Detailed Analysis - Main Narrative
Hero's Journey - Redemption of an Assassin
At the very start of Assassin’s Creed, we are introduced to its main character, Altair Ibn La’ Ahad, a member of the Assassin order operating during the Crusades. The arrogant and lethal man is a different video game hero than what we are used to who doesn’t seem to have any qualms about killing people in his path, regardless of the rules he’s meant to follow.
Beginning his journey he travels to obtain an object for Al Mualim, the leader of the Assassin Order with 2 other Assassins. His reckless behaviour however causes him to be displaced from the fight and leaves the fate of the other Assassins in question until he returns to Masyaf Castle, the sanctum of the Assassins. After an attack by the Templars, the enemy of the Assassins, Altair is demoted to the rank of novice and must climb his way through the ranks again to redeem himself and heal the holy lands. To do this Al Mualim gives him a list of 9 Templars who are spreading strife and suffering through the holy lands.
As we accompany Altair on his journey of redemption, we see the Assassin behave brashly, despite being demoted he still holds himself as a Master Assassin. Ultimately however he isn’t and doesn’t have the tools needed to back up this claim and largely due to his limited tool set he is forced to survive in a world he can’t navigate properly. This brings a sense of humility to the former Master Assassin and he is forced to re-learn much about the Assassin’s Creed and their teachings.
In real life, the Assassins or Hashashins were the sworn enemies of the Templars and made their name by striking in broad daylight, not caring if they lived or not as long as their goals were complete. While in Assassin’s Creed, this is mostly the same, these Assassins differ greatly from their real-life counterparts. For one thing, they are separated by the Creed. Tenants and beliefs that help to guide their actions as they fight to bring stability and Freedom to the Holy Lands.
These rules seem sensible enough and help to show exactly how far Altair has fallen from grace and exactly how much more he needed to learn or more accurately re-learn.
Hide In Plain Sight, be one with the crowd
Never Compromise the Assassin Brotherhood
Stay your Blade from the Flesh of the Innocent.
At the start, Altair broke 2 of these tenants when he killed an innocent man and when he compromised Masyaf’s safety at the start of the game because he acted too brashly and arrogantly. On his journey across the Holy lands, however, he begins to recognise where he went wrong and how we badly he failed his fellow Assassins and it’s this recognition that he evolves but not without some other incentives. Seeing how the Templars justify their cruel and harsh actions helps to show Altair that he was quickly on the road to becoming like them as he justified killing a civilian for his own reasons.
While hunting several targets he comes into contact with Al Mualim he encounters an Assassin named Malik Al-Sayf, someone who accompanied Altair on his failed mission at the start and who lost his arm and his brother as a result but delivered the object Al Mualim wanted. Malik holds much resentment toward Altair for costing him so much and while angry and bitter towards Altair and rightfully so. Because of Altair, Malik lost his younger brother and his arm and will never be whole because of Altair. However as Altair eliminates the Templars on his long quest, Malik comes to greatly respect Altair as he sees how Altair has matured and become wiser as he takes his tasks with level-headedness and care.
When Altair’s hunt for the 9 begins to come to a close he begins to have misgivings about his deeds, not because he questions the morals but more the legitimacy of his actions and even discovers that Al Mualim is not to be trusted. The Object Altair sought at the start of the game was sought after by the other 9 Templar’s but Al Mualim worked with them to obtain the object, The Apple of Eden. Having Al Mualim be the one behind the conspiracy was kind of a gun punch to Altair especially when he and we realise that we’ve just been cleaning up Al Mualim’s tracks.
When Altair arrives at Masyaf he finds its inhabitants under Al Mualim’s control, thanks to the Apple. When he seems overwhelmed Malik arrives with men under his command to help Altair. When Altair met Malik again after the mission Malik was bitter with Altair wishing safety and peace to Malik but Malik bluntly said “Your presence here deprives me of both”. When Malik helps Altair in Masyaf, Altair extends the same farewell to Malik declaring “Your presence here will deliver us both.” It shows just how much faith and trust Malik has placed in Altair to do the right thing and face Al Mualim.
