Since its first instalment in 2007, the Assassin's Creed franchise has allowed players to experience some of the most fundamental moments in human history, with settings varying from Greece during the Peloponnesian War to the frontlines of the American Revolution. Every Assassin's Creed game is set in an entirely different historical context, and they are unique in how they avail of their settings, merging history and myth in an entertaining way. Recently, Ubisoft unveiled some information on Assassin's Creed Infinity, a brand-new approach to the popular series. This is set to be the franchise's most ambitious project to date, and it will include a massive online platform with an evolving world, multiple settings, and live-service elements.
While the current information on Infinity is sparse, it seems that this project will continue to expand for months and years after its release, adding and building onto the game's plethora of settings. It is possible that the release date for Infinity is several years from now, but until more information is revealed regarding a location or historical era, fans will continue to speculate on what possible settings could be involved in this project.
Assassin's Creed in the Wild West
One setting with an abundance of potential is the Wild West. One Reddit user, MiniFridgeOnMars, created a game logo based upon the idea of a Wild West Assassin’s Creed, leading fans to speculate what such a game could be like. Taking Assassin's Creed to the American frontier would be a bold and exciting choice, as the Wild West is undoubtedly one of the most iconic periods in both historical and modern popular culture.
The United States’ Western expansion took place between the 1850s and 1910s, with the “golden age,” or the archetypical Old West period, occurring from the end of the American Civil War in 1865 until the 1890s. This would be quite a tough and entirely new direction for the franchise, but there is no denying that playing as an Assassin in the Wild West would be exhilarating. Ubisoft has teased the American Midwest in Abstergo emails before, so such a setting would not be unprecedented or an impossible stretch.
Abundance of Themes, Plotlines, and Characters
The lawlessness of this era provides plenty of drama and legend, and popular culture has always exaggerated the romance, anarchy, and violence of this period. As a result, the Wild West serves as one of the most enduring tenets in modern history, with plenty of themes and plotlines that could be incorporated into a video game. A Wild West setting could also build up connections to Assassin's Creed 3, with the character being a descendant of Connor. The connections to previous games make this a highly plausible potential setting for Assassin's Creed.
There are plenty of renowned figures, both real and mythical, that could appear in a game set during this era. Famous historical figures have appeared throughout the Assassin's Creed games, and this is one of the franchise's greatest strengths. Figures such as Butch Cassidy, Billy the Kid, and Jesse James would certainly make interesting contributions to the franchise, and the game could potentially use a gang system similar to the Cultist system in Assassin's Creed Odyssey. It would be a great environment to showcase the moral greyness that has perpetuated throughout the franchise, and the abundance of material available from this era means that there would be no shortage of potential plotlines.
Why a Wild West Setting Might Not Work
There are some reasons as to why the Wild West might not serve as the ideal Assassin's Creed setting, and the prevalence of guns in this era is one of them. During this era, melee combat had given way to gun-slinging. The franchise has mostly succeeded in avoiding modern weaponry, but there are still ways to avail of a Wild West setting without focusing on gun-slinging by adapting the use of firearms to suit an Assassin's Creed gameplay style. They already proved they can still emphasize close quarters combat in this era with Syndicate, and have consistently proven that the Hidden Blade can be adapted to different settings. Close-quarters would still be viable with knifes or other era-appropriate weaponry.
Scantly populated and deserted towns are also arguably not a good setting for stealth combat and the popular open-world style in Assassin's Creed's newer games, and the low-rise buildings associated with this era could pose significant problems. The series has proven its adaptability before, in both Origins and Odyssey, illustrating that it can make use of its setting in a dynamic way, but this would perhaps be the most difficult challenge to overcome in this setting even with the opportunities Infinity presents. If a Wild West game was more concentrated, however, and less focused on open-world dynamics, this would might not serve as an issue. Furthermore, this period would provide the perfect setting for wagon chases and parkour.
This has always been a popular setting in different forms of media, and there have been countless games set during the Wild West era, but it was Red Dead Redemption that truly brought the American frontier to life for many. The enormous popularity and success of Red Dead Redemption 2 proves that there is a market for Wild West games, but also could serve to draw some unwanted comparisons with a potential Wild West Assassin's Creed. It would be hard for Assassin's Creed to compete with Red Dead Redemption. However, while Ubisoft may have avoided a full game with a western setting because of Read Dead Redemption, Assassin's Creed Infinity could make the Wild West a viable option.
It is unlikely that a Wild West setting could work for a standalone Assassin's Creed game, but the opportunities provided by Infinity mean that it could possibly appear at some point in a more limited way. At this point, only time will tell.
Assassin's Creed Infinity is in development.