interaction with strangers or exposure to inappropriate chat.