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Futuristic Time Jump : Pitching an Assassin's Creed Game Share Written By: Edited By: Reporter Name Back To Database Could the 'present-day' be replaced by a futuristic storyline? TOWCB Team members Gargudon and Ubicypher (Rally the Creed #6 ) pitched the idea of transporting the modern day segments into the future. They noted that Ubisoft have always been extremely cautious about real-life current affairs, avoiding mention of wars or ongoing issues, even recently glossing over the Covid-19 pandemic by only referencing it in an in-game email. Dataminers uncovered an unreleased cutscene in the files for Assassin's Creed Mirage which featured a conversation between two Animus operators, discussing DNA found by Assassin Mentor William Miles. The pair refer to the 21st Century as 'Ancient History', suggesting that they are much further ahead in time The Evidence Canon In the Assassin's Creed Brahman graphic novel, Jasdip Dhami, a member of the Indian Brotherhood of Assassins encountered Abstergo Operatives wearing futuristic head gear, a mission to locate the Koh-i-Noor diamond (Piece of Eden) which ended in failure, and the deaths of Siobhan Dhami (Assassin) and Monima Das (actress). Jasdip returned in the Assassin's Creed Uprising comic book series (2017) by Titan Comics, continuing his search for the Koh-i-Noor diamond, this time representing the Instruments of the First Will after leaving the Assassins. This shows that technology which could be classed as 'futuristic', or ahad of its time still exists within the Assassin's Creed universe. The armour worn by Sigma Team in Assassin's Creed Origins (2017 ) is somewhat reminiscent to Predator, giving it an almost-alien-like feel. The team returned in the long-running Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple manhwa (online graphic novel), wearing the same outfit. Non Canon In the 'Assassin's Creed Visionaries' comic book series, issue #2 variant cover art by Moy R. Marco featured a giant Assassin robot, similar to a Transformer. The cover was created to showcase a short story within the issue written by Kevin Roditeli, titled 'Project Altair'. Synopsis by AC Wiki ''For the past two years, giant creatures have appeared at random to cause destruction, razing everything in sight and vanishing as quickly as they appeared with apparently no rhyme or reason for it. Humanity has finally developed a possible way to counter these monsters: giant robots. Atop a building, Minerva watches another monster attack. She removes her cloak and performs a Leap of Faith down into her giant robot, Altaïr-01. Her support team confirm that all systems are ready and, from the command chair, Minerva activates her plasma Hidden Blade and, with it, the machine. Minerva then maneuvers the robot towards the creature and engages it in combat, having Altaïr-01 strike it with its own Hidden Blade.'' Fan Content Over the years fans of the franchise have dreamt up countless possibilities for future projects, including a game set in the future. Seeing all the great ideas brought to life by artists makes us here at TOWCB wonder if it's only a matter of time before Assassin's Creed takes the leap forward in time Pitching a Futuristic Assassin's Creed With the difficulties that come with setting a game in reality, Ubisoft could commit to a time jump where Abstergo have finally taken over civilisation through technology, and the Assassins are fighting back. This could look very similar to 'In Time', or 'The Hunger Games'. Access the Animus released a really intriguing article (written by ) on the topic, piecing together a number of hints towards an upcoming shift in time. History is our playground simulation ultimately end with someone taking control over humanity, whether that be a branch of the Templars, such as Abstergo, the Isu returning, or something new entirely. cycle of comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author This is placeholder text. To connect this element to content from your collection, select the element and click Connect to Data. About the Author

This Week in Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 17th to 23rd July Community Share 25 Jul 2023 Written By: Edited By: Aaron Young Colum Blackett Back To Database Welcome to the weekly virtual photography roundup hosted by Aaron Young from The AC Partnership Program. Every week I will be picking our top 5 favourite Assassin’s Creed shots and showcasing them on The Ones Who Came Before website, in order to promote virtual photography and talented content creators within the community. Aaron is a keen virtual photographer and loves to post his journeys through Assassin’s Creed on Twitter. Keep an eye on the site as more weekly shots are added, we are looking for captures across all Assassin’s Creed games. Tag your photos to the #TOWCBWeeklyCapture for a chance to be featured. This week’s theme: AC Mounts Tiger Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ TuridTorkil “Eye of the Tiger.” At the start of the year Assassin’s Creed Valhalla teamed up with Ecologi to produce a special pack of mounts to raise money for climate change. The pack was inspired by endangered and vulnerable species. I must say that these mounts look so good, although a little too unrealistic for my liking. I love this shot of the tiger stalking in the foliage. The lighting on the tigers face is beautiful and the greenery surrounding the beast is luscious. You would never believe this was a shot from a Viking game in set in England. Link to set: The Bear Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ G_Assassin90 “Who can guess the ways and the plans of the Gods?” Bears are one of my favourite animals and this wonderful shot shows the magnificent bear mount which was added with the Siege of Paris DLC. I love this mount in Valhalla and it is my go-to when in the mythical worlds. The whole ambience of this shot is stunning, the red flowers look so good but also promote Eivor riding the bear in a stylish way. The saturation is perfect too with vibrant colours all over the capture. I must say Eivor’s outfit works well with the bear, giving off awesome Viking vibes. I would not want to be coming face to face with these two. Link to set: Into the Woods Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ Amaya_Nocturna “Thank you, noble harts. I will put this gift to good use and remain your steadfast protector.” Once again we are in Valhalla thanks to the abundance of available mounts in the game. This shot is not just about the elegant reindeer but also the magical environment in which it stands. If it were not for the reigns on the animal then you would think this was a perfectly times nature shot. I adore the forest aesthetic with the leafy floors and the gorgeous light breaking through the trees. The foggy atmosphere adds to the mystical feel. As for the reindeer, it is graceful and wonderfully designed. Such a nice touch to add the flowers to the antlers. Link to set: Travel Time Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ HimboGaymer “You should hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.” The classic mount and staple of most Assassin’s Creed games, the horse. Easily my mount of choice and the variety of styles we have seen over the years has been incredible. If Eivor isn’t floating around in her longship then she will most likely be riding around the sites of England on her trusty horse. I admire the position of this shot with the horse looking straight at the camera as if it’s a selfie. Eivor looks so Norse dressed in her Raven Clan armour and riding a skeleton painted mount. I really like the warm sun on her face and the hidden blade on show. This capture typifies Assassin’s Creed Valhalla for me. Link to set: Zombie Horse Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ artschoolglases “The wild hunt will not come for us this night” Beware of Odin’s horseman for they have been summoned to send you to the corpse hall. Once again we find ourselves in Valhalla with one of the many available mounts. This Draugr mount is a ghost sent back to haunt Eivor’s enemies. The capture is very interesting as the sun represents the polar opposite to the horse. Timing in virtual photography is everything and here it makes the picture. The horse rearing up in the suns glare looks so good, creating a magnificent silhouette. I love how the green undead eyes still have a massive presence, almost as if the sun is piecing through them. The Ones Who Came Before Photo of the Week Judge: @ HiddenOnesN “Rise from the darkness and be born once more” What makes the picture so perfect is how it balances so smoothly between what we know about the goodness in light and the darkness that is represented in the Helhest horse. That is exactly what Assassin’s Creed is all about, that none of them triumphs over the other. And that sums it up for this week’s Assassin’s Creed virtual photography recap list! Thank you for checking out this week’s photo collection. This would not be possible without the virtual photographers out there so a huge thanks to them. Until next week keep those shots coming in! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who joined our AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer back in 2021 after the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. After building momentum and interest on TOWCB website for Virtual Photography, Aaron established TOWCB Virtual Photography Team, of which he is now Team Leader. Throughout 2024, TOWCB VP Team will be sharing community captures in dedicated articles, and providing a positive environment on Twitter for gamers to share their shots. Aaron Young

Why We Needed Assassin's Creed Valhalla Other Share 25 Jun 2024 Written By: Edited By: Hayden Bird Colum Blackett Back To Database ‘ Assassin’s Creed Valhalla ’ was released November 10, 2020, and was praised by both fans and critics. It was a big step forward in the franchise as fans for years had hoped to explore the Norse era of history and what Scandinavia had to offer. It was heavily anticipated upon release, and gathered a large following after its incredible cinematic reveal trailer in late April of 2020. The trailer excited many fans as it showed the return of the famous Hidden Blade, and also revealed some of what to expect in the era of the Vikings. However, it was a big deal having ‘ Valhalla ’ release when it did, as the world was at the peak of the Covid-19 Pandemic. People needed a reason to be happy or stay distracted. Assassin’s Creed fans had waited patiently for Ubisoft to navigate game development during a global pandemic. It forced work from home situations and changed entirely how to develop a game while remaining safe from health violations. ‘ Valhalla ’ fortunately did not face any major delays leading up to its end of year release date. Ubisoft had done a fine job keeping their employees safe from the Coronavirus while still being able to work and complete a game as big and as ambitious as ‘ Valhalla ’. November of 2020 was also the highly anticipated launch of the next-generation gaming consoles. The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S were set to launch around the same time as each other, and along with the pandemic, the Semiconductor Chip Shortage was also a major problem in the world at that time, meaning purchasing one of these new consoles was borderline impossible. Restocks at select electronic stores and websites were done regularly, yet still supply was unable to meet demand. Covid, and the shortages combined made life difficult for a lot of people. 'Valhalla' releasing alongside the next-generation consoles, including the weight of the global pandemic pulling it down. It made the game become a source of comfort to fans across the globe. The state of the game industry at this time was as bad as it had ever been, and having 'Valhalla' in the mix was a great solution to fans not wanting to think about the pandemic, and became a staple of the industry to the gaming world during that time. When ‘ Valhalla ’ was still in production, a big phenomenon surfaced across the gaming world, and was seen by fans as a secret tease for the upcoming Assassin’s Creed game, as Ubisoft perhaps unintentionally created an in-game poster from one of their other franchises, ‘The Division 2’ of what seemed to be a Viking holding the Apple of Eden, which is a popular recurring artifact shown throughout the Assassin’s Creed series. It had fans wondering if Ubisoft hid an easter egg in the game to get clues as to their upcoming game. Ubisoft officially denied these claims, but fans had their suspicions that the next game in the series really would be a Norse Assassin’s Creed game, and they were right, as shortly after fans dubbed the new game to be called ‘ Assassin’s Creed Ragnarok ’. Fans also called the game ‘ Assassin’s Creed 2020 ’ to be more plain. But later on, shortly after all the rumors fiasco did Ubisoft officially announce the game as ‘Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’ in April of 2020. When ‘ Valhalla ’ was released, it became a coping mechanism to gaming fans during a very dark time. It was a major upside in the gaming community, and a big thing to look forward to from already faithful Assassin’s Creed fans. It was available on all major gaming platforms at launch, which was important considering very few people owned a next-gen console and could play the advanced version of the game. Ubisoft offered a free upgrade to the next-gen versions to players who purchased the game on either PS4 or the Xbox One. It was a good gesture from them as it saved people money and helped gamers avoid spending money on the same game twice, which had become a popular tactic in gaming at that time. It helped give players who were unable to upgrade yet. So, they would be able to play the new and improved version of the game they already owned. Ubisoft's marketing strategies for the game were also a big help to the fans as they were able to be even more excited about ' Valhalla '. Ubisoft's efforts to engage with their audience were a welcome gesture to the community, including having activities they encouraged fans to complete while in lockdown, such as cosplay from home and AMA's. This allowed fans to ask their most anticipated questions they had for the developers, giving fans a chance to interact with the creators and unify the community as one. The addition of Virtual Photography in the game was also a contributing factor to the game's success and allowing people an opportunity to explore and capture the land of Scandinavia, considering doing this yourself was challenging with the restrictions of the pandemic. The release of ‘ Valhalla ’ went quite well, as it performed great graphically, and was even moved up from its original release date to match that of the Xbox Series consoles and their much anticipated launch. It showed fans that Ubisoft was confident in their game, and they were rewarded as ‘ Valhalla ’ went on to become a monumental hit, selling record amounts of copies in its first week alone. Fans were happy to explore the history of the Vikings, which had been heavily requested for years from fans of the series. Fans loved ‘ Valhalla ’ for many different reasons. Norse Mythology itself is very popular amongst historians and gamers alike. Games such as ‘ God of War Ragnarok ’ became a gigantic hit due to its storytelling and a faithful adaptation into Norse Gods. ‘ Valhalla ’, meanwhile had their own version of the Norse Mythology, by adding it in with returning features and storylines of standard Assassin’s Creed games, such as the Hidden Ones against the Order of the Ancients, which is a earlier in history battle between the more modern Assassin’s Brotherhood vs the Templar Order shown in previous games. Ubisoft succeeded in adding their own touch to Norse Mythology, making it very believable for the story while staying true to the source material. For fans, the reason ‘Valhalla’ worked so well was because it was truly just a great Assassin’s Creed game in all aspects. The changes made in this game compared to previous games in the series such as ‘ Assassin’s Creed Origins ’ and ‘ Odyssey ’ were great additions to the game, and seen by most as a large improvement. The new features added included horse stamina, which gave you a meter on how far you could gallop with your mount without it getting exhausted. It offered players strategies such as escaping from enemies, meaning monitoring your horse's stamina to escape successfully. Another change included a new form of the classic Eagle Vision now known as Odin’s Sight, which allowed the player to get a landscape of the environment around them, and have them watch out for enemies in the area or where to find your objective. Weapon customization became more important for reasons such as adding runes to weapons and gear, making them more powerful and more durable against higher-leveled enemies. Building up your settlement was also a major addition to the game, where you could improve your home with pillaged materials taken from River Raids against rival clans, or found in chests hidden in enemy territory and around the map. These were welcome additions to the game, as they added a very unique form of exploration and combat that the series needed badly. Fans were also happy that Ubisoft decided to bring back certain popular elements of past games that were eventually left out of the newer games in the series, such as Social Stealth and Hidden Blade assassinations on enemies. Social Stealth allows the player to use the environment as cover, for example by equipping a cloak and going unnoticed through crowds in distrust areas. Including that, the game gives you the iconic Hidden Blade, a long-time staple of the series quite early on into the story, and allowed players to get familiar again with the weapon and the techniques needed to take out an enemy fast, or getting in and out of an enemy restricted area while killing your target. These were great additions for both fans of the current games and fans who could prefer the originals and its old formula. It catered to both sides of the fanbase who may have different opinions based on the direction of the franchise, but quickly pleased the ones who doubted ‘ Valhalla ’ which is a big reason the game was as popular as it has gotten to be. As we look back on this game, it truly is one of the more influential games in the entire Assassin’s Creed franchise, as it did a great job providing an excellent experience for fans and being able to distract the players and keep them busy while not trying to think of the dark time our world was going through then. In years, the gaming community may look back on this game as one of the first, if not the first true next-gen game made in the PS5 and Xbox Series era. Ubisoft did a spectacular job creating the beautiful world of both Norway and England during the Norse era, and creating a game as memorable as this one. ‘ Valhalla ’ was a great way to not only satisfy returning fans of the series, but also to entice new players to create new fans of the series. It was a game for everyone, even if you were not familiar with the ever-popular Assassin’s Creed games. ‘ Valhalla ’ was a gift during the Covid-19 pandemic, and allowed fans and gamers alike to enjoy it even in the darkest of times. Ubisoft once again hit the jackpot with ‘ Valhalla ’, a game we did not know we needed as much as we did. comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Hayden is a passionate Freelance Writer based in South Carolina who joined TOWCB's Writing Team in 2020 during the Covid-19 Pandemic, writing articles on all things Assassin's Creed Valhalla. He left the group to focus on studies, joining our Alumni program, but triumphantly returned with fresh ideas in 2024 to pick up where he left off, only this time covering Assassin's Creed Shadows. In 2025, Hayden took on the position of Team Leader for TOWCB's Writing Team, overseeing article releases, assisting with recruitment and providing assistance with internal operations. Hayden Bird

