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''Assassin's Creed Unity'' is a 2014
action-adventure game An action-adventure game is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Definition An action adventure game can be defined as a game with a mix of elements from an action ...
developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by
Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...
. It was released in November 2014 for
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,
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, and
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...
, and in December 2020 for Stadia. It is the eighth major installment in the ''
Assassin's Creed ''Assassin's Creed'' is a historical fiction, historical action-adventure video game series and media franchise published by Ubisoft and developed mainly by its studio Ubisoft Montreal using the game engine Anvil (game engine), Anvil and its m ...
'' series, and the successor to 2013's '' Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag''. It also has ties to '' Assassin's Creed Rogue'', which was released for the previous generation consoles on the same day as ''Unity''. The plot is set in a fictional history of real-world events and follows the millennia-old struggle between the Assassins, who fight to preserve peace and free will, and the Templars, who desire peace through control. The framing story is set in the 21st century and features an unidentified and unseen protagonist, who joins the Assassins as an initiate to help them locate the corpse of an 18th-century Templar Grand Master. The main story is set in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
during the French Revolution from 1789 to 1794, and follows Assassin Arno Dorian and his efforts to expose the true powers behind the Revolution, while seeking revenge against those responsible for his adoptive father's murder. ''Unity'' retains the series' third-person open world exploration as well as introducing revamped combat, parkour, and stealth systems. The game also introduces cooperative multiplayer to the ''Assassin's Creed'' series, letting up to four players engage in narrative-driven missions and explore the open world map. ''Assassin's Creed Unity'' received mixed reviews upon release. It was praised for its visuals, customization options, setting, and characterization. Its narrative, gameplay, mission design, and multiplayer-oriented format received more divided opinions. The game was also widely panned for its numerous graphical issues and bugs, prompting Ubisoft to issue an apology and offer compensation in the form of a free expansion, ''Dead Kings'', which acts as an epilogue to the base game's story. Players who had bought the game's
season pass A season ticket, or season pass, is a Ticket (admission), ticket that grants privileges over a defined period of time. History The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' has illustrative quotations which show the term ''season ticket'' used in the ...
(which was later made unavailable for purchase in response to the controversy) additionally received a free copy of another Ubisoft title of their choice. Despite the initial critical reception, ''Unity'' was a commercial success, selling over 10 million units by May 2020. It was followed in October 2015 by '' Assassin's Creed Syndicate'', which continues the modern-day narrative, but has its main plot set in
Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
.


