Assassin's Creed Shadows Lays the Foundation for a New Modern-Day Narrative

Yeah, no. Heard that one before. They dont give a sh.t about these ganes overarching narrative anymore and im certain thst wont change, no matter what they say. This is ubisoft after all. They killed this franchise fron a narrative standpoint

The modern day stuff has varied in quality but it’s an essential part of the games, without it, it’s just another open world series. They need to go back to basics, conspiracy theories, illuminati and solid reasons for exploring that specific time period. Now that half the public figures the games accused of being Templars are dead, let’s just double down on it with missions to assassinate Thatcher, Putin etc.

I like the actual "historical" parts of the game and not the bits that disconnect you from the game via the animus breaks etc. Why do games that are based in historical eras need a modern narrative? Most of today's modern narratives look to cancel certain aspects of history as if they never happened anyway so that in itself really shows that a modern narrative in the hands of somebody who has a personal agenda is not going to be a "true" representation of the chosen era. The assassins Creed games are not historically accurate but they do try to immerse the gamer in a historically authentic setting and try to provide a interesting story. Let's have an assassins Creed game that is historically accurate,warts and all and that means a real representation of the eras political views and how society actually was without overlooking aspects that may have "out dated views" blah,blah,blah..yeah it won't ever happen.

I reckon the dual protagonists and seasonal changes make the game varied enough. I can think of a few cool ideas for modern-day levels (could have a new-age assassin with less resources going through linear, tightly-designed levels. The lack of supplies could even play into a rogue-lite mechanic), but not a single one wouldn't kill the game's pacing.

The best I can figure is incorporating the modern narrative seamlessly into the historical gameplay.

They should have stopped with AC3 because everything after that sucked and really i would have preferred none of the games have this modern day garbage because it was never needed, they had basim seemingly replace Layla yet from what i played of mirage I don't think he was ever used in that glorified dlc beyond playing through his memories, i was waiting to get taken out of the animus and have him talk about his life with the other characters in the present day or at least narrate the memories in mirage.

At this point no more modern story because it's always been something that ruined my immersion and post desmond nothing has been decent.

I liked the modern parts of AC3, giving Future Desmond his own missions. Layla was bland, unsure what her goal was tbh. Basim is a bit more interesting at least.

@Starkei AC3 was great ..the flaws were too though

Layla was the worst.

@nomither6 very true

I don't care about the modern day stuff and always skip it where possible

They could remove the modern day stuff and just have you play in the historic setting and nothing of value would be lost.

They should be experts in controlling the narrative and what people think at this point.

Ubisoft became the Templars a while back.

It may be an unpopular opinion, but I wish assassin‘s Creed was rebooted and the modern day stuff was completely abandoned.

You don’t need the modern day stories, they work just fine playing as the assassins through the centuries.

@Northern_munkey

Not going to happen. Like you said, this is Ubisoft we're talking about and the series has been historically inaccurate since the beginning.

If only there was a toggle to switch off the modern day sections, i would be all over that.
Plenty of times in the past that i've been disappointed that i have to play through a modern section to get back to my world.

Playing an AC game for the modern day parts is like going to an orgy for the buffet.

Some of the best stuff from the modern day story has unfortunately been hidden away in comic books. It's unfortunate because characters like Daniel Cross were really cool but unfortunately just never got the chance to shine much in the games.

I also hope they don't abandon Basim. I was really curious to see where his character would go after Valhalla.

Nevertheless I enjoy the modern storyline myself. Hopefully this"new direction is the right one.

Heard this one before when Origins released, I did not like Layla story, not one bit.

Layla Hassan and the modern narrative aren't intimidating - they are downright boring.

It really makes the story more dumb and it does not add that much. If you want to do something in the modern age then make a entry in the modern age.

Also if your story is so difficult to follow that you need to make something like this then you are doing it wrong.

The best parts of AC are the historic parts. Always have been. No one needs the narrative to be as directly connected as Ubisoft thinks. Just throw us into wildly different and interesting points in history and have us play as someone who was there, performing Assassin Guild (or whatever) stuff in the background. Explain weird historical anomalies and events as Assassin-influenced, then move on to the next time period. No one needs the stuff so directly connected and we DEFINITELY don't need it tied to the modern day UNLESS the overarching setting is more modern.

