Which Assassin’s Creed game introduced the grappling hook for rapid vertical movement?

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate introduced the grappling hook for rapid vertical movement.

The grappling hook is a major traversal tool in Syndicate, allowing Jacob and Evie Frye to reach rooftops quickly and cross gaps between buildings. It was designed for the dense urban environment of industrial-era London, where wide streets and taller structures could otherwise make movement slower than in earlier games.

Players can use the device to ascend buildings and create zip lines between points. This changes the rhythm of navigation: the twins can combine parkour, trains, carriages, and the grappling hook to move through the city.

Earlier games in the series relied primarily on climbing, jumping, and carefully planned routes. Unity, released one year earlier, expanded cooperative parkour but did not introduce Syndicate’s grappling-hook system. Origins later adopted different movement and climbing systems, but it did not introduce this specific tool.