Who would have guessed that stealthily scaling a edifice with a trusty subconscious blade would become an almanac tradition, but back in 2007, the exploits of Altair in Assassinator'due south Creed were practically revolutionary.

13 years afterward, Assassin's Creed has adult into a franchise that transcends gaming, expanding into movies, novels, comics, anime and fifty-fifty an upcoming Netflix serial.

Assassin's Creed has taken players to exotic locations including Syria, Egypt, Greece, Italian republic, Paris, and England. Not simply that, but these settings depicted of import eras in fourth dimension, including the Holy Crusades, Italian Renaissance, the American Revolution, Victorian Era England, the Age of Piracy, and the Viking conquests.

These settings help tell an epic story that revolves around two competing factions: the Assassins that fight for free will, and the Templar's who fight to maintain order through mind control. Although the locations and periods are rooted in reality, the stories are fictional. The series tells these stories across unlike timelines thank you to a device called the Counterinsurgency which lets users experience the memories of their ancestors and thus, characters in this long-running Assassin-Templar state of war.

Story aspects were inspired by a novel from the 1930s titled Alamut by Vladimir Bartol including the spoken creed of the Assassin Order: "aught is true, everything is permitted." Withal, the free-running open-world gameplay was an evolution from the popular Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, an action-take chances game with platforming elements that inspired a movie of its own.

There are 12 main Assassinator's Creed games and 12 spin-off games, spanning almost every platform and three console generations. Let'south take a look through some highlights over the 13 years the franchise has been effectually...

Assassin'southward Creed (2007 - PC, Xbox 360, PS3)

Timeline: 1191
Setting: Holy Land During the Tertiary Crusade (Jerusalem, Acre, and Damascus)
Protagonist: Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad

Assassinator's Creed gained plenty of attention after an impressive 2006 E3 demo with the game release coming in 2007. The game hooked gamers with many layers of authenticity. Level design, vocalization acting, and animations stood out every bit being worthy of a adjacent-generation game title.

Developers at Ubisoft worked hard to create big crowds in which the protagonist, Assassin Altair Ibn-La'Ahad could mingle and hide in, a huge deviation from past stealth games that encouraged hiding in the shadows. Back in 2007, watching Altair place his hands on the shoulders of those in the crowd as he slipped past seemed like a revolution in terms of interactivity.

Adding to this was the verticality of the game, equally the main character can parkour and climb buildings in the cities of Jerusalem, Acre, and Damascus to hunt down his prey. It wasn't just similar Spider-Human being sticking to the walls either, the character grabbed and used nooks and edges on the buildings to navigate the walls realistically. A major part of the game was scaling towers to go a amend view of the metropolis, then performing a death-defying leap of faith into a haystack.

The game wasn't perfect though, some criticized the basic combat mechanics, which seemed to emphasize one-on-i encounters, and had a lot of delays and waiting for actions. The story was a bit linear and short, even for an open-world game. Overall though, the game was a success cheers to the incredible attending to detail, setting up a new standard for Ubisoft and the game industry as a whole.

Trivia:

Assassin's Creed had a mobile prequel and half sequel on the Playstation Portable called Bloodlines.

Assassinator's Creed Two (2009 - PC, Xbox 360, PS3)

Timeline: 15th and 16th century
Setting: Renaissance Italia
Protagonist: Ezio Auditore da Firenze

Two years subsequently the original Assassinator's Creed -- and virtually a year after the Windows release -- came the sequel, allowing Ubisoft Montreal to requite 15th and 16th century Italy the authentic, high attending to particular treatment that the final game received. While much of the mechanics remained the aforementioned between the offset and second games, they were better polished which led to fewer glitches and improve control of the Assassin Ezio.

The developers added far more side quests giving players more content through their playthroughs. There were three additional downloadable sequences available, letting gamers spend more time in Ubisoft'southward carefully crafted rendition of renaissance era Italy.

The game was met with universal acclaim, netting perfect scores from several loftier-profile publications, and being applauded for maintaining the level of quality from the first game while taking the gameplay and story up a notch.

However, ACII still had its issues and critics, as PC versions of the game featured a digital rights management organization that required a constant internet connection to play. If gamers asunder from the internet while playing, their progress wouldn't get saved. Furthermore, a denial of service assault showed the issues of using such a system, as many gamers weren't able to play when the Ubisoft servers were unavailable. Ubisoft has since updated the DRM software used past the game to only crave a connection upon launch.

Trivia:

Three short movies were uploaded to YouTube as office of the promotional efforts for Assassinator's Creed Two. The series was called Assassin's Creed: Lineage and has racked up over 22 million views.

