Visit London with a free copy of Assassin's Creed Syndicate

Syndicate's 1868 backdrop stands out through its environment décor and the societal themes examining the costs of the world's progress. Child labor, rampant inequality, dangerous factory conditions, and gang activity present a darker lens into often romanticized British imperialism.

While Assassin's Creed has since expanded into sprawling ancient territories like Egypt and Scandinavia, Syndicate and its relatively restrained take on London brims with hand-crafted personality. Critics praised Ubisoft's eye for historical authenticity through city aesthetics and supporting characters. That rich ambient immersion combines with satisfyingly snappy melee flow and stealth mobility to create an exemplary Assassin's experience. It's arguably pinnacle of the series blueprint - open-ended mission approaches facilitating smooth parkour, sly assassination, or aggressive skirmishing with equal aplomb.

Unfortunately, Syndicate suffered for two reasons outside of its control: the hype and subsequent failure surrounding a failed release in Assassin's Creed Unity and overall series fatigue.

As previously mentioned, Syndicate was released at a time when Ubisoft was still busy churning out a new Assassin's Creed a year. This all came to a head in 2014 with Unity, which became infamous for its bugs and coming after Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, which is getting a remake, by the way. The success of Syndicate and Assassin's Creed Rogue weren't enough to save the series from imminent doom, resulting in a total reboot with Assassin's Creed Origins. Nevertheless, time has been kind to Syndicate, with many enjoying its refined executive and the strong narrative closure to earlier Assassins-Templar storylines.

Either way, revisiting Jacob and Evie's charismatic quest to reclaim London delivers great value, made even sweeter at a full $49.99 markdown. Since Syndicate predates Assassin's Creed's broader RPG transformation, its streamlined scope may better suit players wanting classic stab-happy escapism rather than sprawling stat micromanagement bloat.

Now just over seven years removed from launch, Assassin's Creed Syndicate's free distribution reintroduces a sterling, self-contained franchise chapter to new audiences. Its compelling twin leads and gloomy Dickensian ambience unrelated to wider mythology also lower barriers for casual history fans.

With Ubisoft steering recent outings like Assassin's Creed Mirage back towards stealth-action gameplay, Syndicate is an ideal aperitif highlighting hallmark gameplay finesse before the formula enlarged into a globe-trotting fantasy feast.

Opportunistic gamers have under a week left to shore up their backlogs by claiming one of the series' most unsung and underrated outings absolutely free of charge, courtesy of Ubisoft.

Ubisoft most recently came under fire for inserting pop-up advertisements for Mirage during gameplay. It blames the errant promotions on a technical error, but fans aren't quite convinced. It's highly likely that giving away Syndicate is part of Ubisoft's way of appeasing the crowd. If this isn't enough, Mirage is getting a free update in December. Finally, the next Assassin's Creed game is in development over at Ubisoft Bordeaux.