This Week in Assassin's Creed Virtual Photography: 23rd April - 29th 2022 Community Share 8 May 2022 Written By: Edited By: Aaron Young Ashlea Blackett Back To Database Welcome to the new weekly virtual photography roundup hosted by Aaron Young from The AC Partnership Program. Every week, we will be picking our top 5 favourite Assassin’s Creed shots and showcasing them on The Ones Who Came Before website, in order to promote virtual photography and talented content creators within the community. Aaron is a keen virtual photographer and loves to post his journeys through Assassin’s Creed on Twitter. Keep an eye on the site as more weekly shots are added, we are looking for capture across all Assassin’s Creed games. Tag your photos to the #TOWCBWeeklyCapture for a chance to be featured. 1) Lighthouse Game: Assassin’s Creed Origins This week’s first capture comes from @Marstongallery over on Twitter. Our first capture this week takes us back to Egypt. A brilliant shot of Bayek pulling off a hero pose between two columns. I really like how panoramic this picture is. The depth of field is perfect here, despite Bayek being the focal point, the lighthouse still shines. I remember infiltrating this enemy base not long ago myself. 2) Egyptian Architecture Game: Assassin’s Creed Origins Photo number two comes from @VirtualHedron over on Twitter. Origins is one of the most beautiful Assassin’s Creed games. For me what sets it apart is the stunning scenery and architecture. This shot is everything I love about exploring the cities of Egypt. There is so much detail here with NPC’s living their lives, lush vegetation, colourful hieroglyphics and a hint of sun bursting through. A fantastic capture, just needs a frame. 3) Arctic Fox Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla This week’s third shot comes from @StefanieMcMaken over on Twitter. It seems to be a weekly theme at the moment for me to feature a fox. I enjoyed how Valhalla mixed up the wildlife with the different landscapes/seasons. It definitely looks like these two foxes are friends out on the hunt for some food. What impresses me is the way the fox is leaving a trail, great attention to det ail. 4) Daily Contracts Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP number four comes from @PodToGo over on Twitter. This is as first for a Reda themed shot. I absolutely love the positioning of this, as it instantly caught my eye. The focus on Eivor showcasing her hair, tattoos and weapon ready for battle is outstanding. I really like how the band of Saxons are walking into their demise. Extra kudos for featuring the Huldufolk armour such an underrated gem. 5) Finisher Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla The final capture of the week comes from @tn_taurus over at the ACFirstCiv VP Twitter Community. The final shot for the week is a brutal one. It is always hard for shots like this to stand out amongst the colourful environments and protagonist portraits. However I feel like this very much captures the essence of Valhalla and how dark the story can get. The misty background and the vignette really highlight the finisher. It looks like Eivor hasn’t left anyone alive to tell the tale. And that sums it up for this week’s Assassin’s Creed virtual photography recap list! Thank you for checking out this week’s photo collection. This would not be possible without the virtual photographers out there so a huge thanks to them. Until next week keep those shots coming in. comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who joined our AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer back in 2021 after the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. After building momentum and interest on TOWCB website for Virtual Photography, Aaron established TOWCB Virtual Photography Team, of which he is now Team Leader. Throughout 2024, TOWCB VP Team will be sharing community captures in dedicated articles, and providing a positive environment on Twitter for gamers to share their shots. Aaron Young

Assassin's Creed's Gaming Console Farewells Analysis Share 14 Jan 2026 Written By: Edited By: Hayden Bird Colum Blackett Back To Database When the year 2014 came around, the developers at Ubisoft had a decision to make as to which platforms to launch their upcoming games, both the heavily anticipated Assassin’s Creed Unity and Assassin’s Creed Rogue . The entirety of the gaming world was set to move on from the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles now that the newest models, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One were out. Ubisoft was not alone in developers being quick to end support for the older consoles in favor of the new ones. The previous Assassin’s Creed game, was the first in the series to feature on the newest consoles of their time, however, the game launched first on previous generation systems and in the end was simultaneously released on both. Many gamers had not yet made the move to the PS4 and Xbox One consoles, even a year after launch in 2014, so it was a bold, yet smart decision for Ubisoft to release their flagship new Assassin’s Creed title as a next-generation exclusive as Assassin’s Creed Unity became the first game in the series to skip the PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles, doing this was a difficult move for gamers yet to have upgraded, but Ubisoft thought of the players still behind and launched Assassin’s Creed Rogue simultaneously with Unity , with Rogue being previous-generation only and Unity being next-generation only. It was a move that satisfied fans who either made the upgrade or still had yet to get to the new consoles. Many gaming developers were swiftly disbanding the PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles, sometimes not even a year post launch of the new consoles. So this move from Ubisoft was expected as their new flagship game, Assassin’s Creed Unity, was clearly a game built alongside and with the advanced power of the next generation consoles, something that could simply not be achieved with the old hardware found in the PS3 and Xbox 360. It was a game built for the newest consoles, and Ubisoft used that to their advantage to develop a game that utilizes all the new advanced technical specifications that the newest consoles brought to the market. By doing this, Ubisoft was very courteous to players who had not made the jump to the PS4 and Xbox One just yet and created the game Assassin’s Creed Rogue alongside Unity to satisfy fans who initially felt left out seeing Unity be skipping the older consoles but were treated fairly by developers and truly ended the PS3 and Xbox 360 era on a high note. After all, the birth of the Assassin’s Creed franchise started on these consoles, so it only felt right to have a proper send off for such a monumental era of gaming. Years later, as we witnessed the launch of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles in November 2020, it became evident that developers were more reluctant this time around to skip past the previous generation consoles, now being the PS4 and Xbox One. The support for the past generation systems is unlike what we saw with the send off for the PS3 and Xbox 360 generation. Even today, the older consoles are being supported by some major game franchises such as Call of Duty or sports games like NBA2K . It is uncharted territory for gamers of this more modern era who were so used to seeing the past generation consoles be abandoned quite fast, and it goes to show you that Ubisoft made the right call moving on from the older consoles in 2014 all while ending on a strong note for the PS3 and Xbox 360 systems. This cycle was a close relation to what Ubisoft has done in the latest generation by sending off the PS4 and Xbox One consoles on a strong note with the 2023 game Assassin’s Creed Mirage , which launched simultaneously with older and newest consoles. However, new-generation only consoles got the hyped-up and heavily anticipated Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which launched in March of 2025 exclusively to next generation platforms. Yet another example of Ubisoft making the jump at the correct time, as a game like Shadows could have not been possible from a technological standpoint, just as Assassin’s Creed Unity was to the PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles all the way back in 2014. It is clear Ubisoft has monitored the technology available to them and their development cycle, and has known exactly when to make the change when it became a true necessity. These past generations have shown us all that when a generation comes to an end, it deserves a proper send off, as those consoles were relevant for six to seven full years in a row at the very minimum. Ubisoft has nailed their approach twice on moving onto the advanced technology of the new consoles at the right time but also not forgetting about an incredible era of gaming along with courtesy for the players who weren’t yet in a position to move on to the newest systems. Their strategies have paid dividends and have always ended a generation of the Assassin’s Creed franchise on a proper and satisfying note. GameInformer promo image for Rogue and Unity comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Hayden is a passionate Freelance Writer based in South Carolina who joined TOWCB's Writing Team in 2020 during the Covid-19 Pandemic, writing articles on all things Assassin's Creed Valhalla. He left the group to focus on studies, joining our Alumni program, but triumphantly returned with fresh ideas in 2024 to pick up where he left off, only this time covering Assassin's Creed Shadows. In 2025, Hayden took on the position of Team Leader for TOWCB's Writing Team, overseeing article releases, assisting with recruitment and providing assistance with internal operations. Hayden Bird

Marc-Alexis Côté and Assassin’s Creed’s narrative paradigm shift Analysis Share 3 Dec 2024 Written By: Edited By: UbiCypher (Joe) Colum Blackett Back To Database The Vice President Executive Producer of Assassin's Creed, Marc-Alexis Côté, has stepped out into the spotlight on the BAFTA Youtube channel at an event a few days ago giving off a curated speech commenting on Ubisoft's flaws and the intended direction the franchise will follow for the foreseeable future upon the release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows serving as the inflexion point for such a change in the narrative direction. Describing his trajectory as a rookie game developer all the way to his actual status as Executive Producer for the overall franchise, he presented the audience with a complete breakdown of the core values of “What Assassin’s Creed should be” in other words, he transparently commented on the way they develop each iteration via their “Brand Framework” which is basically a codex under the form of internal documents given to the devs from which they need to base their work and efforts for the continuity of the Lore. Breaking the Framework into the following aspects; Identity: Immersion, storytelling and thrilling gameplay. Intentionality: Every creative decision made by the devs ought to reflect the shared vision and values of the Framework to ensure that the identity is not diluted and continuity is strong footed. Official promo image by BAFTA showing Vice President Executive Producer of Assassin's Creed, Marc-Alexis Côté, Prioritizing direct and selected feedback over the community as a means to an end. “Putting the player at the center of our creative vision” is also one of the substantial statements issued by Côté which clearly shows that they are aware of their position with the fanbase that nurtured the franchise for so long and are willing to turn the tables in their favor bringing new experiences in the good old Assassin’s Creed fashion applying the aforementioned “core values” described in their “Brand Framework”. These “core values” will not only restructure their approach to how an Assassin’s Creed game is made, but from now on, they will also implement new data collected by their new initiative that aims to “involve their most engaged fans into the early development cycles” with the intention to listen to a much more direct feedback instead of “actively listening to general community feedback and running large scale studies” which is yet another example of Ubisoft going all in and taking the helm, considering the hard working fan communities and content creators that adhere to what the franchise was originally praised for in the past first and the public that spawned with the latest iterations second. A slide from the BAFTA presentation Or so it seems, given another pungent declaration in which Ubisoft now seems eager to “restore the balance” in terms of narrative both past and present as he acknowledged that “15 years of Lore has made the approach to newcomers difficult to approach”, however, the downside to such a bold move can lead to even more division, to which we can all agree; the fanbase is in a very dire situation. But fear not! Because this means that a great change in how the future instalments will be crafted will come out of this, presenting the “Vertigo Of History” initiative as a new way to develop the Assassin’s Creed games by focusing on the idea that “Past, Present and future are connected” therefore, how the past defines who we are and how it will affect our future. Emotional wording aside, this will basically mean that the way Modern Day and the Historical storyline will be designed will be completely overhauled; by pretending to “place history back at the center of the player’s experience”, which is a bit contradictory to what you just read, I know, but the trade-off is that when Modern Day will be tapped into, they will explore “deeper themes regarding genetic memory, identity and autonomy” which is until now, left to the interpretation of the public and not very clear. In any case, Modern Day will be explored deeper so that’s a good step toward restoring that “balance” if true. Original image source: Assassin's Creed Initiates Balance, accuracy and diversity victims of hate. With this in mind, it is important to note that Côté also openly stated that “Absolute accuracy is not our goal, it has never been and never will” of course referring to the historical aspect of the game the franchise is notoriously known for, for the first time clarifying their intentions when making their games reminding us that it is a “Historical Fiction” at the end of the day in response to the previous months of continuous attacks via their Social Media and even directly to the developers themselves who saw their work tarnished by mentally draining and smile-erasing comments completely destroying their work due to the appearance of anachronistic or plain out non-existent elements in the latest RPG trilogy and most recently, the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows which, dare I say, has suffered from one of the most hateful waves of backlash the internet has seen in the past 4 years for very miserable reasons; from fruits appearing in the wrong season in one of the trailers to plain out racism towards Yasuke because of his African provenance hiding behind pathetic ill-crafted shields of “It’s not me who says it, it’s history!”. Of course, we are not going to deny the fact that they made some inexplicable mistakes that are obviously due to a lack of professional consultation by actual Historians and experts -which were brought in much later into Shadow’s dev cycle according to insiders who have reached out to the renowned leaker and French Youtuber j0nathan- or the scandal over the insensitive design of PureArts promotional figures which displayed the two protagonists, Naoe and Yasuke posing over an iconic Japanese Torii gate, which, was one-legged and very reminiscent of the S annō Shrine, a real life Torii Gate which was left partially destroyed by the bombing of its hosting city, Nagasaki during WWII. In any case, online crusades and Scandals behind, around the 36:00 mark, Marc-Alexis Côté concluded his speech on the attacks to the company by claiming that “Our commitment to inclusivity is grounded in historical authenticity and respect for diverse perspectives, not driven by modern agenda” Image by TOWCB showing the similarity between the AC Shadows prototype by PureArts prototype and a broken Torii gate located in Nagasaki From now on until February 15, 2025, it is but a waiting game to see if all of this turns out to be true or if it falls down to the pile of broken promises. Personal Commentary: Listening very carefully to what Côté openly said during the conference; I realized just how grand this franchise is and how far it has come. I remember the very first time I played Assassin's Creed II -my entry point- back in 2011 and the insta-love that struck my prepubescent brain. These feelings of discovery, wonder and diversity that are constantly talked about throughout the presentation are real, they were there when we first picked up the controller and began exploring the Genetic Memories of Altaïr and Ezio, as the years passed, we eventually discover more and more of this franchise and eventually witness its fall down the rabbit hole of corporate greed and uber-rich execs that would do anything in their power to drain you until your last cent. So it feels refreshing to see such transparency from Ubisoft and from the one that is supposed to be the closest thing to a lore master no-less. All in all, these are just promises and embellished corporate slang to make it more appealing, plus he contradicted himself by claiming that they aim to restore the balance only to say that they will basically put Modern Day on the backburner 5 minutes later... My best guess is that they're attempting to suffocate the fire and make up for their mistakes now that they realized we never were the "Ye Olde Nostalgicus" pricks most of the community and newcomers to that extent make us to be, simply because we don't follow the same opinions, ideas and tastes as them, who are fruit of a modern generation of gaming that, similarly to movies and music is utterly decadent with no more interest behind what is shown at first glance and no self-pondering of things with very few exceptions. This also applies outside of entertainment as well, the masses are somewhat dullified by mainstream and geopolitical engineering crafted by our governments who only want to see us fight each other for the skin tone of a character or goddamned fruits popping up at the wrong season all the while entitled nobodies destroy entire communities and groups of joyful people who just want to love, share and enjoy the experiences this franchise gave them in the first place. But I digress. I'm not very hopeful in terms of Modern Day and it is at this point, for me, the true narrative of the franchise, take it or leave it, up to you of course, but it was once integral and as Côté said and I also think it to be true: "Assassin's Creed is more than just a game, it can be a platform for meaningful exploration and reflection". Question everything. -Joe (Ubicypher) signing off. Images from the original Isu_Network thread by UbiCypher comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author UbiCypher (Joe) is an Assassin's Creed Transmedia expert who worked as the Lead Admin for the Isu_Network social media team, providing consistent social media content in the form of Assassin's Creed lore trivia, puzzles and news coverage, spending countless hours researching the series and real history. In 2025, he stepped back from his social media duties to pursue other opportunities. UbiCypher (Joe)

