The stage is set, and Acharky and I are ready to finally stop The Tyranny of King Washington.

Streamed at https://www.twitch.tv/newdarkcloud

As I said when we ended the base game, I left this DLC happy to have played it. The development team is clearly having more fun with the core mechanics of Assassin’s Creed, experimenting the way they couldn’t if this was a canon entry. My time with the game was all the more positive for this DLC’s inclusion.

We’ll have more to talk about with our final thoughts next time. For now, take care and stay safe.

If we want a chance at the Mad King George, Acharky and I’ll need to stoke dissent among his people. The best kind of unrest is Civil Unrest.

Streamed at https://www.twitch.tv/newdarkcloud

It was basically impossible for both Acharky and I to play through this segment of the DLC without tying it into the real world issues we have in year 2025. I won’t get into too much here, but it was at the fore of our minds as we stoked civil unrest. The parallels are a little too obvious to ignore.

I enjoyed this DLC ultimately, but this is an undeniably strange time to play it.

Our allies have tried and failed valiantly to defeat Mad King George. Fortunately, Acharky and I are here to turn the tides!

Streamed at https://www.twitch.tv/newdarkcloud

Small relief that the dropped frames from the stream don’t seem to be noticeable on the recording. The problem was just showing up for people who streamed it live. You, dear viewers, won’t suffer the same fate.

Our last power definitely justifies itself here in the finale. I’ve complained more than once about the many, many goons this DLC throws our way, and how they make it practically impossible to walk the streets without being accosted. The ability to consume one-quarter of our health to instantly defeat most enemies with a powerful Area-of-Effect attack eliminates that problem almost entirely. Now we can run the streets, reach our destination, and then use the Bear to quickly take out whatever fools followed us on the way.

Admittedly, this strategy doesn’t feel very “Assassin-like”. This version of Ratonhnhaké꞉ton wears more the mantle of an action hero than a stealthy killer, but in context it works. And since we’ve had two episodes prior where stealth has been a major focus, it’s okay to give the player room to let loose.

With Episode 2 finished, and a bit of time left on the clock, Acharky and I decided that we’d best start the final episode of The Tyranny of King Washington.

Streamed at https://www.twitch.tv/newdarkcloud

It’s nice to get some ship combat in before we reach our final destination. But now that’s we’re in New York, odds are that we’ll be finished in the next recording. Until then, take care!

Ben Franklin’s mind is now his own, and he’s ready to help Acharky and I stop The Tyranny of King Washington!

Streamed at https://www.twitch.tv/newdarkcloud

While I’m glad that, now over halfway through the DLC and having finished the base game, I am finally getting comfortable with the changes to the game’s combat system. That said, I confess that I wish there wasn’t quite so much fighting in this DLC.

It’s always been a weakness of Assassin’s Creed, even after the revamp that Origins gave to combat. No matter what game we’re talking about, it’s just not as fun to be in conflict as it is to live out the stealth fantasy. Of course, one could reasonably argue that’s how these games should be, since all of the protagonists are assassins.

It would just be nice if the mission design team understood that.

Perhaps the key to beating King Washington is to break his mind control over Ben Franklin. If so, Acharky and I know what to do.

Streamed at https://www.twitch.tv/newdarkcloud

Having had a day to process some of my feelings from this play session, I can’t help but feel that this DLC, in some part, laid the groundwork for the current generation of Assassin’s Creed games. Ever since Assassin’s Creed 2, the franchise has been reducing it’s focus on social stealth and blending into the crowds and environment.

And while this game is no different in that regard, it is different in that the intent is to use our powers either to remain invisible as we roam the streets, or fly over the streets by soaring from point-to-point. Since we’re in permanent max notoriety, it’s impossible to lean on keeping a low profile and blending in as necessary. In other words, where the previous games start to lose focus on social stealth, The Tyranny of King Washington abandons it entirely as a concept.

It has more in common with works of its generation of AC in terms of UI and controls, but in terms of design principals it has more in common with games like Unity and onward than something like the Altair and Ezio games.

We’ve finished the first of three episodes to The Tyranny of King Washington, and Acharky is eager to lead me into Episode 2.

Streamed at https://www.twitch.tv/newdarkcloud

You can tell that the development team was having fun with this DLC, because it experiments with the form of an Assassin’s Creed game in ways that, for the time, were unique and novel.

I don’t just refer to the powers, which we’ll discuss in later episodes, but in the way it uses and remixes established tropes of the franchise. To my knowledge, no villain, before or since, has ever attacked us while in the middle of another target’s memory corridor/white room confession the way King Washington did. Similarly, the memory corridor isn’t often used to show us Sky Journeys like the ones that give Ratonhnhaké꞉ton his powers.

Doing something deliberately non-canon, even if it didn’t perform well, liberated them to make bolder choices and the final product is stronger for.

We have new wolf powers and a target. This is still an Assassin’s Creed game at the end of the day, so let Acharky and I actually do the job implied by the title.

Streamed at https://www.twitch.tv/newdarkcloud

We didn’t do the Benedict Arnold side quest for the Let’s Play, but it is funny to see Ratonhnhaké꞉ton absolutely refuse to believe that this Benedict is completely separate from the man who would betray Washington in his original series of events.

So far, so good. I’m having a blast with this DLC and I look forward to starting Episode 2 next time.

It’s clear that as we are now, Acharky and I are no match for Mad King George. Fortunately for us, there are ways aside from the Pieces of Eden to gain superpowers, and we’re going to take advantage of them.

Streamed at https://www.twitch.tv/newdarkcloud

What can I say? We have magic wolf powers now and they’re fun to use. We can even summon them as Jojo stands!

If I had any doubts regarding this DLC, it would be whether or not this is respectful to Native American culture. I truly don’t know, and I would need to ask someone in that community what their thoughts on it are. Any reading beyond that would be purely a gut feeling unsubstantiated with any evidence or logic.

But with that caveat, I’m just having a good-ol’ time.

Alright, with all of our prior obligations handled, it is time to begin The Tyranny of King Washington!

Streamed at https://www.twitch.tv/newdarkcloud
Acharky at https://bsky.app/profile/acharky.bsky.social

While certain missions go on just a bit longer than it feels like they need to, thus far gameplay-wise this is all fairly typical of an Assassin’s Creed game of this era. I don’t have much to say about the moment-to-moment action that I haven’t already said about the other Desmond games.

And yet, I have having the time of my life watched Ratonhnhaké꞉ton become dislodged from the reality he knows and thrust into the absolutely, delightfully absurd what-if scenario where George Washington becomes the most delightfully evil cartoon supervillain. It is honestly an inspired choice to just use the existing lore and do something fun with it. Something that, while technically possible in Assassin’s Creed canon, is so over-the-top that even Ubisoft would never make it part of the official timeline.

I can’t wait to punish this little shit.