There are few single-player gaming series' with quite the lofty reputation as Assassin's Creed. Though it has had its bumps and scrapes since it debuted 16 years ago, the peaks have been significant, with wonderful settings, intriguing characters, and engaging stories that fuse the modern with the historic. After the disappointing decline of Watch Dogs, it perhaps stands alone as Ubisoft's flagship franchise. It's a relief, then, that it shows no signs of stopping, even though it has abandoned its annual release format. Assassin's Creed Red is in the pipeline, and it has the potential to be another hit.

Featuring two protagonists and going to a place that players have wanted Assassin's Creed to visit for years, it could be a perfect way to get people excited again after Assassin's Creed: Valhalla's reception was somewhat mixed. Assassin's CreedRed is a game that feels like a monumental moment for both the series and Ubisoft, and while it has the potential to be great, the pressure it's under could be significant, because there's no denying that it has been a long time coming.

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Assassin's Creed is (Trying to Be) Bigger Than Ever

Assassin's Creed started out as an ambitious, but linear spiritual successor to Prince of Persia. It gave players an open world to explore, and the chance to take advantage of the parkour elements from the aforementioned franchise, but with one new entry a year, it didn't get too greedy. As time has gone on and its popularity has risen, the developer has met the demands of players with DLC, side content, and spin-offs, and today there are plenty of projects in the works, not the least of which is Assassin's Creed Red. To some, it's a little overwhelming, but to others, it's the best time to be a fan of the long-standing IP.

In development at Ubisoft Quebec, Assassin's Creed Red is one of the standout games in the upcoming line-up, because it's taking advantage of a setting that fans have been calling for. Its use of dual protagonists, alluding to the return of the Animus, and a seemingly higher emphasis on RPG mechanics like Odyssey and Origins makes it a pivotal game in the series, and one that will be at the top of people's wish lists over other in-development projects.

Assassin's Creed is Finally Ticking Japan off its List

Though the series has been to some of Earth's most fascinating places like Egypt, Ancient Greece, the USA in its infancy, and Florence, Italy, the absence of Japan has always been noticeable. It's a country that is steeped in rich culture and has a very storied history. Assassin's Creed leans heavily on the past for its narratives, often even implementing key figures of the time to flesh out the world, and though it has never traveled that far east before, the potential has always been there, and the stage has always been set.

The omission was made all the more obvious when a handful of great action-adventure games used Japan's history to set their experiences. Titles like Nioh, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Trek to Yomi used the presentational benefits of Japan's beautiful landscape to their advantage, and Sucker Punch's Ghost of Tsushima had enough similar mechanics to Ubisoft's magnum opus to show that Assassin's Creed would do well in ancient Japan. In recent years, it's felt like the developer has been specifically avoiding Japan despite more games than ever showing its potential, and now Assassin's Creed Red looks to finally capitalize on its presentational, aesthetic, and historical benefits.

Assassin's Creed Red is in development.

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