Understanding the Isu Language: Particles and Affixes Analysis Share 1 Oct 2024 Written By: Edited By: Edenoi ActualSpider-Man Back To Database For this article we'll be looking at particles and affixes in the Isu language. In English as well as many other languages, we have prepositions which help to describe how words or phrases relate to the rest of the sentence, such as "inside" or "above" or "for." Isu has essentially the same class of words, but because they come after the word they refer to instead of before, we call them postpositions. Postpositions in Isu can also be used as prefixes for verbs to modify the meaning of the verb. Think of the difference between the words "act" and "enact" or "communicate" and "excommunicate." The postpositions known to exist in the Isu language, along with their Proto-Indo-European "descendants," are as follows: Postpositions/Prefixes Apo, meaning "from," related to the PIE *apó Arhz, meaning "out," related to the PIE *éǵʰs Az, meaning "at," related to the PIE *ád Bṛ, meaning "before," related to the PIE *per- Chaz, meaning "toward," related to the PIE *ḱe- + *ád Chṇ, meaning "with," related to the PIE *ḱóm Chṇtæ, meaning "against," related to the PIE *ḱómteros (*ḱóm + *-teros) Hṇ, meaning "in," related to the PIE *h₁én Hṇdṛ, meaning "amidst," related to the PIE *h₁entér (*h₁én + *-tér) Ṇ, meaning "not," related to the PIE *n̥- Ṛ, perhaps meaning "for" and also used to form infinitives, related to the PIE *r̥ Ubo, meaning "below," related to the PIE *upó Wṛ, meaning "again," related to the PIE *wert- Zo, meaning "concerning," related to the PIE *do Notes The suffixe -tæ forms a contrast to a postposition (e.g. "with" becomes "against"). The prefix ch- alters the meaning of a postposition in a way that adds contextual information, known in linguistics as deixis (e.g. "in" becomes "with", "at" becomes "toward"). Presumably, the Isu word for "above" would be ubṛ, related to PIE *upér Isu also has a number of suffixes that can turn a word into a different but related word, like how "congregate" can become "congregation" or "wonder" can become "wonderment" in English. The known suffixes and their functions are as follows: Suffixes -æs forms an action noun from a verb (similar but not related to English "-tion") -dach forms an agent noun from a verb (supposedly a more archaic alternative to -ér below) -drṃ forms an agent noun from a verb (specifically used for tools, e.g. zḷvdrṃ "shovel") -ér forms an agent noun from a verb (virtually identical but not necessarily related to English "-er") -mṇ forms a result noun from a verb (equivalent to English "-ment") -ṇd forms the gerundive (possibly also gerund) of a verb (similar but not related to English "-ing") -nos forms an adjective from a noun or verb (equivalent to English "-en" in wooden, golden) -os forms a noun from an adjective (similar but not necessarily related to English "-ness") -rhú forms a collective noun (so far only confirmed to describe groups of people, e.g. komhaæzrhú "council") -to forms the past participle of a verb (similar but not related to English "-en" in stolen, proven) An action noun refers to the process of doing an action, an agent noun refers to the person or thing doing the action and a result noun refers to the result of doing an action. The gerundive is a form of a verb that acts as an adjective describing someone or something doing the action, such as in the phrase "howling winds." There are a few known conjunctions in Isu, which are as follows: Conjunctions Hṇu, meaning "but" Ig, meaning “or" -kwat, meaning "and" when suffixed to the second of two words, related to the PIE *-kʷe Ḷ, meaning "and," used for joining clauses rather than individual words Other Particles De makes the preceding verb progressive (meaning that the action is ongoing) More Isu Studies You can find more articles on the Isu language linked here: Understanding the Isu Language: The Basics comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Eden is a codebreaker who joined The Ones Who Came Before during the Assassin's Creed Shadows promotional campaign, helping the team to decipher numerous codes and puzzles used for marketing. She is also a high school Maths tutor, and has previously published a few short TTRPG's with more projects in the works. She first started playing Assassin's Creed in 2010, and is especially interested in the glyphs and puzzles, and platforms such as Assassin's Creed Initiates that expand the lore in creative ways. Edenoi

Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 20th to 31st January Community Share 22 Feb 2025 Written By: Edited By: Aaron Young Colum Blackett Back To Database Welcome to the biweekly virtual photography roundup hosted by Aaron Young from the AC Partnership Program. Every two weeks we will be picking our top 5 favourite Assassin’s Creed shots and showcasing them on The Ones Who Came Before website, in order to promote virtual photography and talented content creators within the community. This theme has been run by the TOWCB VP team. We have been monitoring the hashtag and the community hub to see all your wonderful shots. Keep an eye on the site as more shots are added, we are looking for captures across all Assassin’s Creed games. Tag your photos to #ACFirstCivVP for a chance to be featured. Theme: Assassin’s Creed Framed Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ cyriellevp.bsky.social The Ones Who Came Before Photo of the Week Judge: @ FrameHoldPhotos I love the frame within a frame technique used in this shot. The wooden window frames, the building in the distance, and the gentle sunlight casts gorgeous shadows on the landscape. The deliberate and artistic framing of this shot really makes it stand out as a stellar capture. Aaron If you like ornate carved wood with exquisite details or robust wooden architecture, then you should take in the wonders of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. I am very jealous that the development team got to study and visit all these amazing places to further enhance the experience of Viking life. This capture is so wonderfully framed, hats off to Cyrielle for pulling this off. The blur in the foreground is executed brilliantly, with just enough focus to see those amazing details. The elegant structure in the distance looks amazing with the sunlight bathing it from the left. I really like how the terrain rises, drawing your eye up to the spectacle in the centre. Through the Storm Game: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey VP Artist: @ AkiraAoyama_VP The Naval sections of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey were bittersweet for me. I enjoyed how gorgeous the Greek world looked from aboard the Adrestia, and at times how satisfying the combat would feel. But ultimately, I am not a huge fan of spending too much time at sea. In this shot we can see how moody and unforgiving the sea can be. The storm has been captured superbly here with the eye lit up amazingly. That lightning bolt striking the sea is a reminder of Zeus’ true power in these lands. I've got to say that I really like the composition as it feels like we are filming this high-speed ship as it chases the storm. Capturing Ikaros following behind is a nice touch too. Jackpot Game: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey VP Artist: @ UnfazedVP Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is full of small details that are easily missed when focusing on the story. As virtual photographers we often see everything as we pan that camera around looking for something to shoot. It almost feels fitting to feature a shot of some pots in honour of Jack as this is our first article since he departed the team. I have had the pleasure of viewing Unfazed’s Assassin’s Creed VP over the last few years, and it’s been awesome to see how each shot has evolved and improved. This is one of those shots that showcases the development teams' efforts to bring these worlds to life. For me it’s all about the sunlight streaming through on to the pots. Definitely worth checking the set for this one as it works beautifully. Making a Stand Game: Assassin’s Creed 3 VP Artist: @ JLunarTraveler I always get excited when we pick a classic Assassin’s Creed game, as it's rare to see shots from these games. I really hope in the future we will get remakes/remasters of the old games so a photo mode can be implemented. This particular shot is so badass, it’s got those superhero vibes thanks to the composition. I love how the soldiers are stood across the road in formation ready to halt our hero in his path. The shadow from the trees really adds to the ominous presence of the Templar order. Connor’s robes look so good with the details really popping. Impressive for a game that is almost 13 years old. Eyes in the Skies Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: Carmo Fernandes (@ Raider_Warrior ) I could not really be any more excited for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, however I am disappointed there will not be a bird companion this time around. Not only is it great having eyes in the sky but you get such a unique view of the world. Plus, as a virtual photographer, the bird allows for a camera range I cannot get from the normal Photo Mode. Distinctive shots like this one are also a treat thanks to our bird companion. I have to applaud Carmo for her patience to achieve this photo. Lining up Sýnin with the longship is not an easy task. I love how the wings almost mirror the oars on the boat, and how both are traveling in the same direction. And that sums it up for this Assassin’s Creed virtual photography recap list! Thank you for checking out the photo collection. This would not be possible without the virtual photographers out there so a huge thanks to them. Until next time keep those shots coming in! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who joined our AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer back in 2021 after the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. After building momentum and interest on TOWCB website for Virtual Photography, Aaron established TOWCB Virtual Photography Team, of which he is now Team Leader. Throughout 2024, TOWCB VP Team will be sharing community captures in dedicated articles, and providing a positive environment on Twitter for gamers to share their shots. Aaron Young

2024 The Ones Who Came Before Logo Designs Revealed News Share 20 May 2024 Written By: Edited By: Thea (Moonchildgecko) Colum Blackett Back To Database We are excited to reveal a new logo design for The Ones Who Came Before, created by Thea Marie Rivedal (@ MoonChildGecko) from @ Isu_Network , and is based on the winning logo design chosen by our community! A new look for a new era. Inspired by the Assassin's Creed Red reveal trailer, the new design prepare our audience for the future of the franchise, transporting players to Japan. We couldn't pick a favourite, so we let our Twitter community decide! Design 4 won and acts as inspiration for the more refined design. Look out for our interview with Thea Marie Rivedal (@ MoonChildGecko) over the coming weeks as we dive into the design process, and examine the inspirations behind the designs! Stay tuned here at The Ones Who Came Before for all things Assassin's Creed Red. comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Thea is a full time student studying archaeology at the University of Bergen in Norway. She is a huge fan of the franchise and enjoys writing both fictional and academic texts. In her spare time, Thea is a passionate artist, creating detailed pencil sketches and watercolour/acrylic paintings. She has even created tattoos and replica historical props/ clothing before! In Summer 2022, Thea joined TOWCB's art team, where she will have the chance to work on a variety of projects and expand her art portfolio. Thea (Moonchildgecko)

