Traipsing across multiple pivotal moments in world history is the heart and soul of Assassin's Creed. Even though some sagas have had sequels, most games typically jump to different time periods with each entry. Even Ezio's saga moved from Italy to Turkey in Assassin's Creed Revelations, despite taking place during his lifetime. But along with each entry and deep dive into the most important moments in history, every Assassin's Creed game also ties its narrative into an overarching present day storyline.
Initially, the modern day storyline in Assassin's Creed was centered on a specific character, fated to be the hero in modern times. Over time, the modern day perspective has shifted multiple times, seemingly in search of a central character or theme to bring the meta-narrative forward. There were quite a few stumbles, leading to a convoluted storyline that made some players think the writing team is "making it up as they go along" instead of planning the narrative. While the story now focuses on Layla Hassan in modern times, the Assassin's Creed Valhalla story needs to recenter and refocus.
The Linchpin of Assassin's Creed's Present Storyline
Back during the Desmond days, the modern day storyline was actually in a promising state. Even though the story itself was very high science fiction, the story beats had some general cohesion based on an interesting premise. That old 2012 doomsday conspiracy, which clearly didn't come to fruition in real life, was the climax of the build up Assassin's Creed had been working towards since the beginning. Desmond was at the center of this, who's ancestry was guiding him towards protecting the planet from doomsday. He inevitably does protect the Earth, at the cost of his life at the end of Assassin's Creed 3.
Desmond used to be the linchpin of Assassin's Creed's modern day narrative, prior to his death. Everything was building up to Assassin's Creed 3, where Desmond would soon become the fully-fledged assassin he had be training in the Animus for. That didn't particularly pan out, even though a lot happens in the climax of the third game that the trilogy had been building up to since 2007. With the Templars at their strongest in the modern era, Desmond was supposed to be the pivotal hero who could take them down. While he ended up saving the world from a cataclysmic solar flare, the development of his character felt like it was cut short.
Where the Modern Storyline Went Wrong
Upon Desmond's death was when the modern day storyline really began to fall off track. With Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, in the wake of Desmond's death, the modern day storyline begins to follow a nameless Abstergo employee. Players ironically find themselves in an entertainment studio for a publicly available Animus platform, researching the life of Desmond's ancestor Edward Kenway. While Kenway's pirateering escapades were interesting in their own right, it meant that a nameless protagonist in a largely unimportant side story didn't really matter. Considering the connection to the Assassins is slim at best, it makes the modern day conflict largely forgettable.
Then in Assassin's Creed Unity and Syndicate, the plot becomes even further disjointed as players take on... Someone. An Assassin initiate who's using the "Helix" console to play entertainment from Abstergo's publicly available Animus technology. Fans of the original games get some glimpses of old characters like Rebecca and Shaun, along with discovering some Sages and Pieces of Eden, but other than that there's no real progression of the modern day story. A lot of the running and hiding Assassins in lore initially turned into exactly what the modern day Assassins were doing in Unity and Syndicate. Rebecca, Shaun, and William Miles were all acting in the modern day in service to Desmond's fate. Everything shown in Unity and Syndicate hints at a big First Civilization resurgence, which eventually ended up being the off-screen ending of Juno's story in an Assassin's Creed Uprising comic.
How Layla Could Right the Ship
As Assassin's Creed Origins and Odyssey rolls around after the series' short hiatus, players return to central character Layla Hassan, the woman who is seemingly taking over for Desmond's absence. So far, Layla has potential to become the next good modern day protagonist because she falls into a similar position that Desmond was in at the beginning of the series. Layla finds herself in a pivotal position the Assassins have never found themselves in for years. Upon the true ending of Odyssey after the DLC, Layla has the Staff of Hermes Piece of Eden, the first Assassin to wield a Piece of Eden since Desmond. This is the first time in the last several Assassin's Creed games where this has happened.
The modern day storyline in Assassin's Creed is at a pivotal crossroads, and now's the perfect time to emphasize that. While Assassin's Creed Valhalla is coming this fall, the modern day storyline has the potential to kick off a new storyline for present day Assassins. Layla and the Assassins should theoretically be preparing for a large-scale takedown of the Templars, perhaps using the Staff of Hermes to assist. At the same time, she is clearly tainted by the "balance between order and chaos" and her anger issues, which could pose Layla as a complicated hero in the future. The Bleeding Effect is clearly affecting her ability to critically think, and considering in Valhalla she will likely need to return to the Animus, this problem could become much bigger.
At this point, Layla should be coming to a pivotal point in her character development to make the modern day storyline matter. It's clear Origins and Odyssey's storylines are hinting at something big occurring in the near future. Layla is the one "prophesied" to bring balance between the Assassins and Templars, and that the world will fall into ruin if one or the other is eliminated entirely. This weight on her conscious almost mirrors Desmond's conflict in previous Assassin's Creed games. She could be the key to something big in the modern day storyline, at least based on what's being set up. Assuming it doesn't end in her unceremonious death, Assassin's Creed's modern day storyline could be on the road to improvement.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla releases November 17 for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One. PS5 and Xbox Series X versions to follow.