Developer : Ubisoft
Release date : November 13, 2014
Synopsis :
Assassin’s Creed Unity is an action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It was released in November 2014 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, and in December 2020 for Stadia. It is the eighth major installment in the Assassin’s Creed 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 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 a 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. Critics were more polarized on its narrative, mission design, multiplayer-oriented format, and gameplay, with the latter in particular complimented for its improvements, but criticized for a lack of innovation and for feeling unrefined. 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 story expansion, Dead Kings, set after the events of the main campaign. Those who had bought the game’s season pass (which was later made unavailable for purchase in response to the controversy) received a free copy of another Ubisoft title of their choice. Unity was a commercial success, selling over 10 million copies worldwide. The game 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 London.
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 in 1307, the player is contacted by the modern-day 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 is assassinated, Arno is taken in by François de la Serre, Grand Master of the French Templars. In 1789, Arno is given a message to deliver to François, but leaves it in his office and goes to meet with his childhood friend Élise, François’ daughter, following her initiation into the Templar Order. Arno later finds François murdered, and is framed as the killer. He is imprisoned in the Bastille, where he befriends a fellow prisoner, Assassin Pierre Bellec (Anthony Lemke), who knew his father. Bellec invites Arno into the Brotherhood after they escape during the Storming of the Bastille.
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 François’ 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 he was the one trying to warn François. Arno later learns that Germain is a Templar extremist who recruited others to help him seize control of the Order.
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 found dead. Upon investigation, the killer is revealed to be Bellec, who sought to purge the Assassin leadership he saw as weak to allow the Brotherhood to be reborn. Arno is forced to kill Bellec.
While searching the Tuileries Palace for potentially damning letters from Mirabeau to King Louis, Arno encounters Napoleon Bonaparte, who helps him escape. Arno realizes that Germain plots to spark a mass revolt against the King, and assassinates two Templars aiding him: Frederic Rouille (James Loye), an officer organizing a prisoner revolt; and Marie Levesque (Amber Goldfarb), a merchant working to create the impression that the nobility is squandering resources. In the process, he rekindles his relationship with Élise.
With the Revolution 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. She convinces him to return as Paris is tearing itself apart during the Reign of Terror. With Élise’s help, Arno discredits Maximilien de Robespierre, 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 their fight takes them from the top of the Temple to a Templar crypt. 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 from the crypt and places it in the Catacombs of Paris. Bishop is relieved, confident that Abstergo will not be able to find it.
Source : Wikipedia