Gameplay

''Assassin's Creed Unity'' is an action-adventure,
stealth game A stealth game is a type of video game in which the player primarily uses ''stealth'' to avoid or overcome opponents. Games in the video game genre, genre typically allow the player to remain undetected by hiding, sneaking, or using disguises. S ...
played from a
third-person perspective Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to storytelling, convey a narrative, story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to del ...
and set in an open world environment. The game features a historical recreation of
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
in the late 18th-century at a roughly 1:1 scale. The setting is divided into seven major districts—Le Louvre,
Île de la Cité The Île de la Cité (; English: City Island, "Island of the City") is one of the two natural islands on the Seine River (alongside, Île Saint-Louis) in central Paris. It spans of land. In the 4th century, it was the site of the fortress of ...
,
Le Marais The Marais (Le Marais ; "the marsh") is a historic district in Paris, France. It spreads across parts of the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, 3rd and 4th arrondissement of Paris, 4th Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements on the Rive Droit ...
, La Bièvre, Les Invalides, Quartier Latin, and Ventre de Paris—and also includes the town of
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of ÃŽle-de-France, ÃŽle-de-France region in Franc ...
, located on the outskirts of Paris. The commune of Saint-Denis (renamed Franciade during the French Revolution) is featured as part of the free ''Dead Kings''
expansion pack An expansion pack, expansion set, supplement, or simply expansion, is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game, video game, collectible card game or Miniature wargaming, miniature wargame. An expansion may introduce new rules ...
. A number of side missions can be found and initiated from within the open world, such as "Paris Stories", which require the player to assist a non-playable character (usually a historical figure) with a minor problem; "Murder Mysteries", in which the player investigates various murder scenes, collecting clues and interrogating witnesses to determine the culprit; and "
Nostradamus Michel de Nostredame (December 1503 – July 1566), usually Latinisation of names, Latinised as Nostradamus, was a French Astrology, astrologer, apothecary, physician, and reputed Oracle, seer, who is best known for his book ''Les Prophéti ...
Enigmas", a series of cryptic riddles that lead the player to different artifacts, which can be used to unlock a special reward. Players can also find a number of collectibles scattered around Paris, including treasure chests, cockades, and artifacts, which provide various rewards, typically in the form of new gear or cosmetic options.''Unity'''s combat system was greatly refined over previous entries in the series, with
fencing Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...
being used as an inspiration for the new system. The stealth system also saw several improvements with the addition of new features like manual crouching and the Phantom Blade, a variation of the series' signature Hidden Blade which doubles as a silent
crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an Elasticity (physics), elastic launching device consisting of a Bow and arrow, bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar f ...
. Furthermore, the linear assassination missions from previous ''Assassin's Creed'' games were abandoned in favor of a new "Black Box" design, which offers more freedom to the player in how they go about eliminating their target; the player can explore the environment to find different entry points or possibly helpful distractions, allowing them to choose the approach that best suits them. For navigation, the game introduces new "Free-run up" and "Free-run down" commands to make it easier for the player to scale buildings in either direction, allowing them to make controlled ascents and descents at will. With the updated, larger crowds, new interactions with them are also available. The crowd regularly presents many activities, appearing organically, that the player can choose to engage in or not. Examples include scaring a group of bullies by pulling out a weapon, "settling" a fight between two civilians by killing one of them, or chasing down a thief who has just pick pocketed somebody. For the first time in the series, the player character, Arno Dorian, presents a unique set of abilities that can be upgraded through a skill tree system, enabling the player to assign points earned through gameplay to improve Arno's skills in stealth, melee, and ranged combat, as well as his health. Players are also able to customise Arno's weapons, armor and equipment to further complement their individual style of play. The quality of these items is indicated by their level, which can be a maximum of 5 (in the case of legendary gear). Players also have a wider selection of weapons available, including swords, axes, spears, rifles, pistols and throwable items, such as smoke bombs. The ''Dead Kings'' expansion introduces an additional weapon: the Guillotine Gun - a
grenade launcher A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially designed, large caliber projectile, often with an explosive, Smoke screen, smoke, or tear gas, gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary gre ...
with an axe head mounted under the barrel. Like most previous ''Assassin's Creed'' titles, the game features an in-game economy system, which primarily revolves around the Café Théâtre, a former intelligence gathering front for the Assassins which has fallen into ruin and serves as Arno's main headquarters during the story. The player can renovate the Café by investing in upgrades, which change the building's interior and unlock new rooms, including a secret passage to the Assassins' underground hideout. The Café also functions as a passive business, producing revenue in the background which is deposited in a chest for Arno to collect; the more renovated the Café is, the more money it earns. Players can further increase their income by completing Café-related missions and purchasing additional taverns around Paris. ''Unity'' also introduces cooperative multiplayer to the series. Players can enter taverns, which act as social hubs in the game, where they can see if any of their online friends are playing the game at the current time. If they are currently in a mission, they will appear as a "ghost" version of their character, allowing the player to approach them to request to join their mission. If their request is accepted, both players enter the same game session, where they can continue the mission from the last checkpoint. Up to four players can play together at the same time. Each player takes on the role of Arno, customized within their own game, with other players appearing as their own customized version of Arno and retaining their gear. Many missions and activities are available for cooperative play (all of which can also be attempted solo), but all of the main story missions are single-player only. There are significant tie-ins with the game's Companion App, a "freemium" click app with limited "direct ties to the overall story of ''Unity''". There are a significant number of treasure chests, assassination targets, and other collectibles that are visible to all players but only accessible to those who have completed certain goals within the app. Following an update in February 2015, this requirement is no longer necessary, meaning players who have downloaded the update, can now collect all the chests in the game without having to play the companion app.


