When people think of the French Revolution, their minds tend to immediately jump to Les Misérables and the melodious voice of Hugh Jackman. To be fair to them, that is the most contact that many have with that section of history. Unless you grow up in France, study the history of France’s monarchies or have a really dedicated history teacher, you tend not to touch upon these things. What I know about the decade of political upheaval that France endured, comes from Assassins Creed Unity.
At the mention of Unity, most AC fans will wince and try to change the topic. Its not that Unity is a bad game or the story it tells isn’t compelling, its just…flawed in a few aspects that are hard to look past. Let’s get those out of the way first. The main issue is the bugs that the game is plagued with. Even now, nearly six years after it was released, the game still struggles with glitches that should’ve been patched before launch. Whether it’s watching your main character (Arno), fall eternally through an invisible crack in a roof, or staring at props freezing in mid-air – like the many pieces of paper that float ominously and occasionally get flecked with blood.
Personally, I find the bugs funny – especially when I look up from an assassination to see a random guard running face first into a wall repeatedly in his attempt to apprehend me. However, I do understand the frustration, especially when you must restart a long and complicated mission because of a stupid bug that prevents you from being able to fight back. One pet peeve I do have with the game, is why we’re in France and 99% of the NPC’s that I come across all have terrible Cockney accents. It’s an incredibly jarring thing to go from the occasional tidbit of French to sudden ruffians yelling “Oi mate come back here, and I’ll rip ya throat out”.
I must admit, I do like Arno as a protagonist. He feels a bit more real than some of the other main characters in the series. His motivations are revenge and justice, to seek the truth behind a traumatic event and to protect those that he loves, rather than just following the Creed because someone told him to. You follow Arno from the loss of his father, to his mentor’s assassination, to his prison break and discovery of the Assassins, through his quest for revenge and his reunion with the girl he loves – Elise. It’s a story that although predictable in places, feels genuine. Arno’s story is one of emotion and love, of compassion and anger, not just of cold logic and strategic violence.
Apart from the standard missions – go here, stab this person, tail this person, steal this thing etc, there is another mission type introduced in Unity that I really enjoyed. The murder mystery cases. Essentially a series of who-dunnits that has you doing the job of the French police force. Each of the mysteries is an individual case, that has you travelling to relevant locations, finding clues, and talking to witnesses. Your goal is to track down the killer using the evidence that you have gathered – even though sometimes the killer is REALLY STUPID, like the deputy warden who claimed to speak to the victim the night before when he’s been missing for several days now. Moron.
Plus, Elise is great. I’ll say this straight off the bat, SHE DESERVED BETTER. This is your spoiler warning by the way, as to really appreciate my feelings about this game, I need to go into details about the plot. So, you have been warned!
After Arno’s father dies at the beginning of the story, he is taken in by Monsieur De La Serre. De La Serre, has a daughter – Elise. These two grow up together and share many cherished memories before disaster strikes at Elise’s initiation ceremony into society. Monsieur De La Serre is killed, Arno is falsely accused of his murder and thrown in jail and Elise is left alone. We soon learn that De La Serre was the Grand Master of the Templars (you know, the bad guys) and Elise had spent a portion of her childhood being trained to take over from him when he passed. A capable killer, leader, and strategist, she is immediately a force to be reckoned with. Initially, she blamed Arno for the death of her father but soon they began to work together to unravel the conspiracy behind De La Serre’s death. The Templars tried to have Elise killed, seeing her as the last piece of De La Serre’s legacy and a threat to their new way of life, so Elise tried to team up with the Assassins instead.
As the game proceeds, you see the depth of Arno and Elise’s relationship and how far they will go to protect one another. However, what I find most fascinating about Elise is her determination to stand on her own two feet. This is a young woman who has been training with a sword since she was a child, who is highly educated, combat trained and capable of completing athletic feats that many grown adults would struggle with. Damsel in distress she is not. Arno chooses to protect her over getting the revenge they both sought so heavily, which drives that wedge between them once again. She doesn’t need protecting. Not from anyone. She is capable and powerful and strong. Which makes her death scene even more aggravating.
In the grand finale of the main story, Arno and Elise have cornered Germain (the new Grand Master) in the catacombs under Paris. Armed with the sword of Eden, he threatens to kill you both. Working together, you chip away at him until he finally drops the sword – which sends a bolt of energy into a pillar, trapping Arno underneath. Elise tries to free him and then suddenly decides to turn and attack Germain. She gets concussive blasted into a nearby pillar and onto the floor, killing her almost instantly. Considering we’ve spent most of a game watching her kick absolute ass and approaching problems with a critical mind, this rash action doesn’t fit the Elise I know and love. If she’d followed through with attacking Germain straight away or had continued freeing Arno, they’d have both been fine. It doesn’t make any sense.
Also – just saying Elise, you deserve better than Arno. He’s a bit of an idiot.
Anyways,
Have a good week, wash your hands, and love one another:
CaitlinRC.