There have been a lot of games in the Assassin’s Creed franchise over the last two decades. While many of the games deal with death, dark historical events, and tragedies occurring to the main character as well as to those around them, they generally remain relatively light-hearted.
This isn’t always the case though, and sometimes the dark aspects of the source material take over as historical events make for terrifying and horrible scenes. Much of the murder is depicted as being done by assassins for the greater good, but this isn’t always the case. Many of the Assassin’s Creed games have fallen into this darker territory.
6 Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China
The Assassin’s Creed Chronicles games were a set of three stories that focused on a precursor box and followed it through different countries and different important parts of history. The China game followed Shao Jun returning to her country after training with Ezio Auditore Da Firenze. In possession of the precursor box, Shao’s story is dark as she is looking for vengeance on the group of Eight Tigers that wiped out most of the Chinese Assassin Brotherhood.
Not only is this vengeance story darker than many Assassin’s Creed games but the assassin that Shao teams up with is also killed by the leader of the Tigers later in the game. Continuous darkness, betrayal, and death surround Shao Jun, making Chronicles: China one of the darkest Assassin’s Creed spin-off games thus far.
5 Assassin’s Creed II
Assassin’s Creed II is one of the most beloved games in the whole franchise, and while the journey of Desmond Miles is ancient history now for the Assassin’s Creed games, Ezio Auditore will never be forgotten. Ezio’s journey to becoming one of the most infamous master assassins was filled with darkness and lost friends though.
The darkest part of Ezio’s journey was losing much of his family when they were executed right in front of him. His father, his beloved older brother Federico and even his kid brother Petruccio are all murdered in front of him brutally. This sets Ezio on the lengthy journey to becoming an Assassin hero, but here is another game and hero consumed by vengeance.
4 Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
Black Flag was a totally new step for the Assassin’s Creed franchise, as a lack of Desmond Miles and a tonal shift with the pirate setting made for major changes, which were generally very well-received. But there was a lot of heartbreak involved in the game as well as the focus shifted to Edward Kenway.
One of the most particularly harsh moments was the death of Blackbeard after he had retired. The pirate nation which many of the main characters were dreaming of fell apart due to poor management, and the Templars were able to take advantage of this and tear it down. Blackbeard got hacked apart savagely after a long, depressing sequence of everything going wrong.
3 Assassin’s Creed: Freedom Cry
Another spin-off game, which initially began life as a DLC for Black Flag, Freedom Cry focuses on a former slave, Adewale, who is attempting to disrupt the slave trade in the West Indies and the Caribbean. Fighting alongside a group known as the Maroons, Adewale takes the slave traders on directly, which results in a much darker plot than Assassin’s Creed fans are used to.
The most shocking moment in this game was when Pierre de Fayet, the primary antagonist of Freedom Cry, orders an unarmed slave ship to be fired upon and destroyed. This order is condoned by de Fayet simply to stop any of the slaves from being able to join the Maroons, in a move as shocking and dark as any in the franchise.
2 Assassin’s Creed: Origins
The new, darker RPG tone for the Assassin’s Creed games was most heavily praised and most darkly terrifying in Origins. The entire story is based on vengeance, this time it is Bayek of Siwa searching for revenge against the five men who he claims are responsible for the death of his son in this tale inspired by a lot of folklore.
Unfortunately, the dark origin behind Origins is even more traumatizing than first suspected. Bayek’s son did die and these men were responsible for the events leading to his death. But it was Bayek himself who accidentally murdered his son. In a game that is filled with deceit and betrayals throughout, it is a most especially traumatizing moment early on to realize that Bayek’s hand was the one that slew his only child.
1 Assassin’s Creed III
Assassin’s Creed III is possibly the darkest of any tale told in the franchise. While Connor and his father are intertwined as two sides of the same coin and eventually must fight to the death, the subject is just as dark as the circumstances around the main story in this excellent example of old-school Assassin's Creed stealth.
Much of Assassin’s Creed III is focused on the revolutionary war and how George Washington wants to wipe out certain Native American tribes and gets away with it. Not only this, Connor truly feels like he has completely failed by the end of his story. His tribe has been displaced, their land sold off by the Americans, and the slave trade remains active. Not to mention this is the game that ended by killing off Desmond Miles, ending the cohesive modern-day story of the franchise.