The Evolution of Assassin's Creed Games
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VOICE OVER: Aaron Brown
WRITTEN BY: Caitlin Johnson
"Assassin's Creed" has come an awfully long way since the days of Altaïr. For this video, we'll be looking at how Ubisoft's beloved franchise has evolved over the years. However, we're only looking at the mainline “AC” games, and won't be touching on the DLCs, “Chronicles”, comic books, or the movie. Our essay will take you through the early days in 2007 all the way up to the mythological settings of the newer games.
Welcome to MojoPlays! Today, we’re looking at the evolution of “Assassin’s Creed”. We’ve come a long way since Altaïr. In this video, we’re only looking at the mainline “AC” games, and won’t be touching on the DLCs, “Chronicles”, comic books, or the movie.
When it launched on consoles in 2007, “Assassin’s Creed” was one of those lightning-in-a-bottle games that changed the landscape of triple-A, open-world titles forever. It’s a series that half of gamers love to death despite its flaws, and another half think exemplifies everything WRONG with the open-world formula. Regardless, its impact on video games can’t be understated, and it all began in Syria, at the height of the Third Crusade.
The first “Assassin’s Creed” laid the groundwork for what was to come, and it doesn’t always get the credit it deserves for having so many of the ideas that would go on to be improved in later entries. Climbing viewpoints to unlock the map, the hidden blade, eagle vision, the Apple of Eden, the ideological struggle between Assassins and Templars – all of these things are in that first game. It’s even got an early version of social stealth through Altaïr’s ability to blend in with the scholars, and an open map called the Kingdom between the three major cities and Masyaf; already, we see Ubisoft’s desire to create a game that can cover a massive region, potentially an entire country. But, it’s not without its flaws; Altaïr’s not much of a protagonist compared with what we’d get later, and the controls can be extremely frustrating and imprecise.
It was followed up just two years later, however, with “Assassin’s Creed II”, which built on everything in the original game brilliantly. We had a far more interesting character now, Ezio, and the setting was far less bleak, opening in Renaissance Florence. The platforming and combat controls were overhauled to be smoother and easier to get to grips with, and the story was more personal to Ezio as he sought revenge for the death of his family. It also added the three factions, the thieves, mercenaries, and courtesans, plus the ability to throw money to cause a distraction, and most importantly, blending. Ezio can blend in with any group of NPCs to hide from guards and reach his target, something that would become a vital mainstay of the series. It’s also split across multiple cities, going from Florence to Tuscany to Forlí to Venice and, for the conclusion, to Rome. Story missions all had a narrative focus and the optional, Assassin Tomb challenges added side content that felt worthwhile.
This innovation continued into “Brotherhood”, which was our first “Assassin’s Creed” game confined to one, single city. It expanded the shop-buying system introduced in “II” to the entirety of Rome, with Ezio responsible for rebuilding this once-great city. And again, we had a villain Ezio has a personal relationship with, Cesare Borgia, who sieges Monteriggioni and murders Mario Auditore at the beginning. Ezio again has interesting, optional side missions that will unlock the best armor in the game for him, as well as the option to invest in the various side factions. “Brotherhood” also massively improved combat animations and the variety of attacks and executions, making combat feel more satisfying. And, finally, this might be the game that has the best, most fluid modern-day story of them all.
With “Revelations”, however, things got weird. With Desmond in a coma, he spends his free time doing bizarre, 3D block puzzles to unlock what are, more or less, audiologs about his life. The game itself is set almost entirely in Constantinople, modern-day Istanbul, controlled by the Ottoman empire. But unlike in previous games, Ezio’s goals aren’t too connected to what’s going on with the politics of the day. He helps Suleiman and gets involved with the conflict over who will be the next Sultan, but what he’s really trying to do is collect keys so he can unlock Altaïr’s library back in Masyaf, leaving the game’s story feeling disjointed. While “Revelations” expanded even more on the Assassin recruit minigame added in “Brotherhood”, giving your recruits actual, narrative-driven missions as they rise through the ranks, it also added “Den Defense”. This was a tower defense minigame players went out of their way to avoid. There were changes to traversal, too, with the addition of the hook blade, though it never really came in too useful.
