Every Assassin's Creed Game Ranked by Historical Accuracy

Valhalla is set in a fantastical version of 9th-century England, which completely chucks accuracy out the window in favor of a Viking fantasy. For example, the Viking age was primarily driven by a lack of good farmland in Scandinavia. They settled in Northern England, taking advantage of its rich farmland. In Valhalla, they fill Northern England with giant, towering, snowy mountains, surrounding Jorvik. This completely contradicts the viking age, and makes you wonder why they ever bothered to settle in Northern England. There are countless other inaccuracies, enough to make an entire video discussing the topic.

The first entry in the series was a stunning recreation of the Crusades for 2007, but since then, its accuracy pales in comparison to later entries in the series. Both the Assassins and Templars are based on real organizations, but are almost entirely fictionalized versions. The primary nine targets are also all real historical figures, however, their personalities and even their death dates are completely fabricated. The cities are also rather accurate recreations in terms of architecture, layout, and landmarks, although the scale is adjusted to suit a video game. Overall, it captures the atmosphere of the period well, but many liberties are taken for the sake of gameplay and story.

Rogue takes place during the Seven Years’ War, depicting accurate real-world locations such as New York and Boston. The first accuracy issues lie with the protagonist, Shay Cormac, an Irish Catholic immigrant. This is weird, because Irish Catholics barely immigrated to America then, and they would have converted to Protestantism to avoid oppression, something discussed in “Assassin’s Creed: III”. Peculiarly, only one Frenchman discriminates against him, rather than any of the English characters. Despite this, it does a relatively good job of portraying the architecture and atmosphere of the period. Overall, it’s somewhat accurate, but not to a standout degree.

In tenth place, it’s Revelations, which follows Ezio Auditore as he travels to Constantinople, modern-day Istanbul. Many magnificent monuments like the Hagia Sophia, the Topkapi Palace, and the Grand Bazaar are present, and depicted with impressive detail. The scale and layout have been altered for gameplay purposes, but it does an excellent job of capturing the city’s feel. One major inaccuracy is their calling the remnants of the Roman Empire “Byzantines”, which is something no one called them in the 16th century. Another hilarious inaccuracy is when Ezio visits Cappadocia, a landlocked region of Turkey, he decides to do it by boat. This is more of a geography oversight than a historical one though.

Black Flag is often considered the franchise’s pinnacle, but it isn’t the most accurate entry. The game’s central theme is that the European Empires of the time were bigger thieves than any pirate, on account of colonialism and the exportation of slavery. This is a rather grandiose way to portray pirates, with Blackbeard being shown to despise slavery, which is far from the truth. They also make the villains pro-slavery, to make you feel less guilty about murdering them, however, this disregards their real-life beliefs. Additionally, the only ruling powers were the English and Spanish, but in reality, more European powers had a strong presence in the Caribbean. Still, the historical backdrop is superbly crafted, and is one of the greatest portrayals of piracy’s golden age.

Odyssey boasts some of the most stunning visuals in video game history, being set in a magnificent recreation of Ancient Greece. The cities are recreated to an unparalleled degree, with the Peloponnesian War as a backdrop. Greek philosophy is accurately portrayed, featuring historical figures like Socrates. You can also take part in the Olympic Games, which was historically a major event in Greek society. The inaccuracies mainly lie in the story, which takes a more mythological focus than previous titles. For instance, there is no historical evidence for Atlantis and the Greek god Poseidon.

Unity wasn’t a particularly successful release, being full to the brim with bugs, however, it’s become a loved game since. Part of this is because it does a mind-blowing job of portraying Revolutionary Paris, featuring stunning visuals and masterfully recreating most of the landmarks. It also features historical figures, like Robespierre and Napoleon, but they’re not super accurate. While Robespierre was a particularly naughty man, the game makes his Jacobins the villains, over simplifying them to do so. It also does a poor job of capturing all the complex, social, economic, and political reasons behind the revolution, somewhat trivializing France’s most important era.

The game strongly represents the American Revolutionary War, excellently recreating battles and key figures of the time. George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson all make appearances, among many other revolutionaries. It also provides a mostly accurate portrayal of the American colonies, even if it does reduce the scale for the sake of gameplay. Its biggest inaccuracy is the fact that Connor chooses to fight for America. Historically, the British would have treated the Natives a lot nicer than the revolutionaries, so Connor’s allegiance makes no sense. He even realizes at the end his mistake, which is meant to be an emotional moment, but it just makes the core conflict feel a bit redundant.

The Golden Age of Islam is a period barely explored in the media, but Mirage does a phenomenal job of recreating it. Baghdad was a booming city in the 9th century, with a diverse population and a wealth of knowledge. Unfortunately, the Mongols burned Baghdad down in the 13th century, so we lack sources about the city. Still, they did an amazing job at recreating it with a lack of sources. It also includes the Banu Musa brothers, who fill the same role as Da Vinci did, providing the Assassins with useful tools and gadgets. Overall, it’s a visually and culturally rich experience, even if not the most strictly accurate entry.

Origins brings us to Ptolemaic Egypt, during the closing years of Ancient Egypt before they became a Roman province. It does a brilliant job of portraying the era’s political climate, and the landscape and cities look insanely impressive. There are some inaccuracies though, for example, Medjay stopped existing roughly 1000 years before Bayek was born, so it makes no sense that Bayek could become one. Additionally, it portrays Egypt as being culturally hybrid, but in reality, there was great segregation between the Greeks and the Native Egyptians, which historians have called an ancient form of apartheid. Still, no one’s ever recreated Ancient Egypt to this incredible level of detail.

Syndicate is probably the easiest to make accurate, given that it’s closest to the modern day, being set in 1868. Its recreation of Victorian London is superb, featuring an authentic depiction of its neighborhoods, architecture, and landmarks. It does get some things wrong, for instance, freeing child laborers is a key aspect of the game, but in reality, child labor had been outlawed by the 1860s. It also lacks the population density London would’ve had, which could just be a performance choice. Another issue is that the protagonist can swim through the Thames, when it would have been so intensely polluted it was a breeding ground for cholera, typhoid, dysentery, and other diseases. Why are my protagonists not contracting cholera, Ubisoft? My immersion is ruined.

Brotherhood’s depiction of Rome is a fan favorite, being an absolute dream to explore. Many landmarks such as the Colosseum, Pantheon, and Castel Sant’Angelo are carefully modeled and highly accurate. Ubisoft’s designers carried out extensive research to achieve this feat. Of course, there are still inaccuracies, like almost every single one of Da Vinci’s wacky contraptions. Historians’ biggest issue is with the Borgia family, who are the game’s central focus. They did a shocking job at recreating them, completely distorting the reality and turning them into villainous caricatures. Their real-life counterparts are much more dull, so it was probably for the best.

At number one it’s one of the most ambitious entries, which features numerous cities and locations from 15th century Italy. It has more than 20 historical figures, a plethora of monuments, landmarks, and locations, from multiple Italian cities. Despite being one, it features many inaccuracies. For instance, the slavery practiced during the era was completely disregarded, which was very common in Venice. Also, it’s criticized for being anti-semitic, since it ignores the issues Jewish people faced in Renaissance Italy, arguably one of the most pivotal eras for Judaism. It also struggles with character ages, on account of its 30-year time frame. At the end of the day, it successfully offers the most immersive and accurate representation of Renaissance Italy in gaming history.

Which historical location or landmark did Assassin’s Creed recreate the best? Let us know in the comments section!