Chinese Pirates: Pitching an Assassin's Creed Game Wishlists Share 13 Sept 2022 Written By: Edited By: Finn Fletcher Ashlea Blackett Back To Database Following the latest Assassins Creed showcase, we can all see that the future of the brand will be exciting and varied. While Mirage undoubtedly stole the show as an exciting return to form for the series, there was a more unusual announcement with the new Assassins Creed Infinity platform. I can't lie, it does have me worried, but my personal concerns aside, the exciting aspects of this new platform is getting to explore more varied historical periods with smaller, stranger stories. Taking advantage of this, and after having fun through replaying the series recently, I had an idea for a story that I think could add wonderfully to this new tapestry. When replaying Assassin's Creed Rogue, I couldn't help but wonder why Ubisoft gave up on the genuinely spectacular naval gameplay. Black Flag was obviously a huge success, and while Rogue wasn't such a smash hit, it was built to fail next to Unity's next gen glitches. Naval gameplay is still beloved and missed by players, whether hardcore Assassins Creed fans or not, and it seems no other developer stepped in to fill that gap. So today I want to pitch Ubisoft an idea, the most simple plan for success I could possibly imagine. At first I thought the obvious location for another naval/pirate game would be India. With a full and vibrant history of piracy and sea fairing, matched with corrupt politicians and tyranny to fight against, the Indian Ocean would definitely provide a great setting for a game in this series. However, with the upcoming and, in my opinion, incredibly bland looking Skull and Bones filling this period, I reconsidered. If we're already getting a pirate, naval game to explore this period, then let's look elsewhere, find a location and culture that could provide something distinct. With that in mind I moved my sights to East Asia, specifically the exploits of Pirate Queen Zheng Yi Sao. For those who don't know, Zheng Yi Sao was an infamous pirate of the early nineteenth century, who rose from a prostitute to leader of 70,000 men in the largest pirate fleet known to history. She terrorised the coasts of China, plundering both European and Chinese vessels alike. The reason she gained so much success, was because, unlike the pirates of the Caribbean, Zheng Yi Sao's fleet was well organised, with a set governance and rules in place. This pirate confederation stopped the pirates from falling to the greed and chaos that destroyed cities like Nassau and the characters we saw in Black Flag. This period of the great Chinese pirate confederacy, I think could make a stellar follow-up to Black Flag, allowing Ubisoft to show not just different visuals of East Asian culture, but explore new themes for this series. It would also the first Assassins Creed game in Asia, which is mind boggling in itself. The particular region of china I am envisioning is Hong Kong, Canton (modern day Guangzhou) and the surrounding sea and islands. Historically this was the hub of trade and therefore, pirate action and the city of Canton was pivotal in the end of Zheng Yi Saos career. This area would also provide good geography to match the gameplay; two bustling cities that can accommodate the Assassin fantasy and an island filled ocean for interesting naval exploration. Ideally, the smaller islands surrounding the mainland would function a lot like the islands of Assassin's Creed Odyssey. Each will house a target, with stories that involve the locals. This can give fun smaller narratives/side missions, while showing the personal effects of Templar control. In terms of narrative , considering this game's setting, I believe we should start at the turn of the 19th century. The lead character will be an original character (OC) named Lai Jun. Captain of her own ship, and master Assassin. I want her to be older, middle to late thirties , similar to Ezio in Brotherhood. The franchise has settled into protagonists around the age of twenty, and while I appreciate getting to be the age of every lead character, I think we need to push different stories about different types of characters. Having been an Assassin her whole life and from an Assassin legacy (you thought Jun was just a coincidence?), Lai has never needed to question her role. She is determined, talented at the art of being an Assassin and dedicated to its creed. Yet, despite the brotherhood being her whole life, her whole heritage even, she has grown rather cynical. At this period in time, China, like the rest of the world, was in a rather tumultuous position. Globally, capitalism and industrialisation were being born, leading to unmitigated starvation and inequality, revolutions were rising everywhere and power was being funnelled to increasingly fewer people. Then in China, the people were about to enter what would be, in retrospect, called the "century of humiliation" with the death of the emperor just behind them, with in-fighting and rebellions to come. The British Empire was sneaking in, and, while it didn't have the chokehold it had over the rest of the world, it was still only a few decades away from taking control of Hong Kong; an action that has caused trouble in the region which remains to this day. This is the context of Lai's introduction, as she runs across the rooftops of Hong Kong during New Year's festivities to kill a Templar target. The world is changing and the future is uncertain. At this point in her life, Lai has killed more Templars than she can count, and yet there are always more to fill the positions. The war doesn't seem to be swaying either way, and she can't help but feel that her actions are futile in the wider chaos of the world. I think when a franchise reaches a certain point, it needs to consider the emotions of its audience, and its place in the wider culture. Think of Halo 3, a massive event game which was built from the ground up as a war game, the scale of which you've never seen. It was a tour de force, a the best of compilation for the Halo franchise so far, all turned up to 11. Then, having set the world alight with this event game, Bungie made Halo Reach. A game with the same mechanics and fun action of 3, but which took a sombre approach. It was a reflection really, of the franchise as a whole, and how it may never live up to the hype and scale it previously had. After 15 years, 12 mainline games and god knows how much multimedia content, fatigue has set in to the Assassin's Creed franchise. Lai, like us, doesn't know the direction her fight is going or if it will ever have a satisfying end. Searching for her first target will let us understand Lais position, and tutorialise land based gameplay. In general I want to go back to the aspirations of Unity, a stylish free flow movement with a focus on social stealth. Combat should be deadly and swift, I envision the same precision of Ghost of Tsushima, a back and forth of attacks and deflections. Sneaking through the highly populated celebrations, Lai will find her, target a low level and frankly unimportant Templar. His insignificance will be reflected in the confession scene, with Lai seeming unimpressed but still remaining respectful as Assassins are expected. Escaping the scene, Lai will return to her ship and flee the city. We can here get a glimpse of the new naval mechanics, which in all honesty I can't imagine being that different from Black Flags. They are already perfect, adapt them to Chinese ships (that are named "Junks"), which are usually smaller and faster than the frigates and brigs of Western navy's Lai will reunite with the Brotherhood to report on her mission. I really want this branch of the Brotherhood to feel ancient, capturing the atmosphere of Masyaf. Historic dens with intricate architecture retelling the stories of great Assassins from this part of the world. Nevertheless a lot of this has fallen into disarray, rituals and repeated phrases taking the place of effective, organised action. Walking through the den we can see that Lai is comfortable there, friends with everyone she has always lived alongside. The mentor, who's not much older than Lai, is clearly unprepared for his responsibilities and unsure of how to direct Lai from here. His fear of appearing too controlling, and his constant search for approval and advice leave the Brotherhood rudderless. With no new target given to her, Lai heads to her pirate friends and here we can meet some of the more unusual side characters who will join our journey. At this point there was no large spread confederacy, however the region around Hong Kong did have a large pirate presence. One important figure of this group of pirates was the husband of previously mentioned pirate queen Zheng Yi Sao, known by the same name. For my own sanity from here on out I'm going to refer to the male Zheng Yi and original pirate king as "Zheng", while the female Zheng Yi and later pirate queen will be referred to as Sao. Anyway, at this point the two Zhengs were not married. Sao was still a prostitute and while this may not be entirely accurate, I want her to be living among the pirates, already close to this growing fleet. Her and Lai are friends, very different people who manage to see the charm in one another. Zheng meanwhile is a charming gentleman, a rather eccentric character who hasn't yet taken control as pirate chief but has clear ambition. His eccentricities allow him to get close to people, and his cunning mind allows him to continue rising and taking advantage of opportunities. Also historically he was bisexual, marrying Sao but having male sexual partners up to his death. It’s incredibly important to show this side of his life, providing representation for the real historical figures who were LGBTQ+. If I was to use a more modern comparison, I want these pirates to be like the free love hippies of the sixties. Lai clearly enjoys her time among them, and we truly get to understand how this group of criminals find freedom and acceptance in one another. Yet, it's still important to show that this community has important rules and leadership. One of these early missions could see Zheng sending Lai after a crew member who ignored orders, establishing his rulership as firm but fair. This directly contrasts the current Brotherhood, who seem in disarray without leadership. It can also be through the pirates that Lai will meet the main antagonist of the game. When robbing a merchants storage warehouse, we will overhear two British merchants discussing the arrival of a large incoming shipment, led by the aristocrat and famous businessman Charles Vidic (OC and descendant of Warren Vidic), a name instantly recognisable to Lai. Vidic is a Templar grand master, and like Lai, has a legacy in the order. He was raised a Templar, with incredible wealth and a commitment to restoring what he calls “the natural order of things”. A traditionalist, Vidic's ideals heavily resemble the older Templars, who subjugate and control the populace by any means necessary, believing it to be for their own good. He also hides a major secret, but we’ll get to that later. Seeing a chance to hit a huge target and finally make an impact, Lai contacts the pirates to organise an attack on the coming delivery. She wilfully chooses to not inform the Brotherhood, worrying that they may interfere with her plans. The attack is a major failure, Vidic captains a huge man o war, unusual for a merchant vessel, and decimates the pirates. Lai flees, losing a majority of her crew, with only a few pirate ships surviving. Broken and injured, Lai returns to the den and faces the chagrin of the mentor. Lai is criticised for acting too rash, but communication is made with the brotherhood of England to learn more about Vidic. While taking on other targets, both Chinese and British, we will get a better understanding of Vidic’s behaviour and the overall goals of his version of the Templars. Importantly, I want the game to clearly indicate the passage of years. This journey should be long, spanning across the full decade to 1810. We can see the pirate confederacy rise and fall, become a full fledged government, while British merchants become more prominent in the area. During these time jumps, Lai and Sao become closer, good friends who support one another as Sao becomes leader of the pirates. As the journey goes on, Sao pushes Lai to take a more proactive role in the Brotherhood. While not wishing to join herself, Sao sees its importance to Lai and how the disastrous leadership has affected her. It will be in Sao’s final scene where we can truly see her impact. In real life Sao did not go out in a dramatic blaze of fire we like to see for heroes. She did not fall in some great battle like Blackbeard does in Black Flag, screaming some inspiring quote. No, the ever cunning Sao saw the increased pressure placed upon her pirate confederacy, after she’d spent so many years raiding the coasts. In 1810, she sailed her huge fleet directly into the city of Canton, disembarking to hand herself in for her crimes. Due to her high profile, the state handed her and her crew a pardon, allowing them to keep the riches they’d earned as long as they didn’t resume pirating. Before doing this I’d like to see Sao and Lai converse, as Lai begs for her to reconsider. She doesn’t want to lose her friends and allies, seeing this as only another loss, a failure of making any major change in her life. Sao reassures Lai, informing her that we can only try to find the best in the situations we are given. For Lai, she needs to finally stand up to the Assassins' leadership, take control to implement the actions that are necessary. Watching her friends sail off to a peaceful life, Lai is provided with a choice. Settling down, or continuing her fight. Unable to give up on her ideals, Lai returns to the den, demands the position of mentor and creates a plan to finally finish off Vidic. More will be revealed of Vidic throughout the narrative, I want multiple encounters between him and Lai, failed assassination attempts or aggressive responses from the Templars. As it turns out, Vidic's mental state is rather erratic, and while he’s a talented leader the claims he makes about himself seem outlandish. Now let us take a look into the Isu lore for this instalment and I have to admit I’m not an expert in this area. The additions I’m going to make should fit in with the existing lore, however any creed fanatics who see problems with what I write please leave a comment. I’m genuinely interested to know. Anyway, Vidic has the ability to glimpse through time. It’s not clear visions, rather small insights, almost like poetry that describes what has and what will happen. One of my favourite parts of Isu lore in Origins was the description of how the Isu could physically see time. When the humans first revolted for their freedom, Isu who supported the human cause attempted to grant this ability to us. They performed experiments on willing subjects, hoping that if this power was provided they would gain equality, or at least be powerful enough to truly fight. The experiments were not completely successful though, leaving hundreds of people with parts of this code abandoned in their DNA. Through the pure chaos of existence though and centuries of genetic combinations, Vidic was created with the right combination of genes that gave him a sliver of this power. This connection to the Isu drove Vidic into his more fundamentalist Templar beliefs. Glimpsing the future has given him foresight of the coming globalised and industrialised worlds, and the problems that they will cause. This march toward progress must be orderly, and it’s only by having a fully dominated populace that this can occur. He will label the the pirates as degenerate terrorists and the Assassins as mindless, pointing to the poor leadership that has left them unable to ever effectively eradicated the Templars. We can see that he is not necessarily wrong, the current Assassin leadership is weak and the pirates attack and kill merchants in sometimes brutal ways, leaving regular citizens without food. As trade increases, and the demands of the public become much more complicated (internet, television, food that can only be grown in different nations etc.), this level of chaos will lead directly to the downfall of civilization as we know it. His mental gift will also reveal to him the location of an Isu temple, one that was intentionally left unrecorded due to the power it held. Imagine it like a black ops base, redacted even from official records. Being able to glimpse through time is the only way Vidic could find it. The base itself will house a “telescope” that will allow Vidic to gain a clearer image of the future. With it, he could monitor what every person on the planet will do, and act to make sure they behave in a way he deems suitable. That is why he came personally to Hong Kong with such an impressive fleet, to access this temple and defend himself during the search. This way the finale of the game can take place inside the temple, Vidic getting to truly envision the future as he had always wished, only to mentally crumble under the strain. We as people were never meant to have this gift, our psyche cannot process the information and it leads only to madness. An epic fight occurs, where Vidic dies in disgust, knowing of the great terrors that will occur. Nuclear explosions, world wars, climate change and the potentially apocalyptic solar eclipse are all to come, with no way of stopping it. He dies in anguish, screaming at Lai for her foolish commitment to freedom, which will only lead to humanity's ruin. Obviously there’s an irony to Vidic’s belief. The greatest minds to ever live could not figure out how to give the power of temporal sight to humans, with it only truly being solved by the infinitely powerful chaos of existence. In a world as controlled as he would like, the power that guides him wouldn’t exist. This should be explicitly stated in game either by an Isu messenger (like seen in Origins) or potentially Basim if he is still the modern day protagonist. With the telescope available to her now, the temptation of its power hits Lai. She questions whether to use it, whether to see if her fight will be worthwhile, but refuses. At heart, she knows that to do so would stand against her tenants, that seeing what will happen can only lead to the removal of people's free will, whether intentional or not. She destroys the temple, leaving this path behind. Of course as modern viewers we know her fight wasn’t as impactful as she would have hoped. Hong Kong would fall to the British, weaponized addiction would sweep the nation, and the last dynasty would fall. Her people had much more strife ahead of them that no one person could change, but the ideals she preached and her trust in humanity are the only cure to the plagues which face us all. I know this exploration of time may seem out of left field, but I think it could provide an additional layer to the drama of this story. To have someone who can provide accurate information on what will occur in this difficult era for China can truly express the dramatic irony of trying to fight what we know will come. Additionally, a core principle of Chinese political philosophy is the “dynastic cycle”, which refers to the continuous rise and fall of different dynasties' rulership, destined to repeat the mistakes of before. Culturally we can relate this story of time exploration with this philosophy, providing a nice link between the region and narrative, as Vidic (an outsider) acts to defy this ancient belief in cycles of repetition. And so that’s the pitch, the world of a cynic finding hope even in the darkness. With any luck, this can reinvigorate the community, providing a game that can recreate some of the heights of the franchise while reflecting growing franchise fatigue. Gameplay wise, mixing the impressive naval with the heights of city based action allows the best of both worlds, which was never quite reached before. Additional Isu exploration can continue to expand the lore, while potentially setting up future modern day plots. Based on what direction the series heads with the modern day, Basim or otherwise, the telescope can reveal the next major event the modern day Assassins must face. comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Finn is a creative writer from Rotherham, UK who has previously supported TOWCB's Fundraising events, and raised awareness surrounding Men's Mental Health. Finn's writing covers a wide scope, with releases so far including reviews, interviews and stories. He is known in the AC Community for his 'Pitching an Assassin's Creed Game' series, all of which you can find here on TOWCB website! Finn Fletcher

