YOU GUYS — Rock Paper Shotgun just dropped an essay on why Assassin's Creed Hexe should be less of a continent-sized open world and more like 1666: Amsterdam, and it is the most compelling game design argument I have read in ages! The writer takes the ubiquitous AC formula — what we already know from Assassins Crest to Odyssey — and compares it to whatever you can expect from Hexe's witch-hunt setting. But the real point isn't about graphics or even narrative; it's a fundamental critique of what 'open world' means in modern gaming versus where 1666 went instead.
Imagine this: Assassin's Creed is built on a fantasy of freedom that actually hides quite constrained interaction — you can travel everywhere, but few places respond to your presence meaningfully because the map is designed as a series of activities rather than a living space. Hexe will likely be another Ubisoft playground with icons for everyone to follow, while 1666 creates genuine agency through interconnected systems: resources flow from trade networks and guilds, political alliances are forged through dialogue choices that actually have consequences months later in the game's chronology, and your characters age — you see children grow into adults and old allies die off. That isn't a scripted event; it's the result of systems talking to each other.
The essay is essentially arguing for Hexe to lean into 1666's approach: less map-clearing, more dense interaction in one location over time. Rock Paper Shotgun argues that 1666 succeeds because every system feeds another — your merchant contacts become allies who give you information; guild memberships affect which characters can join the party and later influence political faction standing. This is what a real RPG means by the definition: systems creating emergent gameplay rather than scripted sequences. Instead of traveling across three regions, 1666 lets Amsterdam be deep enough that every alley feels relevant, because your actions there have been recorded throughout your playthrough.
I'm telling you this now because I want Hexe to take notice — Ubisoft could learn from the way Hexe manages its world as a living organism rather than an open-world empty shell. If Assassin's Creed embraced even ten percent of 1666's design philosophy, it would fundamentally elevate what every modern game claims to be: immersive and reactive. For anyone who has ever hit a wall in an open world where they can go everywhere but nothing seems to happen — this is the answer.
Source: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/wonky-witch-fable-1666-amsterdam-is-the-kind-of-sexy-nonsense-i-want-from-assassins-creed-hexe
Imagine this: Assassin's Creed is built on a fantasy of freedom that actually hides quite constrained interaction — you can travel everywhere, but few places respond to your presence meaningfully because the map is designed as a series of activities rather than a living space. Hexe will likely be another Ubisoft playground with icons for everyone to follow, while 1666 creates genuine agency through interconnected systems: resources flow from trade networks and guilds, political alliances are forged through dialogue choices that actually have consequences months later in the game's chronology, and your characters age — you see children grow into adults and old allies die off. That isn't a scripted event; it's the result of systems talking to each other.
The essay is essentially arguing for Hexe to lean into 1666's approach: less map-clearing, more dense interaction in one location over time. Rock Paper Shotgun argues that 1666 succeeds because every system feeds another — your merchant contacts become allies who give you information; guild memberships affect which characters can join the party and later influence political faction standing. This is what a real RPG means by the definition: systems creating emergent gameplay rather than scripted sequences. Instead of traveling across three regions, 1666 lets Amsterdam be deep enough that every alley feels relevant, because your actions there have been recorded throughout your playthrough.
I'm telling you this now because I want Hexe to take notice — Ubisoft could learn from the way Hexe manages its world as a living organism rather than an open-world empty shell. If Assassin's Creed embraced even ten percent of 1666's design philosophy, it would fundamentally elevate what every modern game claims to be: immersive and reactive. For anyone who has ever hit a wall in an open world where they can go everywhere but nothing seems to happen — this is the answer.
Source: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/wonky-witch-fable-1666-amsterdam-is-the-kind-of-sexy-nonsense-i-want-from-assassins-creed-hexe