Ever feel like the hood is doing all the heavy lifting? For nearly two decades, Ubisoft has been trying to figure out what actually makes a protagonist work in a series that jumps from the Crusades to the Viking Age without blinking. Honestly, Assassin’s Creed main characters are a mixed bag. Some are icons. Others? Well, they’re basically just parkour delivery drivers with a grudge.
Most people think the series is just about the white robes and the hidden blade. It isn’t. Not really. It’s about the person underneath the cowl and whether they actually have a personality when they aren’t stabbing a Templar in a hay bale.
The Ezio Auditore Problem
Let’s be real for a second. Ezio is the reason we're still talking about this. He’s the gold standard. When fans discuss Assassin’s Creed main characters, his name comes up first, and for good reason. We watched him grow from a cocky teenager in Florence to a weary, wise mentor in Constantinople.
That’s a rarity in gaming. Usually, we get one snapshot. With Ezio, we got a lifetime.
But here’s the thing—Ezio might have actually "ruined" the series for a while. Because he was so charismatic, Ubisoft spent years trying to recapture that "charming rogue" energy. You saw it with Edward Kenway. You definitely saw it with Jacob Frye. It became a template. If the character wasn't cracking jokes while sprinting across rooftops, the audience seemed to lose interest. This led to a bit of a personality crisis for the franchise.
Altaïr and the Stoic Trap
Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad started it all. He was cold. He was arrogant. He was... kind of a jerk. At the start of the 2007 original, he loses his rank because he’s too full of himself to follow the rules.
While players often find him "boring" compared to the flamboyant Italians, Altaïr represents the ideological core of the series. He’s the one who actually sat down and wrote the Codex. He questioned the Creed. He wondered if killing people to achieve peace was, you know, a bit hypocritical.
Without Altaïr, the later Assassin’s Creed main characters wouldn't have any philosophical ground to stand on. He turned the Brotherhood from a band of assassins into a legitimate intellectual movement. Even if his voice acting in the first game was a bit "American guy at a Renaissance fair," his impact is massive.
Why Connor Kenway Deserves an Apology
If you played Assassin’s Creed III, you probably thought Connor (Ratonhnhaké:ton) was too grumpy. You’re not alone. After three games of Ezio’s wit, Connor felt like a wet blanket.
But look closer.
Connor is perhaps the most tragic of all Assassin’s Creed main characters. He’s a man caught between two worlds, fighting for a revolution that he fundamentally knows won't include his own people. He’s stoic because he’s grieving. He’s angry because he’s being lied to by literally everyone, including George Washington.
The nuance in Connor’s character often gets buried under the frustration of the game’s pacing. He isn’t there to be your friend. He’s there to show the cost of war. If you go back and play it now, knowing the history, his performance feels much more grounded and "human" than the superhero vibes of the later RPG entries.
The Shift to Choice: Kassandra and Eivor
Then everything changed with Odyssey.
Suddenly, you could choose. Kassandra or Alexios? Most players chose Kassandra, and frankly, she’s the "canon" choice for a reason. Her voice actress, Melissanthi Mahut, brought a level of playfulness and intimidation that we hadn't seen in years.
But did the "choice" mechanic hurt the characters?
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Some purists say yes. When you can choose every dialogue option, the character becomes a mirror for the player rather than a defined person. Eivor Varinsdottir in Valhalla suffered from this a bit. Is she a poet? A ruthless conqueror? A diplomat? She’s whatever you want her to be, which makes her feel a little less "real" than someone like Bayek of Siwa.
Speaking of Bayek, he’s arguably the best-written protagonist since the Ezio era. His voice actor, Abubakar Salim, gave a performance that was raw. You could hear the heartbreak in his voice when he talked about his son, Khemu. Bayek wasn't fighting for an abstract concept of "freedom" at first; he was a dad who was hurting. That’s relatable. That sticks with you.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Modern Day
We can't talk about Assassin’s Creed main characters without mentioning the people outside the Animus. Desmond Miles. Layla Hassan.
People love to hate the modern-day segments. They want to get back to the pirates and the samurai. I get it. But Desmond was the anchor. He was the "everyman" who gave the historical stabbing a purpose. When the series killed him off in AC3, it lost its North Star. Layla was an attempt to bring that back, but she never quite captured the same "reluctant hero" vibe.
The modern-day characters matter because they remind us that the past is a weapon. Without them, we’re just playing a historical tourism simulator.
Ranking the "Hidden" Greats
Not every great character got their own trilogy. Some of the most interesting stories are tucked away in the spin-offs or the DLCs.
- Adéwalé: The former slave turned Assassin in Freedom Cry. His story is brutal and necessary.
- Aveline de Grandpré: The first female lead in the series (Liberation). Her "persona" system showed how identity is a tool in a way no other game did.
- Shay Patrick Cormac: The guy who flipped. Rogue is the only time we played as a Templar hunting Assassins. Shay isn't a villain; he’s a whistleblower who realized the Assassins were being reckless.
It’s these variations that keep the franchise from becoming a total repetitive slog. When Ubisoft dares to move away from the "charismatic rogue" trope, they actually find something worth saying.
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The Evolution of the Archetype
The "Assassin" started as a specific job description. Now, it’s more of a vibe.
In the early days, being one of the Assassin’s Creed main characters meant following the Three Tenets:
- Stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent.
- Hide in plain sight.
- Never compromise the Brotherhood.
By the time we get to Mirage and Basim, we see a return to these roots. Basim is a fascinating case because we already know who he becomes (thanks to Valhalla). Watching a young, idealistic thief turn into a vessel for a literal ancient god is the kind of narrative gymnastics this series does best.
It’s messy. It’s weird. It’s occasionally nonsensical.
But it’s never boring.
How to Appreciate the Characters More Deeply
If you’re diving back into the series or starting for the first time, don’t just rush to the next objective marker.
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- Read the Database: The entries are often written from the perspective of a character (like Shaun Hastings), providing snarky context that fleshes out the protagonist's world.
- Listen to the Idle Dialogue: Some of the best character moments happen when you’re just walking through a crowd.
- Play the Side Quests: In games like Origins, the side quests are where Bayek’s kindness really shines. He’s the "Medjay," a protector, and seeing him help a random farmer tells you more about him than the main revenge plot ever could.
- Watch the Embers Short Film: If you finished the Ezio trilogy, you have to watch this. It’s the actual end of his story, and it’s a tear-jerker.
Actionable Takeaways for Fans
If you're looking to truly understand the hierarchy and development of the leads in this franchise, start with these steps:
- Analyze the "Why": For every character, ask yourself: are they fighting for something or against something? The "against" characters (like Arno) tend to feel weaker than the "for" characters (like Bayek).
- Contrast the Eras: Compare how Altaïr views the Creed in 1191 versus how Jacob Frye treats it as a joke in 1868. It tells a story about the decay of institutions.
- Explore the Transmedia: Characters like Nikolai Orelov and Arbaaz Mir are great, but you’ll need to look at the Chronicles games or the comics to find them.
The history of Assassin’s Creed main characters is really the history of Ubisoft trying to find a balance between historical "cool" and genuine human emotion. They don't always nail it. Sometimes they miss the hay bale entirely. But when they get it right, they create characters that stay with us long after we’ve put the controller down.