Almost as much of a black sheep as “Revelations” was “Assassin’s Creed III”. The first game to take the series away from the Mediterranean and into the Americas and our third new, main character, Connor was divisive, to say the least. Time has been kind to him, however, and in hindsight he’s been reassessed as an interesting and thoughtful protagonist – not to mention a landmark in representation, as he was Native American. Again, we had numerous cities to explore, as well as the large Frontier map, a throwback to the original Kingdom. “III” also added the first, true crafting system – those shop quests don’t count! – but you didn’t really NEED to craft anything, nor did you need to upgrade your weapons and armor. The recruit system was back again but it wasn’t very important and would disappear after this point. Story-wise, “III” is excellent, and the fanbase still loves Haytham Kenway in all his complexity. The homestead missions were great, too, as were the different maps for winter and summer. But the BIGGEST addition has to be the sailing. While Connor and the Aquilla seemed like a strange thing to have in this game, a year later, it would all make sense.
Many people still say “Black Flag” is their favorite “Assassin’s Creed”, and it’s easy to see why. It may be the best pirate video game ever made, featuring fun and addictive naval combat. The crafting system was also necessary here to get better armor and ammo upgrades, while being simple enough that it wasn’t frustrating to take a break from the high seas to hunt some beasts. Edward Kenway’s journey as he goes from a selfish pirate to a Master Assassin was immensely satisfying, and the story doesn’t hold back with its most tragic moments. Plus, its biggest selling point: you get pretty much the ENTIRE Caribbean Sea to explore. Its overhaul of eagle vision, allowing you to tag enemies and see them through walls, was much-needed, and it FINALLY added fast travel between synchronized viewpoints. The only real downside of “Black Flag” is the tailing missions; it’s got way too many of them.
2014 saw two games released: “Rogue” and “Unity”. “Rogue” follows in the footsteps of “Black Flag”, taking you through New York City, the Hudson River Valley, and up into the Arctic and eastern coast of Canada. The ship combat was just as fun, even if the story was short and much of the side content was slap-dash. It didn’t add too much, beyond the gang hideouts that mirrored the towers Ezio needed to take over, but it was interesting to see things from the Templar side and say a proper goodbye to the naval combat – at least, for a while.
“Unity” is more complex. The first “AC” game built for eighth-gen consoles, its technical teething issues remain notorious. Frame-rate drops rendered it unplayable at launch, though on ninth-gen machines, it finally runs at a smooth, 60fps. For all its flaws, though, “Unity” is a beautiful game, a meticulous recreation of Paris, and through its “Helix Rift” mechanic it even lets you climb the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower. The French Revolution was an astounding setting, and it was the attempts to render mobs of furious NPCs that tanked the frame-rate initially. While it did have an annoying cooldown on eagle vision and, bizarrely, removed the ability to whistle to attract enemies we first got in “Black Flag”, it DID add the “free run down” mechanic. Now, you could hold circle or B to jump down buildings and monuments WITHOUT plummeting to your death – and it only took eight mainline games!
“Syndicate” took what “Unity” had started and built on it even more. Instead of Paris, we now had Victorian London, and we had two protagonists, twins Evie and Jacob Frye. Evie’s story missions handled tracking down Pieces of Eden, while Jacob was preoccupied with breaking Templar control over the city directly. And those gang mechanics we saw in “Rogue” seemed to return here, albeit much more fun, as you take down the Blighters. It also had carriage driving and plenty more side content including races and train robberies. Thankfully, whistling also returned, but “Syndicate’s” big addition was, of course, the zipline. Strange as it was to find a grappling hook here, it made perfect sense considering how big the architecture had gotten. The buildings, landmarks, and streets were MASSIVE, and getting around without the zipline is a chore.
But “Syndicate” was, in many people’s eyes, the last, true, “Assassin’s Creed” game. “Unity’s” technical problems meant many people weren’t willing to give “Syndicate” a chance, and Ubisoft decided to take a break from its annual release cycle for the first time since 2008. In 2017, they came back with “Origins”, which recreated the ENTIRETY of Ancient Egypt. Again, we had dual protagonists in the form of Bayek and Aya, though you couldn’t swap between them at will. And again, we had a very personal story, with Bayek seeking revenge; this was unlike “Syndicate’s” villain, Crawford Starrick, whom the Fryes don’t encounter until the end of the game. “Origins” cemented those RPG elements, overhauled the whole combat system so that you can’t just mash the counter button, brought the bow and arrow back for the first time since “III”, and added a full leveling system that was far deeper than “Syndicate’s”. Eagle vision was also changed so that now, Bayek has a literal eagle, Senu, to scope out areas for him.