Synopsis


Characters

The main character of the game is Arno Dorian ( Dan Jeannotte), a native Frenchman who was born in
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of ÃŽle-de-France, ÃŽle-de-France region in Franc ...
to an Assassin father. After his father is killed by Shay Patrick Cormac at the end of '' Assassin's Creed Rogue'', Arno is adopted, unaware that his new family holds a senior position within the Templar Order, with his new father figure being the Templar Grandmaster. Arno blames himself when his adoptive father is murdered, and so sets out on a quest of redemption that brings him into the Brotherhood of Assassins, where he slowly rises through the ranks, much like Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad and Ezio Auditore da Firenze as seen in previous games. Arno's love interest is Élise de la Serre (Catherine Bérubé), the daughter of the Templar Grandmaster who adopted Arno, who also sets out to investigate more about her father's death and its role in a growing ideological change within the Templar Order that threatens its core values. The era also features appearances from several historical figures, such as the Marquis de Sade ( Alex Ivanovici),
Maximilien Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; ; 6 May 1758 â€“ 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman, widely recognised as one of the most influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. Robespierre ferv ...
( Bruce Dinsmore), and a young
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
(Brent Skagford).


Setting

Arno's story starts in
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of ÃŽle-de-France, ÃŽle-de-France region in Franc ...
as a child, but for most of the story he is in Paris. His adventure in Paris starts on the eve of the French Revolution in 1789, and extends up to the Thermidorian Reaction in 1794. The modern day setting focuses on the Assassins contacting the player and requesting their help to explore Arno in the past, as well as helping in the present. Co-operative multiplayer missions follow the development of the Brotherhood of Assassins during the French Revolution. In addition, "time anomalies" are introduced during the story. Accessing them takes Arno to various points of Parisian history, such as Paris'
Belle Époque The Belle Époque () or La Belle Époque () was a period of French and European history that began after the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 and continued until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Occurring during the era of the Fr ...
, or its occupation by
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.


Plot

In 2014, Abstergo releases their Helix software, which allows access to genetic memories, to the general public as a gaming device. While playing through a memory of Jacques de Molay (Mario Desmarais), in which he orders a fellow Templar to hide his codex and sword during the sacking of the Paris
Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
in 1307, the player is contacted by the Assassin Brotherhood through their agent, codenamed "Bishop" ( Kate Todd). Bishop invites the player to join the Assassins as an initiate, and presents an Abstergo video memo describing the capture of a Sage who contains precursor DNA. Abstergo hope to use the Sage to compile a precursor genome. Bishop directs the Initiate to locate another Sage, whose corpse they hope to recover. The Initiate relives the memories of Arno Dorian, a French-Austrian nobleman. Orphaned in 1776 after his father Charles was assassinated, Arno was taken in by François de la Serre, Grand Master of the French Templars. In 1789, Arno is given a message to deliver to de la Serre, but leaves it in his office and goes to meet with his childhood friend Élise, de la Serre's daughter, following her initiation into the Templar Order. Arno later finds de la Serre murdered, and is framed as the killer. He is imprisoned in the
Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stormed by a ...
, where he befriends a fellow prisoner, Pierre Bellec ( Anthony Lemke), who knew his father. Bellec invites Arno into the Brotherhood after they escape during the
Storming of the Bastille The Storming of the Bastille ( ), which occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, was an act of political violence by revolutionary insurgents who attempted to storm and seize control of the medieval armoury, fortress, and political prison k ...
. Returning home, Arno is turned away by Élise, who reveals that the message he failed to deliver was a warning of her father's impending murder. Arno joins the Brotherhood to eliminate the Templars behind de la Serre's death. During his investigation, Arno rescues François-Thomas Germain (Julian Casey), a silversmith held hostage by the acting-Templar Grand Master Lafreniere (Noel Burton). Arno assassinates Lafreniere, only to discover that he was the one trying to warn de la Serre and that Germain is actually a Templar extremist who staged a coup after being banished from the Order by de la Serre. When Germain begins murdering Élise's faction of Templars, Arno persuades her to parley with the Brotherhood. The Assassin Mentor Mirabeau ( Harry Standjofski) agrees to help, hoping to broker peace between the Orders, but is later murdered by Bellec, who sought to prevent the alliance and purge the Assassin leadership he saw as weak to allow the Brotherhood to be reborn. Arno is forced to kill Bellec when he tries to defend his actions as a necessary evil and convince Arno to join him. While searching the Tuileries Palace for potentially damning letters from Mirabeau to King Louis, Arno encounters
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
, who helps him escape. Arno realizes that Germain plots to spark a mass revolt against the King, and assassinates the Templars aiding him with Napoleon and Élise's help, rekindling his relationship with the latter in the process. With the
Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
in full swing, Arno tracks Germain to Louis' execution, but chooses to protect Élise rather than pursue him. Élise rejects him for this, and Arno is exiled from the Brotherhood for his rash actions. Falling into a drunken depression, Arno languishes for months before he is found in Versailles by Élise, who convinces him to return as Paris is tearing itself apart during the
Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...
. With Élise's help, Arno discredits
Maximilien Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; ; 6 May 1758 â€“ 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman, widely recognised as one of the most influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. Robespierre ferv ...
, whom Germain had placed in charge of maintaining chaos. After Arno and Élise find Robespierre, Élise shoots him in the jaw and makes him write down Germain's location. Arno confronts Germain, who is empowered by de Molay's sword—a Sword of Eden—and pursues him to the Templar crypt underneath the Paris Temple, where Élise soon arrives to help. After Arno is temporarily incapacitated, Élise tries to take on Germain by herself, but the Sword explodes, killing Élise and mortally wounding Germain. Arno kills Germain, who confirms he is the Sage and that he wanted to purge the Templars who had forgotten de Molay's teachings. The game ends with Arno explaining how his understanding of the Creed has changed, and promising to watch over Paris and keep Élise's memory alive. Years later, Arno recovers Germain's skeleton and places it in the Catacombs of Paris. Bishop is relieved, confident that Abstergo will not be able to find it.


