No game series provides a better historical sandbox than Assassin's Creed. Over the course of eleven games, players have been transported to a variety of stunning times and locations. Even without counting the spin-offs or the movie into account. But despite a few bumps in quality, fans of the series are still looking forward to which historical period they'll be taken to next. Plenty of suggestions have been put forward, specific eras that gamers are eager to explore, but with Assassin's Creed's focus on sಞtealth, open-worlds, and parkour-style ga꧙meplay, some periods are better suited than others.
So what would make a good Assassin's Creed setting? Looking over the setting the series has used before, the ideal seems to be a combination of factors. A mostly urban environment to facilitate those cool leaps off buildings, some historical intrigue, and someplace where the developers can put in cameos from famous figures. Like palling around with Leonardo Da Vinci in Assassin's Creed 2. We've also tried to avoid the 20th century in this list, as the introduction of better firearms and motor vehicles kind of changes what kind of game Assassin's Creed is.
Some of the entries on this list are fan favorites, but don't fall under the criteria listed. Oꦏthers are lesser-known but would be fun sandboxes for stabby folks in white hoodies.
These are 10 Settings Assassin's Cr🅷eed Sꦉhould Go To Next (And 10 It Should Skip)
20 ཧ Should Go: The Civil War
The conflict between the Assassins and the Templars at the heart of Assassin's Creed is one of free will versus control. No war better illustrates 💧the nuance of that conflict better than the Civil War. Both sides saw themselves as fighting for freedom and saw the other as a controlling force.
Plus, the Civil War is historically important.
There is so much they could tap into here, and gamers would have a lot of fun searching for the bad guys. It's a ripe conflict for Assassin's Creed.
19 ♏ Skip: WWII 🥀
World War 2 is among the most requested settings for Assassin's Creed and it's u🦂nderstandable why. Clear bad🌱 guys, lots of skullduggery, scenic locations. It's an attractive prospect, but here's the thing.
There are already hundreds of WW2 games.
Heck, Call Of Duty just went back to World War 2. As a setting, it's just overused and we don't see what adding an Assassin's Creed story would do for the franchise. If anything, doing a World War 2 game might hurt it by not being able to stand out from the others. Plus, the 1940s is far enough into the 20th century that developers would run into the "Guns and Cars" problem we mentioned above. A WW2 stealth game would be cool, just not for Assassin's Creed.
18 Should Go: Warri🦂ng States Japan
Many fans have been asking a Feudal Japan set Assassin's Creed. Making the assassins even more like ninjas? Sounds good. But the problem is Feudal Japan usually means the Edo Period, after Japan cut itself off from the rest of the world and the Shogun was in complete control. But if players want the real action, the game should be set in the Sengoku, or Warring States, Period. This was when Japan was still being unified and assassination was much more common. Being set here would bring in the big name historical figures like Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Hattori Hanzo. There could even be some DLC about the invasion of Korea and bring back the sailing everybody loved from Assassin's Creed 3 and 4.
17 Ski🍃p: Victorian England (Again)
Yes, we know Assassin's Creed Syndicate was set in Victorian England. All the more reason to not go back there. The problem with Victorian England as a setting is the same as with World War 2. Overexposure. Maybe not in games, but in pop culture in general. Thanks to Jack the Ripper, Gothic Horror, and the Steampunk genre, there are more stories set in Victorian England than maybe any other place. We don't need another alternate history tale in those already crowded foggy streets. Plus, Victorian England lacks the instability and revolutionary fervor that characterizes the better Assassin's Creed games. What woul𓃲d the Templars and Assassins even be fightin🌌g over here?
16 Should Go: The𓆉 Napoleonic Wars
Few figures loom as large over world history as Napoleon. That happens when you try to take over the world. So it's kind of surprising we haven't gotten an Assassin's Creed game involving him yet.
Would Napoleon be a Templar or an Assassin?
Yes, he was trying to make himself emperor of the world but he was (theoretically) doing it to spread ideals. As for what city to actually set the game in, there's any number of choices. Paris, of course, which was being built into🦋 the city we know today. But also Regency London, with all its colorful characters and behind the scenes intrigue, or occupied Barcelona, where players could join Lord Wellington in kicking Napoleon out of Spain. The possibilities are endless.
15 ✃ Skip: ꦰWar Of The Roses
The War of the Roses is really confusing. That's really the reason why it would not be a great Assassin's Creed setting. Basically, the war (or wars, depending on which historian you ask) was between two English houses, the house of York and the house of Lancaster, about which one of them should be King of England. They fought each other for thirty years, trading the throne about three or four times, until they basically exterminated each other. If that sounds familiar, it's because this war was the basis for Game of Thrones. But besides being wicked confusing, the War of the Roses also lacks the crucial urban environment for an Assassin's Creed game. There's no Kꦿing's Landi💦ng in this game of thrones.
14 Should Go𝐆: The ﷽Anglo-Chinese Wars
Most of the historical settings visited in Assassin's Creed are big, world-shaping events. The Anglo-Chinese Wars may not be one of those, but they are darn interesting. Better known under a different name, this was a series of short battles the British provoked to get a better foothold in the 19th century Chinese economy. How'd they do that? By smuggling a ton of, let's just say, illicit substances into China, fostering addiction, and then occupying Chinese territory to force the emperor to legalize their product. All of this was sanctioned by the British government by the way. This sort of historical organized crime would be the perfect back drop for an Assassin's Creed game set in the Chinese city of Canton.
13 🐬 Skip: The Old W♓est
Assassin's Creed has visited many of the more well-known historical peri🍬ods already. The Crusades, the Renaissance, the French Revolution. The Old West is ꩲanother one most people know, thanks to the cultural prominence of movie westerns, so it seems a natural choice. But no.
The Old West is a terrible fit for Assassin's Creed's gameplay.
While it has the great cast of historical figures, the Old West lacks the crucial urban element necessary for open-world parkour. Plus, the gun was the weapon of the west and everyone knows that Assassin's Creed prefers hidden knives. You'd have to change so much to make an Old West Assassin's Creed, that it wouldn't be Assassin's Creed anymore. Best leave it to Red Dead Redemption.
12 Should Go: Mongol Empire ꦐ ൲
Genghis Khan's empire was the largest continuous land empire in history. It stretched from the Sea of Japan to the Middle East, and ran from Russia to the ꦕHimalayas. So many different people and cultures mingled in it, it would be surprising ꦺif the Templars and Assassins didn't get involved with the Mongol Empire. But that's all academic.
How does it fit the criteria? Pretty well.
What is now Beijing was founded by the Mongols, so there's your city. And as far as historical figures go, how about Marco Polo and Kublai Khan? Everybody's heard of those guys. There's more than enough intrigue and backstabbing to fill out an Assassin's Creed story here.
11 Skip: Ancient Rome 💟 💛
This entry is more of a "Wait on Doing" than a "Skip." An Assassin's Creed game set in Ancient Rome would probably be spectacular. As a setting, it fits all of the laid out criteria. Big, sprawling urban environment for the open world. Lots of classic historical figures to make cameos. But here's why Ubisoft should wait on doing Rome. The last two Assassin's Creed games, Origins and Odyssey, were set in Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece respectiv🌱ely. To go from those two into another Ancient Mediterranean civilization would feel repetitive. Like the series is getting stale♏. Hold off on doing Rome and maybe come back forward in time, just to add some variety if nothing else.