The firstAssassin’s Creedgame landed in 2007 and quickly cemented itself as a new force to be reckoned with on the gaming scene. With a new release almost annually ever since, the franchise has ballooned into a massive juggernaut, with adventures taking place across a varied collection of time periods and locations. From Bayek’s quest for revenge in Ancient Egypt to the high seas adventures ofEdward Kenwayin the West Indies, some fans may want to see something not set in the distant past.
With so many historical events covered, the obvious question begins to rear its head of where Ubisoft can possibly go next. Naturally, there are still a solid handful of options for the studio to consider and explore, such as confirmation thatAssassin’s Creed Redwill be set in Feudal Japan, a fan request that has lingered for many years now. The trouble with constantly delving into the past and with so many games in production is that these titles may begin to run together (more than they already do). Therefore, a strategy to begin embracing the present and future may be worthwhile going forward.
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The Modern Day Sequences in Assassin’s Creed
While the main draw of theAssassin’s Creedfranchise has always been the prospect of pulling off death-defying parkour in exotic, historical locations, there was also an intriguing modern-day plot line to elevate the action as well. In the earlier games, the story would flash back and forth between an Assassin in the past and the biological descendant Desmond Miles. He would be learning about the many techniques of the Assassins and uncovering key secrets to assist him in the battle against the Templars in the modern day.
Even after Desmon’s story wrapped up inAssassin’s Creed 3, modern-day narratives still remained in subsequent releases.Assassin’s Creed: UnityandAssassin’s Creed: Syndicatehad players controlling an unnamed protagonist from a first-person viewpoint, as they exploredAbstergoand found links to the past. This then evolved to controlling yet another protagonist named Layla Hassan, a researcher for Abstergo, who has become the modern-day face of the series from 2017’sAssassin’s Creed: Originsand onward. So while never the main draw of these games, these sequences were always present and deeply woven into the overall experience.
The Next Step for Assassin’s Creed
It only seems logical to take the next step for themodern-day portion ofAssassin’s Creedand use it as the main focus in a future release. Some fans have felt that these sections always paled in comparison to controlling the actual assassins and distracted from the main meat of the experience. A counter to that criticism would be to make these modern-day segments more than a brief side quest and the actual setting of the entire adventure.
While this may not initially seem as thrilling as scaling Pyramids or classic Italian architecture, the previously mentionedAssassin’s Creed 3has proven that playing as an Assassin in the modern day can be just as exciting. One key set piece in that game featured Desmond performing parkour across skyscrapers. Using Ubisoft’s own template withWatch Dogsand slapping theAssassin’s Creedtraversal mechanicsinto the mix would result in a breath of fresh air for the series.
Using Tokyo or evenNew York Cityas the main location could pave the way for fun scenarios for players. More advanced parkour mechanics to allow players to seamlessly leapfrog over congested city traffic like inMarvel’s Spider-Manor utilize high-tech grappling hooks to quickly reach rooftops like inBatman: Arkham Citywould be a fun shake-up for the franchise, while still being familiar enough with what priorAssassin’s Creedgames featured before.
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