''Dead Kings''

One week after Élise's death, a devastated Arno finds refuge in Franciade. He is contacted by the Marquis de Sade, who requests his help in finding the manuscript of
Nicolas de Condorcet Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...
, hidden in the tomb beneath the city, in exchange for a ship to take Arno to
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
. During his search, Arno encounters tomb raiders led by Captain Philippe Rose (Taylor Price), a subordinate of Napoleon, who wishes to retrieve an artifact—an Apple of Eden—from a Precursor temple under the city's church. Arno finds that the manuscript has been stolen by a child thief, Léon (Eamon Stocks), who was captured by the raiders. Arno rescues Léon and retrieves the manuscript, but declines to help him stop the raiders. After a vision of Élise and hearing Léon's pleas, however, he changes his mind. After discovering the temple's location and retrieving the key from one of Napoleon's officers, Arno opens the door to the temple, but is ambushed by Rose, who has betrayed Napoleon and wishes to take the Apple for himself. Arno survives the ambush, kills Rose, and retrieves the Apple, using it to repel the remaining raiders and escape. He later meets de Sade and gives him the manuscript. Arno decides to stay in France, and contacts the Brotherhood to deliver the Apple to Egypt, far from the reach of Napoleon, who is arrested for desertion and treason.


Development

Development for the game began shortly after the completion of 2010's '' Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood'', with the core development team splitting off during the early stages of development on '' Assassin's Creed III''. On March 19, 2014, early screenshots of the game were leaked, as well as its title ''Unity''. The leak revealed that Unity would feature a new location and time period,
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
during the French Revolution, a new assassin, and that it would be released in late 2014 on
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...
and
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...
. On March 21, Ubisoft confirmed the game's existence, having been in development for more than three years, by releasing pre-alpha game footage. They also confirmed the game's release date of Q4 2014, and that it would also see a release on Windows. Ubisoft writer Jeffrey Yohalem revealed that the French Revolution setting for the game was deliberately teased, along with ''Assassin's Creed III''s American Revolution setting, in symbols seen at the end of ''Brotherhood''. Ubisoft Montreal is the lead developer for the project, with contributing work from the Ubisoft studios in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
,
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, Singapore,
Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
,
Annecy Annecy ( , ; , also ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Haute-Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, regi ...
,
Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...
,
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,
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
, and Chengdu. At E3 2014, trailers were released for the game, demonstrating the game's cooperative multiplayer mode for up to four players, a first for the series. The trailer featured Lorde's cover of Everybody Wants to Rule the World, which was produced by Michael A. Levine and Lucas Cantor. The development team was able to use the new power of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One to improve the NPC crowds. Up to 1000 individual AI characters can appear in a crowd, each acting independently and reacting to each other as well as the player's actions. The PC version of the game uses Nvidia's GameWorks technology such as TXAA anti-aliasing, advanced DX11 tessellation and Nvidia PhysX technology, due to a partnership between Ubisoft and Nvidia. Lead game designer Benjamin Plich has said this game will be more difficult than previous entries thanks to the removal of the counter button and more aggressive guards. Plich also said that the game will feature synchronized Double Assassinations. In August 2014, '' Assassin's Creed Rogue'' was announced for the
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...
and
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...
and was revealed to have ties to the story in ''Unity''. The game is written in a combination of C++ and C#, totaling an estimated 15.5 million lines of code of the former, and five million of the latter.


