Assassin’s Creed – Every Historical Setting Ranked

One of the things I’ve always adored about the Assassin’s Creed series is the world design – more often than not (and especially in recent times), the design team knock it out of the park.

It’s no exaggeration to say that the majority of my love for these games comes directly from the historical open worlds … so how would I rank all of the mainline games’ settings?

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Meh

12 – The North Atlantic (Rogue)

None of the AC settings are bad at all, but Rogue’s North Atlantic was definitely the one that failed to capture my imagination.

It released soon after Black Flag, so the general open waters were unoriginal. Also, and it might just be me that thinks this, the towns and cities felt completely lifeless to explore.

OK

11 – The Holy Lands (AC1)

At the time, AC1 was such a fun game to explore and complete missions. Unfortunately, it hasn’t aged very well.

The Holy Lands just doesn’t have that much going on, and all of the cities feel practically identical. The bland setting makes replaying the original a chore.

Good

10 – Constantinople (Revelations)

I appreciate how the AC design team moved away from Italy for Revelations, but unfortunately it felt like a huge step down.

The landscapes and exotic vibrancy of Constantinople are awesome at first, but they copy-paste a lot of the buildings and districts. With a little more time in the oven, this could have been epic.

9 – Colonial America (AC3)

AC3 was the biggest shift in the franchise up until that point, and the open world got a huge revamp. In terms of graphics and making the cities feel lived-in, Colonial America trumped the Italian cities in every way.

Personally, I just don’t find the time period and the setting to be that interesting to begin with. A lot of the forests and towns don’t stick out to me, so despite the attention to detail I can’t rank it highly.

Great

8 – Venice / Florence (AC2)

In comparison to AC1’s Holy Lands, AC2’s Venice / Florence combo smoked the competition out of the water.

Renaissance Italy is such a vibrant, fascinating time period to explore, and the regions feel diversified and worth exploring. Some fans laud this as the very best, but I don’t think it’s aged all that well – mostly due to the limitations of the software at the time.

7 – Rome (Brotherhood)

Objectively speaking, AC2’s setting might be more technically impressive that Brotherhood’s – but I can’t help but feel a huge nostalgia for the latter.

Getting to explore Renaissance Rome, famous landmarks and all, is a dream come true, and every time I play the game I find new locations and collectibles to enjoy.

6 – England (Valhalla)

The most ambitious open world to date, Valhalla’s England – as well as all of the other countries you explore along the way – is absolutely packed with graphical details and things to do. I can’t believe the developers made it so big!

Strangely, Valhalla’s size is actually its biggest downfall. A lot of the activities and quests feel a little same-y, and you can only see so many English fields and forests before you get bored.

5 – Paris (Unity)

The plot and characters held “Unity” back from being an enjoyable experience overall, but I couldn’t deny that the open world was stunning.

The attention to historical detail is staggering, and some of France’s most iconic landmarks have been digitally realised like never before. Even when the story let me down, I could sit back and enjoy the view.

Amazing

4 – Ancient Egypt (Origins)

Ubisoft took an extra couple of years to really perfect Origins, and it shows. The story was tight, the combat was revamped, and the setting was absolutely mesmeric.

The contrast of desert oases to buzzing settlements to monumental pyramids is staggering, and it was a blast exploring this forgotten time period. If it wasn’t for the tediously long stretches of desert between locations, this could have been number one.

3 – London (Syndicate)

I replayed Syndicate recently, and while a lot of the gameplay and story left a lot to be desired I was pleasantly blown away by the setting.

As an Englishman, it’s fascinating to see a fully-realised Victorian London, and the attention to detail with the iconic landmarks makes it so much better. This might just be the most immersive setting in the series.

2 – The Caribbean (Black Flag)

Black Flag was a game that blew everybody’s socks off, and that’s mostly part to the sheer size of the Caribbean.

Exploring the islands and vast oceans on your very own pirate ship is a dream come true, and the entire world just feels so vibrant and bursting with colour.

All-Time Great

1 – Ancient Greece (Odyssey)

When I first played Odyssey, there was no doubt in my mind that it had the best setting. Granted, I’m a sucker for Greek mythology, so it was always going to stand out to me!

It has the attention to detail of games like Syndicate and Origins, whilst also having the expansive scope of Black Flag. Every city and region had something new to explore, and the idyllic Greek vistas gave me goosebumps. Sometimes I boot up Odyssey purely to wander around the masterpiece of game design all over again – that’s how good it is.

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