Assassin’s Creed Shadows has released to quite a lot of excitement, with players vibing with the new Japanese setting. The franchise has taken players to Rome, Greece, Egypt, Norway, England, and so many more, but there are still some countries and time periods yet to be touched by a hidden blade. We’ve all got an idea of where we want to see Assassin’s Creed go next, so let’s talk about that.
Question: Where in the world should the Assassin's Creed franchise go next?
The Old West - Ozzie Mejia, Senior Assassin
Source: Buena Vista Pictures
Assassin's Creed has been to the United States before, but as much fun and as intriguing as the founding of America is, there's another era that would be interesting to check out. The series has explored the Industrial Revolution in the past from the perspective of England, but now I'd like to explore the American frontier era. How did the Assassins and Templars take their conflict through the time where cowboys ruled the west? The Gold Rush, the interactions with Native tribes, and the gradual introduction of the railroad system are all ideas that Ubisoft could explore and I'd love to see them fleshed out.
Hillys - TJ Denzer, Would like more Beyond Good and Evil things
“Hillys?” you ask. “What’s Hillys?” Hillys is the planet from the first Beyond Good and Evil, and that is a universe I’d like to see more stuff in. Sure, I want Beyond Good and Evil 2 to come out, but I’m also not holding my breath at this point given the hellacious development cycle it’s been through with long periods of no new information in between. Doesn’t bode well.
So let me pitch you this, Mr. and/or Ms. Ubisoft. Instead of going back to the past for every Assassin’s Creed game, why not take one to the future? Why not take the Assassins Order and the Templars to a distant planet where animal people coexist alongside humans, totalitarian governments subjugate the people with impunity, and a hero must rise up against it? And see, that’s a great backdrop for an Assassin’s Creed game. I love Jade, and Pey’j, and all of the friends and enemies they’ve made along the way, but what if we stepped into the shoes of another storyline in that same universe? One of assassins, one of secrets and intrigue under the nose of tyrants? What if instead of exposing the truth like Jade, our mission was to act on that truth?
Maybe Beyond Good and Evil 2 will come out someday, maybe it won’t. But it feels like it would be criminal not to use that universe again, and I think the Assassin’s Creed franchise would be a perfectly fine way to go about it.
Modern-Day Cleveland, Ohio - Asif Khan, CEO/EIC/EIEIO/Ohio Resident
Sure, Assassin’s Creed can do historical places well, but when are we finally going to see an assassin’s story based in Cleveland? Choosing a Midwest rust belt city for the setting would open devs up to a whole new world of gameplay experiences.
Lake Erie is one of the more unique bodies of water on Earth, with a diverse array of mutated fish to encounter. East Cleveland would be an amazing section of the open world where the world of Assassin’s Creed could modernize combat with assault rifles, car bombs, and other random acts of violence.
Downtown Cleveland offers multiple sports venue settings that would be perfect for assassination missions. Perhaps the modern-day Ezio could go on a mission to kill the evil owner of the local football team?
Anyway, Japan is super cool and all, but what the people really want is more open world games based in Cleveland.
Canada - Bill Lavoy, EIC of Canada
Ask me where something cool should go and I’m going to respond with Canada more often than not. What civilizations are missing from Civ 7? Canada. Where should Assassin’s Creed base their next game? Canada. Which nation is the best at hockey? Canada. Okay, that last one isn’t really relevant but I’m keeping it in there.
In all seriousness, though, Canada is a huge country with some breathtaking places to explore, and that feels right in the wheelhouse of what you’d want from an Assassin’s Creed game. There are also several Ubisoft studios in Canada, so it would make sense that the developers might feel the same way. I wouldn’t hold my breath for this to happen, though.
Australia - Sam Chandler, Boomerangs & Didgeridoos
If we’re going to spend time in somewhat old civilizations, we really should visit the oldest known civilization on Earth: The First Nations people of Australia. The indigenous people have been around for 50,000 years and with many warring clans and the Dreamtime mythology, it’s a people and time that’s worth digging into.
There might not have been a lot of multi-story houses to dive off of, but Assassin’s Creed has seemingly moved past those mechanics and into more open world style exploration. But if we did need to Eagle’s Dive off of something, why not a gum tree?
Heck, why not set it around the time of the prison colony and invasion of Britain? Start the game as a prisoner being shipped off, then getting trained up by the First Nations people. C’mon, it writes itself.
Africa - Dennis White Jr., Creepy Mystery-solving, hold my flashlight!
There’s a massive amount of deep history that could be used creatively in the version of history that the Assassin’s Creed games create. Africa also has a ton of rich folklore and mythology to pull from as well that would make things rich to explore creatively. There are plenty of aspects that weren’t touched in Egypt which AC: Origins already explored.
Folks thought a futuristic take on an African nation was interesting when they saw Wakanda in the Black Panther films. It would be interesting to see how the developers keep elements that are key to the franchise while also adding more that makes the experience in Africa unique. There are points of conflict that can emphasize the dynamic established by new story elements like the Anglo-Zulu War for example.
All of this being said, it would also take a special team to make sure the narrative is handled respectfully from the appropriate sides.
Germany - Donovan Erskine, Kassandra fan
I’m honestly surprised that we haven’t gotten a WW2-set Assassin’s Creed game yet. It’s one of the largest conflicts in human history and is absolutely ripe for Ubisoft’s brand of alternate history. Give me a game where I can play as like a Polish assassin who infiltrates Nazi Germany and stabs a bunch of them in the neck, and I’ll be happy.
America during Gold Rush/western expansion - Steve Tyminski, yeehaw!
Where in the world should the Assassin’s Creed franchise go next? The series has already taken place in America but I think going back to America at a different time period would be interesting. The time period I’m thinking of is when the great expansion occurred in the United States, toward California. The time of the Gold Rush and the Wild West.
You could have an assassin who is part assassin and part cowboy having to deal with all kinds of interesting things. You could have parts of the game take place on trains. You could have stealth missions inside trains or in brothels/saloons.
The Gold Rush and the Wild West were an interesting time in American history because it was uncharted land. There really weren’t any rules and you could do pretty much anything you wanted. It could be perfect for open world exploration and at the same time, you could throw in political figures of the time, heading west, because pretty much everyone went west at the time.
There you have it, Shackers. Those are the locations and time periods we hope Ubisoft will explore in future Assassin’s Creed games. Where do you think the series will go next? Join us in the Chatty thread below!
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replyShack Staff posted a new article, Shack Chat: Where in the world should the Assassin's Creed franchise go next?
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I’m with Asif. Come to northeast Ohio, you cowards.