Historical representation

On October 6, 2014, Ubisoft announced that they had enlisted the help of academic historians such as Laurent Turcot, professor at Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières for daily life of 18th-century Paris, and Jean Clement Martin, a professor at the Sorbonne, to revise the script. Like other games in the series, ''Unity'' portrays a large number of real world Parisian landmarks, including the Tuileries Palace and Notre-Dame Cathedral and, through the time anomalies feature, it also includes the
Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...
and the
Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...
, neither of which existed at the time of the French Revolution. Since the April 2019 fire, there have been persistent, unsubstantiated rumours that Ubisoft had sufficiently accurate scans of Notre-Dame that may help in the reconstruction of the Cathedral, despite people involved in ''Assassin's Creed Unity'' having acknowledged their own reproduction of the building isn't historically accurate. Ubisoft donated €500,000 to the reconstruction of the cathedral and also provided ''Unity'' as a free download for the week following the event so as to give everyone a chance to explore the cathedral as they had modeled it in game. Ubisoft reused the Notre Dame model for a
virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a Simulation, simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video gam ...
interactive tour entitled ''Notre-Dame de Paris: Journey Back in Time'', a subset of the original game's setting which allows users with a compatible virtual reality headset to explore the cathedral's interior and exterior.


Release

The game was originally intended to be released worldwide on October 28, 2014. However, on August 28, 2014, it was delayed until November 11, 2014, in North America; November 13, 2014, in Europe and Australasia; and November 14, 2014, in the United Kingdom. On the delay, Vincent Pontbriand, senior producer at Ubisoft, said, "As we got close to the finish, we realized we were near the target but still needed a bit more time to hone some of the details to make sure ''Assassin's Creed Unity'' is exceptional." Additionally, the game received a day one patch with further updates to the game.


