So I fired up some Unity last night. I only got to play a small portion of it, because my download got interrupted over the course of the day, and I only had a fraction of playable data to work with.

Still, it gave me a taste of the game, and I got up this morning and played another couple of hours. I’ve got Arno as a proper assassin now. What follows are strictly my first impressions. My initial, gut feelings after a few hours with the game.

First off, I don’t think an AC (or most games) have ever looked this good. Paris is gorgeous. Faces are really well done. I did attend a ball where every woman was wearing the same dress in different colors, but things like that are easily glossed over in deference to the sheer number of NPCS they put on screen at once.

The game is rough. There are glitches, bugs, jankyness, all of it is here. Everyone has been talking about it the last 24 hours, and my experience was no different. There’s definitely some raw edges to this game. I’ve not yet decided on whether or not it’s enough to drag the game down below enjoyable for me.

I’ve heard it said that Arno is dull and uninteresting. I haven’t found that to be the case just yet. I think he’s played well, and his facial animations lend him a lot of humanity and believability. I will say that after playing a swashbuckling pirate, there’s no way a french nobleman’s brat was never going to be quite as engaging, but that’s not a fault with Arno himself.

Ultimately I need at least another few hours with the game. I’ll get those tonight, likely on stream if you want to tune in and join the conversation. Keep an eye on my Twitter feed for an announcement when I go live (or subscribe to my Twitch channel).

I’ll have a play it/don’t play it verdict by Friday.