A recurring theme weaving through theAssassin’s Creedstoryline is the potent, often consuming, drive for revenge. From the earliest entries to the latest games in the series, likeAssassin’s Creed Shadows, most protagonists find their paths shaped by a desire for retribution. This often comes from personal tragedies or over-the-top betrayals. While this worked the first few times, it has become a repetitive trope that is leading to player fatigue.
There’s no problem with this as a plot device, and some of thebestAssassin’s Creedgames' storieshave it. Theproblem arises when the revenge plot is overused, and once you start to look at the motivations behind each protagonist, some form of revenge pops up way more often than not. How often it happens makes it seem like it’s more intentional than someone might think.
Most Assassin’s Creed Protagonists Are After Revenge
Almost All of Them Want Blood - One Way Or Another
The pattern of vengeance began withAssassin’s Creed 2, as Ezio Auditore lost his family through a betrayal. The unjust execution of his father and brothers was thestart of a multi-game storylinethat spanned decades but did not rely on this motivation after the first game. However—except forBlack Flag,Mirage, andSyndicate-Assassin’s Creed 3and onwards focused on revenge.
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It is the kind of thing you don’t notice, but you do feel when playing the games. The overused plotline of revenge gets retold as a way to get players to feel invested in the storyline. Like most tropes, this was done well the first time, butit has become repetitive and predictable.Shadowsreally pointed this one out because both protagonists are out for revenge.
I will not spoil the story, butboth protagonists inShadowsshare the goal of getting vengeancefor wrongs that have been done to them. Ubisoft couldn’t even give one of the protagonists a selfish reason, like Edward Kenway, or as a duty under their Brotherhood, like inSyndicate. Just like we stated inour review ofAssassin’s Creed Shadows,Ubisoft plays it too safe, and the company reuses this trope because it wants to make players feel invested, even if it’s just reusing a well-worn formula.
There Are A Few Assassins Who Didn’t Have A Backstory of Vengeance
Many of The Games Follow This Theme
While revenge serves as a potent catalyst for manyAssassin’s Creedprotagonists, not everyone had this motivation. The originalAssassin’s Creed,Black Flag,Mirage, andSyndicateeach gave a unique reason for the player to feel investedin the characters. This worked so well in these games because they relied on their stories. WhileMirage’sstory highlighted the other issues with the writing, the other games did this very well.
I won’t useBrotherhoodorRevalationsbecause players were already invested in Ezio thanks to the first game.
Altair Ibn-La’Ahad was the first protagonist in the series and his story revolved around redemption. He broke the creed and needed to work his way back to master, uncovering a conspiracy within his own Brotherhood and becoming the leader. Watching Altair understand his flaws and learn from his mistakes gave a complete character arc that started the series.Players didn’t need vengeance as a driving motivator, the idea of Altair becoming a better person and helping the Brotherhood was enough.
We found out that Edward Kenway’s reasons for piracy weren’t entirely selfish later, but the game started out with Edward being pretty greedy. The gameplay kept players invested, andthe story helped players stick to the game, as Edward’s character arc sees him put his family and creed first.Black Flagwas a great example of story and gameplay coming together to make a great experience.
What’s the best Assassin’s Creed game?
With the new Assassin’s Creed game approaching, I’ve been revisiting Odyssey, and I’m in awe of how incredible and expansive of an experience it is. I can see the case for Assassin’s Creed II being the quintessential game of the franchise and what it directly represents, but Odyssey is such an incredibly fun game. Assassin’s Creed aside, it’s probably the definitive Greek history/mythology game with how much ground it covers.
Syndicatesees the Frye twins go to London to do missions for the Assassin Brotherhood. The game was great, but it came afterUnity, which arguably caused the series to need a reset.Miragedidn’t keep the revenge trope, and the story wasn’t good enough to make the game a huge success, butit was nice not to see the overused plot device of revenge. Seeing Basim Ibn Ishaq start out as a street thief to a full-fledged assassin was great until he finds out what he truly is, and the game starts feeling disjointed.
The point is thatUbisoft doesn’t have to rely on this trope. There are games in this series that did well without needing to make the player sit through a predictable reveal of the main character getting betrayed in some way. This trope has become a crutch for the series and eventually, more players will notice the same theme repeating itself.
The Betrayal Trope Is Done Way Too Often By Ubisoft
Revenge Is An Ongoing Theme For Ubisoft Games
Ubisoft’s over-reliance on revenge as a central narrative device extends far beyond theAssassin’s Creedfranchise.Watch Dogs,Far Cry, andGhost Recon Breakpointall have this plot device; it has become a staple of the company. However, it is starting to feel cheap because it’s only used to get the player invested quickly instead of relying on the overall plot.
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Ghost Recon Breakpointsees Nomad try and take the island from operatives who turned rogue.Far Cry 3has Jason Brody seeking revenge for his brother’s death.Far Cry 4sees Ajay Ghale hunt down Pagan Min for the death of his mother. Finally, Aiden Pearce’s overarching motivation inWatch Dogsis to avenge his niece’s murder. Once in a while is one thing, butwhen you stack them up, it’s glaringly obvious.
The main issue with repeating this trope is that it makes players less invested each time. The effect wears off and there’s a sense of normalcy to the revenge plot.What was once a good hook becomes expected, and it hurts the next game that uses it a little more than the last.
A Departure From Vengeance Could Help With Fatigue
Change The Theme Around A Bit
Assassin’s Creed Shadowsis the biggest offender of this trope, using it for both protagonists. Luckily, an easy way to get players reinvested in the revenge plot is to avoid using it. Give players some breathing room in a few mainline series games and rely on the writing of the staff.Ubisoft needs to go back to other character motivations, like duty, greed, or redemption.
Players are comparing each game to the last becausethey’re just judging which game did the revenge plot the best. Through diversifying character motivations, Ubisoft could have each game stand on its own. That’s the way to keep a game from being compared to others and giving a new experience to players.
Until Ubisoft leaves the clutch of the revenge plot, players will slowly get tired of experiencing the same plot device through the eyes of different characters.Assassin’s Creedcan only benefit from diversifying the story in a way that makes each game feel new. Until then, fatigue will just grow until story ingenuity becomes a major player demand.