Reception


Critical reception

''Assassin's Creed Unity'' received "mixed or average" reviews from critics upon release, according to
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
. Matt Miller from
Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'' is an American monthly Video game journalism, video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and video game console, game consoles. It debuted in August 1991, when the video game reta ...
gave the game 8/10, praising the detailed environment and architecture, decent voice acting, strategy-required missions, challenging gameplay and well-paced story missions, but criticizing the controls and balance, as well as game-breaking technical issues. He also stated that both the navigation system and the combat system still needed to be improved. Louise Blain from GamesRadar gave the game 4/5, praising the dense and atmospheric game world, character-focused mission design, overhauled free-running mechanics, in-depth character customization and satisfying combat. However, she criticized the game's framerate and poor enemy AI design. Chris Carter from
Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017 and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. Histor ...
gave the game 7/10, praising the new movement system, likable lead characters, iconic setting, smooth animation and improved draw distance. New additions such as character customization and huge crowds were also praised. However, he criticized the predictable story, technical issues, and the mission design of co-op multiplayer, as it is impossible to play some missions solo. He stated that "''Unity'' feels like a step back. ... It lacks that grand sense of roaming the uncharted seas in '' Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag'', or even the open-ended feel of the wilderness in '' Assassin's Creed III'', but it's a journey worth taking if you're already into the series." Tom Bramwell from
Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network. In 2008, it started in the formerly eponymous trade fair EGX (Eurogamer Expo until 2013) organised by its parent company. Fr ...
gave the game 7/10, praised the setting, rich content, inspiring story and interesting side-missions. However, he criticized the over-familiar and unimaginative mission-design, overzealous auto-correct system in the free-running mechanics and the lack of weapon customization. He described the game as a "missed opportunity". Marty Sliva from
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
gave the game 7.8/10, praising the recreation of Paris and ambitious ideas presented in the multiplayer, but criticizing the unrefined stealth, weak story and lack of a strong lead character. He stated that "the true new-gen ''Assassin's Creed'' game is a gorgeous, entertaining, and successful proof of concept for what lies ahead for the series, though it isn't what I'd call revolutionary." Tom Senior from
PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...
gave the game 65/100, saying that "''Unity'' could become a perfectly enjoyable part of the ''Assassin's Creed'' canon. It's a solid campaign elevated by quality assassination missions and an extraordinary setting that might just push the big number at the bottom of this review into the 80s, but with a big selling point out of operation, a raft of technical issues, performance problems, microtransactions and stilted combat and free-running systems, ''Unity''—in its current state—can only be considered a failed revolution." Sam Prell from
Joystiq ''Joystiq'' was a video gaming blog which was part of the Weblogs, Inc. family later owned by AOL. It was active from 2004 to 2015, acting as the primary video game blog for the group, and operating alongside ''Engadget'' and sister blogs such ...
gave the game 2.5/5, saying that "It's hard not to appreciate everything that it nitygets right, and you'll have a good time if you can wrangle some friends for co-op, but it's impossible to ignore where ''Unity'' falls tragically short." PC World stated that the game "is a new low for the ''Assassin's Creed'' series." The review also criticized ''Assassin's Creed Unity'' for its small scale, poor gameplay, and high minimum system requirements. Similarly, CNET stated that " ile it will likely suffice for ''Assassin's Creed'' core fans, ''Unity'' stumbles throughout and never really finds its footing." During the 18th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated ''Assassin's Creed Unity'' for outstanding achievement in "
Animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...
", " Art Direction", and "
Sound Design Sound design is the art and practice of creating auditory elements of media. It involves specifying, acquiring and creating audio using production techniques and equipment or software. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including filmmaking ...
".


Technical issues and developer response

Upon release, ''Assassin's Creed Unity'' was subject to widespread bugs and glitches, as well as performance and online connectivity issues. Ubisoft Montreal CEO Yannis Mallat apologized on behalf of the studio with regard to the poor launch of ''Unity'', stating that the "overall quality of the game was diminished by bugs and unexpected technical issues", and prevented users from "experiencing the game at its fullest potential". In response to the issues, Ubisoft announced that it would halt sales of the game's season pass and Gold Edition, and offer the first downloadable content (DLC) pack, ''Dead Kings'', for free. As compensation, those who bought the season pass received a free digital download of one of six Ubisoft games ('' Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag'', '' The Crew'', '' Far Cry 4'', '' Just Dance 2015'', '' Rayman Legends'', or '' Watch Dogs''), and would also "continue to have access to a variety of additional content or ''Unity'' including '' Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China''". To claim the game, however, users had to forfeit their right to sue Ubisoft with regard to the game and the devaluation of the season pass. In February 2016, Ubisoft announced that it would not be announcing any additional ''Assassin's Creed'' games for the rest of the year, citing the many issues of ''Unity'' and stating that, "we've learned a lot based on your feedback." In this statement, Ubisoft pledged its commitment to evolve the game's mechanics in order to create "more enjoyable games". This news has possible connections to Ubisoft's third quarter financial report, which was released on the same day, and states that ''Assassin's Creed Syndicate'' had a "slower launch than expected."


Criticism by French Left Party

The French Left Party and its frontman Jean-Luc Mélenchon criticized the historical interpretation the game was conveying about the French Revolution, depicting Robespierre as "a blood-thirsty monster" and
Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...
as "a poor little girl". He has described Ubisoft's version of the historical period as "propaganda" that builds upon the growing sense of self-hatred spreading throughout France. Mélenchon has expressed his criticisms in multiple media appearances, telling the ''New York Times'' that, "Smearing the great revolution is dirty work that aims to instill the French with even more self-loathing and talk of decline. If we continue like this, no common identity will remain possible for the French besides religion and skin color." Alexis Corbière, national secretary of the Left Party, said that "the game was conveying all the counter-revolutionary clichés that have been forged for two centuries". He added "To everyone who's gonna buy ''Assassin's Creed Unity'', I wish you a nice time. But I also tell you that having fun doesn't prevent you from thinking. Just play it, but don't let yourself be manipulated by the propaganda." Without mentioning the criticism specifically, in an interview published on October 6, 2014, by ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'', the game's creative director Alex Amancio said "What we actually try to do, and I think this is just a personal belief that we have, is to avoid reducing history... We try very hard to portray things as factually as possible." Despite this, game producer Antoine Vimal du Monteil answered that, ultimately, "''Assassin's Creed Unity'' is a mainstream video game, not a history lesson."