“Odyssey” went even further. Now, you had romance options, a mercenary system like “Middle-earth’s” Nemesis System before it was patented, an even better combat system, bigger boss fights against mythical creatures, AND the grand return of naval combat. Naval warfare in Ancient Greece wasn’t nearly as complex as it was in the 18th century, but it’s still extremely fun. We got to choose between Kassandra and Alexios, and travel to all corners of the Greek world. This was also one of the most Isu-heavy games since Juno disappeared, finally getting back to what the overarching lore is all about. Kassandra’s eagle Ikaros also functioned far better than Senu. But its extreme length and abundance of side content that didn’t offer much variety left a bad taste in some people’s mouths, and this wasn’t a problem that went away with “Valhalla”.
“Valhalla” promised to be more concise and meaningful than “Odyssey”, but how much did it really achieve that? Where “Odyssey” drew heavily from “The Witcher 3”, “Valhalla” seems to have more of a FromSoftware influence, with scarce healing and complex, difficult boss fights. It was also, to put it simply, bleak. Dark Age Britain is not Ancient Greece, it was a blighted wasteland and an all-round unpleasant place to be. Ubisoft, in its quest for historical authenticity, made “Valhalla’s” England an grim place to be, as well. It’s a shame the entire game didn’t stick to Norway! Following complaints that “Origins” and “Odyssey” abandoned the series’ stealth roots, social stealth returned here, but it was nowhere near as useful or effective and Eivor isn’t a character who makes stealth easy.
But it seems Ubisoft is listening, in some ways, as the next “AC” game is set to be a single-player, back-to-basics title called “Mirage”, following Basim’s youth in 9th century Baghdad. Ubisoft is also going to take the series online and perhaps even make a horror game.
“Assassin’s Creed” has come a long way since 2007. Not only has it reinvented itself multiple times, but the mark it’s left on gaming can’t be ignored. Love it or hate it, there are reasons its innovations became so popular and widespread in the industry: even at its worst, “AC” is still outstanding, and there are things to love in the most polished and the most flawed games in the franchise.
The Evolution of Assassin's Creed
When it launched on consoles in 2007, “Assassin’s Creed” was one of those lightning-in-a-bottle games that changed the landscape of triple-A, open-world titles forever. It’s a series that half of gamers love to death despite its flaws, and another half think exemplifies everything WRONG with the open-world formula. Regardless, its impact on video games can’t be understated, and it all began in Syria, at the height of the Third Crusade.
The first “Assassin’s Creed” laid the groundwork for what was to come, and it doesn’t always get the credit it deserves for having so many of the ideas that would go on to be improved in later entries. Climbing viewpoints to unlock the map, the hidden blade, eagle vision, the Apple of Eden, the ideological struggle between Assassins and Templars – all of these things are in that first game. It’s even got an early version of social stealth through Altaïr’s ability to blend in with the scholars, and an open map called the Kingdom between the three major cities and Masyaf; already, we see Ubisoft’s desire to create a game that can cover a massive region, potentially an entire country. But, it’s not without its flaws; Altaïr’s not much of a protagonist compared with what we’d get later, and the controls can be extremely frustrating and imprecise.
It was followed up just two years later, however, with “Assassin’s Creed II”, which built on everything in the original game brilliantly. We had a far more interesting character now, Ezio, and the setting was far less bleak, opening in Renaissance Florence. The platforming and combat controls were overhauled to be smoother and easier to get to grips with, and the story was more personal to Ezio as he sought revenge for the death of his family. It also added the three factions, the thieves, mercenaries, and courtesans, plus the ability to throw money to cause a distraction, and most importantly, blending. Ezio can blend in with any group of NPCs to hide from guards and reach his target, something that would become a vital mainstay of the series. It’s also split across multiple cities, going from Florence to Tuscany to Forlí to Venice and, for the conclusion, to Rome. Story missions all had a narrative focus and the optional, Assassin Tomb challenges added side content that felt worthwhile.
