You Have To Be Mentally Disturbed to Be An Assassin 

whats the most disturbing moment in these games?

Imagine the plight of those assassins who were born into the brotherhood and weren't recruited.

i don't remember where i've heard this and i can't even google it but "You don't have to be evil to do evil things, you just have to believe you're doing the right thing."

In the AC movie one of the antagonists says about the assassins “they were societies outcasts, they stole and killed in cold blood, but they were wise. They used this reputation to hide a commitment to principle beyond those of their enemies”. Even in older texts about the assassins they are often regarded as fools, addicts, or simply insane. I often think about how in the games NPC will sometimes make comments about the assassins sanity if they see them jumping onto and off of buildings and other structures.

One thing I really liked about Bayek is how him being so religious sets him apart from the other protagonists that had come before. Most of the Assassins seemed at the very least agnostic. It's just "Rest in peace." (Edward had some colorful ones.) But with Bayek? "May the Hidden One greet you. The lord of the Duat awaits." He genuinely believed he was sending these men to be judged for what they had done.

I don't think the Ezio trilogy "glosses over the psychological effects" that much. Ezio witnessed almost his entire family getting hanged for a conspiracy. The first assassinations were sloppy because of his anger. It's Mario that taught him how to be more detached and ritualize the death with the closing of the eyes, and the phrase: "requiescat in pace" to respect the target. Brotherhood also hints to the deep traumas Ezio could have had with the Cristina's Memories. So yes Ezio can be emotionally distant from his actions but it is a consequence of the events and teachings he had.

This video reminded me of something I usually think about when seeing the memory corridors in later games. In most games, the protagonist antagonizes the dying target. In AC1 however, Altair cradles the target and only tries to soothe and show them where they were wrong. It's the only game that actually acknowledges the gravity of taking a life and the fear that must come on this moment for the victims. Like Uncle Mario said, you are not the enemy, don't become him.

There is a conversation that Connor had with Achilles after 1 of his target kills that kind of stuck with me. Achilles either asked how Connor felt after the kill or Connor said it himself. He expressed some regret and Achilles told him to hold on to that feeling as that keeps him human.

My headcanon has always been that the memory corridors have been one of two things: 1: the assassin is using their eagle vision in a way that’s different from gameplay 2: the animus is showing you an important conversation that the assassin had with the target that you were unable to recreate within the simulation

you are honestly very fast becoming one of my favourite ac youtubers. its refreshing to hear someone with a nuanced perspective that is neither too optimistic or synical in their views, who also focuses on the philosophical aspects of the series wich is why i personally got into ac from the start. keep it up:)

Ive always felt that this was the most misunderstood aspect of the AC games.

Something I noticed is that most assasins in the saga start their stories with bloodlust as the main and only motivator, seeing the brotherhood only as a convenient medium and then learn to end up the other way around, with the brotherhood's ideals as the motivation and bloodlust as the medium, Arno, Ezio, Connor, Altair, etc are examples of this

I liked that it still showed Bayek as being a good person sometimes. When he’s with friends or strangers or any child ever, he’s smiling and probably the nicest person in the series. When he’s angry, he’s a whirling dervish of death that is thinking about how he wishes he could go tell his wife about this later.

I imagine an AC game where we play as neither an assassin or templar, only someone who got caught in the middle of the feud getting constantly talked and persuaded by the two sides and their ideologies, and at the end you choose the side you want to pick or neither of them. Would be a cool game.

My theory has always been that the Isu DNA releases a dopamine or DMT(your body does create natural DMT) release after the assassin kills someone of importance. The Dopamine or DMT high leads them into some sort of trance where they are able to converse with their target before they pass on. As if the Isu DNA was powerful enough to keep the soul of their target present to allow the assassin to give them their final rites

In assassins creed unity they made it pretty clear that the assassins were able to get information from within their targets memories

It might be worth pointing out that you’re using the lens of a 21st century human to interpret the views, beliefs, motivations and experiences of individuals who lived in time periods where war, death, violence and warrior classes were everyday common things. It may seem like insanity though a modern lens, but look at it in a historical context not so much.

2:08 This is because they’re killing the group that murdered their little boy, like you said. They had so much taken from them by a group of people that every time they encountered them, they were taking more from other people. Bayek and Aya knew that their targets were inhuman.

What I do find a little disturbing is that Altaïr was just doing his job at taking out the nine templars. He didn’t take much enjoyment in the killing, used as a tool by Al Mualim all to keep the Apple of Eden to himself. Kinda tragic tbh.

