The Assassin's Creed franchise has always been story-driven with the main character being connected to the main overarching narrative of the conflict between the Templars and the Assassins. Whether it's indirectly or directly, the protagonists have always been a focal point of the story. The backstory of these characters defines them and their actions, from the tragedies that have impacted them at the start to how they hold on to those conflicts, it shapes them throughout each Assassin's Creed game.
Although not all backstories are equal, enough of them stand out from the rest. However, even though the Assassin's Creed franchise has many games in the series, picking the best ones with the best backstory is rather easy and helps make the characters seem much more tangible. This list should help players figure out which backstory in the series holds the most weight because the backstory is the driving force of these stories.
5 Arno Victor Dorian
The main theme of most Assassin's Creed games is that the character falls into some sort of tragedy, usually when they were a child, and in Assassin's Creed Unity, Arno Victor Dorian falls into that template quite easily. While Assassin's Creed Unity was met with rather lukewarm results regarding the story and technical issues, the thing that separated it from the rest of the series is the relationship between the Templars and the Assassins.
That relationship is tied to Arno's backstory when his father gets killed at the start of Assassin's Creed Unity and gets adopted by a friend of his father, who players find out is a Templar. This makes Arno go down a path, not of revenge, but to mend things between the two main entities that run Paris from the shadows. However, since Arno's father was an Assassin himself, this pushes him into the Order, which makes it harder for him to mend something his father was trying to do before Arno was born. While not the best backstory, it is rather impactful for the character himself because Arno carries the weight of his father's code with him throughout the course of Assassin's Creed Unity.
4 Alexios/Kassandra
Probably one of the most over-the-top backstories in the Assassin's Creed series, with these siblings being connected to Leonidas, the Spartan leader that helped defeat the Persians. While that is one of the cooler features in Assassin's Creed Odyssey, the actual backstory is rather tragic and probably one of the more emotionally heavy ones in the Assassin's Creed games. Assassin's Creed Odyssey begins with whichever of the two siblings the player picks between Alexios and Kassandra with the one that the player didn't pick becoming the main antagonist.
While Assassin's Creed Odyssey is very immersive with everything the player does, that immersion drives the emotional points of the story of the protagonist finding their family throughout the world of Ancient Greece. The protagonist gets exiled from Sparta by stopping an elder from throwing their sibling over a cliff. At this point players fully understand the emotional weight of the protagonist and what the lasting impact of that day possesses. When the protagonist meets their mother for the first time in Sparta the feelings of that day come back in full force and becomes more relatable. Plus, when players meet their sibling near the end of Assassin's Creed Odyssey the relationship is somewhat maintained, with the protagonist trying to mend things.
3 Connor Kenway
Following the template of many other Assassin's Creed games, the protagonist of Assassin's Creed 3 follows the same themes of some tragedy happening during their youth which drives the character to join the Brotherhood. The death of his mother and tribe plays a huge role in Conner's actions in Assassin's Creed 3 and the overarching story of the game. Every choice Connor makes has emotional weight and that makes Connor's plight much more relatable.
Even though Connor himself may seem moody, there's actually a lot of depth to his character. Fans should consider playing Assassin's Creed 3 again because his struggle is rather unique. Connor faces an identity crisis in colonial America, losing his home and his people to Templars (of which his father is one) and the colonists. Connor's whole life is a struggle, so his backstory gives fans plenty to chew on throughout a playthrough.
2 Bayek Of Siwa
Bayek has one of the most compelling backstories of the Assassin's Creed franchise, which makes his whole journey much more emotional and rather realistic. Players first see what happens right after the opening sequence when the Hidden Ones, who are the Templars, entrap Bayek and his son and force him to open up a vault, which leads to Bayek accidentally killing his own son. One of the best things that stands out in Assassin's Creed Origins from the other games in the classic trilogy is the main story and how it's rather heavy on the emotional side which makes Assassin's Creed Origins far more enjoyable to experience.
Apart from being somewhat historically accurate, Bayek's relationships with those figures play into his overall quest of finding the ones who hurt his son. Even though much of the story changes from one of revenge to a political one, Bayeky's backstory plays an important role in both narratives because it's the main driving force pushing the narrative further. Unlike most games in the Assassin's Creed series, Bayek's backstory is directly connected and impacts his world and his culture won't allow him to let go until he gets justice for his family.
1 Ezio Auditore Da Firenze
One of the more iconic protagonists in the whole universe of Assassin's Creed, Ezio is no stranger to tragedy and has a backstory that puts him on a path of justice and revenge. Being the main star of Assassin's Creed 2, players have spent the most time with him and his character development because it does change drastically between both of the spin-offs he's featured in. He witnesses his brothers and father get hanged during the opening act of Assassin's Creed 2. As such, both players and Ezio gets thrust into an emotional rollercoaster that the player can feel, which translates into a memorable story.
Players will spend a lot of time with Ezio just in Assassin's Creed 2 alone since it's one of the longer games in the series. Gamers can easily understand Ezio's struggle and is something of a fan favorite. His whole backstory represents the first time players see a character become an Assassin. Players witness his entire life in the span of three games, so it makes sense for them to witness where he came from, and how his backstory impacted his entire life.