The ubiquitous and prolificAssassin’s Creedfranchise will be delving back into its modern-day story withAssassin’s Creed Shadows. This game will followAssassin’s Creed Mirage, which had virtually no modern-day narrativebeyond some very brief framing elements with William Miles. As such, it’s hard to know exactly what directionShadowswill take with this long-running tradition, but there’s enough information out there to make some strong guesses.
The modern-day aspects of theAssassin’s Creedstory have had a number of ups and downs, but mostly downs. To put it simply, it often feels like modern-dayACis an afterthought, something that Ubisoft may have felt compelled to continue after the early entries led by Desmond Miles. When he ducked out of the franchise at the end ofAssassin’s Creed 3, the series took a far less direct approach with its modern-day plot, ultimately having it take a back seat in entries likeBlack FlagandUnity. Layla Hassan replaced Miles as a central modern-day protagonist inOrigins, but even she is out of the picture now, joining Desmond as a construct in the Isu supercomputer known as Yggdrasil. These elements, along with Basim’s reincarnation, tee upAssassin’s Creed Shadows' modern-day narrative.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows' Modern-Day Story May Be Understated
Marc-Alexis Coté’s Comments On Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Assassin’s Creeddirector Marc-Alexis Coté commented onAC Shadows' storyat a recent BAFTA event, shedding some light on what its modern-day narrative would look like. While he shied away from specifics, he did point out the biggest issues with the series' present-day story, including its convoluted nature and meandering, bloated structure. He said that a goal ofShadowswill be to “put history back at the center of the player’s experience,” suggesting that the game’s modern-day elements will take a bit of a back seat.
Coté also briefly touched on a desire toexplore deeper themes throughAC’s modern-day story, though this doesn’t really illuminate Ubisoft’s plans with respect to plot developments. What Coté’s comments do indicate, though, is that the Ubisoft team working onShadowsunderstands the shortcomings of the modern-day story up until this point, and doesn’t want the upcoming entry to be mired in these issues. This may offer a solid route for some predictions.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows' Modern-Day Elements Will Very Likely Take a Back Seat
Ubisoft has previously gone on record stating that theAssassin’s Creed Infinityhub will be the home of the modern-day narrativefor the series moving forward. This, coupled with Coté’s aforementioned statements about keeping history at the forefront of the franchise’s identity, strongly indicates that the modern plot ofShadowswill be fairly understated in comparison to older titles likeAssassin’s Creed 2. In all likelihood,Shadows' modern-day story will mirror that ofMirage, setting the stage forInfinityto present this aspect of the series.
There are still plenty of loose plot threads,especially fromAssassin’s Creed Valhalla’s present-day narrative, that could play a role inShadows, but there’s a good chance that these will be played down. Layla and Desmond joining each other in Yggdrasil, for instance, is poised to be more of a background element, with both of them pulling strings behind the scenes rather than directly impacting the plot or central characters.
Then there’s Basim, who is presumably still working with theAssassins in the modern day at the end ofMirage, but he is unlikely to fulfill the same protagonist role as Desmond or Layla, as this would contradict Coté’s comments about the present-day story not overshadowing the historical one. Basim may serve as a window into the Isu, but his personal journey will probably not form the backbone ofShadows’narrative. Instead, the modern-day elements of the game will likely support the themes of the in-Animus plot, not build toward a real-world climax.
