The page of Assassin’s Creed made a strange post that featured three hoods clad assassins shown from behind and asked if the players could identify the characters. The post acted like a lightening rod that quickly pulled the community into a hot debate, some of them immidiately pointing out the classical trio while others took the chance to call for remakes and enhancements in the more recent titles.
To summarize, the Assassin’s Creed social media team did a little creative work and it was the sort of simple yet extremely captivating post that just works?? They came up with a picture – only the backs of three assassins in their signature hoods, leaning on some rooftops – and put forward the question “Can you tell who’s who?” Besides the question is kinda funny because it is indeed quite true, right? With hoods like that, being an assassin is not only about magnificent city views and eagle vision. Most likely it is a lot of looking at the back of your own hood fabric.
The gamers responded super fast. The answers were almost immediately showering With the birthplace of… Altair Ibn-La’Ahad aka the leading character of the very first game, Ezio Auditore da Firenze aka the golden age of AC2 and its sequels, and Connor Kenway (or Ratonhnhaké:ton) aka Assassin’s Creed III. People were doing it in all kinds of ways, using fancy punctuation and everything. It was a sheer nostalgia outburst. One user even called them “the holy trinity” which, to be honest, pretty much describes the mood. For so many of us, that is the core trio.
However, this is the point where it goes interesting and the real community heart shows itself. Because amidst all the “Altair, Ezio, Connor” replies were these other, louder cries. It was as if the post acted like a bat-sign for every specific request that players had been keeping to themselves. What is the number one thing that people are asking for? A complete and total remake of the original Assassin’s Creed. Just like that, please. “Please we need a real remake of the original!” one gamer pleaded. And they are not the only ones. That sentiment was felt everywhere.
And the discussion didn’t stop there. The conversation switched to present and future games very swiftly. Before long, someone was already inquiring about the map unveiling method in the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows, requesting to “let me uncover the map through waypoints again.” Another user asked for the old camera perspective to be brought back in Assassin’s Creed Mirage. There were even bug complaints for Shadows, one of the users wanted the developers to fix the “Puzzlement quest” and the issue regarding Yasuke’s powers being altered. It’s like the official account accidentally turned into a suggestion box.
A player admitted that the dark and broody image of the rooftops was so realistic that it almost tricked him into thinking that it was a Demon’s Souls remake. Which, I must say, is quite a valid point. And yet another user made a reference to a well-known clip from the community which could make you laugh easily – you probably know the one where Ezio’s hood goes through objects in a manner that is hilarious – and he added “this clip says it all” as his caption. It was a reminder that these games, despite their beauty, had these little flawed yet loved quirks.
Some community members were just expressing their devotion to the old games. One user remarked: “Assassin’s creed 1 is my peak game. Definition of photorealistic,” and I really loved that comment. Another one claimed that not only did these three characters possess the best killing skills, but they also had “the best modern-day stories too,” which is a debatable topic that could last for hours. And, of course, the long-awaited news of the Black Flag remake always lurking around came up once more.
So what does this all indicate, the simple tweet with its avalanche of responses? It suggests that the mainstream identity of Assassin’s Creed, for a considerable proportion of its fanbase, is still linked with those preliminary and ground-breaking titles as well as the characters that formed the Brotherhood. Gamers can truly feel, see and know the stories of Altair, Ezio, and Connor very well. But it also denotes a very lively community that the post showed that even a simple question might trigger a deluge of passion and thus developers will know precisely where the players’ loyalty lies and what they are eager to see next from Ubisoft.
