Summary
The trouble with having all of history as a playground is that there is so much potential for sequels in the world ofAssassin’s Creed. Problem is, ever since the Ezio trilogy, Ubisoft have proved reluctant to make any more direct sequels, which is a shame considering just how much potential there is for their core cast of characters.
Whether it’s the possibility of exploring ancient Rome or following Napoleon into battle, Ubisoft have teased some amazing possibilities forAssassin’s Creedgames sequels should they come to pass.
After the glut of the RPG-focusedAssassin’s Creed: Origins,Valhalla, andOdyssey, gamers cried out for a more stripped-back approach to theAssassin’s Creedformula, which arrived inAssassin’s Creed Mirage,which took place in Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age.
The problem is,Mirageonly scratched the surface of what the golden age has to offer. This time in European history is incredible, with the underrepresented Arab and potentially Indian world having tons of possible story threads to follow. The potential just needs to be grabbed.
After the relatively dourAssassin’s Creed 3, fans were ecstatic to have a character like Edward Kenway inAssassin’s Creed: Black Flagto embody a more rollicking, roguish attitude to history, embodying the spirit of pirates who terrorized the New World.
However, so much more could be done in this time period, whether it follows Edward or not (some of which could be seenin an upcoming remake. There’s the entirety of Spanish America to explore, which is underrepresented in video games, or even conventional piracy around the Mediterranean or in the Gulf of Mexico.Assassin’s Creed: Black Flagonly scratches the surface of what a pirate-themedAssassin’s Creedgame has to offer.
Assassin’s Creed: Odysseymay be one of the biggest Western RPGs ever made, with hundreds of hours of content that explore Ancient Greece. For some players, that’s a blessing, but for others, a sequel sounds like making a bad problem worse.
Spoilers ahead!
However, anyone who has played the game knows that Kassandra becomes immortal. That means she lives through not just the Greek Golden Age but also the Greeks' decline and the Roman Age’s beginning. That’s a lot of potential for a follow-up that could expand its seafaring scale to the Adriatic, Ionian, and Tyrrhenian Seas that rival theGreek Islands stunning beauty.
Most people don’t need a historian to tell them that the Crusades were a complicated period in history that stretched over centuries, full of ancient dramas and incredible battles and horrors. In other words, the originalAssassin’s Creedonly scratches the surface of what’s possible.
With modern technology, the entirety of the Holy Lands could be turned into an open world, stretching across ancient cities, all the way through modern-day Iraq, Turkey, and Egypt. It’d be difficult to do right, but if Ubisoft could pull it off, it would be the defining video game about the period.
Assassin’s Creed 3is a controversial entry into the series not for shaking up the formula too much, but for being too slow-paced and having a relatively dull protagonist (even if it hasone of the franchise’s best villains). However, the post-Revolutionary Period is rife for further exploration, as any fan of American history will already know.
For example, a sequel toAssassin’s Creed 3could theoretically take place decades later in the Civil War, or perhaps even in the Wild West. It sounds wild, but the possibilities are incredibly tantalising to venture into territory Ubisoft are yet to plumb.
Assassin’s Creed: Originsis a big game, there’s no doubt about that, but ironically, it actually takes place in a relatively late period in the Ancient World. The ancient pyramids were already built, and the Roman Empire was at the height of its power. A prequel/sequel could go in so many different directions, evenbuilding on the supernatural elementsintroduced inOrigins.
For example, imagine expanding the open-world to have distinct zones throughout the sprawling Roman Empire, such as in Iberia or Scythia? Could this sequel be the best digital representation of Ancient Rome ever made? If anyone could do it, theAssassin’s Creedteams could.
Assassin’s Creed: Syndicatewas unfairly maligned when it arrived due to the massive fatigue gamers held towards the franchise. However, the setting of London is incredibly compelling, and an expansion into other parts of the Victorian world could be incredibly interesting.
For example, the entirety of the British Empire could be up for exploration, including the Raj, Australia, Canada, or even Hong Kong and Polynesia. Alternatively, a sequel could execute upon the tease of a WW1-setAssassin’s Creedgame already inSyndicate, one of the most unique settings the franchise could ever take on.
When it comes to potential, perhaps none beats the possibility of a sequel toAssassin’s Creed: Unity. Fans of French history will know that the Revolutionary period was only the beginning of an incredibly tumultuous time, and the Napoleonic era was just around the corner.
Players could see famous battles such as Austerlitz, or perhaps fight in the resistance in an occupied Iberia. Napoleonic Russia could be a compelling open area, as could Northern Italy during Napoleon’s first military campaigns. There’s almost too much potential to encapsulate, and for history andAssassin’s Creedfans, it’s hard to not get excited about the possibility.
