At Ubisoft have been mastering the technique of keeping their games alive for years. Unlike other companies, launching a video game does not mean for them the end of a life cycle, but the beginning of a path that should be extended, logically and naturally, as long as possible.
While it is true that lately they have had more trouble capturing the attention of the public in some games and we have seen them abandon them prematurely, it is not that they can be blamed too much for making a decision that many of us would have made even before starting. In fact, to many of us, they always seemed to be projects that were already dead before they were born.
That, after all, is the exception that proves the rule. That they have not thrown their arms down with titles of anecdotal success, such as Steep or Riders Republic, is proof of this.
With its ups and downs, the French brand’s catalog seems to have benefited from this fighting spirit that has managed to revive projects already in decline as soon as they were launched, such as Rainbow Six Siege or The Crew.
But we are not here today to talk about Ubisoftnot at least of the company itself, but of what is probably the biggest success that the same formula and the many studios under its umbrella have given us.
Ubisoft’s true masterpiece
Among all the games mentioned, and all those that may come to mind, there is one that not only understood perfectly how it should be launched to arrive in the best possible way, but also has taken advantage of this continuous struggle to continue growing and improving to become what it is today. Ubisoft’s great masterpiece: Anno 1800.
It is a fact that the sum of the base game, plus all the expansions that have been released since it hit the market three years ago, have shaped -without the help of the community and its mods- the biggest, most ambitious, polished and recommended game that has given a genre with many years and good examples behind it.
Those of you who already know me know that the one from Anno 1800 as an example of growth and perfection is not a thought that often leaves my mind. If I get a chance to make a recommendation, I always turn to it despite it also not being my favorite game in history or the one that has had the biggest impact on my life as a gamer.
But every time a new expansion arrives in my hands, making that snowball grow even bigger, already big enough to have you trapped for a whole winter glued to your computer screen, I can only surrender to its feet and applaud what is being done with it.
I am far from being the biggest fan of Ubisoftand I know to what extent it’s a company that should change many of its policies and actions to make me happy, but the Anno 1800 is an oasis of genius in a desert of idleness. An idyllic redoubt destined to pamper and do everything possible to please its fans without fear of taking risks in its somersaults, but with an insulting ease to always land on its feet.
Anno 1800: an endless game
While waiting for what promises to be its next great evolution -this year seems to be the last one already, but I wouldn’t put my hand in the fire for it- its latest expansion invites us to manage a airship network and a system of mail capable of improving the conditions of our cities in terms of inhabitants and income.
Offering us yet another alternative when it comes to managing resources between islands and countries, along with new attack and defense strategies ranging from bombing from the air, to using the cargo of these airships as if it were a seaplane capable of extinguishing a fire in a matter of seconds, this DLC is far from what we consider a great expansion, but no less useful and surprising for those who remain faithful to the game.
It is not a brand new area in which to squeeze resources and discover great new features, that will come in the next one as a farewell, but it is one of its additions able to make you change the chip to play in a way you have never experienced before.
It seems remarkable to me considering that we are facing a game in which, two years ago and after having launched several major expansions, we already believed that it was impossible that it would be able to excite us again with a novelty.
Neither Assassin’s Creed, nor Far Cry, nor The Division. If there is a game alive for which Ubisoft deserves a round of applause loud enough to make our hands redden, that is without a doubt. Anno 1800. A nice management game that, from its humble niche, has managed to pass the hand in the face of the rest of the studios and franchises of Ubisoft. Chapeau, fuck. Chapeau.