There was as well a mobile spin-off of Assassin's Creed 2 for the Nintendo DS and Apple iOS devices called Assassinator'southward Creed II: Discovery

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (2010 - PC, Xbox 360, PS3)

Timeline: 16th century
Setting: Italian republic
Protagonist: Ezio Auditore da Firenze

A year afterward, Ubisoft delivered a direct sequel to Assassinator's Creed II, called Brotherhood. Featuring the same characters and a similar setting within 16th century Italian republic, Brotherhood spends a lot of time in and around Rome. The game featured some new mechanics including the opportunity to train and recruit Assassins and send them out on missions or become them to help you out on current missions. There's besides a organization that allows y'all to invest in certain cities to help them grow and develop.

The game introduced new enemy types and ways to dispatch them, allowing Ezio to engage multiple enemies at once. The variety of weapons and tools expands with new throwable weapons like spears and axes and fifty-fifty a subconscious pistol.

Multiplayer was finally added, letting players compete against each other in a variety of game modes, like a gratuitous-for-all mode setup, or object-based scenarios besides. The multiplayer mode included a leveling up mechanic that allowed for unlocks and new abilities, perks, and characters.

Trivia:

Windows versions of the game included Nvidia 3D Vision and AMD Eyefinity support. Those interested in following the story could likewise grab a copy of the game'due south novelization.

Assassin's Creed: Revelations (2011 - PC, Xbox 360, PS3)

Timeline: 16th century
Setting: Constantinople
Protagonist: Ezio Auditore and Altair Ibn-La'Ahad

Revelations was the next pace for the franchise and played it condom past giving gamers control of the former two protagonists in the serial, Ezio and Altair. New weapons like the claw blade added more options for players to get around the city, a detailed and accurate-looking Constantinople.

The ability to recruit and directly Assassin initiates is still hither, equally well every bit a whole new mechanic revolving around holding off Templar forces in a given location through a tower defence force way minigame.

A crafting organization also allows for new bombs and new means to deal with enemies, and gamers were encouraged to run across and hear the concluding chapters of the sometime protagonists. Multiplayer returns but with a more than adult plot of its own, furthering the appeal of the game mode. Unfortunately, the game didn't seem to match the constantly evolving standard from previous iterations, and the critical response was a bit milder than earlier.

Maybe the game engine was getting one-time, or the expectations were too high, but the game seemed too similar to the previous entry, which left it feeling less impressive overall.

Trivia:

Revelations included a few commencement-person sequences, a first for the series. Panel versions of the game could too be played entirely in 3D, with a supported TV.

Assassin's Creed III (2012 - PC, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U)

Timeline: 1754-1783
Setting: America - Boston, New York,
Protagonist: Ratonhnhaké:ton aka Conor

In order to address the criticism of the last game, Ubisoft brought in a new engine for the next entry in the series. Now running on AnvilNext, Assassin's Creed III sends players to the 18th century, depicting the conflict between Templars and Assassins in America, primarily during the American Revolution. Interestingly enough, the single-player game lets gamers play as a Templar character early on and later gives them control of the half-English language, half-Mohawk protagonist Assassin, Ratonhnhaké:ton besides known equally Connor.

Like previous entries in the series, the game featured detailed level blueprint, depicting Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and the borderland, which immune for a more fully-featured hunting and crafting system.

The gameplay was expanded significantly, with more weapons, a rope-dart, axes, and muskets, which all added up to allow for more than fluid gainsay that could allow Conor take downwardly multiple enemies at once. The game even lets him employ other characters as human shields, or hibernate in alpine grass and other natural elements.

A significant part of the game includes some naval exploration and combat, which opens upwards another aspect of the open up-world game. Additionally, Assassinator'southward Creed III included parlor games like bowling and darts, which helped to develop the overall temper.

Trivia:

A point of controversy with this game was about the marketing promoting the aspects of American nationalism and the evils of the British empire, but when gamers and critics got their easily on the game, they found it to be a pretty mature, nuanced look at what was going on through the American Revolution. This game was also remastered, making information technology one of the first Assassin'due south Creed games available on the Nintendo Switch.

Assassinator's Creed III: Liberation (2012 - PC, PS Vita, PS3, Xbox 360)

Timeline: 1765 and 1777
Setting: New Orlean, French and Indian War
Protagonist: Aveline de Grandpré

While Assassin's Creed Three: Liberation isn't a main entry in the series, information technology is worth pointing out for a few quick reasons. It's the first game with a female protagonist, the African-French Assassin Aveline de Grandpré. Like Assassin's Creed III, Liberation takes place in Northward America, focusing on New Orleans and the French-Indian War.

