Ubisoft lets you enjoy their Plus subscription for free for a whole month and play a huge load of titles for free. Makes you want to play as much as you can, fast! But to make sure it doesn”t get too stressful, we recommend 7 titles that you can play through in a relaxed way.
You know when you”re overwhelmed by too much choice? When there are too many different types of ice cream, too many exciting holiday destinations in the world and too many hobbies you want to pursue? Instead of deciding on one, you think about it for a long time, panic and try to take as much as possible with you, but you can”t really enjoy any of it because of all the stress? Tia, then you”re like me.
The same problem currently exists with Ubisoft Plus. The subscription service provides you with almost all Ubisoft titles – and it”s currently free! So for one month you can catch the sweet smell of free games. However, such a month is over faster than you might think and the dozens of titles you have set your sights on simply take up too much time.
To avoid this dilemma, we asked the editors which 7 games you can play through in a relaxed and stress-free way. Maybe there”s an interesting title or two in there for you!
Table of Contents
Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Kevin: There is no Ubisoft series that I would be more excited about a new spin-off. There hasn”t been a new Splinter Cell in nine depressing years! My only consolation since then has been playing Sam Fisher in Rainbow Six: Siege (I can”t do that much with Ghost Recon). Although that”s not entirely true. My other consolation is to fire up Blacklist again every few years and sneak through the levels full of wistful joy.
So Splinter Cell: Blacklist has a special place in my heart as you can tell. But there”s also a good reason why you should pick up the title right now in this free month: the multiplayer mode. It”s even better to assassinate in co-op! But you can only enjoy this fun until 1 October, after which Ubisoft will shut down the multiplayer servers of some titles – including Splinter Cell: Blacklist.
So grab a buddy, play the co-op missions until October and then you still have until 10 October to finish the story campaign.
Assassin”s Creed Origins
Thomas: You”ll need a maximum of 80 hours to cover Egypt, then Assassin”s Creed Origins will be completely played out and you”ll have erased every tiny symbol from the huge in-game map. But what crazy fun it is!
The Witcher 3 was clearly the inspiration for the open-world adventure, plus a branching (but hardly influential) talent tree and heaps of items to equip and exchange. At the same time, the focus on meticulously planned assassinations and stealth as in Unity was lost, and Ubisoft cut back on the spectacle of linear, scripted missions in favour of more open-world chaos and the action-packed clearing of dozens of enemy camps, leaving many hardcore Assassin”s Creed fans feeling like they were in the wrong movie.
I, however, found the genre shift refreshing at the time and protagonist Bayek is one of my top 3 AC heroes. I was especially pleasantly surprised by the little stories in the side missions, because sometimes they are super funny, sometimes deeply sad. And Ancient Egypt has probably never looked so fantastic, vivid and varied as it does here. So except maybe in reality over 2,000 years ago.
Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc
Dani: I still remember how excited I was by the 3D cover of the Rayman 3 box set and how many hours I spent with that game, searching every inch for smalllings or other secrets. Accordingly, I was shocked that (according to How long to beat) it takes just between eight and 16 hours to play through Rayman 3 and probably relive or finally catch up with one of the funniest and best platformers. The humour varies between adult allusions, some creepiness and a lot of silliness. I still don t know what to make of the Knaare s comments…
Many of you will probably have scrolled into the comments by now and professed your unbridled love for Rayman 2. And yes, that one was good too! But to this day, the creative boss fights from Rayman 3 just elicit more feelings from me than those awful rocket rides from its predecessor. The nice thing is: With such a short playtime, you can easily play both parts and then decide which one you like better.
Anno 1800
Flo: Anno 1800? Play through? I can already hear the scepticism and see the questioning faces right in front of me. Anno 1800 is, of course, an endless game and actually there is no real play-through, I”m aware of that.
However, a playthrough of Anno 1800 can certainly be defined. At this point, I equate unlocking and building everything possible in Anno 1800 as a playthrough. Others might consider reaching the New World a playthrough.
