Highlights
- Assassin's Creed Red will reportedly feature two distinct protagonists, a Shinobi and a Samurai.
- The concept of dual protagonists in previous Assassin's Creed games, like Syndicate , has been met with mixed reception from fans.
- Assassin's Creed Red needs to handle its dual protagonists carefully to ensure that both characters feel unique and compelling within the open-world RPG format.
The Assassin's Creed franchise has had two distinct phases in its lifetime, with the first being its annual set of action-adventure games, and the second being the recent series of action-RPGs. While both phases stand out immediately to long-time fans of the Assassin's Creed franchise, they do still share some big similarities when it comes to general settings, themes, narratives, and some core gameplay mechanics. While Ubisoft is currently trying to diversify the Assassin's Creed brand even more, major titles like Assassin's Creed Red will still share a lot of the series' underlying DNA.
The entry that's finally giving fans their wish of a Japanese setting, Assassin's Creed Red -- as it's currently known -- will be the next mainline action-RPG in the franchise, following closely in the footsteps of Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla. Though little has been currently confirmed about the game, it has been leaked that Assassin's Creed Red will let players take control of two protagonists, something that the series has had a bit of a mixed history with.
Assassin's Creed Has Had a Mixed History of Dual Protagonists
For the longest time, the Assassin's Creed franchise focused each of its entries on one specific protagonist, giving gamers some of the most beloved video game characters of all time in the process. Altair, Ezio, Edward, Arno, and even Connor in more recent years have all been revered as some of the series' most compelling characters, with each of their games putting them solely in the spotlight, centering each plot point, action set piece, and side character around them. But with the release of Assassin's Creed Syndicate in 2015, that all changed.
For the first time in series history -- excluding the modern counterparts like Desmond -- players would get to control two Assassin protagonists in Assassin's Creed Syndicate. Called the Frye twins, Jacob and Evie had very distinct demeanors, but they weren't necessarily the most well-received protagonists in the franchise. While Evie's calm nature and focus on stealth made her a solid central protagonist for Syndicate, Jacob's more reckless approach in both the plot and combat wasn't many fans' cup of tea. Thankfully, though, aside from story missions, Syndicate allowed players to choose who they controlled during open-world exploration and a good portion of side missions, letting fans choose the playstyle and character they preferred.
Though Assassin's Creed Origins would bring the focus back to just one protagonist, Assassin's Creed Odyssey brought back this concept of dual protagonists, albeit in a very different way to Syndicate. While Syndicate swapped its protagonists regularly throughout the campaign, Odyssey asked players to choose a protagonist from the get-go, setting the narrative in stone for both characters from that point forward, making the non-chosen character an antagonist. Assassin's Creed Valhalla also gave players a choice, though it only affected the gender of the character, as opposed to giving players a completely different person to control. Both Odyssey and Valhalla's protagonist choices were a little controversial on launch, with the choice seemingly making little difference in the actual narrative.
Assassin's Creed Red Needs to Handle its Dual Protagonists Carefully
According to some recent rumors from back in February and March of this year, Assassin's Creed Red might feature two distinct protagonists, one being a Shinobi, and one being a Samurai. From the details given in the leak, it seems as though it would make more sense for Red to follow in Syndicate's footsteps than Odyssey or Valhalla, as the two alleged protagonists apparently have very different backgrounds and skills.
Rather than just appearing as a choice at the start of the game, Assassin's Creed Red should have these characters coexist during the game, letting players swap between them during the story and exploration. However, it also needs to make sure that both of these characters feel truly distinct and compelling, which can be difficult for a sprawling open-world RPG to achieve with just one protagonist let alone two.
Assassin's Creed Red is in development.