Finally confronting the old man, we learn that he wanted the apple to bring an end to the crusades, a noble goal if it wouldn’t take everyone’s freedom away. As Altair is miraculously immune to the Apple’s effects, he is the only one who can stop Al Mualim and so after a lengthy fight, he Assassinates him. Altair went on a journey of self-realization, when he was a Master Assassin he forgot many of the values that the Assassins hold dear and it took him losing everything to relearn this and regain his respect in the Brotherhood. Altair’s story came to a brilliant conclusion while leaving much more to be explored at a later date and hopefully, Altair will make his return and build on the momentum started in this adventure.
Dual Narrative - Desmond's Imprisonment
As Altair’s journey unfolds during the Crusades, we also explore the life of Desmond Miles, in modern-day 2012. In the Modern Day, Desmond is a captive of Abstergo Industries, the largest and most powerful company in the world that has taken Desmond to participate in their Animus project. What is the Animus, it’s quite simple, though somewhat unbelievable. The Animus is a device that is used to tap into and unravel the DNA of a subject and this gives access to the genetic memories of a subject's ancestor. Using the Animus, they make Desmond relive the memories of his ancestor, Altair Ibn La’ Ahad. This was no mistake as Abstergo know that Desmond is an Assassin, or at least used to be. Desmond left some time ago and has been wasting his life as a bartender until Abstergo found him.
Head of the project is Dr Warren Vidic, an arrogant and egotistical scientist who gives Desmond the choice to either cooperate or be put in a medically induced coma so they can continue anyway. Thankfully, Vidic’s sadism is balanced by the care and compassion shown by Lucy Stillman, Vidic’s assistant. Using the Animus as a Narration tool for a simulated world is an idea that’s been done before but the originality in being able to relieve an ancestor’s memories isn’t something that’s been seen before and the strong historical storytelling has very few limits as long as there are some imaginative storytelling ideas at its core.
At the root of Desmon’s imprisonment at Abstergo, who are slowly revealed to be the modern-day incarnation of the Knights Templars who are the enemy of the Assassins, is the loss of hope. Desmond is in a secure facility with virtually no exit, somewhere he doesn’t know and very few allies. His only option is to continue in the Animus and wait for an opportunity. His experience inside and even outside the Animus is pivotal to showing the ruthlessness of the Templars of both eras and how escape might not end well. At one point near the end of Desmond’s story, an attack is orchestrated by the Modern Day Assassin’s looking for Desmond. Sadly we listen to the fighting through recordings and Desmond hears the deaths of the Assassins who came for him and his only hope of getting out was gone, much to Vidic’s enjoyment.
When Altair acquires the Apple from Al Mualim it reveals a map which marked locations all over the world. While it didn’t mean anything to Altair or even Desmond it meant everything to the Abstergo. When they bring Desmond out of the Animus he learns that Abstergo wanted the apple but got more than they expected. Getting everything they wanted, their next step was to eliminate Desmond but he is thankfully saved by Lucy who advocates for Desmond, seeing as he may still be useful to Abstergo. Thankfully this works but as everyone leaves and Desmond is left in the lab, he begins seeing things, much like how Altair saw things. Needing rest Desmond enters his bedroom and starts seeing red symbols painted on the walls.
Using the Animus as a Narration tool was an interesting innovation and can help set the series apart from others. The dual narrative also helped to give players a fresh perspective now and then as we would explore the Holy Lands and then spend some time in 2012. Despite this we were not given much to explore outside of the Animus and the environment itself was soulless but it does help to emphasize the coldness of Abstergo and it’s a good start for a growing series. Desmond's helplessness creates a bond between him and the player, especially when he is at the mercy of the cruel Dr. Vidic but the kindness shown by Lucy helps make Desmond and the player feel like we have an ally we can trust and it feels like Desmond and Lucy still have a ways to go and that it’s going to be an exciting journey.
Trope - A Mentor's Betrayal
At the beginning of Altair’s Journey in Assassin’s Creed, he is but one of many Assassin’s who serve, Al Mualim, the Arabic phrase for “The Mentor”. Al Mualim is the leader of the Assassin Brotherhood and is responsible for selecting targets and dispatching Assassins to eliminate them. At the start of the game, Al Mualim sent Altair to acquire an object of great importance but when Altair failed and worse incurred the Templar’s wrath, Al Mualim should have killed him. Instead, he realised the opportunity that was presented before him and saw a way to keep the loyalty of the Assassins under him. He demoted Altair to the rank of novice and gave him a chance to redeem himself. Al Mualim gives Altair a list of 9 Templars spread throughout the Holy Lands who are causing suffering and strife to the people.
