Assassin's Creed Origins had some pretty radical ideas for the series, such as really genuinely good gameplay, gorgeous settings and "getting rid of that awful, obligatory Desmond bit".
Feudal Japan
This has long been a request of fans of the series, though understandably it would be a bit far-fetched for a mostly Mediterranean bloodline to somehow have DNA memories from the Far East. But now that Origins has pretty much done away with the ridiculous sci-fi element of the fun, this is surely the perfect time to explore a rich seam of history. Japan’s feudalist Edo period, between 1600 and the early 1800s, was full of the sort of family-feuding that made Assassin’s Creed 2 better than all the others. This is also the time when foreign trade with the island nation went through periods of prohibition and control, opening up hundreds of delivery side quest excuses for Ubisoft to exploit.
The Fall of Rome
There’s a pretty significant gap in the Assassin’s DNA chronology, side-stepping one of the largest and most influential empires in history. Before Ezio Auditore’s gallivanting around Florence and eventually the ruins of Rome, his predecessors may have been instrumental in its fall. All the backstabbery in Ancient Rome is legendary, and rife for some fast and loose history lessons. Of course, Greece would also be a good source of inspiration but there aren’t quite as many postcard-worthy buildings to jump off of.
Nazi Germany
The Frye twins’ adventures around Victorian London in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate represent the most modern the lineage has appeared so far (other than those god awful future bits with Desmond, glad they’re gone). Though there was a certain segment of Unity that hinted at a much more recent time perfect for the backdrop of assassinations and intrigue. World War 2 is enjoying a new surge of gaming enthusiasm after we briefly tired of the single largest epoch of global death and destruction for some reason. Instead of Paris (to avoid challenging Saboteur’s crown as king of Parisian war-time stealth games), the heartland of Nazi Germany offers a wealth of opportunities for clandestine mayhem. Tracking down Reich ministers, changing the outcome of the war, aiding resistance members, it’s all there.
Bubonic Plague Europe
If all the guns knocking about in WW2 Europe is a bit of a turn off for a series more used to the blade, we can work with that. How about Medieval Europe! Where the only things that can kill you are metal pointy things or rat-borne bacteria! And boy howdy will they kill ya! While you’ll never beat the Black Death on KDA (30-60% of Europe’s total population), it offers a neat new arsenal for the enterprising assassin. Inoculate their mead, or sprinkle rat feces on their pillow! Also, quarantine areas would add a new mechanic to the game similar to S.T.A.L.K.E.R or anything else with radiation poisoning.
Atlantis
Look, there’s already aliens in the Assassin’s Creed universe or something, so Atlantis is nowhere near the most ridiculous idea here. It's even referenced as possibly one of the locations of the first civilization throughout the series' lore, so it's not off the table. This is basically a carte blanche for the team, which is both kind of intimidating and mechanically liberating because who knows? Maybe Atlantians did invent cloaking technology before they got sunk. Maybe they rode dolphins between domed cities under the waves. There’s plenty of architectural conjecture to be had here, too, but mostly it’s a chance to tell mad stories about power struggles and murders without caring about how Desmond’s great-great-great-great-great-grandpappy found an orb or some other boring nonsense. Embrace the Origins direction, Ubi. Just do whatever you want with the series as long as it’s gorgeous and FUN.
