Assassin's Creed 2 gets stunning new-gen remaster

Assassin’s Creed II gets a stunning new-gen remaster and we want this mod on all platforms, dammit!

Released in 2009 for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, for many, Assassin’s Creed II was the game that helped launch the series into the stratosphere.

While not a totally smooth gameplay experience, the sequel had improved on the original game that was released in 2007 in almost every way. It was also a visually stunning game for its time bringing to life gorgeous Italian vista and taking us to iconic Rome landmarks such as the Colosseum and the Pantheon.

Furthermore, Assassin’s Creed II introduced who would become the most popular character in Ubisoft’s series, the charismatic and seductive Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Ezio’s charm would win fans over almost instantly and would later appear in two more games, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations.

As far as I’m aware, Ezio Auditore is also a character that has featured more than any other as a main playable protagonist in the series. Sadly, it’s been 12 long years since we’ve seen Ezio in a new game after his story was beautifully wrapped up in 2011s Assassin’s Creed: Revelations.

However, we did get to see a visually improved Ezio on PC, PS4 and Xbox One with the release of Assassin’s Creed The Ezio Collection in 2016. This collection featured all three Ezio games with not only improved visuals but all previously released DLC.

While The Ezio Collection was an improvement on its source material (eventually), its visual splendour wasn't particularly a massive improvement. Thankfully, a modder called Ghostprogaming12 has taken matters into their own hands with ‘Assassin’s Creed 2 Reshade 2.0” and now the game truly looks better than ever.

Just by looking at the screenshots provided on the dedicated Nexusmods page, the visual improvement is very clear to see. The textures on the environmental objects, as well as character models, are a vast improvement on the 2009 original. Sadly, with this being a mod, it is only available on PC.

In related news, it seems that the next entry in this series, Assassin’s Creed Mirage has had its release window leaked. This game starring Basim Ibn Ishaq from Assassin’s Creed Valhalla was supposed to launch in early 2023, but official details on its release have gone radio silent.