It was recently revealed by Ubisoft that Austin Wintory will take care of composing duties in the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. This will likely please fans of the PlayStation indie hit Journey, as Wintory’s dynamic musical score helped make Journey one of 2012’s best games, actually winning a BAFTA award for its music.
The American composer, who has also written music for movies like Aftermath, has said he is an avid player of the Assassin’s Creed series, and stated in an interview on Ubisoft’s blog that he was “immediately excited at the prospect” when Ubisoft’s audio team reached out for him.
And it is clear that one of the strong points of the Assassin’s Creed games is how they let you enjoy the sights and sounds of another time and place (such as the Revolutionary Paris of last year’s Unity) due to their great visual design and atmospheric music. Assassin’s Creed II, arguably the best game in the series, had a great soundtrack by musician Jesper Kyd which combined modern and classical themes, and is one of the best video game soundtracks to date.
And gamers certainly have high expectations for Assassin’s Creed Syndicate (which will be released on October 23 for Xbox One and PS4 and on November 19 on PC), as last year’s Assassin’s Creed Unity had something of a poor release, shipping with a plethora of bugs.
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is shaping up to be a good entry in the series, though, and is also the first major Assassin’s Creed game to feature a female protagonist in Assassin Evie Frye. And going back to the music, composer Austin Wintory also stated on the Ubi blog that he drew inspiration for the game’s music from “the personalities of Jacob and Evie, and the fascinating, contradictory world of Victorian London”. The relationship between brothers Jacob and Evie will likely be one of the central themes of the game’s story, but if one thing is clear is that the cities the Assassin’s Creed games take place in are as much the protagonist as any character in the story. And speaking of the game’s setting, Victorian London, Wintory said that he was not looking to create a “period score” but to “make London beautiful and grimy at the same time”.
And it looks like Ubisoft will deliver with Assassin’s Creed Syndicate and that Wintory’s music will add to Syndicate’s gameplay, making it a more entertaining experience. And with the game’s release date around the corner, gamers will soon find out whether Ubisoft has managed to make the series feel fresh again with this latest instalment in the Assassin’s Creed franchise.
Note: Assassin’s Creed Syndicate will be released on October 23, 2015, on PS4 and Xbox One, and on November 19 on PC.