Assassin's Creed Syndicate won't have chests locked behind a companion app

So good news for those who swore loudly at the below screen in Unity as Arno was unceremoniously locked out of a chest because you'd neglected to play a certain puzzle on your smartphone. Assassin's Creed Syndicate won't have a companion app at all. While the locked chests of Paris were eventually open to all, it's clear that Ubi doesn't want to repeat the woes of last year.

In a statement to GamesRadar+ Ubisoft has confirmed the lack of a second screen, stating "There will not be a companion app. For Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, the team wanted to focus all their efforts on the core experience." It's unfortunate that there won't be an app at all as Unity's companion had a few interesting features. While it also acted as a map, it was the first time that Ubi had ever given us examples of player behaviour. It was possible to view a heat-map of specific missions and see how fellow Assassins had tackled each situation. While in its infancy, it felt like this was something that could have been expanded on.

It's clear that Ubi Quebec has its eyes on a very specific single player game. No multiplayer, no co-op, no app and I'm heavily speculating here but I doubt Unity's confusing wardrobe system and four types of in game currency will have made the cut either. Syndicate is aiming to return to the ACs of yore where all that mattered was an Assassin, a city and some serious free running. The lack of any distractions from that is welcome news for the series.

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Louise Blain is a journalist and broadcaster specialising in gaming, technology, and entertainment. She is the presenter of BBC Radio 3’s monthly Sound of Gaming show and has a weekly consumer tech slot on BBC Radio Scotland. She can also be found on BBC Radio 4, BBC Five Live, Netflix UK's YouTube Channel, and on The Evolution of Horror podcast. As well as her work on GamesRadar, Louise writes for NME, T3, and TechRadar. When she’s not working, you can probably find her watching horror movies or playing an Assassin’s Creed game and getting distracted by Photo Mode.