The Evolution of Assassin's Creed Analysis Share 27 Aug 2024 Written By: Edited By: Hayden Bird Colum Blackett Back To Database The ‘Assassin’s Creed’ series has come a long way since its creation way back in 2007. The games have been forced to adapt to coexist with the rapid evolution of technology. The technology that game developers had in 2007 is extremely different from what gaming companies have access to now. Having a game series that started in the late 2000’s to the present day means a lot of change over time, both with the games and with the world as it is today. Ubisoft had a challenge given to them in trying to make the ‘Assassin’s Creed’ series acceptable in today's standards, but also not to abandon the premise and idea of the games that fans have known and loved for so many years. ‘Assassin’s Creed’ has undergone some changes to the series, in nearly all aspects. Fans of the games have sometimes been divided in their love for this franchise. ‘Assassin’s Creed’ is really a lot more than just a game, it's a family as well. To have a community that can share their love for the games together is harmonious for the creators and the fans, and Ubisoft hit the jackpot by bringing together people from all over the world into one family. There is no denying the games have been through many changes, and doing this has helped keep the ‘Assassin’s Creed’ series alive and well as it is today. The main evolution that the ‘Assassin’s Creed’ games have been through is the major shift in gameplay. The original games were much different from the ‘Assassin’s Creed’ we know today. For starters, the original games followed a more predictable formula, meaning that mostly every game released in their once annual cycle were quite similar to one another. They followed stealth, action, and some tactical ideas, while the more modern games in the series have transitioned to more RPG, which stands for Role Playing Game, and adopted this approach for the current formula of almost all the modern games. There are significant differences in the old and the new formulas, such as combat and stealth have been heavily reworked. In past games, combat was mostly a matter of timing and countering enemy attacks. It was too easy to kill basically any enemy in the game, it was so easy to the point where the games would offer more expensive in-game weapons that supposedly could help you deeper into the game, but it was quite common for players to not even need to upgrade any of their equipment one time, as it was simple playing the entire game with the base weapons and still being able to get past all enemies with ease. The new games changed this flaw from past games in the series, as now it is vital to upgrade your weapons and equipment to match that of your personal level in the game, as using under-leveled equipment vs stronger enemies would prove much more challenging. This ensured that the games were not only up to modern standards, but also that they were believable and played well like most big and successful games do today. The major overhaul of the ‘Assassin’s Creed’ series began after the sales disappointment of 2015’s ‘Assassin’s Creed Syndicate’ . It caused Ubisoft to change course from their usual annual installment schedule and instead decided to take a year off in the franchise for the first time since after the very first game released back in 2007 with the two year gap between the first and second game. Since then the series grew accustomed to releasing a new game every year. So, in 2016 there was no new ‘Assassin’s Creed’ game, as they put all their efforts into focusing on 2017’s ‘Assassin’s Creed Origins’ . This game marked a new era for the franchise, as it was the overhaul of almost all the features the previous games had created. The change in formula was hit with positive responses from both critics and fans. It was a rebirth of the ‘Assassin’s Creed’ series in a way. Ever since 2017, nearly all games in the series have followed a similar path that ‘Origins’ started. Of course, there are fans who miss and prefer the old formula, as it was the identity of the franchise since its creation. Some fans even these many years later would still rather play an ‘Assassin’s Creed’ game like it used to be played. Ubisoft listened to these fans, and released last year's ‘Assassin’s Creed Mirage’ as a tribute to the beginning of the franchise 15 years later to that date. It was a game directed at fans of the previous formula, as it abandoned most of the heavy RPG aspects that recent games have adopted, and instead brought back a lot of what the old formula began. It was a great gesture by Ubisoft to also create a new game in the formula of the past, as they knew fans who missed the past formula would feel catered to once again. Many fans even today think Ubisoft should continue a trend like this, by catering to fans of both the older and newer games, and finding a balance that all fans could enjoy together. The newer ‘Assassin’s Creed’ games have proved very successful both critically and financially. The games have helped keep the core foundation of the series together to match that of modern expectations. The tech industry moves very quickly, and those who fail to adapt often get left behind, and the same goes for the video game industry. You have to stay current with your games, otherwise fans will lose interest and the series itself would begin to lose its massive impact on the entire gaming world that ‘Assassin’s Creed’ has created its positive reputation all these years later. Not having their unique and popular identity would be bad for the franchise, and the games we know today may cease to exist without the major change the games have had to take. It’s just the way the tech business is, you need to stay up to date otherwise fans will go somewhere else, and lose interest. Ubisoft had quite a bold task on their hands when they rebooted the ‘Assassin’s Creed’ series years ago, and according to gamers and the majority of the fanbase alike, Ubisoft nailed it and has managed to breathe new life into the franchise. The evidence for this is the fact that the games are as popular as ever today, and continue to make a long-lasting impact on the gaming world. The series we know and love has undergone some significant changes in the past, but was for the best, and vital to its current success to this day. comments debug Comments (1) Write a comment Write a comment Sort by: Newest Guest Aug 28, 2024 Awesome article! Well written! Like Reply About the Author Hayden is a passionate Freelance Writer based in South Carolina who joined TOWCB's Writing Team in 2020 during the Covid-19 Pandemic, writing articles on all things Assassin's Creed Valhalla. He left the group to focus on studies, joining our Alumni program, but triumphantly returned with fresh ideas in 2024 to pick up where he left off, only this time covering Assassin's Creed Shadows. In 2025, Hayden took on the position of Team Leader for TOWCB's Writing Team, overseeing article releases, assisting with recruitment and providing assistance with internal operations. Hayden Bird

Product Reveal: Secretlab Unveil Stunning New Assassin's Creed Collection News Share 15 Jul 2022 Written By: Edited By: Colum Blackett (Col_96) Ashlea Blackett Back To Database JULY 15 2022 - Secretlab have today unveiled the incredible new Assassin's Creed Collection, a collaboration between the award-winning gaming chair designers and Ubisoft, marking the 15th Anniversary of the iconic AAA fan-favourite franchise. The stunning collection features the Secretlab TITAN Evo 2022 Assassin's Creed Edition gaming chair and MAGNUS desk accessories, created with fans in mind, paying ultimate homage to the series. Press Release: Inspired by the Animus and the characteristic colours of the assassin's robe, the Secretlab TITAN Evo 2022 Assassin's Creed Edition is upholstered in Secretlab Neo Hybrid Leatherette and features a tonal red checkered pattern and futuristic Animus detailing on the side wings. The sigils of the Assassin's Creed series are embroidered on the backrest as a timeless ode to its legacy, designed specially for fans who have followed the series since 2007. Built on the award-winning Secretlab TITAN Evo 2022 series and available in sizes Regular and Xl, fans can enjoy world-class comfort as they revisit their favourite elements of Assassin's Creed or take a deeper dive into the lore of the highly-acclaimed series with the ongoing 15th Anniversary celebrations Alongside the Secretlab TITAN Evo 2022 Assassin's Creed Edition gaming chair, Secretlab are also launching MAGNUS desk accessories, which contains the following products, created specially for the Secretlab MAGNUS Metal Desk. Secretlab MAGPAD Desk Mat Assassin's Creed Edition. Secretlab MAGNUS Cable Management Bundle Assassin's Creed Edition. Alaric Choo (Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Secretlab) ''The compelling plotlines, stunning visuals and unique soundtracks have earned Assassin's Creed its countless awards and nominations. As one of the best-selling games of all time, we wanted to create something timeless to celebrate the 15-year legacy of the franchise by integrating its most iconic elements into the chair. With numerous new titles coming up, I can't wait to jump into the Assassin's Creed universe and this time, in my own Secretlab Assassin's Creed edition chair.'' Addie Dorsey (Global Consumer Products at Ubisoft) ''The 15th Anniversary of Assassin's Creed is a huge milestone for us. We wanted to make it extra memorable for fans in every way, and creating a real-life chair inspired by the Animus ticked all the boxes. We've always admired the attention to detail Secretlab puts into their chairs, and with over 50 awards under their belt, they were the obvious choice when it came to bringing this idea to life. This chair, along with the MAGNUS desk accessories, is a must-have for any fan to complete their Assassin's Creed set up'' Available now for pre-order now from Secretlab.com , estimated release date 9th September. The Secretlab x Ubisoft collaboration brings to life a dream for many fans. To own an Animus. The TITAN Evo 2022 Assassin's Creed Edition gaming chair acts as the ultimate form of escapism, providing award-winning comfort and support for players as they lean back and follow in the footsteps of Desmond Miles and dive into history. We are also excited to announce that we here at The Ones Who Came Before will soon be teaming up with Secretlab! Keep an eye on our social media accounts (listed below) for more information! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Col is one of the UK's leading Assassin's Creed Community members, and is best known for establishing both 'The Ones Who Came Before' fan community and 'Isu_Network' content creation program. As Team Leader for The Ones Who Came Before, Col was officially recognised by Ubisoft, becoming one the UK Assassin's Creed community ambassadors in 2016. He has attended many events after spending a decade in the AC Community, and has worked on countless projects, all of which you can find here on TOWCB website. He is also a former Ubisoft Star Player and member of The Mentors Guild, two recognisable community programs which opened doors and took his status within the AC Community to the next level. Colum Blackett (Col_96)

Assassin's Creed Shadows: One Week Later News Share 30 Mar 2025 Written By: Edited By: Hayden Bird Colum Blackett Back To Database Assassin’s Creed Shadows has now been released worldwide for a week, and gamers across the globe finally have had their chances to experience this long awaited and heavily anticipated journey into Feudal Japan, a location that has been long requested for years, and now the gaming world finally gets the opportunity to experience Japan in the style of what any new Assassin’s Creed game offers. After two significant delays, first from its original release date in November of 2024, then to February this year, and delayed once more about a month later to March 20th, fans were more than ready to get to play Shadows and divulge themselves into a lengthy gaming experience, with countless hours of content put together in one game. Yasuke and Naoe in the Assassin's Creed Shadows TV Launch Trailer Shadows does a great job of showing the past life of Feudal Japan in its own unique way, the format gamers have known and loved for the last years, as Shadows has faced competition from a PlayStation made game from 2020 called Ghost of Tsushima , which focuses on a very similar time period, but it was created quite differently in terms of gameplay and similar in ways that were part of real Japan hundreds of years ago. The Samurai, Shinobi, and all the things that were common back then like wielding longswords known as Katana’s, which was the famed weapon of any Samurai. Shadows brought these historical elements into the game but added their own special touch that makes it a great Assassin’s Creed game overall. Shadows will also continue to face some steep competition after launch as PlayStation has recently announced that in some ways, Shadows ’ sole competitor, Ghost of Tsushima , will be getting a sequel called Ghost of Yotei , another journey to past Japan, which is due to release later this year in 2025, so Shadows eventual post-launch content needs to be a worthy rival of soon to be smash hit Ghost of Yotei if they are to both coexist while performing strong in their own respective categories. The new dual protagonist feature Ubisoft has implemented into Assassin’s Creed Shadows has proven to be a successful and smart move by the developers, as the ability to switch between characters at anytime during the game was a fan-favorite approach that was only briefly featured in 2015’s Assassin’s Creed Syndicate and was short lived, appearing in just the one game, but it remained a beloved feature, so bringing this option back to play between two characters instead of choosing a male or female protagonist at the beginning of the game was a good strategy from the developers at Ubisoft Quebec that has clearly worked out thus far. It is creatively unique that the main characters, Naoe and Yasuke, both have immensely different strengths, as Naoe is a great option for stealth and speed, where as Yasuke is a brute force combat expert, but Ubisoft has made it possible that given how different each character is, the mission can still be completed regardless of who you choose to play as for the designated objective. It seems like a tough task to have both protagonists with different skill sets, can both do missions equally as well, regardless of the choice you pick, but Ubisoft aced their approach in creating this new and improved dual-protagonist system. Promotional image for Assassin's Creed Shadows via Ubisoft Assassin’s Creed Shadows has also succeeded on the technical side of things. Through graphics comparisons, looking at each platform side by side, it is evident to see how each game was crafted for the different platforms, sometimes all with different levels of overall power. For example, on the base high end consoles, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, the game runs excellent and was perfectly optimized for both consoles that are likewise equal in internal power levels. You can notice a difference in the less powerful devices too, as for the Xbox Series S and lower end gaming PC’s, the game has had to make graphical sacrifices to perform well on these platforms that lack the pure horsepower that the higher end devices have. But Ubisoft has still managed to optimize and make Shadows run well even with lesser power platforms. Another difference is the very high end systems, such as the PS5 Pro, which is Sony’s high end PlayStation 5 console and also compares well to high end gaming PC’s, where there is a clear visible difference even standing beside the base new-gen gaming consoles, the PS5 Pro has easily visible graphical improvements to the base PS5, even considering the original PS5 is a very powerful console. Ubisoft took their time perfectly optimizing the game so that you get a great experience no matter where you play. The hype of Assassin’s Creed Shadows remains high, as the game is just entering its first full week after release. There is lots still to be explored in this game, both with upcoming post-launch content and future updates that the game may receive. It is evident the gaming community and all Assassin’s Creed fans can be glad with the so far very successful launch last week, and excitement further of what's to come. The new life of Assassin’s Creed Shadows has only just begun, and the fans clearly cannot wait to see how the next months into the games life cycle continues. Assassin's Creed Shadows is available now comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Hayden is a passionate Freelance Writer based in South Carolina who joined TOWCB's Writing Team in 2020 during the Covid-19 Pandemic, writing articles on all things Assassin's Creed Valhalla. He left the group to focus on studies, joining our Alumni program, but triumphantly returned with fresh ideas in 2024 to pick up where he left off, only this time covering Assassin's Creed Shadows. In 2025, Hayden took on the position of Team Leader for TOWCB's Writing Team, overseeing article releases, assisting with recruitment and providing assistance with internal operations. Hayden Bird