This is explored more in AC Mirage with Basim and his mental anguish. It’s very well done

I love that you have delved more into the Origins depiction of memory corridors. It's something I very much enjoyed in the game - same with Valhalla and Mirage. They are extremely different from the previous versions, where we literally just got the "last words" of the targets. One could argue that it's due to the different version of the animus that is used in Mythology set, but I much prefer your version of what is going on

Fun fact, taking physiological pleasure or gratification in killings are traits of serial killers. That would be such an interesting plot point. Imagine an assassin that uses their position and power to seek glory kills and notoriety from Templar assassinations

You make a good point, it reminds me of the this assassin's who turned rouge in AC revelations because the assassin's didn't save his hometown and he went crazy and started fighting with the templars (who killed his hometown) against the assassin's (which did nothing to his hometown). Only a crazy person would do that. All assassin's are traumatized.

I totally agree. Most action games actually have you play as a very disturbed individual. I dont know if you have played the Plague Tale games (if you havent i wont spoil the plot) but in the second game, your companion character will sometimes comment on you killing enemies with the protagonist justifying it with something “they would do the same to us” and those games have many ways of getting through areas without killing. I would like AC to do something simular to that, you know make you think about if killing guards, soldiers and police is actually the right thing to do.

Great video, and cool to actually find a RU-vidr that’s still talks about the franchise and doesn’t just shit about it.

What you said about how Assassins often recruit people who have experienced something traumatic is interesting because it made me think of how most if not all of the AC games are essentially revenge stories. The series does get some flak for that, but it does say a lot about Assassins and the lives they lead. Many of them are not happy people, and the protagonists have all lost people they loved to a tragedy of some kind, usually murder, often right in front of them too and it definitely left a mark on many of these characters, especially Bayek and Aya, and when you play the DLCs you see just how much Bayek has changed because of the events of the main game, he’s a heartbroken, former shell of himself because of the loss of his son and separation from his wife for the sake of the Creed, I never played Valhalla but I heard that in that game you find a letter from him that shows that he still loved Aya even long after they went their separate ways. It’s stuff like this that make me wish those two got a trilogy, it would definitely be an opportunity to expand on Aya’s character as she desperately needed it, people hate on her too much because of so many things that get left up to interpretation with her, but I think she had potential to be a great character. Bayek is probably my favorite AC protagonist because of how real he felt, I find him really fascinating because he’s often known for being one of the most kind-hearted Assassins in the franchise, but he will also turn around and be an absolutely unhinged, brutal monster if you get on his bad side, the contrast is really interesting to say the least because you see how much Khemu’s death affected him, you see that underneath that kind, gentle exterior, there is a deep sadness accompanied by an unspeakable rage that he only reserves for those who truly deserve it. I think that’s why I never really liked Ezio the way a lot of people do, I don’t hate him, I wouldn’t even call him the worst AC protagonist (that honor would go to Connor or Arno), but I never found him interesting because he felt more like a Hollywood blockbuster protagonist than anything else, it also didn’t help that I don’t particularly like womanizers. He didn’t feel like someone who watched his father and brothers get hanged, he didn’t feel like someone who watched his uncle die, it wasn’t until Revelations that I actually found him interesting because he was more introspective by then, more interested in searching for answers than revenge, and clearly the life of an Assassin took a toll on him, that was when he felt the most human to me, the other two games felt more like James Bond meets the Renaissance. I also might be biased for Revelations because of that scene where he finds Altair’s skeleton and speaks to Desmond, it holds a special place in my heart, that was great scene.

this reminds me, Jack the Ripper was an Assassin

I think there is a small piece of dialogue that Bayek shares with Aya during their time in Alexandria. You can only trigger it by interacting with Aya after the cutscene is finished. I don't remember the entire thing but I remember Bayek telling his wife about the mindset he has when he's about to take a life. He says a prayer for every person he must kill, asks for forgiveness before the gods. That's what he has to do when he actually takes a life. He is very religious and that's his approach to the life of a Hidden One. Edit: all of this to say that I don't believe he is mentally disturbed. I believe Aya has much more of a significant mental issue. She literally ends up rejecting her personality and takes on the mantle of Amunet. That's way more mental than any other character in the game.

Appreciate you for covering this topic, this is something I definitely wanted to hear.

Jacob and Evie Frye were born into the assasin cult. they were trained and taught in the assasin creed from day one. For those two, it wasn't just normal to kll people, but the norm. I like to think that this is the reason why they managed to free London from the Templars in such a sort time space, because they were trained so at such a young age

It's also an ancient Egyptian belief in some cultures, that if the heart takes damage in death, they will not travel smoothly to the afterlife. Another reason bayek wants to kill. They didn't just kill his son, they took away his afterlife

In the AC movie, Marion Cottilard’s character even states that Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender Assassin character) is a man with a history of criminality coupled with a predisposition to violence. This hints at the underlying psychology of most Assassins and somewhat similar to what you stated as well.