While killing these men is a noble thing, the task itself is simply a cover-up for a much larger scheme. As Altair fights Robert de Sablé, the Grand Master of the Templar order, he learns that Al Mualim wanted the 9 dead because he didn’t want to share a treasure they all conspired to obtain. Naturally, Altair is sceptical of this and returns to the Assassin fortress of Masyaf to find its occupants under Al Mualim’s hostile control thanks to the relic. The Apple of Eden, an object of incredible power, rumoured to be from the time of the First Civilisation, has allowed Al Mualim to get what he desires, to bring an end to the crusades and bring peace across the land, whether people have a say in it or not.
Thankfully but also in an act of Deus Ex Machina, Altair is immune to the controlling effects of the Apple and so it makes him the only one who can confront Al Mualim and after a lengthy and elusive battle, Altair eliminates Al Mualim, freeing the minds of his people. Sadly, while it did make for a somewhat entertaining confrontation and the thrill of hunting the Templars throughout the Holy Lands was fun, the trope of a mentor figure who is trusted by the main character, turning out to be the villain is a tired one. In many spy thrillers or action movies when the main character has no one to trust and is desperate for help, they will trust their mento figure who they consider trustworthy, only to have that trusted individual be an adversary.
Al Mualim was clever as he used Altair’s need for redemption to eliminate the 9 Templars he worked with to acquire the apple. What he never anticipated was for Altair to be able to resist the apple’s power and keep his free will and because of that Altair eliminated Al Mualim before he could take control of the Holy Lands. While Al Mualim had merits as he saw the senseless slaughter of people based solely on faith and control, he forgot the ideal at the heart of the Assassin Brotherhood: The Freedom to Choose, and he paid the price for that.
Stereotypes - Cruelty of the Templar's
In both the Crusades and the Modern Day, we see the cruelty of the Templars as they continue their goals of creating a world defined by Order and Control. In the crusades, the Templars don’t just range from the holy knights determined to take over the lands but members in other areas like Damascus. When Al Mualim orders Altair to eliminate the 9 Templars across the lands, we learn everything we can about the target's habits and what they do but when we meet these Templars we see just how cruel they are and how they believe that they are truly doing the right thing. Looking at modern Marvel movies they are following a trend where their villains will do cruel things with the belief that it’s for the greater good much like the Templars feel.
Templars like Garnier de Naplouse and Talal were people who believed that their ends justified the means. Garnier believed that he could help heal the poor and the unwanted but was very sadistic in his treatments as he would order guards to break the legs of a patient who tried to escape his cruel experiments. Talal was a slave trader and would occasionally funnel his slaves to Garnier believing he was actually helping the people he was selling and improving their quality of life. These men had good goals but didn’t seem to care for the methods in which they were using to fulfil them. Thankfully Altair would come along and eliminate both of these men who were dangerous and couldn’t see past their own interests to understand the pain and misery they were causing.
In Modern Day 2012, the Templars have shown their resilience as they have become Abstergo Industries, the largest and most powerful company in the world. The power, wealth and influence they have gathered in the world give them the cover they need to create the world they want, a world of order and control. Men like Dr Warren Vidic are a fine example of how the Templars arrogance and selfishness have transcended the last 1000 years. When people think of corporations, they usually think about what they get away with to increase their profit margins. As Abstergo unlawfully abduct Desmond for use in their Animus project, we can see that they see themselves as above the natural laws of men and do what they want, not for profits but for their belief in a perfect world.
Ubisoft did an excellent job at portraying the Templars as the egotistical and selfish villains that they are during the Crusades while also building on that in Modern Day 2021. Utilising the dual narrative to show the key links that the Templars in both times share helps us to understand just how bad the Templars are and understand the necessary evils that the Assassins commit for ensuring that civilisation isn’t placed under their thumb. While in the crusades they had a good standing, the modern day shows that the Templars are far too strong for the Assassins to fight directly and it will be interesting to see just what the Assassins can try to combat the Templars in the future.