Many video games put players in the shoes of different heroes who are tasked with saving the world. Horizon Zero Dawn puts players in control of Aloy as she defends the world against evil AI, Marvel's Spider-Man tasks players with defending New York City from vile forces, The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim has them play as the dragonborn who must protect the realm from the dragons, and Assassin's Creed puts players in control os Assassin Brotherhood members who stop the Templars from controlling the world. These are all fun experiences for the player, but sometimes people want to be a little more villainous.
Ubisoft understood this when it released Assassin's Creed Rogue in 2014. Rogue switched up the Assassin's Creed formula by putting players in control of an Assassin who defected to the Templars, tasked with hunting down members of the Brotherhood across the North Atlantic. As of now, it is the only mainline game solely focused on the Templar Order, offering an experience unlike any other Assassin's Creed game. The series has followed the Assassin Brotherhood for 11 mainline titles so far, which makes it a great time for the Templar Order to take the spotlight.
Most of the Assassin's Creed Series Has Followed Assassins
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Every Assassin's Creed game is tied together by the Assassin and Templar war that has raged across history. Almost every game may take place in a different time period, filled with different characters but the same central conflict. Ezio fought back against the Templars in Renaissance Italy, Connor defended the world during the American Revolutionary War, the Frye Twins battled them during the Industrial Revolution in London, and Bayek fought them before they were even known as Templars in Ancient Egypt. Throughout all of this, there is also the modern-day story that includes a fight between the Templars and Assassins.
Throughout the series, the player has controlled major members of the Assassin Brotherhood. The Templar Order has served as the primary antagonist of most of the mainline titles, and the majority of its spin-off games. The Assassins believe that the world deserves free will, and as such they will always fight against the Templars who wish for order and control, but it would be interesting to get into the head of the villains.
Templar-Led Assassin's Creed Stories
The Assassins are painted as the good guys of the franchise, but not everyone wants to be good all the time. The Templar Order are the bad guys who strive to control the world, and their ideology should be explored a lot more. So far, Ubisoft has only let players control members of the Templar Order a couple of times in the main series.
Assassin's Creed 3 started by putting players in control of Haytham Kenway, though it was not made clear right away that he was a member of the Templar Order, or that he was the primary antagonist of the game. This is the first time players got an inside look at the Templars as he embarks on a mission to unlock a temple in the American Colonies, and fathers a son during his journey. His son would go on to become the main character, ultimately killing Haytham by the end of the story.
Assassin's Creed Rogue took it to the next level by having the story follow a Templar for the entire game. Players took control of Shay Patrick Cormac, an Assassin who defected to the Templars after growing disillusioned by the Brotherhood. It is currently the only game that paints the Assassins as the villains, and that brings with it a bunch of new gameplay features so that players can defend against hidden Assassins. Players are tasked with traversing the North Atlantic to kill the Colonial Brotherhood and stop them from finding the pieces of Eden.
One of the most interesting parts of Assassin's Creed Rogue was seeing certain events from a different perspective. Shay works alongside Haytham Kenway before the events of Assassin's Creed 3, and players are able to gain even more of an insight into his character. Some of the Assassins that players have to hunt down are from previous games, like Adewale from Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag. The game also ends with Shay assassinating the father of Arno Dorian, protagonist of Assassin's Creed Unity. These events help build out the world further and recontextualize events in other games.
Ubisoft Needs to Make More Templar Stories
The Assassin's Creed series has been running for some time, but it has barely explored the other side of the story. The Assassins are cool and an interesting bunch, but so is the Templar Order. Assassin's Creed Rogue gave players more of an insight into the antagonist of the franchise, and it has some of the most unique storytelling in the franchise to-date. Not only did it give players a better understanding of the Templar Order, it also let player see events from other games with a different perspective.
There is something about bad guys that draw people in. Some fans want to learn as much as they can about them, and sometimes they even want to pretend to be them. The Assassin's Creed series needs to give players more opportunities to do just that. The Templar Order has been the antagonist for the majority of the franchise now, and it is time to put these Assassins in that spot.