Assassin's Creed

Assassin’s Creed, released in 2007 by Ubisoft Montreal, follows Desmond Miles, a bartender abducted by Abstergo Industries and forced to use the Animus, a machine that reconstructs genetic memories. Through it, Desmond experiences the life of Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad, a member of the Assassin Brotherhood operating during the Third Crusade in 1191. The game’s framing story establishes that Abstergo is the modern face of the Templar Order, while the Assassins oppose its attempt to control humanity through powerful ancient artifacts.

Altaïr begins the game as an exceptionally skilled but arrogant Assassin. After failing a mission at Solomon’s Temple, he is demoted by his mentor, Al Mualim, and ordered to eliminate nine Templar targets. His investigations take him through the historically inspired cities of Masyaf, Damascus, Acre, and Jerusalem. The targets include Tamir, a Damascus arms dealer; Garnier de Naplouse, leader of a hospital in Acre; Talal, a slave trader in Jerusalem; William of Montferrat, regent of Acre; Majd Addin, Jerusalem’s corrupt regent; Jubair al Hakim, a scholar burning books; Robert de Sablé, Grand Master of the Templars; and other influential figures involved in the conflict.

Rather than presenting assassination as a simple series of combat encounters, the game requires Altaïr to gather information before each kill. Players can pickpocket documents, eavesdrop on conversations, interrogate informants, and rescue citizens threatened by local guards. These investigations reveal each target’s political role and motivations, while also preparing Altaïr for the assassination itself. The game’s central mechanic is stealth: Altaïr can blend with scholars, sit on benches, move through crowds, climb buildings, and escape across rooftops when suspicion rises.

The parkour system, designed around climbing and freerunning, makes the cities central to exploration. Altaïr can scale minarets, church towers, and fortifications to synchronize viewpoints, revealing nearby activities on the map. The player can then perform a Leap of Faith into a haystack, a signature maneuver that became one of the series’ most recognizable images.

The historical setting combines real figures and locations with fictional conspiracies. The game uses the Crusades as its backdrop but does not claim to reproduce events exactly. Its science-fiction elements broaden the story through the Pieces of Eden, especially the Apple of Eden, which can manipulate perception and obedience. Assassin’s Creed established the franchise’s recurring conflict between Assassins and Templars, its emphasis on historical worlds, and its blend of stealth, traversal, investigation, and science fiction.