Meet the fans of 'Assassin's Creed' in this new Ubisoft documentary

By Mark Austin Published September 11, 2017

In the leadup to the release of Assassin’s Creed Origins, Ubisoft has released fan-centric Assassin’s Creed documentary entitled Into the Creed about the wide-ranging impact of the franchise. The first game was released almost a decade ago, and the documentary explores the experiences of several members of the development team, as well as commentary from the series’ passionate fanbase.

In an accompanying blog post at their community blog, some team members explained that they never expected the game to become the monster franchise it turned into. “We never expected AC to be such a success,” Executive Producer Sebastian Puel said. “We were passionate about history, but not sure it could have a mainstream wide appeal. I remember of the programmers referring to a cool game feature and saying, ‘With this one, we will sell one million copies!’ We are well past 100 million today.”

Recommended Videos

Still, the crew at Ubisoft could tell they were onto something unique with the first game. “We could feel that AC was ‘special,’” recalled Creative Director Jean Guesdon. “Of course, nobody could have predicted that, ten years later, our universe would have become what it is now.”

The documentary also highlights several people who started out as dedicated fans of the game and later became part of the team creating it. From cosplayers to parkour artists to college history professors, the Assassin’s Creed fanbase is like no other.

The very first Assassin’s Creed installment was released in 2007, with a storyline featuring two factions that have been battling for centuries and a device that allowed you to access genetic memories and replay events that had occurred hundreds of years ago. Now it’s up to ten entries in the main series, with several spin-offs for other platforms, featuring locations all over the world and time periods from every era. The franchise has spawned dozens of comics, novels, fan films, and even a 2016 big-budget movie, which had a rather tumultuous production history and was not well-received by fans.

The latest entry, after a two-year hiatus, is an open-world adventure set in ancient Egypt. It’s scheduled for release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on October 27, 2017.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Mark’s first encounter with high-tech was a TRS-80. He spent 20 years working for Nintendo and Xbox as a writer and…

Topics

Gaming

The best Naoe skills in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Naoe from Assassin's Creed Shadows leaping in the night sky.

Now that there are double the protagonists in Assassin's Creed Shadows, there are twice as many skills to learn. Earning XP, as well as the new Knowledge Points, will let you access six skill trees for both characters, with around a dozen or more skills in each to unlock. The game is long enough that you could unlock them all, but that would require a lot of time or grinding. Plus, not all the skills are as useful as the others. Building up both characters is important, but we will be focusing on the most powerful skills you should be getting with the shinobi Naoe.
Double Assasinate

First introduced in Assassin's Creed 2, the ability to stealth assassinate two targets is a mechanic you won't feel complete without. You need to have a Tantop equipped to make it work, but it is worth taking up a slot even if you dislike its moveset. After all, this skill is all about avoiding open combat. Guards move and stand in pairs more often than not, and there is no good way to peel one away without alerting the other. This skill streamlines your stealth approach by letting you take down a pair with ease and not risk raising an alarm.
Melee Expert

Gaming

How to get Knowledge Points and what they do in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

One of the protagonists in Assassin's Creed Shadows.

By the time we get to Assassin's Creed Shadows, most of us will be familiar with how the games work. Since transitioning more towards RPGs than stealth games, the titles have not only gotten longer but also embraced skill trees. Naoe and Yasuke each have unique progression paths to work through, but right away you will notice that most of the best abilities are gated off. Like Scouts, Knowledge Points are a new feature that you will need to master if you want to be the best assassin possible. We'll share all our knowledge about Knowledge Points with you.
How Knowledge Points work and how to get them

Knowledge Points are a separate system to XP that allows both Naoe and Yasuke to unlock the better and more powerful skills in all their skill trees. Unlike XP, you can't earn them by performing normal tasks or taking out enemies. Instead, Knowledge Points are rewarded for doing specific non-violent activities in Assassin's Creed Shadows.

Gaming

How long is Assassin’s Creed Shadows?

Yasuke in Assassin's Creed Shadows fighting an enemy. He's dressed in his samurai armor.

It's no secret that the Assassin's Creed games have gotten longer and longer over the years. This is typical for Ubisoft open-world titles, but many are hoping that Assassin's Creed Shadows has scaled back on the bloat a bit. There's always fast travel and finding the fastest ways to earn XP to cut down on the grind, but there's only so much time that can be saved. If you're worried that this game might be another 100-hour time investment to fully complete, let's use our Eagle Vision to scout out how long Assassin's Creed Shadows is before you start playing.
How long is Assassin's Creed Shadows?

As you would expect, the amount of time you could put into Assassin's Creed Shadows will vary wildly based on how you approach it. You can focus on just the story and nothing else, tackle a handful of side missions and activities, or attempt to complete anything and everything the game has to offer.