Is Assassin's Creed 1 technically an immersive sim? [closed]

Question

Recently, I got introduced to the Immersive Sim genre. I had a great time, and it is one of my favorite genres. In addition, I had watched videos and done research on what defines an immersive sim, and it started to make me think about previous games I had played, mainly Assassin's Creed 1. As I replay it, I started to realize elements of an immersive sim within it, including, but not limited to:

• Levels that are not linear
• Multiple ways to achieve the goal
• The player is given an array of different tools (sword, dagger, knives, and the famous hidden blade)
• The world is all simulated
• The different ways to try and gain information on the target

After this, it started to make me think, Isn't the first Assassin's Creed game technically just an immersive sim that has an open world map? This may seem just like a random thought, but has anyone else ever thought about it like that?

Answer 1

No, Assassin’s Creed is not an immersive sim game. While it has elements that make it immersive it does not put it into that genre.

Some of the biggest difference would a limitation of character development, and limitations in tool usage.

Character development is relatively linear compare do games like Deus Ex or System Shock with permits you to make nearly-unusable characters if poor perk choices are made. In Assassin’s Creed your character starts out decently strong and continues to progress in a fairly predefined path.

The second differentiating aspect is limitations in tool usage. A hallmark of Immersive Sim games is using your character’s skills to gain access to new opportunities and solutions that might otherwise be missed if you don’t explicitly specialize in those points.

Due to the predefined character development such opportunities for unlockable routes is rare. Merely having multiple routes to a target is different than having multiple routes that can only be accessed in specific, specialized playthoughs.

I’d say Assassin’s Creed doesn’t quite straddle the line on immersive sim so much as it an Action RPG, but certainly has its moments where I can see where such an argument can be made.