Sales

, Ubisoft has shipped a combined 10 million units of ''Assassin's Creed Unity'' and ''Assassin's Creed Rogue''. From April 17 to 25, 2019, Ubisoft made the PC version available free of charge with a message encouraging donations to restore Notre Dame de Paris following the fire there on April 15, 2019. Thanks to this, Ubisoft donated €500,000 to help with the restoration and reconstruction of Paris' historic landmark. In May 2020, Ubisoft revealed that ''Assassin's Creed Unity'' (and ten other games published by them in the eighth console generation) had sold over ten million units by March 2020.


Controversies


Gender options in cooperative mode

After the cooperative multiplayer mode was revealed at E3 2014, additional information about the mode was revealed by creative director Alex Amancio and technical director James Therien. Amancio stated that the mode did not include the ability to play as a female avatar, due to "the reality of production". Amancio added by saying, "It's double the animations, it's double the voices, all that stuff and double the visual assets. Especially because we have customizable assassins. It was really a lot of extra production work," which was echoed by Therien. Level designer Bruno St-André expanded on this by stating that an estimated 8,000 additional animations would have had to be recreated for a female avatar. This caused dissatisfaction in some video game community outlets. Brenna Hillier of VG247 noted how there were nine development teams working on the game, and said "Ubisoft has here trotted out a tired, stupid, constantly refuted excuse for why it has perpetuated the cycle of sexism and under-representation in the games industry." Tim Clark of
PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...
made note "that previous ''Assassin's Creed'' games have had playable women as part of the multiplayer component, and that ''Brotherhood'' had you supported by on-call assassins, many of whom were female, so it's hardly like it can't be done." Clark also looked to the way Amancio and Therien answered the question and felt how they referenced "how much the team wanted to include playable female characters suggests... that this is probably a decision which hasn't gone down well internally." Former ''Assassin's Creed'' designer Jonathan Cooper responded by saying, "In my educated opinion, I would estimate this to be a day or two's work. Not a replacement of 8,000 animations." He also revealed that Aveline de Grandpré, the female protagonist of '' Assassin's Creed III: Liberation'', "shares more of Connor Kenway's animations than Edward Kenway does." Fans also created petitions urging Ubisoft to change their stance. Additionally, former ''Assassin's Creed'' game designer Patrice Désilets commented that Amancio's reasoning was valid, but that Ubisoft should put in the effort to let players have gender options. Amidst the community response, Insomniac Games published a video of their then-upcoming game '' Sunset Overdrive''. Taking a community question "Can you play as a female character?", the presenter answers positively while the player character is shown as a female dressed up to resemble Ezio Auditore. Amancio attempted to clear up any confusion, by stating, "I understand the issue, I understand the cause, and it is a noble one, but I don't think it's relevant in the case of ''Unity''. In ''Unity'' you play this character called Arno, and when you're playing co-op you're also playing Arno – everybody is. It's like Aiden Pearce in '' Watch Dogs''... Arno has different skills - you select skill points in the game, there are gear elements that have an impact and all these weapons that make the character you make your own. But you're always playing Arno... The reason we're just changing the face and keeping the bodies is we want people to show off the gear that they pick up in the game through exploration. That's why we kept that."


Platform parity

In October 2014, Ubisoft's senior producer Vincent Pontbriand made a statement that all console versions of the game would be locked at the same resolution of 900p. This was done "...to avoid all the debates and stuff." Many readers took this in reference to how the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are constantly compared in the media for raw power, presuming that the PlayStation 4 version of the game's resolution was lowered to reach parity with the Xbox One's, but Ubisoft later denied that this was the reason. Instead, Pontbriand stated that the decision for parity came from the limitations of the consoles' CPUs. The number of NPCs and general amount of AI was paramount to keeping the game locked at 30 frames per second.


Notes


References


External links

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