From ongoing buyout talks, to debate around whether Assassin's Creed Shadows looks brilliant or a bit 'meh', there's a lot of uncertainty looming over Ubisoft Towers at the moment. But whatever you think of the up-and-down studio, there's no question that they have a bunch of great games in their back-catalogue. Now, for the negligible price of $1/£1, you get to play the majority of them for one month.
For the price, you sign onto the Ubisoft Classics subscription, which gets you access to the entire Far Cry series, the Watch Dogs Trilogy, all existing Assassin's Creed games (apart from Mirage), Anno 1800, Ghost Recon Wildlands, and Ghost Recon Breakpoint, among other titles. Alas, there's not a single Splinter Cell in sight, which is a shame, as those are a) some of the best stealth games around, and b) are relatively quick to complete.
Just remember to cancel your subscription as soon as you sign up, as this will ensure that it doesn't auto-renew after a month, at which point you'll start paying the standard rate of $8/£7 a month.
So what should you play to get the most out of your month's worth of Ubisoft? Well, if you've been out of the Assassin's Creed loop since the Ezio days and want to check out what it's been up to, then both Odyssey and Origins are still excellent. Why not Valhalla? It's good, sure, but too damn long, which will pull you into a subscription that you'll inevitably forget about and overpay for. Don't do it!
On the Far Cry front, the prehistoric-themed Primal is massively overlooked in the series (and pretty quick to beat at about 15 hours). Personally, I've a soft spot for the great American wilderness of Far Cry 5 too, which feels a bit more playful and entertaining as an environment than the jungle island of Far Cry 6.
There are some great co-op games in there too, perfect for huddling around the computer with family relations at Christmas. As a beat 'em up aficionado, I can say that Scott Pilgrim vs The World is fantastic, and can be played with up to four people, while Rayman Legends is a delightful and forgiving platforming jaunt that's great for initiating young 'uns into gaming.
If you think you'll be too busy over Christmas to make the most of this almost-free subscription, then just remember that the last day you can sign up is January 2 at 8 am EST/1 pm GMT, so you can sign up around then to have your month of Ubisoft Classics see you through the January gloom instead.
