Assassin’s Creed 3 – Part 1-4

Well, that general that tried to get in our way has become our next target, and Acharky and I won’t stop until we’ve finished the job. The Order demands it.

Streamed at https://www.twitch.tv/newdarkcloud

Credit where credit is due: Ubisoft actually pulled off an impressive trick with the reveal that Haytham and his posse were Templar agents from the very beginning. It’s the kind of reveal that the player could plausibly see coming because in retrospect all the signs were there. However, it’s obfuscated well enough that unless the player knows ahead of time, they are unlikely to spot those signs.

And yet, watching it again with fresh eyes and a modern game critic’s point-of-view, I can’t help but notice that the reason this twist can even be pulled off so effectively is because both the Assassins and the Templars have philosophies that are so broad and ill-defined that they’re completely vacuous. “Freedom” and “Order” aren’t actionable beliefs, policies, agendas, or manifestos. They are nebulous terms to which any action could be freely ascribed depending on context.

It’s not a topic that we’re new to, but it’s one that falls into stark relief in this light. This is, in fact, the same Ubisoft that revels in South Park’s brand of “enlightened centrism”, which remains detached of any particular belief structure and doesn’t see the value of standing up for or against any of them. It’s hollow, and that feels much worse in the era we currently live in.