For me personally, the modern day sections were the highlight of the series. That is, until the Desmond storyline ended. I loved the mystery not knowing exactly what was going on and finding that out together with the modern day protagonist.
I'm willing to bet though that the new modern day sections will just be a big excuse to introduce the "Infinity Launcher" and flock players for more microtransactions. This series has lost it soul a long time ago.

Not a fan of the modern day, however it would be fun to use it to reveal a whole new game where you step outside the room with the capsule and now your playing deus ex or cyberpunk like game.

I didn’t mind the Animus stuff in AC1, but have just found it to be an annoying, immersion breaking, distraction in every game since (though I’ve not played every single game). I also really don’t care for the story bits that connect across the games. The historical stuff is always the best part.

Modern day stuff eventually grew on me. Done right- limited, entertaining, accessible - I'm all for it.

@BowsersBuddy Most people left AC, because of lack of modern story. Modern story, collecting DNA pieces, uncovering conspiracies was core of AC series. If people want to play historical open world, they have dozens other games. AC was always mainly about modern day story and Ubi has killed this basic essence of whole franchise for no reason.

Sure, Jan. Not like you haven’t said that before…How about figuring out how to keep your company going long enough to even release this game, THEN you can plan ahead.

This is the AC I have been waiting for after the modern day storyline has gone off the rails (imo death of Juno) but i don’t know if they can piece the modern day narrative into a coherent story at this point, for me at least. As such for me AC:S will be my final AC but I am going all out (CE and hidden blade are preordered). For me I cared about the modern story to keep me interested in the series as not every assassin or locale/culture was fun/interesting to me so at this point with the modern storyline to pot I am just riding out finally going to Japan. I feel like losing Desilets (and possibly May) put the franchise in a slow crash and burn trajectory.

Just give me Ancient Rome . Hate all that modern day flashback stuff , try and skip all that crap, ruins the immersion.

@Deityjester lol no AC4 is the best in the series.

@Northern_munkey At one time I agreed that all I cared about was the historical part, but after they kind of dropped that, it became obvious that the overarching narrative about the connection to the past and present, genetic memory, conspiracy theory stuff really was glue that set the series apart and held it together. It was this historical fiction world, that made sense being connected to a modern sci-fi conspiracy thriller, and that back and forth connection set the game and story apart as something unique. They bungled it badly, went with "Because Aliens." meme, and then forgot about it, but I think the woven narrative about genetic memory and reliving ancestors pasts was an important part of the identity of AC, and provided a reason why you have a HUD and xray vision, and icon markers, and all these things in a historical setting, because you're not playing Ezio or Altair, you're playing Desmond who's playing Ezio and Altair through a VR-type system neurally wired. It really helped with suspension of disbelieve because it provided an in-game believable reason why you can see and do things in history that aren't possible. If it's a simulator, it's possible, and there's a reason for it all to exist as it does.

@NEStalgia yeah I get all that and I understand why people like it too but for me it felt tacked on and I just didn't enjoy it. If it started out with the animus and then ended there as well maybe I'd enjoy it a bit more but popping in and out of it just made the games feel disjointed.

@Northern_munkey To be fair, I've always felt that the first AC was the best AC. I think it got the pacing of past/present right, and also told the narrative of the modern day much better, including that immersive narrative factor of being held prisoner in a room, and reading your captor's email etc. I think if they kept it going that way it would have been great, but as early as 2 they started really bungling the modern day part. I don't think having the modern was the problem, I think doing the modern badly after the first game did it so well was the problem.

Just dump the modern day stuff entirely. Lost all purpose once Desmond died. Then they ditched the Juno arc, which was the one last string keeping it interesting. And the way they dealt with it sucked!

@NEStalgia I'll agree with that.

@BowsersBuddy I think it was main selling point, because modern story continued and people wanted to know what will happend with Desmond, what it Subject 16, purpose of playing exactly this part of history, alien artifacts in history. It all was main reason why people bought next AC.

@BowsersBuddy Yes. I know there are lots of people who touched series around Origins and accept it as it is. For us who play series from the very beginning, it bring more tears than joy. Especially when DNA sync, traversing and stealth is almost gone. Valhalla was so horribe I gave up in the middle...

@BowsersBuddy Mirage is on my target, but after Valhalla I'll have to hardly think about buying any Assassin again. Rather replay, for a third time, from 1 to Revelations.