PC Gamer Annual - UK (2022)

series. We like to harp on Ubisoft for
being ‘apolitical’ with its storytelling,
but the historical fiction of the
Assassin vs Templar wars has
provided for plenty of multilayered
characters and motivations without it
feeling like ‘both sides’ stupidity.
Knowing the Brotherhood is fallible,
makes its victories and failures that
much more meaningful.

SIDE DISHES
Assassin’s Creed’s strongest portions
to this day remain the assassinations
themselves. To get to them, though,
you have to slog through a city’s side
missions, which include identical
tasks like pickpocketing, beating up
rabble rousers in alleys, or rooftop
running time trials. That’s it for
variety, and the inclusion of hundreds
of collectible flags doesn’t help, but I
did appreciate that reconnaissance
missions actually gave me a small
piece of intel that could, in theory,
play into my final assassination.
An early bit of investigation led
me to discover that my target, a
Templar surgeon in charge of a ward
full of mentally ill people, often
focuses on his patients to the
detriment of his immediate

surroundings, making him an easier

target. It’s nowhere near the depth

of more immersive games, like

stumbling upon some casual

cannibalism in a Fallout 3 town, but it

does give you a little more familiarity

with your target. Not enough to feel

anything terribly personal towards

them, but that’s where another part

of Assassin’s Creed comes in to play.

Though these days it feels like

Ubisoft is more known for huge open

worlds, it’s impossible to miss how

Assassin’s Creed influenced the arc

of post-2007 storytelling. Each

assassination mission kicks off with a

cinematic introduction to your target

just as you walk up, almost never

ripping away from your perspective.

When Altaïr finally plunges the good

ol’ wrist-blade into his back, players

are treated to a sort of side-stage

conversation between the two. Each

victim gets their monologue, ripping

into Altaïr with the bravado you’d

expect of a villain, but also with the

genuine grief that he could not see

the world the way they did.

Though future entries did it with

more flair, it’s striking that Assassin’s

Creed was confident enough in its

storytelling to sow seeds of doubt in

Not suspicious, not

suspicious at all!

That horse looks blitzed, bro.

BEHIND THE HOOD

Assassin’s Creed’s

surprisingly notable actors

KRISTEN BELL

Voices: Lucy

Stillman

Seen in: Frozen,

The Good Place,

Veronica Mars

NOLAN NORTH

Voices: Desmond

Miles

Seen in: Uncharted,

Destiny, The Last

Of Us

PHIL PROCTOR

Voices: Warren

Vidic

Seen in: Monsters

Inc, Tarzan, Rugrats

OLD GAMES, NEW PERSPECTIVES

REINSTALL

Spot the bad guy.