You won’t be surprised to learn that the leap of faith is a little too Hollywood, though.
Parkour Meets Assassinâs Creed: What Do the Experts Think?
Imagine standing atop a medieval tower, wind whipping through your hooded cloak, staring down at a dizzying drop to a distant rooftop. You take a deep breath, then hurl yourself into the void, plummeting toward a haystack below in the iconic Assassinâs Creed âLeap of Faith.â In the game, itâs a breathtaking, stylish moment. But could it actually work in real life? To find out, PC Gamer enlisted two professional parkour athletes from the UKâs Storror teamâBenj Cave and Toby Segarâto dissect the acrobatics of the Assassinâs Creed series, including the latest installment, Assassinâs Creed Shadows. The result? A fascinating, often hilarious breakdown that reveals a surprising twist: a move dubbed a âcrime against parkourâ might just be one of the most grounded things theyâve seen in the franchise.
Parkourâs Journey Through Assassinâs Creed
For years, Assassinâs Creed has made parkourâthe art of moving freely over obstaclesâa cornerstone of its identity. From AltaĂŻr bounding across Jerusalemâs rooftops in the original 2007 title to Ezio flipping through Florenceâs streets, and now Naoe and Yasuke tearing it up in Shadows, parkour has been as vital to the series as stealth kills and Templar conspiracies. For many fans, myself included, itâs how we first glimpsed parkourâthose fluid leaps and climbs sparking dreams of trying it ourselves.
But for Benj and Toby, whoâve spent years honing their bodies and skills in the real world, these moves are more than just eye candyâtheyâre a chance to scrutinize. As self-proclaimed fans of the series, they brought a mix of expertise and humor to PC Gamerâs 10-minute video, analyzing clips from across the franchise. From the legendary âLeap of Faithâ to fresh stunts in Shadows, they weighed in on whether these virtual assassins could pull off their feats without breaking every bone in their bodies. Spoiler: not everything holds up as well as Ubisoft might hope.
Yasukeâs âCrime Against Parkourâ
One standout moment came when the duo watched a clip from Assassinâs Creed Shadows featuring Yasuke, the hulking African samurai. In the scene, Yasuke leaps between wooden beams to reach a cliffside, then clumsily hauls himself up by swinging a leg onto the ledge and using his knee as leverage to scramble over. To casual players, itâs just another moveâmaybe even a bit sluggish compared to the nimble assassins of old. But for Benj and Toby, it was a jaw-dropper.
âThis is a crime against parkour!â Toby exclaimed, with Benj nodding in agreement. He explained that in real parkour, resting your full body weight on your kneeâespecially on a hard surface like rockâis a cardinal sin. âYou never use your knees or elbows like that,â Benj said. âTheyâre the most vulnerable parts of your body, and doing it is like begging for wrecked joints.â They dubbed it the âalpine kneeââa technique so frowned upon in the parkour community that itâs practically taboo due to its inefficiency and risk.
Yet, hereâs the twist: this âcrimeâ might actually make Yasuke more believable. Unlike Naoe, the fleet-footed shinobi who flips and glides with ninja grace, Yasuke is a tank of a man, clad in 40-pound lamellar armor and lugging weapons like a kanabo club and naginata. Heâs not built for parkour finesse. His awkward knee-scramble feels true to his characterâa powerhouse warrior whoâd rather smash through foes than dance over rooftops. âMaybe Ubisoft did this on purpose to show Yasukeâs not a parkour guy,â I mused. If so, itâs a clever nod to his identity that deserves some props.
Leap of Faith: Myth or Madness?
No discussion of Assassinâs Creed parkour is complete without the âLeap of Faithââthat signature plunge from staggering heights into a haystack or pile of leaves, always landing with perfect poise. Itâs been a staple since the first game and remains a fan favorite. But is it remotely realistic?
Benj and Toby gave it a cautious nodâat least in theory. âIf you jumped from, say, five to seven stories into a massive, perfectly placed haystack, you might survive,â Benj conceded. But from the towering heights in the gamesâoften 30 stories or more? âNo chance,â Toby laughed. âYouâd leave an assassin-shaped dent in the ground under that hay.â The precision and control needed to hit such a tiny target from that distance, they argued, is beyond human limits.
This sparked a broader point: the unrealistic endurance of these virtual heroes. In reality, even top parkour athletes would tire after a few minutes of nonstop rooftop running, let alone sustain it for hours as in the game. âThey never get exhausted, never slip,â Benj noted. âOut here, weâre planning every moveâthereâs no room for improv like that.â
Other Moves: From Plausible to Preposterous
Beyond the âLeap of Faithâ and Yasukeâs climb, the duo tackled other stunts. Take Bayekâs pyramid slide in Assassinâs Creed Originsâthey werenât impressed. âHeâs sliding too fast with zero control,â Toby said. âIn real life, youâd get friction burns or tumble off instantly.â By contrast, some of Naoeâs moves in Shadowsâlike swinging over walls with a grappling hookâearned higher marks, though they still require superhuman accuracy.
Rope-walking, a recurring trick in the series, got a mention too. âWalking a tightrope is real, but not at that speed,â Benj said. âYou need time to balanceâyou canât just sprint and leap like itâs nothing.â
Game Parkour vs. Real Life
Through their critique, Benj and Toby reached a clear verdict: Assassinâs Creed delivers âdream movesâ any parkour enthusiast would kill to attempt, but most demand strength, stamina, and precision far beyond human capability. Still, they admitted this exaggeration is part of the charm. âIf it were too realistic, it might not be as fun,â Toby mused.
Yasukeâs âcrime against parkourâ stood out as an unexpected highlight. It fits his brute-force persona and hints that Ubisoft tailored each characterâs movement style in Shadows with careâNaoe embodying ninja agility, Yasuke showcasing samurai grit. Itâs a step up from the one-size-fits-all parkour of past titles.
Verdict: A Fantasy Worth Embracing
As Assassinâs Creed Shadows gears up for its March 20, 2025 release, this chat with Benj and Toby offered both laughs and insight into the blend of reality and fantasy in gaming. The seriesâ parkour may not always pass a real-world test, but that freedom keeps it a beloved pillar of the franchise. Curious about legit parkour? Check out Benj, Toby, and Storror on Instagram, or try their upcoming game Storror Parkour Pro, hitting Steam in late March. As for Shadows, Iâm still pumped to playâeven if Iâll never test a âLeap of Faithâ in real life!