Summary
Assassin’s Creedbrought the stealth genre to new plateaus, proving assassins can remain hidden in broad daylight. The elusive assassins serve as the main characters of the games. While the originalAssassin’s Creedwas an action-adventure stealth game, the series later shifted into an RPG (role-playing game). More RPG elements mean added storylines as part of immersive quests.
The bestAssassin’s Creedgames contain gripping storylines. Those with weak narratives are considered subpar entries in the series. An all-around masterpiece means anAssassin’s Creedgame has exciting side quests to supplement the main story. These are the best examples of those.
Updated On August 02, 2025, by Ritwik Mitra:A combination of story, adventure, and action is what has made the Assassin’s Creed series one of the biggest franchises in gaming, and understandably so. Ubisoft hit the ground running with the first game and hasn’t looked back since, much to the chagrin of most fans who don’t appreciate the lack of innovation in each entry. Still, the main Assassin’s Creed games boast incredible storylinesthat unfold in the best way possible, allowing players to experience epic storylines with a wealth of memorable characters along with a dash of sci-fi goodness injected by the Animus.
With sky-high expectations,Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s story failed in almost every conceivable way. Eivor is a boring and unrelatable character, routinely ranked as the worst assassin of all time, even factoring in minor games in the series. The story is equally dull and filled with nonsensical characters with motivations no one can relate to.
This is hardly a matter of opinion. The game has the worst completion rate of any open-world game in history.Assassin’s Creed Odysseywas tagged as being fun, but too long.Assassin’s Creed Valhallamanages to be boring and even longer. Outside of the Animus, the game is arguably more convoluted than the failed story inside of the Animus.
The seafaringAssassin’s Creed Rogueis overshadowed byAssassin’s Creed 4: Black Flagmainly because of its story. Many criticizeAssassin’s Creed Roguefor having worse gameplay mechanics to boot.
The story alone sticks out like a sore thumb. Edward Kenway fromBlack Flagis more interesting than Shay Cormac. His reasoning behind his betrayal and subsequent series of murders is confused. The novelty of playing as a Templar for the first time soon wears off.Rogue’shistorical story (for a video game)was somehow too long. Players are okay with losing some of their favorite characters to a traitor, but Cormac was not an engaging enough character for the fan base to accept these deaths.
The open-world design ofAssassin’s Creed 3was fun at times, but it was a letdown concerning the story. The game forces players to go through a lengthy tutorial spanning about seven hours. It takes place during the American Revolutionary War in the 1700s. This part of the story is fascinating enough, especially when meeting some ofthe series' historic figures.
It’s really outside of the Animus where the game suffers. Without revealing too many spoilers, one of the game’s major characters changes allegiances for poor reasoning at the last second and players get no input on this humanity-destroying mistake. Faced with two bad choices, gamers get to see the greater evil unfold.
Modern Ubisoft games try to help players enjoy a non-linear narrative that merges well with the freedom they want players to enjoy in the open world. While the execution of this gameplay system was especially brilliant inFar Cry 5,Assassin’s Creed Mirageis a great example of how such an approach can lead to the story feeling rather disconnected and threadbare.
Players have to assassinate numerous targets and can take whatever approach they see fit to achieve the same. However, since these assassinations are only superficially connected, this leads to what could’ve been an interesting story feeling rather disjointed as players tackle story missions in whatever order they see fit, leading to the narrative becoming a bit of a mess in the process.
Assassin’s Creed Odysseyis commended for its breathtaking open world. The game’s Story Creator Mode allows content creators to edit and design narratives within the game, and some of these creations have led to the most compelling stories to date.
Especially since the game lets players choose a male (Alexios) or female (Kassandra) protagonist,Assassin’s Creed Odysseydeserves praise, though there are plenty ofawesome female assassinsthat shape the lore of the series. As a standalone game, the story is good. Compared to otherAssassin’s Creedgames, however, it falls short of expectations.
OnceAssassin’s Creed 4: Black Flagcame to next-gen consoles, it had high expectations. Thankfully, Ubisoft delivered a game with a cohesive narrative. Perhaps it’s the setting ofAssassin’s Creed 4: Black Flagthat makes it so fun.
It continues the story ofAssassin’s Creed 3, years after samples were retrieved from Desmond Miles' body. The story takes twists and turns, including a stint involving Edward Kenway in prison for piracy. The templars are recuperating in the Caribbean, and Kenway must stop them!
Assassin’s Creed Unitywas critically scorched at release and rightfully so. The game’s mechanics were borderline non-functional and refund demands were at an all-time high. The story downplayed the revolution and ditched this historic moment for a love story.
Still, after the game was patched up, the story itself is compelling and Élisesheds light on the Templar mindsetbetter than Cormac dreamed. Arno is a dud as a protagonist, but his journey of investigating the feud between Templars and Assassins is compelling in its own right. It might not be the story players wanted or deserved, but it was a good enough plot in its own way.
As a bonus, some analysts suggest that the Paris inAssassin’s Creed Unityisthe best rendering of a city in video game history.
TheAssassin’s Creedseries takes players to different time periods and locations, which is why the series has remained relevant.Assassin’s Creed: Originsbrought players to Ancient Egypt, providing a picturesque representation of the region.
The game’s plot is interesting at first but takes questionable turns mid-game. Players who are in it for the side and main quests are well-rewarded,Assassin’s Creed: Originshas multiple engaging storylines.
The Frye twins are caught amid a plot with the Templars, who want peace through forceful control. Like all mainlineAssassin’s Creedgames,Assassin’s Creed: Syndicatecontains a vibrant open world with an abundance of main quests and side quests that are interwoven with the story.
This could be the most light-hearted game in franchise history. Not to mention the Jack the Ripper DLC, which takes place twenty years after the base game,Assassin’s Creed: Syndicatehas genuinely fascinating storylines.
Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collectioncontains three games featuring Ezio Auditore da Firenze, a master assassin and an influential figure in the series. Naturally,Assassin’s Creed Brotherhoodis among the bestAssassin’s Creedgames of all time. There are numerous storylines for the player to complete.
The game is crammed with side quests, each more intriguing than the next. Reaching 100% is impractical, but that won’t prevent die-hard fans from pouring over a hundred hours into this open-ended game.