Assassin's Creed Shadows: Reddit AMA session highlights Breakdown Share 14 Dec 2024 Written By: Edited By: UbiCypher (Joe) Zephryss Back To Database Refined Mechanics, New Modern Day plot, Retconned Lore and No Basim -"The delay has helped focus and allowed to be able to tweak the game". - Ubisoft Quebec's developer Jonathan Dumont states. Reddit's Official r/Assassin's Creed logo. This week's Reddit AMA session was a delight for the Assassin's Creed community. The developers Charles Benoit , Thierry Dansereau , Jonathan Dumont and Brooke Davies did a good job at answering the majority of the questions providing insightful information ahead of time albeit many spoilery questions that the community attempted to see through -myself included- clearly showing the love and dedication poured into the game, the delay having helped to "Focus on polish, debug and balancing" according to Jonathan, adding that they also had the time to address "stickyness in the parkour, accelerating responsiveness of inputs and fix rooftop behaviours" , which, is one of the main pillars of the upcoming Ubisoft game and seemingly pretending to be a strong rival to the community-praised parkour of Assassin's Creed: Unity. One of the most common complaints in the first two games of the latest RPG trilogy was the loot, which was random, Valhalla addressed this swapping the randomness by progession /exploration-based unlocks which is also returning in Shadows, the loot being more unique rather than acquiring the same bow infinite times since they are now tied to specific locations, special enemies and targets -which will drop the best loot- we'll have to eliminate through the story. The historical aspects of the game as well as its characters will be displayed in a "Codex-like Database" similarly to Assassin's Creed Mirage's fashion, somewhat bringing back that old feel of in-game historical information provided by Shaun Hastings in the earlier games. This is not the only feature borrowed from Bordeaux's game though as the "Target Board" is also returning. Talking about borrowing, Shadows takes from Valhalla's Settlement system as well -as seen in previous blogposts- however the devs mentioned that this time it will have a direct impact on gameplay and highly customizable features basically being its own sim-city like minigame allowing us to build rooms and specific buildings to further boost our stats or NPC relationships. The Photo Mode is also getting a long-craved revamp, so all the VP's out there will have a blast with photo-making throughout 2025 as it won't only be rebuilt entirely and available at launch, but it'll also be updated regularly adding more features as Shadow's life-cycle progressess or so it seems according to the devs, which is cool and also stunning that given games like Far Cry 6 as the latest example with a rich Photo Mode, it wasn't available in such a way in earlier games. Assassin's Creed Shadows' settlement Sim-like building system. Modern Day & The Animus Hub Alas, some information on Modern Day! It was expected that Basim's storyline wouldn't continue in Shadows, or at least, not at launch since the developer Jonathan openly stated that he won't "currently" be part of Shadow's story, meaning that it will possibly make an appearance later and I'd say not to think negatively as this statement aroused suspicious throughout the community, many thinking that he will get the "Juno treatment" which of course, I hope it won't be the case. Basim Ibn Ishaq as depicted in Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Assassin's Creed Shadows "Will have a limited Modern Day story introducing a broader narrative in the Animus Hub" clearly setting the grounds for our expectations on that part of the narrative for the future to come, confirming many rumors and fears of many and also the statements of Assassin's Creed's Executive Producer Marc-Alexis Côté at the BAFTA a few weeks ago regarding their shift of focus setting aside the Modern Day plot favoring the History Plot at the front of the experience. However, Jonathan, the Developer in question that revealed all this information to us also expressed that extra information on Modern Day and the Animus Hub for that matter will be shared soon. Another set of sad news but also to be expected -except for a stubborn egghead like me- Assassin's Creed Memories, a role-playing trading card game exclusive to iOS released back in 2014 that already established the lore concerning Japan and its role in the Assassin's Creed Universe back in the day prior to Shadows, is going to be retconned or at least, some elements, according to the devs who answered my questions, revealing that Hattori Hanzō will be in the game, however, the fate of characters like The Four Guardians of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Mochizuki Chiyome is unknown at this point. Ubisoft Quebec's Developer: Jonathan answering my question regarding AC: Memories retcon. For those invested in the canonicity of the story, fear not as this time Ubisoft is not scared to say what is what instead of discretely set the canon in a novel in oder to avoid backlash due to poor decision making; "Canon Mode" now being a thing. This mode will make several choices for you that you would otherwise make yourself in what is assumed to be the "Standard Mode" , making your playthrough canon from A to Z without any hiccups or inconsistencies due to your decisions. Which is great as this kind of integrations in the game again shows confidence in their project which others previously lacked. Project Infinity - Now Rebranded as Animus Hub. comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author UbiCypher (Joe) is an Assassin's Creed Transmedia expert who worked as the Lead Admin for the Isu_Network social media team, providing consistent social media content in the form of Assassin's Creed lore trivia, puzzles and news coverage, spending countless hours researching the series and real history. In 2025, he stepped back from his social media duties to pursue other opportunities. UbiCypher (Joe)

This Week in Assassin's Creed Virtual Photography: Feb 26th - 5th March 2022 Community Share 21 Mar 2022 Written By: Edited By: Aaron Young Ashlea Blackett Back To Database Welcome to the new weekly virtual photography roundup hosted by Aaron Young from The AC Partnership Program. Every week, we will be picking our top 5 favourite Assassin’s Creed shots and showcasing them on The Ones Who Came Before website, in order to promote virtual photography and talented content creators within the community. Aaron is a keen virtual photographer and loves to post his journeys through Assassin’s Creed on Twitter. Keep an eye on the site as more weekly shots are added, we are looking for capture across all Assassin’s Creed games. Tag your photos to the #TOWCBWeeklyCapture for a chance to be featured. 1) Renaissance Game: Assassin’s Creed II This week’s first capture comes from @hannyafoxdie over on Twitter. The scenery in Assassin’s Creed 2 is immense. The city of Venice is so vibrant, and this capture reflects it extremely well. I am always a fan of the protagonist standing on a rooftop. The colour of the tiles really pops in this image. I certainly appreciate the larger buildings in the distance and the waterway just below. 2) The Seaside Game: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Photo number two comes from @FeRa0408 over on Twitter. This capture is so colourful and striking. Kassandra walking through the red plants is very iconic, giving me Gladiator vibes. There really is a lot going on here, with the flock of birds in the sky and the two ships floating in the water. This is possibly one of my favourite Odyssey shots. 3) Sunlight Game: Assassin’s Creed This week’s third shot comes from @realKICKFLIPKID over on Twitter. Once again, we travel back to where it all began. I have not yet played the original since I entered the VP world. This is definitely a capture I would attempt, though. I love the bright sun blazing in from the right and the birds circling in the air. I am particularly impressed by the hidden blade sticking out as if Altair is about to strike. 4) Black and White Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP number four comes from @DagNammit86 over on Twitter. Black and white shots can often get missed, but this one stood out to me. I really like the depth of field drawing your eye to the archway which seems to make this image so bright. The simplicity is a breath of fresh air, minus the civilian this shot is pure environment. 5) Egyptian Hedj Game: Assassin’s Creed Origins The final capture of the week comes from @nkeiiin over on Twitter. Bayek and Origins captures are my favourites. Once again great use of the depth of field, really makes Bayek stand out amongst the burning sun. Nice to see Bayek in the Hedj robes, such an underrated look. I was so happy when they returned in Assassin's Creed Valhalla. And that sums it up for this week’s Assassin’s Creed virtual photography recap list! Thank you for checking out this week’s photo collection. This would not be possible without the virtual photographers out there so a huge thanks to them. Until next week keep those shots coming in! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who joined our AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer back in 2021 after the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. After building momentum and interest on TOWCB website for Virtual Photography, Aaron established TOWCB Virtual Photography Team, of which he is now Team Leader. Throughout 2024, TOWCB VP Team will be sharing community captures in dedicated articles, and providing a positive environment on Twitter for gamers to share their shots. Aaron Young

Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 4th to 15th November Community Share 28 Nov 2024 Written By: Edited By: Aaron Young Renzo Back To Database Welcome to the biweekly virtual photography roundup hosted by Aaron Young from the AC Partnership Program. Every two weeks we will be picking our top 5 favourite Assassin’s Creed shots and showcasing them on The Ones Who Came Before website, in order to promote virtual photography and talented content creators within the community. This theme has been run alongside Magnus Bruun the wonderful actor behind Eivor/Odin. You may also know him as Cnut in the hit TV series The Last Kingdom. This is the second time Magnus has joined us for a theme week, and we would like to thank him for giving up his time to select our winning shots. His kindness to the Assassin’s Creed community is really appreciated. Keep an eye on the site as more shots are added, we are looking for captures across all Assassin’s Creed games. Tag your photos to #ACFirstCivVP for a chance to be featured. Theme: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Blood Will Prevail Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ BetweenDPixels The Ones Who Came Before Photo of the Week Judge: Magnus Brunn Magnus This picture captures a lot of the soul in the game. I love the fiery frame, and the depth in the photo. It’s savage and beautiful at the same time. Also cool people don’t look at the things they burn to the ground. Aaron “For a hundred years there was chaos in our lands.” Assassin’s Creed Valhalla gives you the perfect platform to showcase those Norse inspired shots. Such as this one which looks like its straight out of the movies. Lauren has really brought the drama with this epically framed portrait of chaos. The flames encircling the gateway bring so much theatre, while the bodies hanging from the rafters show the brutality of the time. The shadows serve the shot well by emphasizing the light at the end of the tunnel. Eivor has that hero pose as she walks away from another triumph over the order. The foggy battle ensuing in the distance shows that this fight might not yet be done. Congratulations on capture of the theme. Sýnin Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ FoxPourple “Guide Me.” A Raven was the obvious choice for a companion in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Especially with those strong links to Odin, and Eivor being part of the Raven clan. There are many iterations of Sýnin in the game, but this one stands out. The design is just so striking with those white patterns contrasting beautifully with the black feathers. I feel like this capture has a painting vibe due to the use of fog in the background, and the blueish hue adds to the sense of flight. I love the composition with everything aligned perfectly to showcase the beauty of the raven. It would have been wrong not to have Odin’s eyes in this article. Stand Together Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ Murphys_Law_Vp “Shields Up! Shields Together! SHIELD WALL! The art of the shield wall was pivotal during the Viking invasion of England. The battle could easily be lost if you didn’t stand shoulder to shoulder with your warriors in this defensive position. Personally, I was disappointed that we did not get more of this in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. However, you would never think that after seeing this badass shot from Murphy. I feel like this is one of my favourite Valhalla portraits, because the details are just so good. Eivor’s stance is epic, and the shield position works really well. The outfit, tattoos and that amazing snowy background all combine to produce such a Viking photo. A Fine Warrior Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ FoxPourple “I will not be captive to another man’s gaudy design. My destiny is mine to weave.” The ability to play as both female and male versions of Eivor is a real plus point for virtual photographers in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. I believe both Magnus and Cecilie brought their own flair to each version, and thanks to the animus we can swap whenever we like. In this portrait Eivor looks so majestic and full of honour. The lighting on her face is a nice touch and the stance with hands wrapped around the weapon so graceful. I really adore how grounded this capture is with a real feel for the time period. I suspect she is looking on after the battle defiant against her destiny that Odin would try to manipulate. New Horizons Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ PodToGo (@ podtogo.bsky.socia l ) “Shall we raise the sail here, Eivor?” The longship in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is a thing of beauty. The customisation options really allow you to personalise your vessel. In essence it is just a flamboyant means of travel, but what a way to do it. Pod has clearly gone all in with the pirate longship as he pays homage to Black Flag. Those sun rays are so strong you can almost feel them, and I do like the warmth of this shot. It is nice that we can see Eivor commanding the longship too. I feel like this is a fitting capture to end our Valhalla special. The ship sailing out into the sunset is a perfect metaphor. Although I would rather believe this is just the start of another adventure. And that sums it up for this Assassin’s Creed virtual photography recap list! Thank you for checking out the photo collection. This would not be possible without the virtual photographers out there so a huge thanks to them. Until next time keep those shots coming in! comments debug Comments (1) Write a comment Write a comment Sort by: Newest vprepost Nov 29, 2024 Excellent piece. Great VP by all! Like Reply About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who joined our AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer back in 2021 after the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. After building momentum and interest on TOWCB website for Virtual Photography, Aaron established TOWCB Virtual Photography Team, of which he is now Team Leader. Throughout 2024, TOWCB VP Team will be sharing community captures in dedicated articles, and providing a positive environment on Twitter for gamers to share their shots. Aaron Young