The “completion” of Anno 1800 is thus primarily a question of one”s own parameters. Accordingly, the free month from Ubisoft Plus offers enough time to play through Anno 1800 and experience the construction hit in its entirety. This is even in its full strength, because the Ubisoft Plus edition is the Visionary Edition of Anno 1800, i.e. the complete edition with all previous Season Passes and their contents.
The Settlers 7
Sachith: Yes, Settlers is currently a red rag for many. But let”s just forget a little about the transgressions of today and take a look back. Some Settlers fans would certainly rather go for classics like Settlers 2 or 4. But I want to warmly recommend Settlers 7 to you for this article. Because Settlers 7 is the most modern part of the series to date, which still sees itself purely as a building game. While The Settlers 5 and 6 have already fallen into the RTS traps, the planned sequel to The Settlers 7 has even drawn so much ire that the game no longer really belongs to the series at all.
And currently it almost seems as if the new Settlers will hardly do better in this area. Because it won”t be a building game. But oh, I told you, let”s forget the present. So back to The Settlers 7. The building game doesn”t always feel like a classic Settlers, but with its sectors and victory conditions it still plays as strategically demanding as it is varied, and always finds ways to give even fair farmers a little creative freedom.
First and foremost, The Settlers 7 even has a classic single-player campaign. Here, with lots of dreamy charm, a heartfelt story is told around the kingdom of Tandria and its quest for a new queen. So make sure you take advantage of the free month to keep yourself entertained for a few hours with this relaxed building game and reminisce a little about better Settlers times.
Valiant Hearts
Pramith: The First World War is usually staged in games like a Michael Bay film: Lots of pathos, mass battles, explosions, the main thing is that the staging is right. But only a few titles really take the human fates into account. One of the few great exceptions is Valiant Hearts: The Great War – and that is exactly why you should definitely take the six to eight hours to play through this very special game. Admittedly, Valiant Hearts does not require you to have a good aim or special reaction speed, nor does it demand great tactical skill. In fact, in many respects it is quite undemanding in terms of gameplay.
In exchange, you will experience a unique and extremely emotional story about the horror of war, family, love, heroism and despair. I don”t want to go into further detail for spoiler reasons, but for me one thing is for sure: Valiant Hearts tells one of the most relentless stories about people who can”t escape war that I have ever experienced. And moved me to tears in the process. It”s evocative, suspenseful, emotional and if you haven”t played it yet, throw on the free download, you won”t regret it.
Assassin”s Creed Odyssey
Sachith: What? Play through Assassin”s Creed Odyssey in just one month and that”s supposed to be “relaxed” too? Yes – if you”re like me!
So it came to pass in the year of our Lord 2020 that I finally made the trip to Egypt in Assassin”s Creed Origins that I had been putting off for far too long. Why? I wanted to sink into the game as deeply as a careless wanderer into dangerous quicksand. I wanted to take my time and concentrate only on this game. After a good 80 hours I was through and deeply impressed by this intense, because very concentrated game experience.
Immediately after the credits, I picked up Odyssey and continued the spectacle! After a good 100 hours this time with all the expansions and the platinum trophy, I put the controller aside with satisfaction. The repetition of many tasks was a bit too much for me, especially towards the end, but I got the intense and immersive gaming experience I wanted.
Thus, my recommendation: If you”re like me and like to play through games “in the tunnel”, and also have a thing for open worlds and Assassin”s Creed, I”d advise you to take a month-long holiday in ancient Greece, complete with island hopping and party boat. If you don”t have a completion fetish, you can simply limit yourself to the story missions – and then perhaps have a little more time to notice the really beautifully designed world more consciously (and, thanks to photo mode, also capture it).
What do you think of our game suggestions for a stress-free Ubisoft month? Do you have any additions you”d like to share with your fellow community members? Then feel free to post them in the comments!
