Will Assassins Creed Ever Have Non Animus Parts Again

April 21, 2022 Post a Comment

Looking from the outside in, Assassin's Creed seems like an interesting historical fiction take a chance that sees players take on globe-trotting quests throughout earth history. Jumping into the series for the first time, players soon realize that there's an entire meta-narrative based in present mean solar day that permeates throughout the series as well. As a concept, it's an interesting juxtaposition of the Assassin-Templar conflict compared to nowadays day; in reality, its execution has become more and more uselessly circuitous and disappointing.

As the series has marched on annually, and now semi-annually, the modernistic day story continued while many of the historical locations tied upwards and moved on to new time periods. While this constant release schedule did in some way bear on theAssassin's Creedfranchise as a whole, ane of the greatest victims was the modern day meta-narrative. The franchise has since seen a smashing rebirth in the adoption of more RPG-related mechanics, among other improvements, but the series' meta-narrative with Abstergo continues to lag behind.

The Merit of the Modern Day Story

Arguably, the modernistic twenty-four hour period story wasn't always this way and was genuinely interesting for a while. The establishment of the meta-narrative in the firstAssassinator'southward Creed and its subsequent continuation inAssassinator'southward Creed 2onward had an incremental buildup that was relatively enjoyable, fifty-fifty if information technology took a back seat to the meat of the game. There was merit in using scientific discipline fiction to justify re-visiting these different points in history because information technology added context to the stories Desmond was reliving in the Animus. Beyond that, the timeless nature of the Assassins vs. Templars conflict and the doomsday prophecy added a unique aspect of encouragement for players, even when the serial didn't need it. Going as far equallyAssassin'due south Creed: Revelations, the game's modernistic day narrative was slow-going, merely information technology had a legitimate rising action.

Information technology wasn't untilAC3 where the series seemed to lose command of the complicated narrative eachAssassinator's Creed game had built upwardly to previously. The games leading upward toAssassin'southward Creed iii seemed to be setting upward Desmond, the protagonist up untilAssassin's Creed four : Blackness Flag, to accept a heightened importance in the franchise'south futurity. As it turned out, Desmond was instead sacrificed to save the Earth in an unfulfilling and sudden finale. The series basically killed off the protagonist it had been building up as an integral portion of the story. From there, Desmond'southward progression was largely retconned and the modern day story just petered off.

The Present Solar day Narrative, Post-Desmond

Part of why the modern day took a backseat to the bodily historical assassin gameplay was due to Desmond'south death. The game no longer had its central source justifying the journeying into the by in the first place. While initially it seemed the series was setting up Juno as the franchise's next antagonist, she was eventually killed off in a comic book in the extendedAssassinator'due south Creed universe, not fifty-fifty in a mainlineAssassin's Creed title. Now the more than recentAssassin's Creed titles are trying to piece together the present day meta-narrative, simply what used to partially be the backbone of the franchise is now over complicating a game near revisiting of import era of history in fun, audacious ways.

Much of the modern day story content inAssassin's Creed four : Blackness Flag,Rogue, Unity,andSyndicate takes a very vague, hands-off approach. Likely in an try to restructure the modernistic day content to suit a more cohesive and directly story, players accept on the role of nameless drones who are literally playing Abstergo "virtual reality games" based on some of Desmond's (and others) Dna history. If hardcore fans were wondering why not many people cared about the Counterinsurgency or Abstergo, players can likely signal them to any of those games as a justification.

At present it seems the series has reintroduced a new protagonist Layla for the nowadays day story. To what finish her purpose lies is still vague, considering Layla'southward story yet continues afterAssassin's Creed Odyssey. She quickly becomes an Assassin cell leader, beginning the search for First Civilization/Isu artifacts. She eventually finds the Staff of Hermes and is quickly corrupted by its keen power and psychological effects. Things are more complicated for the modernistic solar day story now compared to any other entry in theAssassinator's Creed series prior.

Nix the Counterinsurgency Project

While at beginning, this meta-narrative served every bit an important jumping off point forAssassin'southward Creed games, at present its becoming more of an unneeded complication to the cadre of the series' plan. It's hard to empathize why in that location's such a strong push button past the franchise to continue focusing on the mod-mean solar day aspects of the story when the meta-narrative's true purpose cannot be identified. Even the lore that involves the Pieces of Eden, the First Culture/Isu, and their powerful artifacts are more interesting when incorporated into the historical fiction.

How these artifacts affected key moments in history is what makesAssassin's Creed's story so special. The franchise'southward story can nevertheless include that over-arching plot device without a person in modern day being the catalyst for visiting these moments in history.Assassin's Creed should focus on these moments in history entirely, and weave it into the meta-narrative of Assassins vs. Templars throughout history. The games don't necessarily need the Counterinsurgency or more specifically Abstergo to achieve the narrative complexity or compelling universe it's trying to craft.

Regardless, even withOdyssey's rather gruesome ending clueing players into what's adjacent for Layla and the modern-24-hour interval story, information technology'due south hard to say players are interested in what comes next. The core ofAssassin's Creed has always been virtually the history, not almost the convoluted mod setting that the series seems to exist beholden to.

Assassin's Creed Ragnarok is rumored to be in evolution.

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Rob Dolen (858 Articles Published)

Not actually a distant relative of Bob Dole, Rob Dolen is a Features Writer for Game Rant. Large fan of expansive lore and game analysis, video games are cool. Freedom Fighters is underrated. Probably not good at competitive Halo anymore.