Originally, Liberation was designed for the PS Vita and was included in a packet with the portable gaming console. A remastered version of the game for home consoles arrived less than 2 years later. While the reception wasn't great, the introduction of a female principal character shows that Assassin'south Creed continues to explore underrepresented stories, be it setting, gender or race.

Assassinator's Creed Iv: Black Flag (2013 - PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U)

Timeline: 18th century
Setting: Caribbean area
Protagonist: Edward Kenway

Black Flag was the next primary game in the serial. This time effectually you play as Conor's (from Assassin'due south Creed III) grandfather, Edward Kenway. Gear up during the golden historic period of piracy in the Caribbean area, Assassin'due south Creed IV takes on a slightly lighter tone. In many ways it strays abroad from the core gameplay loop from before, reducing the emphasis on stealth and assassinations.

Instead, a cadre role of the game revolves around naval gainsay, exploration, and piracy. Gamers can explore the seas, finding treasures in shipwrecks or deserted islands. Hunting includes fish and whales, and you tin capture and control an unabridged armada of ships to control the sea. The naval portion of the game matches (or exceeds) the game's land-based settings, putting some altitude betwixt Black Flag and the original Assassinator'southward Creed, but the cities of Havana, Nassau, and Kingston are nevertheless full of details and life.

Fans loved the naval theme, suggesting that the game is a far improve pirate game than an Assassin's Creed game, but overall the title was well received. Multiplayer returned for this game simply was land-based simply. Furthermore, the Freedom Cry DLC was a huge success earning writers Jill Murray, Melissa MacCoubrey, Hugo Giard, and Wesley Pincombe a screenplay and story nomination in the Writers Social club of America Awards.

Trivia:

In that location was a Japanese manga adaptation of the game, written by Takashi Yano and illustrated by Kenji Oiwa. It began serialization in Shueisha'south Jump X magazine on August 10, 2013. Ubisoft as well helped finance the exhumation of the remains of the Spanish corsair Amaro Pargo, so they could utilize his likeness in the game.

Assassin'south Creed Rogue (2014 - PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

Timeline: Mid-18th
Setting: Seven Year War, America
Protagonist: Shay Patrick Cormac

In late 2014 it was clear that the new consoles were becoming more pop, then Ubisoft had to make up one's mind which platforms to launch the side by side Assassin'southward Creed titles. Instead, they fabricated a game for each generation with Assassinator'south Creed Rogue meant for sixth-generation hardware like the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, while Assassin's Creed Unity was exclusively on seventh-generation consoles like the Xbox Ane and PlayStation iv. Both games had the aforementioned release date of Nov xi, 2014.

Assassin'southward Creed Rogue is the direct sequel to Black Flag and is set during the Seven Years' War. This time gamers accept control of a Templar character for the whole game. Playing as Shay Patrick Cormac, an Assassin turned Templar, the game features enough of character development. What used to be a violent and secretive state of war between Assassins and Templars for world peace is also experienced through internal and moral conflict. Shay may exist a bad guy, but his actions still have players rooting for him and relating with his actions. Shay exhibits fears and regrets as he hunts downwards his former Assassin associates.

It's clear by now that Assassinator's Creed games cover new ground past taking identify in unlike settings. At that place are countless WWII games out at that place, but very few games that accept place during conflicts similar the Vii Years' War like this ane.

The same can be said most the characters. Sure we're used to buff, no-nonsense Yankee soldier who tin practice everything, but few games feature Irish gaelic-American characters struggling to find their place in 2 orders with contrasting viewpoints. Like Black Flag, Rogue featured naval exploration and gainsay, though Shay's send is smaller than Kenway'south. An icebreaker is used during the arctic settings.

The gameplay is more or less the same equally previous entries. Gang hideouts can be taken abroad from other factions, similar in Brotherhood, and sidequests revolve around preventing Assassins from completing their tasks. For example, Shay tin can runway down a messenger pigeon carrying an bump-off contract, to stop an assassination from occurring.

Trivia:

The Multiplayer fashion was cutting for this title, only Rogue did support eye-tracking accessories.

Assassinator'southward Creed Unity (2014 - PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox Ane)

Timeline: French Revolution 18th century
Setting: France
Protagonist: Arno Victor Dorian

Assassin's Creed Unity launched on PC, PS4 and Xbox 1 at the aforementioned fourth dimension every bit Assassin's Creed Rogue which targeted older consoles. This fourth dimension, the series returns to Europe, more specifically 18th century France, during the French Revolution. Gamers have control of Arno Dorian, the son of a member of the Assassin's Guild, whose father was killed by Templar Shay Patrick Cormac (from Assassin'southward Creed Rogue). Dorian is then adopted by a grandmaster of the Templar Order. However, that ends with the adopted father getting murdered, too. Gear up out to find out more about his father's death, Arno joins the Assassin's Order.

