The Assassin’s Creed franchise started back in 2007 and has been going strong ever since. Several mainline titles and just as many spin-offs have released, all of which have focused on growing or changing the franchise in different ways. Of these changes in Assassin's Creed, it used to be that not playing an Assassin was an exception, but that’s not really true anymore.
From 2007 to 2015, from AC1 to Syndicate, there were only two notable exceptions to this rule (both of which are super minor in hindsight). Assassin’s Creed Rogue featured Shay Cormac, who was an ex-Assassin turned Templar, and he had all the skills of an Assassin. He was one in all but name and purpose, at least from a gameplay perspective. Then, there’s Black Flag’s Edward’s Kenway.
Edward Kenway’s Growth: From Pirate to Assassin
Throughout Black Flag, Edward Kenway is a pirate who gets dragged, mostly unwillingly or for selfish reasons, into Assassin affairs. He only care about his quest for glory until he came to the realization that it was false. In pursuit of wealth and fame, he lost friends both in death or those living. As such, by the end of the game, he joins the Assassin Brotherhood, hunts down Templars, and entrusts the Observatory to the Assassins.
While the game doesn’t go much further than that, players know that Edward becomes a Master Assassin during his time with the British Assassins in London. He would continue to research the First Civ as part of the Assassin, and because he learned from them as a pirate and grew into their organization, Edward showed a new style of growth. Assassins like Ezio and Connor rose to the ranks from the very beginning, but Edward struggled with the very premise of being an Assassin.
There was no glory in it for him, but he decided that glory was a fool’s game. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag shows the growth that put him into his position with the lore, with his ancestry obviously impacting Haytham and Connor. Eventually, it would impact Desmond too. Nonetheless, growth from the outside-in is a key element of Edward’s story, something the franchise has failed to repeat in recent games.
Kassandra, Eivor’s Growth: The Misthios and The Viking
Since 2017, there has been three new games in the franchise, with Assassin’s Creed Origins’ Bayek proving to be the odd man out in a strange way. That’s because, of the three protagonists here, he’s the only one even loosely connected to the Brotherhood. As a member of the Hidden Ones, Bayek was a proto-Assassin—his work, and moreso his wife Aya’s, would establish the baseline for the eventual Brotherhood. Bayek and Aya’s growth is the growth of the Hidden Ones.
But, when looking at Kassandra and Eivor, this is a crucial element that is missing. They grow, sure, but they do not grow alongside the Hidden Ones or even into them. Kassandra is an important character because of the Staff, but she first lived even before the Hidden Ones. She does encounter cults that predate the Order of the Ancients, but their mindset and goals make them clear Proto-Templars. She is more connected to the Isu, which is fine, but she lacks what Kenway had.
Same goes for Eivor, if to a lesser extent so far. While Kassandra grows into her role as Keeper of the Staff, to hold it until Layla could use it properly, Eivor grows from a standard Viking into a leadership role. She even works with the Hidden Ones, but her ambitions and their goals don't align. Neither have the same growth of Edward, as a result. Kassandra and Eivor’s pursuit of glory left them alone, with everyone Kassandra knew dying and Eivor (based on choice) alienating those closest to her. Edward saw the light; these two haven’t.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla DLC – The Next Step for Eivor and Kassandra?
In truth, though, it’s not over. For both Kassandra and Eivor, there is still time for Ubisoft to right this wrong and bring them into the Hidden Ones properly. As many know, Kassandra is still alive thanks to the Staff, and rumors indicate Kassandra could meet Eivor in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s future DLC. Not only would this be big for Kassandra and Eivor themselves, but for the game, as the past two DLCs have not really featured “Assassin” content.
With Kassandra’s extended life and reflected ability to see the world, this makes sense. When players meet Kassandra in the flesh at the end of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, she’s wearing a suit showing that she has managed to live in the world around her. This could have led to her eventually joining the Hidden Ones after its founding, combating the Templars. Given that Kassandra’s leaked dialogue seems to be warning Eivor against something Isu-related, it’d be easy to reveal her as a Hidden One.
At the same time, Eivor declines Hytham’s invitation to join the Hidden Ones as she does not like to operate from shadows. She wants glory, and that’s not the way of an Assassin. However, if the base game isn’t enough of a push, perhaps her quest with Kassandra will reveal the fate of her pursuit for glory and by truly overcoming her limitations with Odin (instead of just pushing him back), perhaps Eivor will see the light like Edward too.
Edward was a prime example of why this storytelling worked, why every character didn’t have to be 100% devoted to the cause from the get-go, but it is important that said growth happens to call a character an Assassin. Edward laid out the path that Kassandra and Eivor should have followed. It's not too late to make these Assassin’s Creed protagonists Hidden Ones, but if it doesn’t happen in Valhalla’s upcoming DLC, it’s unlikely to ever happen.
After this, fans know Ubisoft has big plans for Assassin’s Creed Infinity, and that’s likely to be as big of a change—if not bigger—than the franchise’s move from action-adventure to action RPG.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.