Pitching an Assassin's Creed Game: Black Eden Wishlist Share 21 Nov 2025 Written By: Edited By: James Davis (TopChef1288) Colum Blackett Back To Database During a recent episode of The Ones Who Came Before podcast Rally The Creed , myself and my co-host Colum Blackett were talking about what a Assassin’s Creed game set during the Black Death would look like, the origins of the bubonic plague and a fear system. I just couldn't shake the idea from my head. We discussed that it could be a sequel to Hexe in time but not as a direct sequel, more of a spiritual successor. A new era in the franchise, the “Dark Era” and it was in that conversation, that I realised it wasn't just an idea to be spoken about on a podcast. It needed to be written down and shared. Something that demanded life on the page before it could ever exist in a game. The idea of a “Dark Era” isn't about heroes in shining armour, nor sweeping tales of conquest. It's about survival in the shadows of human failure, about morality bending under the weight of desperation. It's about a city drowning in death and a man whose sins are not just his own, but those of a whole world. Assassin’s Creed: Black Eden exists in that space between faith and fear, love and obsession, death and the memory of what could have been. Marseille, 1348 - The City of Plague Art by Thea_Rivedal Marseille in 1348 was not a city. It was a graveyard pretending to be a city. Smoke clung to the roofs like soot stained ghosts. The river ran dark with filth and blood. Bells tolled endlessly, calling out the dead while the living recoiled at each other’s breath. Shops and marketplaces deserted. The only commerce left was fear, and even that was precious. People whispered that the air itself had turned against them. Some spoke of angels who had abandoned the city, of saints who no longer listened. While others wore amulets, some carved protective symbols into their doors; some even prayed so fervently their hands ached and their knees became blistered. Marseille was a city where superstition had become law, where despair shaped every step. And above it all, moving between alleys and rooftops, someone was watching. Someone who had once believed he could save lives through control. Only to learn that salvation came at the cost of the city’s soul. Lucien de Montfort - The Templar Who Wept Lucien de Montfort had once been a man of reason. An alchemist and a Templar scholar. He believed in the grand design, in the orderly flow of history. In the Templar promise that control could cure chaos. And that's why he helped the Templars with the creation of the Black Death. He did not do it out of malice but out of misguided devotion. Every vial, every calculation and every careful release of the plague was intended to prune humanity. To cleanse what he and the Templars deemed unfit. He loved once. A brilliant, beautiful and terrifying woman called Lilith LaMort. Together they studied the apple, or what was left of it. But obsession and fear coiled around their work, experiments went wrong and people died. One day an accident happened and destroyed their lab. Both Lilith and the Apple were destroyed with it. Everything the two of them had built was gone. He buried both his love and his faith in the same grave. Now months later, the plague begins to strangle the city and he is alone. A man haunted by the faces of the dead, as he moved among the living. He was searching for absolution but he might never find it. The Rot of Eden: The Black Apple Art by Thea_Rivedal The Apple isn't just a relic, it's a weapon. A piece of divine technology that has been corrupted over centuries. Once golden, radiant and pure. It had been warped by the Isu’s war code into an Apple of obsidian black. Its carvings were gold and oozing a hissing, thick sap. Lucien called it the Rot. it was able to prune a population, the Templars deemed unworthy. It accelerated decay and manipulated life itself. wells , wine and incense all distilled into tools by the Templars. Under the guise of salvation but in reality they were tools of control and power. And yet to Lucien, it was more than just a weapon. The Rot was a part of him, after the accident. A constant reminder of his complicity. To him, every death whispered his name. Every coughing child, every corpse was a testament to his sins and failure. The Apple isn't something you wield lightly; it was something that carried the weight of life and death. Lucien had been the one to tip the scales. Faith, Fear and Masks The city devoured itself in silence. Fear spread faster than the plague. It turned every home into a fortress and every neighbour into a threat. Trust soon became a relic. It had been buried and forgotten, even feared as much as death. Lucien adapted. He became what the city needed and what it wouldn't question. He became a plague doctor. Cloaked in soot stained robes and wearing a beaked mask that reeked of herbs and despair. He drifted through the streets like a penitent spirit. The mask was both his sanctuary and his prison. It granted him passage through guarded alleys and restricted areas. Behind the glass eyes, Lucien watched as the world around him continued to rot and he wondered if he could ever atone for the things he had done. Via The Harbinger (2022) Elias - The Modern Assassin Centuries later, in a quiet lab, Elias Moreau strapped into the Animus. He wasn't anyone special, just a field operative; trying to make a difference. He followed orders, gathered intel and blended into the world unnoticed. But this time it was different. His mentor’s words still ring in his ears “if we are to understand what Covid is. We need to find the Black Apple. You need to walk the streets of Marseille and see what Lucien de Montford saw” and with that Elias entered the Animus. And in a heartbeat, the modern day began to fade from his eyes. The plague choked air, the tolling bells and the fear on the street became as real as anything he'd seen before. He could feel Lucien’s guilt crawling along his spine. He could hear Lucien’s whispered prayers to the dead and the smell of the rot that lingered in every corner of the city. The Animus was supposed to be a tool, a window to history. But for Elias it was now a bridge connecting him not only to Marseille but also to the sins of his bloodline. As Marseille began to unfold around him, Elias thought “Death is not the enemy, it is the relief of pain and the end of suffering to those around him” The Whispers of La Maitresse Noire Even as Lucien moved through the plague ravaged streets of Marseille, a shadowy figure lingered. The city whispered of a woman only referred to as La Maitresse Noire. No one knew her true identity and if they did, no one spoke it. Her cruelty was legendary. Entire families vanished overnight. Experiments gone wrong turned into tales of horror. She commanded through fear, her intellect was as sharp as any blade. Her heart, cold and barren. Templars tremble at her name. When they die, their last words weren’t of battles or hatred. But of her, The Maitresse surpassed them all. Lucien now looking at people he once trusted and respected, realised that they all served her and they were merely instruments to her ambition. The Kiss of the Maitresse Lucien had begun to piece it together, the patterns and the names in the ledgers. The whispers of la Maitresse Noire. Every lead drew him closer to the truth. She wasn’t just a myth, she was real. She was orchestrating everything, the plague, the fear and even the city’s slow decline. Lucien cornered a Templar alchemist in the catacombs beneath Marseille, who once looked up to Lucien. The man begged for his life, he mumbled about salvation and sacrifice; as Lucien towered over him. Lucien ignored his pleas and drove his blade home and the Templar looked into Lucien’s eyes and smiled. The pain came later, Lucien felt his veins burning and the bitter taste of iron in his mouth. His vision became blurred and his limbs trembled. In the dying man's hand, Lucien saw it. A broken vial. He had been injected. The Maitresse had turned the plague against its creator. Days bled into nights, fever consumed Lucien. His mind unraveled between flashes of clarity and delirium. Every cough was now a reminder that he is one of the infected and is a reminder of the countless souls he has doomed, in the name of order. Even as sickness ravaged his body, Lucien’s resolve was only sharpened. If this was to be his end, he would make sure it means something. He would drag this plague and Maitresse Noire with him into hell. The Final Act Lucien returned to where his story began, the laboratory buried beneath the cathedral. Once a beacon of Templar ambition, now left to rot and is nothing more than just ash and the echoes of the past. He thought he was alone, that is until a voice calls out to him “I knew you’d come back home, mon cher” from the shadows crept, a figure; La Maitresse Noire, but her veil was gone and Lucien saw a face that had haunted his dreams. Lilith LaMort. Her beauty had not faded, she stood there; like something otherworldly. She wasn’t the same woman he once knew, as she stood there half divine and utterly terrifying. The Black Apple clutched in her hand. Lilith circled Lucien with a predatory gaze. Lucien lunged at her, steel clashed. Assassin against former love & false divinity. Every blow echo screamed through the shadows. Lilith falls to her knees, she reaches for him with her blood soaked hands. A faint smile across her face. “You can kill me” she whispers “but not what I’ve set in motion. This plague will end only when the Apple can’t corrupt anymore” Lucien knew that the Apple couldn't be destroyed. Gameplay Mechanics When I started imagining how Black Eden would actually play, the goal was simple: build systems that make the world react to Lucien, not the other way around. The plague isn’t just a backdrop, it’s the heartbeat of the entire game. And every mechanic stems from that idea. Trust System In a city collapsing under fear and superstition, nobody is going to welcome a stranger with open arms, especially not someone poking around crime scenes and plague zones. So trust becomes a core mechanic. People judge Lucien based on what they see. If he helps gather medicine, deliver food, guide families to safety, or take down corrupt officials, their trust rises. If he sneaks where he shouldn’t, draws attention, or appears too often near death, they pull back. Trust isn’t just a meter; it affects everything: • What missions unlock • Who speaks to you • Whether an area will hide you or betray you • How easily you can move through the city It’s not “good vs evil.” It’s “do they believe you’re here to help, or here to harm?” Disguise System Disguises in Black Eden aren’t cosmetic, they’re social tools with consequences. Plague Doctor Disguise Lucien’s signature look. Great for accessing quarantined districts and moving through zones thick with corpses and infected. Guards assume he belongs there. But regular citizens? They keep their distance. Some won’t talk to him at all. He smells like death, and no one wants to trust a walking omen. Commoner / Peasant Disguise Safer, more social, more immersive. People open up. Hidden pockets of the city become accessible. But guards won’t respect you, and certain areas become blocked entirely. Each disguise opens one door while closing another, making identity itself part of the strategy. Rot Vision Rot Vision is Lucien’s twisted version of Eagle Vision, born from the Black Apple fragment embedded in his palm. It works just like Eagle Vision structurally, but the feel is different: • Infection patterns spread across walls and streets • Trails of sickness reveal where outbreaks started • Corrupted enemies glow with inhuman intensity • Hidden paths and clues appear like veins beneath the city’s skin It’s powerful, intuitive, and story-driven, but every use chips away at Lucien. The player sees the world decay as he does. Parkour & Movement Lucien isn’t a superhero. He’s agile, fast, and trained but grounded. Movement would feel closer to: • Unity’s precision • Mirage’s responsiveness • Shadows’ clean, intentional platforming The rooftops of Marseille become escape routes, ambush paths, and lifelines. There’s no sprawling open-world parkour circus, just tight, dense, believable navigation through a dying city. Combat Lucien fights like a man who learned from two worlds, Assassin training from his father, Templar discipline from his mentors. Simple but lethal. • One hidden blade • One sword • Fast, brutal counters • Precise strikes • No heavy RPG stat nonsense • And a combat feel very close to Assassin’s Creed Shadows It’s intimate and unforgiving. Every fight has weight. Stealth Stealth is the backbone of Black Eden. No modern gadgets, no overpowered tools but just shadows, timing, and disguise. You can: • Blend into crowds • Slip through alleys • Use darkness as cover • Distract guards with environmental tools • Disappear into plague smoke or church candlelight The goal isn’t to erase entire fortresses, it’s to make the player feel hunted, cautious, clever, and resourceful. Conclusion When I started shaping Black Eden, I wasn’t trying to reinvent Assassin’s Creed. I just wanted to tap back into what made the series special in the first place. The atmosphere, the tension, the blurred lines between good intentions and terrible outcomes. And as the idea grew, it naturally evolved into something that felt both familiar and completely new. Lucien de Montfort isn’t a chosen one or a mythic hero. He’s a man whose brilliance and mistakes cost lives, and he spends the rest of the game trying to make sure no one else suffers because of him. That’s the heart of this pitch. Not destiny, just responsibility. Not spectacle, just consequence. And it fits the Assassin’s Creed universe better than anything flashy or supernatural ever could. The gameplay systems, the trust mechanics, the disguises, Rot Vision, the grounded stealth. they all push the game toward a more reactive, human style of play. People don’t automatically trust Lucien. He has to earn it. His disguises open doors but close others. His connection to the Black Apple gives him insight but slowly destroys him. Everything he gets comes at a cost, which is exactly how an AC game set in the Plague should feel. And then there’s the modern day, Elias trying to navigate the fallout of a life he didn’t live but still feels. It brings back that personal, present-day urgency the series has been missing for a while. If Assassin’s Creed ever decided to explore a story like this; something darker, more intimate, more morally tangled. I genuinely believe it could mark a turning point for the franchise. Not a reboot, not a throwback, but a new era built on what made the originals resonate so deeply. comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author James is a video creator based in the UK who joined TOWCB's Video Content Creation Team in June 2025. James was brought onboard to help TOWCB with news coverage on TikTok, and creating a consistent Twitch streaming schedule. He is a big fan of the Assassin's Creed series who will be helping TOWCB grow in late 2025, with a particular focus on TikTok, Youtube and Instagram. By joining the partnership program, we aim to provide James with opportunities to grow and further his relationship with the AC Community and Ubisoft. James Davis (TopChef1288)