In addition to playing every bit Arno, gamers tin can be joined by iii other Assassins controlled by other players, marking the first co-operative gameplay mechanics in the series. The large open up world is full of life, and the updated engine allows for over 30,000 non-playable characters to appear on the screen simultaneously. Sometimes the crowd will have an interactive result: for example, someone gets pickpocketed, and you tin help the victim out.

Unity lacked the naval gainsay and exploration of past games, and some critics claimed that the game scaled things dorsum a bit from the grandness of games similar Black Flag. The critics were harsh, citing the size of the game equally a sticking point, in addition to some technical issues and bugs.

Ubisoft Montreal CEO Yannis Mallat had to repent. "I want to sincerely apologize on behalf of Ubisoft and the entire Assassin'southward Creed team," he said back in 2014. "These issues took away from your enjoyment of the game, and kept many of you from experiencing the game at its fullest potential."

This marked the outset fourth dimension the reception to an Assassin'due south Creed game was so harsh that an apology had to exist issued. The side by side mainline game had to be delayed, ensuring ameliorate attention to detail.

Trivia:

A less discussed only thoroughly interesting attribute of Unity are the time anomalies, which provided a new setting and game. This sends Arno to other periods within Paris, including the Belle Epoque effectually WWI and its occupation by Nazi Germany in WWII.

To ensure the authenticity of the virtual setting of French republic, the Notre-Dame Cathedral was modeled right down to the brick. This procedure took Ubisoft artist, Caroline Miousse two years to complete. Post-obit the burn in 2019 that damaged the cultural landmark, Ubisoft donated €500,000 to the reconstruction and gave Assassin's Creed Unity out for free.

Assassin's Creed Chronicles (2015: PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS Vita)

Settings: Communist china: 1526, Bharat: 1841, Russia: 1918
Protagonists: China: Shao Jun, India: Arbaaz Mir, Russian federation:Nikolai Orelov

3 spin-off second games were released betwixt 2014 and 2016, telling smaller stories than the usual Assassinator'southward Creed games, though nonetheless in unexpected settings. The Chronicles games went to Cathay, India, and Russian federation, merely had express entreatment, with sub-average scores on Metacritic. Nevertheless, it showed only how much ability the Assassin's Creed franchise had, expanding from massive large games to short films, manga, novels, 2d games, and eventually a flick, which debuted in 2016.

Assassin'south Creed Syndicate (2015 - PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)

Timeline: Victorian Era (1868)
Setting: London England Industrial Revolution
Protagonists: Jacob and Evie Frye

Side by side for the series was London, England during the Industrial Revolution. Taking place through the mid-19th century, Assassin'south Creed Syndicate starred ii main characters. The twins Jacob and Evie Frye each had a different fix of skills to unlock and learn, too as different missions to complete through the game.

The game introduced more tools and weaponry, only maybe the biggest additions were the ability to hijack or pilot carriages around town or use a grappling hook, which can propel the Frye characters to rooftops or let the zipline beyond them. The game features a gang-state of war mechanic also, where the principal characters tin consummate side-quests in a given location to take it over for their gang.

While this game lacks the popular naval combat from previous titles and doesn't feature whatever multiplayer element, one surprise was the addition of another time anomaly that takes place during World War Two, every bit players accept control of Evie Frye's daughter and help the British forces identify and take down a principal spy.

Critics were lukewarm on the game, but it was a clear render to class after Unity.

Assassinator'due south Creed Identity (2015 - iOS and Android)

Timeline: 12th century
Setting: Italy

In 2015, Assassinator'southward Creed made the jump to smartphones. And while there have been other mobile Assassin's Creed games in the past, Identity was in full 3D, and played from a tertiary-person perspective, much like the main-line games.

Assassin's Creed Origins (2017 - PC, Xbox 1, PS4)

Timeline: 49–43 BC
Setting: Egypt
Protagonists: Bayek and Aya of Siwa

The franchise went to Egypt in 2017 with Assassinator's Creed Origins but during the Ptolemaic Period, just before the Roman Rule. The game shows the start of the Assassinator Brotherhood, likewise every bit the Guild of the Ancients that eventually turns into the Templar Club.