This innovation continued into “Brotherhood”, which was our first “Assassin’s Creed” game confined to one, single city. It expanded the shop-buying system introduced in “II” to the entirety of Rome, with Ezio responsible for rebuilding this once-great city. And again, we had a villain Ezio has a personal relationship with, Cesare Borgia, who sieges Monteriggioni and murders Mario Auditore at the beginning. Ezio again has interesting, optional side missions that will unlock the best armor in the game for him, as well as the option to invest in the various side factions. “Brotherhood” also massively improved combat animations and the variety of attacks and executions, making combat feel more satisfying. And, finally, this might be the game that has the best, most fluid modern-day story of them all.
With “Revelations”, however, things got weird. With Desmond in a coma, he spends his free time doing bizarre, 3D block puzzles to unlock what are, more or less, audiologs about his life. The game itself is set almost entirely in Constantinople, modern-day Istanbul, controlled by the Ottoman empire. But unlike in previous games, Ezio’s goals aren’t too connected to what’s going on with the politics of the day. He helps Suleiman and gets involved with the conflict over who will be the next Sultan, but what he’s really trying to do is collect keys so he can unlock Altaïr’s library back in Masyaf, leaving the game’s story feeling disjointed. While “Revelations” expanded even more on the Assassin recruit minigame added in “Brotherhood”, giving your recruits actual, narrative-driven missions as they rise through the ranks, it also added “Den Defense”. This was a tower defense minigame players went out of their way to avoid. There were changes to traversal, too, with the addition of the hook blade, though it never really came in too useful.
Almost as much of a black sheep as “Revelations” was “Assassin’s Creed III”. The first game to take the series away from the Mediterranean and into the Americas and our third new, main character, Connor was divisive, to say the least. Time has been kind to him, however, and in hindsight he’s been reassessed as an interesting and thoughtful protagonist – not to mention a landmark in representation, as he was Native American. Again, we had numerous cities to explore, as well as the large Frontier map, a throwback to the original Kingdom. “III” also added the first, true crafting system – those shop quests don’t count! – but you didn’t really NEED to craft anything, nor did you need to upgrade your weapons and armor. The recruit system was back again but it wasn’t very important and would disappear after this point. Story-wise, “III” is excellent, and the fanbase still loves Haytham Kenway in all his complexity. The homestead missions were great, too, as were the different maps for winter and summer. But the BIGGEST addition has to be the sailing. While Connor and the Aquilla seemed like a strange thing to have in this game, a year later, it would all make sense.
Many people still say “Black Flag” is their favorite “Assassin’s Creed”, and it’s easy to see why. It may be the best pirate video game ever made, featuring fun and addictive naval combat. The crafting system was also necessary here to get better armor and ammo upgrades, while being simple enough that it wasn’t frustrating to take a break from the high seas to hunt some beasts. Edward Kenway’s journey as he goes from a selfish pirate to a Master Assassin was immensely satisfying, and the story doesn’t hold back with its most tragic moments. Plus, its biggest selling point: you get pretty much the ENTIRE Caribbean Sea to explore. Its overhaul of eagle vision, allowing you to tag enemies and see them through walls, was much-needed, and it FINALLY added fast travel between synchronized viewpoints. The only real downside of “Black Flag” is the tailing missions; it’s got way too many of them.
2014 saw two games released: “Rogue” and “Unity”. “Rogue” follows in the footsteps of “Black Flag”, taking you through New York City, the Hudson River Valley, and up into the Arctic and eastern coast of Canada. The ship combat was just as fun, even if the story was short and much of the side content was slap-dash. It didn’t add too much, beyond the gang hideouts that mirrored the towers Ezio needed to take over, but it was interesting to see things from the Templar side and say a proper goodbye to the naval combat – at least, for a while.
