The Assassin Brotherhood used to be at the very heart of the Assassin’s Creed franchise. In the earlier titles, the Brotherhood functioned as a fully realized organization, complete with a defined hierarchy, internal politics, and a strong sense of justice. Players had to abide by the rules of the creed, and understand how the system worked and the war with the Knights Templar. But Assassin’s Creed Shadows once again moves farther away from this staple.

Each game used to continue the Assassin Order’s history, but now it seems like it’s a footnote. Players don’t need to know anything about the Bortherhood to play Assassin’s Creed Shadows and would know very little about it if they only played that game in the series. It shows how little Ubisoft has seemingly considered the Brotherhood while making these latest games.

The Assassin Brotherhood Is Background Lore, Not The Group You Work For

They Were Once A Huge Deal In AC Games

The Assassin Brotherhood was one of the most important parts of the Assassin’s Creed games. The player normally worked under them or joined them soon after the start, and their goals were central to each game’s core themes. The creed itself, the Brotherhood’s guiding principles, served as a significant moral compass. This shaped the actions of the brothers and how the player went about their business.

Black Flag was the exception to this, but otherwise, the overall presence of the Brotherhood was a big part of the games. Unfortunately, what was once integral to the series is now largely absent or just a background element. It’s surprising to see how little the Brotherhood matters today compared to how much it mattered in the original Assassin’s Creed.

Origins was the closest we were able to get, and that only touched on the establishment of the Hidden Ones near the end of the game. Sure, DLC lets players discover more, but the mainline story is about the personal quest of the protagonist. The Brotherhood was just a necessary connection that the games had to make, and it was treated that way.

Brotherhood Suppression Is Why The Games Feel Disconnected From The Series

The New AC Games Feel Separated Now

The diminishing role of the Brotherhood in the Assassin’s Creed series has a lot to do with how disconnected the games are. The games used to be connected through this centuries-long struggle between the two groups. The protagonists were fighting in a way that felt like the Brotherhood was getting closer to its goal. In a way, each protagonist was handing the baton to the next one, and it felt like a story that continued in each iteration.

The biggest thing that keeps them tied is the series name, but at this point it feels like the mentions of the Assassin Brotherhood are forced and Ubisoft does it just to be able to keep the lucrative series name. Except for Mirage, the last few games could be stripped of the Brotherhood, and they would mostly play exactly the same. In fact, Origins would just need to change the ending, so the protagonist doesn’t form The Hidden Ones, and Odyssey doesn’t have to change anything except remove the games’ modern-day story.

When Ubisoft made the second and third games, the company had to find a way to connect them to new places. Desmond needed an ancestry that made sense and which needed to leave areas for good reasons. Otherwise, the story had to be a spin-off or something similar, which wouldn’t net as much money as a mainline title. Today, it doesn’t matter because the company just has to mention the Brotherhood, and it seems like a job well done.

Shadows is the perfect example of Ubisoft throwing the Brotherhood into a game. I will not spoil the game, but if you’ve played it, you know how it feels tacked on for a bit of time. You could remove the Brotherhood entirely from Shadows and keep the shinobi, the story, and every other part almost exactly the same. That’s why The Assassin Brotherhood feels so unneeded now.

The Modern-Day Storyline Wasn’t Interesting Enough To Connect The Games

Ubisoft Should Never Have Killed Desmond

In Assassin’s Creed games, the modern-day story was used to try and tie the stories together, but it didn’t work. The modern day used to be one of the best parts of the story, but Ubisoft did a poor job in continuing the modern-day story after Desmond’s death and never got over Desmond Miles. It became annoying to get kicked out of the experience just to be reminded of how the company mishandled one of its best characters.

Shadows has put an end to the modern-day story, and Ubisoft has made the Animus the main connection between the games.

It became so obviously disliked that the modern day became a very small part of the experience. Every time the modern day story came in, it felt intrusive and tried way too hard to be interesting. It had to be over the top because it has so little time to get your interest and the modern-day story felt like weak plotting for underdeveloped characters. These were disjointed glimpses into Layla Hassan’s journey, lacking the depth and intrigue of Desmond Mile’s arc in earlier games.

Shadows has put an end to the modern-day story, and Ubisoft has made the Animus the main connection between the games. At this point, the Brotherhood just happens to exist in the world and the namesake of the games is there probably because it’s lucrative. Ubisoft will likely make sure the Brotherhood makes an appearance in every game, but without any modern-day connection, these are separate experiences.

Protagonists Are Associated, But The Creed Means Little In AC Games Today

The Brotherhood Is More Of An Afterthought

Assassin’s Creed used to focus on the tenants of the Brotherhood, known as the creed. However, it’s hard to imagine an Assassin’s Creed game today punishing players for breaking the creed, like jumping into a fight and killing everyone around. Killing innocents doesn’t matter much and without a Brotherhood to put into danger, it’s like the series has changed entirely.

The Brotherhood and Templars have been given different names to show how the organizations have changed, but that feels like an excuse. By changing the names and history of the groups, Ubisoft doesn’t have to be very strict about how each group is portrayed because it might have been different at a certain time, so the company can tell the story it wants without any restrictions.

It’s almost as if Ubisoft wanted to eventually get to the point where it could any story the company wanted and put a lucrative name in front of it to make sure it always sold. Assassin’s Creed no longer has the Assassins Brotherhood as a defining feature anymore, and the games can be made without them thanks to the removal of the modern-day Brotherhood. While I hope this changes, it doesn’t look like Ubisoft will change course anytime soon.