At first, Origins doesn't seem similar an Assassinator's Creed game, with limited buildings to traverse, and a greater emphasis on role-playing, like leveling upward and completing many side-quests. However, the game shows a smart progression from the writing and development squad, mixing a personal story of Bayek and Aya of Siwa, along with the greater conflict between those encouraging gratuitous-volition and those demanding order.

Gameplay includes land and naval exploration, and there are sequences of naval gainsay as well. The main graphic symbol can not only explore underwater for treasures simply explore tombs, find rock circles, attack outposts, and even avenge other players' deaths. Gamers can besides participate in chariot racing and gladiatorial combat.

Other changes to gameplay include the employ of an eagle named Senu to assistance Bayek scout out locations, an adrenaline meter that allows for an extra powerful attack, and new weapons of unlike sizes and ranges. Furthermore, the combat system was transformed from what was previously defined every bit a paired animation setup, to a hitting-box oriented organization.

The game was a hit, showing the benefits of taking a fleck more time to release a game than earlier. Critics loved Origins, peculiarly the level of authenticity, sense of wonder, vibrant cities, and overall game design. It as well looked awesome and pushed some PCs to the limit. Some criticized its pacing, only mostly, the game was very popular, selling over 10 million copies.

Trivia:

Origins is the start Assassinator's Creed game with difficulty settings. Fans had been pushing for Egypt to exist the next setting for an Assassin'due south Creed game for a long fourth dimension. The developers added a few pocket-size Easter eggs similar mirages if you spend as well much time in the desert heat.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey (2018 - PC, Xbox 1, PS4, Stadia)

Timeline: 431–422 BC
Setting: Greece during the Peloponnesian War
Protagonists: Alexios or Kassandra

Assassin's Creed Odyssey takes place in Greece during the Peloponnesian War. The game allows to play as either a male protagonist, Alexios, or female person protagonist, Kassandra. In that location are some sci-fi and fantasy elements to be constitute throughout all of the Assassin's Creed games, then information technology should come as no surprise that some mythological history finds its way into Odyssey.

This game furthers itself from the typical Assassin's Creed gameplay, focusing more on open-earth RPG elements, with selectable dialogue, multiple endings, romance options with non-playable characters, and branching quests.

The game expands upon Origins' gainsay, adding more abilities rather than merely the i overpowered set on in the preceding game. Naval combat is a bigger focus in this game, and success in the sea will change how factions behave in a given region.

Odyssey was met with critical success and plenty of praise for its appetite, scale, and immersion. It has sold over 10 million copies to date.

Trivia:

A story creator mode was released, allowing players to create and share custom-fabricated quests, although that could exist used to exploit the leveling organisation.

Assassin'south Creed Valhalla (2020 - PC, Xbox One, XSX, PS4, PS5, Stadia)

Timeline: 873 AD
Setting: England
Protagonists: Eivor

The latest game is the series so far is Assassin's Creed Valhalla, released for PC and a multitude of console platforms including PlayStation 5, Xbox Series Ten/Due south and deject gaming via Google'due south Stadia. The game takes place during a Viking conquest of Great britain, taking identify in 873 AD. Gamers take control of Eivor, who tin can be either male or female, equally they tackle the kingdoms of Wessex, Northumbria, East Anglia, and Mercia. In the process, they run into the Subconscious Ones first introduced in Origins and help to fight confronting the Gild of Ancients.

The setting itself is said to exist inspired past Michael Crichton's novel Eaters of the Dead, which is a retelling of Beowulf. Narrative director Darby McDevitt described the overall tale as beingness a epitomize of all the prior Assassin'due south Creed games, connecting them in not-piffling fashions and being a completely new style to tell an Assassinator's Creed game.

New options for combat include more weapons to dual wield, every bit well every bit new weapons altogether similar a flail. Players tin also pretend to die or use their raven companion for distractions.

Social stealth has returned, allowing Eivor to blend in with the crowd and avoid detection. Furthermore, the game progression has characters returning to previously explored regions, and some areas tin can be conquered through affairs rather than gainsay. The game also includes settlements, like in Black Flag, which can be developed and improved using resource gained from raids. Every bit in by games, non-quest activities include hunting, angling, drinking contests, a dice oriented game called Orlog, and constructing Cairns.

The game was met with positive criticism and is lauded as being a smartly designed next pace for the series. Reviews suggest that the game balances the new and old mechanics, and incorporates exploration activities to deliver an entertaining and engrossing game for Assassin'south Creed veterans.

Trivia:

In an interesting modify to the usual presentation of games with customizable characters, you tin choose to play every bit a male person or female Eivor, or allow the game alternating between the two throughout. Assassin's Creed tries to dive deep into the timeline and characters, and a podcast was released to help discuss the Viking history within Valhalla.