Answers Lost in Time: A Review of Assassin’s Creed Escape Room Puzzle Book Review Share 17 Feb 2023 Written By: Edited By: Michael Smith Ashlea Blackett Back To Database Banner Art by TOWCB Artist Thea Marie Rivedal (@ Moonchildgecko ) This article contains amazon affliliate links which help to financially support TOWCB #AD Glyph Puzzle from Assassin's Creed II (image by ActualSpider-Man) Stealth, combat, parkour, and puzzles have all been staples of Assassin’s Creed since the first game, but more so since AC II. Clay Kaczmerek was the first puzzle master that we unknowingly followed as we solved his clues to find “The Truth” of the Isu and the core of the Assassin’s Creed story. Solving the various glyphs that were sprinkled around Italy brought a logical aspect to the games that players hadn’t experienced in the first instalment. With each release after AC II, puzzles of some sort have been included to reward the player with additional stories or physical rewards (in-game) that we could use with our character. Author James Hamer-Morton Influenced and crafted by the mind of Escape Room artist James Hamer-Morton, comes a new experience for puzzle enthusiasts and fans of Assassin’s Creed titl es ' Assassin’s Creed Escape Room Puzzle Book .' A new adventure that traverses previous locales of the games as the reader follows an original character Joey through the ages, solving puzzles to stop an impending vision of the future, where a mysterious new villain uses an Isu Artifact to control the masses. Through the use of various puzzle types, readers of this book will pull at the threads of the interwoven story and have an experience similar to that of an escape room themed within the AC Universe. The escape room company that James co-founded “James Hamer-Morton is one of the masterminds behind UK boutique escape room chain 'Deadlocked' - the pioneering powerhouse behind hit episodic online escape rooms 'The Insiders' and 'The Cyphstress'. He was created in a lab specifically for the world of immersive experiences - whilst cutting his teeth starring in art house films and moonlighting as games level designers, he soon turned their hand to the world of 'alternative reality games' -devoting his life to transporting their audiences into the centre of their own artisan adventures. From this he came up with the 'Escape Room Puzzles' series, of which there are now four books.” (Quote provided by the author) The third Escape Room book by James Hamer-Morton I learned during a chat with James that he was approached by Ubisoft as they wanted a similar book for the Assassin’s Creed series to that of his previous works; something he was very excited to do being a fan of the series himself. Having a chance to write an original story for Assassin’s Creed and injecting the pages with puzzles, guiding the reader from one era to the next via the use of the Animus, is a dream for any author and fan of the series. The print error from the end of Chapter 3 While I will be breaking down the contents of the book fro m the story to the dificulty of puzzles, I must start this review with a note for anyone that is planning on picking up this unique entry to the transmedia line; the book has a handful of editing errors that resulted in a broken progression half way through the book. At the end of the third chapter, the Assassin that Joey is controlling within the Animus is provided incorrect information by the target of the confession room. This incorrect information, which is a puzzle itself, provides a list of numbers that are clues to the letter placement of the various identifiers of the target “My name 4, my location - 3,...” This will lead readers to a collection of letters that do not solve the puzzle, in turn stopping them from progressing without looking at the answer section of the book, or turning the page and disregarding the error. The answer section is the correct answer to the puzzle but due to a change of Editors and the publishing of a draft that James had provided to show what he would do, before making the actual puzzle (which changed the order and numbers used in confession), the book in the English version was printed with this broken experience. The correct solution from Chapter 3 James shared his annoyance with this issue as, before I reached out to him about it, prior to our chat he was not aware that his latest work was released with such an error. He shared his process of how he will write the story of each chapter and decide the puzzles he wants to use before sending them to the puzzle checkers and editor to make sure that they will work in all translations. For example, if the phrase “Leaving something up to chance” is said for a puzzle that uses directions such as up, down, left , and right, you can’t use that clue as in another language the key word “up” would not translate in the context that he was using. This is why puzzles that use names or deliberate translations are used. So when he was sent the copy for the test read, it was the correct version, but unfortunately the printing did not follow that same copy and was released incorrectly. He also informed me that he did not write the Answer section of the book, but thankfully the answers are correct so the reader can progress with its assistance. So knowing this, please keep in mind that the current English publication has this error, but can be solved via the Answer section or by just continuing to read the story. The story is a great read and worth purchasing the book for this alone. It fits well within the confines of the series’ lore without damaging anything. Both the author and myself consider it canon, but there isn’t a hard yes to the question of if it actually is. When asked about it by another fan, Aymar Azaïzia (Transmedia and Business Development Director for Assassin’s Creed) stated in his response, "It’s a puzzle book! It’s full of riddles inspired by our lore and characters. It’s definitely not bi[n]ding and would not affect our games with crazy twist that would jeopardize the universe" ( Source ) Readers complete puzzles as they work through the story The story follows a new character Joey (an easter egg to fans of the game Tunneling Through Time , another Deadlocked creation), a museum security guard that notices an artifact having moved when watching the CCTV feed. What is really cool about Joey is that the author deliberately did not gender the character so that the reader could give their own choice to the protagonist much like how you can choose your gender in some of the most recent titles in Assassin’s Creed. This leads to the book’s first puzzle (a letter organization puzzle based on the sides of dice) and the introduction of the Isu Artifact (a double bladed dagger ) which the adventure is shaped around. In this prologue, and the following first chapter, Joey meets the Assassin’s Brotherhood and begins to learn about the opposing Templar Order and the use of the Animus. From here, each chapter takes place in both the modern (day for story progression) and a genetic memory for the bulk of the puzzles, as well as exploring the mystery of the artifact that Joey found. The Animus revisits Ancient Greece, Egypt, Viking London, Damascus, and Venice, with cameos of main characters such as Bayek and Altair, but also supporting characters like Leonardo Di Vinci and fan favorite Markos from Kefalonia. With this and the addition of a new Isu who influences Joey and acts as a sort of AC III Juno (another Isu) with each page turn. Each memory fits within the timeline of their respective game which provides the story the possibility of being canon. However in certain chapters such as Chapter 4 where the Animus Avatar and Masyaf Assassin, Faisal watches Al Mualim give his speech to the attacking Templar forces as his three Assassins take their Leap of Faith from the fortress above (the opening scenes of the original Assassin’s Creed), to then read that Faisal is assisted by a horse riding Altair is a bit confusing as the time frame of making said jump and getting to the gates seems possible but out of place. However the speech Al Mualim is giving is cut directly from the game; another point towards the book being canon in my opinion. The first puzzle of the book The puzzles progress in difficulty and as the story moves forward and each will provide solutions for other puzzles in the chapter. So while in the first chapter, the reader will find a solution to every puzzle when they complete it, later chapters won’t give clues for a puzzle right away, but the solution to a later one will provide what is needed to complete said challenge. This is clearly explained in the “How to Use This Book” section in the opening pages. The reader is directed to read the story up until a labeled stopping point and then review the content of the story up until that point to gather what is needed to solve the forthcoming pu zzles. However, the story does not have false answers, or dead ends like similar books of this type that would make the reader restart an area in the chapter. This is something that I shared with James, about being a cool idea to improve on replayability. We also discussed how some of his earlier books had suggested time frames for puzzles, but that was not something the publisher wanted going forward. Additionally, some of the puzzles can be answered just by knowing the history of the games and which genetic memory follows the current one depicted in the chapter the reader is on. Puzzle 1 Difficult Hint If the reader still has issues figuring out a solution, the answer section is broken up into 4 levels of hints and solutions. Difficult Hints for inspiration on how to approach the puzzle. Puzzle 1 Medium Hint M edium hints prov ide pointers for those that are stuck. Puzzle 1 Easy Hint Ea sy hints provid e help to those that are truly lost, and the final section contains the actual answer to the puzzle. I myself had to reference all of them at some point for individual puzzles either due to being stuck, just wanting to see what the hints would be for a puzzle, or due to the unfortunate misprints in the text. So every level of puzzle lover should get a fun experience from the book and the challenges it presents. One of the various cut-out sections of the book Discussing the physical book itself, I mentioned the fact that while only a $15 USD book, being informed that certain pages would require you to cut out sections to make things like a cipher disk or sliding items into place to get a phrase, is hard for myself and a lot of other collectors who do not like to damage their items. I had made suggestions on adding additional pages that are left blank on one side or even having sliding pieces like those used in a children’s book would be nice. Understandably though, this would add to the production cost of the book and raise the cover price. James shared that in his other titles, a QR code is provided for all of the pieces that need to be removed for puzzles on a printable document so the reader didn’t need to do this to the book itself. When reading, I used a combination of a document software on my phone, a notebook, and scraps of paper to make what I needed to solve the puzzles without making marks or cuts. It was also mentioned that Jame’s bio or “About the Author” page was not included in this book unlike his previous releases, which is sad as it would be a great insight into who this author is to the series, learning that he is a master at his craft in escape rooms and puzzles. Luckily, the publisher is aware of the various errors I brought to his attention and will hopefully print a revised edition in the future. An addition that I will easily repurchase to have a complete and working copy of this enjoyable experience. I hope we get a sequel to Assassin’s Creed Escape Room Puzzle Book as I loved this entry to the series and, now knowing the level of care the author puts into his work, makes me want more. In addition, compared to the VR Escape Rooms that Ubisoft has released in the past, this is something that requires no physical and expensive hardware which means anyone and everyone can pick up a copy and “play” this title at their own pace no matter where they are. For fans of the series and those that enjoy the escape room experience, this is worth picking up and spending an afternoon with. Currently the book has only been published in English (from what I can find) and is available from various bookstores at an MSRP of £14.99/$16.95. Amazon US: Amazon UK: comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Mike Smith is a collector of all things Assassin's Creed and a major supporter of transmedia who joined TOWCB as a writer from 2021 - 2024 With nearly a full library of Assassin's Creed media, his work explored the universe in order of Genetic Memory. Notably, his Assassin's Creed Timeline became an essential tool for fans of the franchise looking to complete their collection and consume AC media in a particular order. Michael Smith

HomeCon 2020: Bringing the Comic Con to your Home Events Share 12 Apr 2020 Written By: Edited By: Lisa Zaman Ashlea Blackett Back To Database What happens when the world goes into lockdown and comic cons around the world are postponed? The actor Paul Amos known as the voice of Jacob Frye from Assassin’s Creed Syndicate (also Lost Girl and The Murdoch Mysteries ) teamed up with his friend Rachel Skarsten (Lost Girl, Reign, Batwoman) to create their very own and unique, stay at home Comic-con, the aptly named HomeCon which debuted on April 10th-11th 2020. From the moment Paul Amos went live on Instagram on the 30th March and declared a new project he’d created alongside Rachel Skarsten, we knew he had something big up his sleeve and it would be a game changer. A few days later via Instagram Live HomeCon was announced and a comic con like no other had been born. With the world on lockdown and comic cons being postponed or cancelled left right and centre, Paul and Rachel had the genius idea to create HomeCon, as the name suggests a comic con at home. But how would it work? What would it entail? And who would be there? With everyone at home, HomeCon literally had a captive audience and with many of the voice actors in the same boat as the fans, they were available to participate. Like with any Comic-Con, there would be panels, Q&A’s and the chance to have 1to1’s with your favourite actor. So with less than two weeks Paul, Rachel and many other incredible people behind the scenes pulled an incredible feat and HomeCon was ready to go live. HomeCon would take part on April 10th and 11th. All panels would be live via Twitch and with a subscription of $4.99 (or free of you had an Amazon Prime account) you could view it all. HomeCon’s Social Media platforms ( Facebook ) informed us frequently with panel information and guests. As the HomeCon website went live, it provided fans with schedule’s and allowed them to book their 1to1 sessions. Of course, there were a few teething problems, as there always is with technology and the rapid interest in HomeCon meant that the website traffic sent it into a mini meltdown. With all new ventures, there were a few teething problems, but personally speaking I felt that the HomeCon support teams did a phenomenal job in handling issues prior and during the event. A few questioned the cost ($53 for 5 mins) for the 1to1, some feeling that they couldn’t justify the spend during these uncertain times, but as Paul explained very diplomatically that many actors had dedicated their time free of charge to be available and that 10% of proceeds were going to the charity First Responders First.What I felt was impressive it that they devised an almost perfect timetable, the different time zones taken into account, allowing those around the world to tune in.Day 1 started strong, with a live introduction and welcome by Rachel and Paul.Assassin’s Creed fans eagerly awaited the AC panel at 6pm BST. I noted as I tuned in to watch that over 26,000 people were watching. Suddenly all the familiar faces (or should that be voices) appeared on screen and the discussions began. I felt the moderator Ming Chen did a great job in keeping the pace and allowing each person to talk. However, as is the way with this incredible bunch of people, the conversation steered off course in the best possible way, usually led by Paul himself. It was great to see the interaction between them all, each one giving a little insight into their character and sharing anecdotes. As the hour long panel continued it was a joy to see fans sending questions and even communicating with one another as the message board scrolled furiously. Image source: Cas Anvar Before Day 1 came to an end, Paul popped back on to Instagram to send love and thanks to all involved and teased us with the hint that there could be a HomeCon 2.0. Victoria Atkin (Evie Frye) also hosted a quick Instagram live with Melissanthi Mahut (Kassandra), and then siblings Alexios and Kassandra did the same over on Michael Antonakos’s Instagram. It was evident at this point that everyone was having the best time and that HomeCon really was bringing everyone together. Day 2 and Assassin’s Creed was represented in the Motion Capture Panel which featured Elias Toufexis (Federico Auditore da Firenze - AC 2), Melissanthi Mahut (Kassandra - AC Odyssey) and Kris Holden-Ried (Crawford Starrick - AC Syndicate), alongside Greg Bryk (Joseph Seed - Far Cry 5) and Adam Croasdell (Ignis Scientia - Final Fantasy XV) The panel was insightful and again thoroughly amusing. Meanwhile remaining AC actors were busy meeting and greeting fans via the 1to1’s. I myself had the pleasure of talking with Victoria Atkin all whilst being photobombed constantly by my excited son! Image Source: Lisa Zaman As Day 2 drew to an end for the Assassins Creed fans, Michael Antonakos went live on Instagram with HomeCon’s co creator Paul, who we discovered, was sat in his shower with a beer and a box of kitty litter. Would we have expected anything less from the Welshman? As the conversation passed between the two it was obvious that there had been another lightbulb moment for Paul and that perhaps another HomeCon would focus solely on Assassin’s Creed.As HomeCon came to an end it became clear that it had been a great success. Not only in bringing excitement and entertainment to the fans at such a tumultuous time, but it allowed those who have been unable to participate in Comic cons previously (be it mentally, physically or simply geographically) to enjoy and embrace the atmosphere that so many of us cherish. Yes, it was a fabulously entertaining 2 days, but what I took away from this experience is, as Paul highlighted, it allowed us as humans, to connect with others, something that is so important in these current times. comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Lisa is a talented portrait artist specialising in graphite work. Back in May 2018, she turned her attentions to the world of Assassin's Creed art, and began creating lifelike portraits of key characters. By joining the program, Lisa's work will be viewed by a larger number of community members, allowing her to build a captive audience. The partnership also means that we will be working closely with Lisa for upcoming art giveaways and competitions for the community. Lisa Zaman

Assassin's Creed Day Artwork Released Art Share 21 Dec 2025 Written By: Edited By: Aita_Sageblood Colum Blackett Back To Database To celebrate Assassin's Creed Day 2025, and to honour the legacy of Desmond Miles (1987-2012) who sacrificed himself to ensure humanity's survival from the impending threat of a solar flare, our very own Aita_Sageblood from TOWCB Art Team has released a new piece of artwork inspired by Assassin's Creed III! Thanks to Desmond's bravery, humanity survived and the Assassins were able to prevent Juno from inhabiting a clone body and taking over the world. We love the use of colour on the pedestal, and the ominous glow enticing the hand of Desmond. The date in the top left hand corner is a callback to the glyphs from the early Assassin's Creed games, left by Subject 16, Clay Kaczmarek. We hope that you enjoyed Assassin's Creed Day, but also took a second to reflect upon Desmond's selfless decision which made everything which came after 2012 possible. Safety and Peace Assassins! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author In June 2025, Aita_Sageblood (Nathan) joined TOWCB's Art Team in an effort to widen the variety of art styles on the team. He is known online for his vibrant digital artworks, bringing colour and energy to each and every project. Throughout 2025 and beyond, Nathan will be working alongside TOWCB's Art Team on a variety of projects which range from creating art for fundraising to live art creation watch-alongs! By joining the AC Partnership Program, we aim to boost his profile within the community and create a meaningful relationship with Ubisoft. Aita_Sageblood