“Unity” is more complex. The first “AC” game built for eighth-gen consoles, its technical teething issues remain notorious. Frame-rate drops rendered it unplayable at launch, though on ninth-gen machines, it finally runs at a smooth, 60fps. For all its flaws, though, “Unity” is a beautiful game, a meticulous recreation of Paris, and through its “Helix Rift” mechanic it even lets you climb the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower. The French Revolution was an astounding setting, and it was the attempts to render mobs of furious NPCs that tanked the frame-rate initially. While it did have an annoying cooldown on eagle vision and, bizarrely, removed the ability to whistle to attract enemies we first got in “Black Flag”, it DID add the “free run down” mechanic. Now, you could hold circle or B to jump down buildings and monuments WITHOUT plummeting to your death – and it only took eight mainline games!
“Syndicate” took what “Unity” had started and built on it even more. Instead of Paris, we now had Victorian London, and we had two protagonists, twins Evie and Jacob Frye. Evie’s story missions handled tracking down Pieces of Eden, while Jacob was preoccupied with breaking Templar control over the city directly. And those gang mechanics we saw in “Rogue” seemed to return here, albeit much more fun, as you take down the Blighters. It also had carriage driving and plenty more side content including races and train robberies. Thankfully, whistling also returned, but “Syndicate’s” big addition was, of course, the zipline. Strange as it was to find a grappling hook here, it made perfect sense considering how big the architecture had gotten. The buildings, landmarks, and streets were MASSIVE, and getting around without the zipline is a chore.
But “Syndicate” was, in many people’s eyes, the last, true, “Assassin’s Creed” game. “Unity’s” technical problems meant many people weren’t willing to give “Syndicate” a chance, and Ubisoft decided to take a break from its annual release cycle for the first time since 2008. In 2017, they came back with “Origins”, which recreated the ENTIRETY of Ancient Egypt. Again, we had dual protagonists in the form of Bayek and Aya, though you couldn’t swap between them at will. And again, we had a very personal story, with Bayek seeking revenge; this was unlike “Syndicate’s” villain, Crawford Starrick, whom the Fryes don’t encounter until the end of the game. “Origins” cemented those RPG elements, overhauled the whole combat system so that you can’t just mash the counter button, brought the bow and arrow back for the first time since “III”, and added a full leveling system that was far deeper than “Syndicate’s”. Eagle vision was also changed so that now, Bayek has a literal eagle, Senu, to scope out areas for him.
“Odyssey” went even further. Now, you had romance options, a mercenary system like “Middle-earth’s” Nemesis System before it was patented, an even better combat system, bigger boss fights against mythical creatures, AND the grand return of naval combat. Naval warfare in Ancient Greece wasn’t nearly as complex as it was in the 18th century, but it’s still extremely fun. We got to choose between Kassandra and Alexios, and travel to all corners of the Greek world. This was also one of the most Isu-heavy games since Juno disappeared, finally getting back to what the overarching lore is all about. Kassandra’s eagle Ikaros also functioned far better than Senu. But its extreme length and abundance of side content that didn’t offer much variety left a bad taste in some people’s mouths, and this wasn’t a problem that went away with “Valhalla”.
“Valhalla” promised to be more concise and meaningful than “Odyssey”, but how much did it really achieve that? Where “Odyssey” drew heavily from “The Witcher 3”, “Valhalla” seems to have more of a FromSoftware influence, with scarce healing and complex, difficult boss fights. It was also, to put it simply, bleak. Dark Age Britain is not Ancient Greece, it was a blighted wasteland and an all-round unpleasant place to be. Ubisoft, in its quest for historical authenticity, made “Valhalla’s” England an grim place to be, as well. It’s a shame the entire game didn’t stick to Norway! Following complaints that “Origins” and “Odyssey” abandoned the series’ stealth roots, social stealth returned here, but it was nowhere near as useful or effective and Eivor isn’t a character who makes stealth easy.
But it seems Ubisoft is listening, in some ways, as the next “AC” game is set to be a single-player, back-to-basics title called “Mirage”, following Basim’s youth in 9th century Baghdad. Ubisoft is also going to take the series online and perhaps even make a horror game.
“Assassin’s Creed” has come a long way since 2007. Not only has it reinvented itself multiple times, but the mark it’s left on gaming can’t be ignored. Love it or hate it, there are reasons its innovations became so popular and widespread in the industry: even at its worst, “AC” is still outstanding, and there are things to love in the most polished and the most flawed games in the franchise.