Many assassin’s had great things stolen from them by the Templars and those who came before the Templars. Ezio saw his whole family hanged. Connor saw his tribal home burned and his family killed. Edward’s parents’ farm home was burned to the ground, and then he was left unemployed in the Caribbean. Arno’s father was killed and then he realized that the woman he was with was a member of the group who killed him, and then after she sided with him, she was killed too. Bayek and Aya had their son murdered, and Bayek was traumatized by the fact that it was by his hand. Alexios (I never play as Kassandra) had obvious trauma as a child from being dropped off a cliff as a kid after he saw his baby sister dropped off the cliff first. These are major traumas that could all cause actual legit PTSD, and many of these traumas could drive these people to kill in order to regain control, especially in much more antiquated times when you weren’t so likely to be prosecuted for it. Even the side game assassins had major trauma. Adéwalé was born as a slave in Trinidad.

"Every assassin had some kind of mental downfall, only then they become different people"-this quote was from me

Lore states it's easier to access eagle vision with higher concentrations of Isu DNA, and people with particularly high Isu ancestry (Sages and Tainted Ones) are shown to be truly disturbed: Sages went insane from the presence of their past selves, and 2 of the 3 Tainted Ones (Deimos and Phila) were absolute monsters (though you could argue that's due to their manipulation by the Cult of Kosmos/Order of the Ancients), and the third (the Eagle Bearer) can be a psychopath based on the player's actions. If higher Isu DNA correlates with mental instability, it makes sense that a group using a skill dependent on Isu ancestry would have a higher occurrence of mental instability.

The gameplay is muted but i can hear the guards saying "hey!,what!?"

My own interpretation (in general terms, not thinking about Origins) is that these "memory corridors" are memories of memories, the mid to long term result of deep thinking and rumination about the singular moment when they killed their targets. Using as example the Connor scene you used here, I think of Connor as replaying over and over an imaginary conversation with Thomas Hickey, using his projection as a way to funnel his own regrets about being an assassin and sense of inferiority (Hickey is someone who had a very opposite type of life and thus could have easily looked down on him). Same way, Altair would have imagined some kind of exchange very differently (but more powerful, focused exclusively on two people) from what happened in real life), and Ezio would have wanted to say a lot more things to one of the killers of his family (but he didn't have the chance to say a word)

Assassins creed is the definition of insanity

I think I found my favorite assassins creed youtuber, the way you explain the psycological effects of the violence and murder they do and have on there psyche. Also how tf do you not have over 100k subs brother? You have a new subscriber and fan of your channel. Keep up the fantastic work. Nothing is true, everything is permitted

This video was awesome. What you said at the end, about how it is either Bayek or Altair who portrays the most realistic emotion after committing murder, suppression or they relish in the moment, is probably spot on. In terms of history, Altair is the most accurate representation of how the Assassins thought. Basim I bet is a fairly accurate representation too, being haunted by a Jynn in his dreams practically after every murder. Eivor gets these visions of Odin, and has to deal with an internal battle between being a good-hearted human and being a blood lusting warmonger god, maybe an accurate representation of what Berserkers actually went though in the Viking age being on shrooms just murdering people. Altair portrays the most accurate representation of what history knows as the Assassins. Al Mualim or The Old Man of the Mountain in real life, was famous for drugging people, making them believe they had seen paradise, and promising them that they could see it again if they committed murders all around the middle east, and die in the process. Altair isn't 100% accurate in that regard because he doesn't allow himself to be killed after an assassination but Assassins during that time likely weren't stoked they were about to get hung or beheaded, even knowing that they were going to paradise after. And I guess there's always the chance you get thrown in a dungeon rather than put to death.

One of the main reasons that violence is normalized in gaming and media is because it often "cartoonish". What I mean by this is that it's pretty unrealistic or has some sort of unrealistic characteristic to it. A healthy human can naturally tell the difference between real and fake violence, and least in some way. In order for the nature of the violence in a game to be taken more seriously, something else has to be done in order to make the player aware of it. Making violence in games realistic is pretty much impossible. This is why we don't often think much about the violence inAC.

I take it that the "insanity" most Assassins have is antisocial personality disorder + CPTSD.

Bayek's religious nature is what makes him one of the best characters in the AC franchise.

I think another character that heavily supports this statement that the protagonists are borderline is insane is eivor, as it is after they've made an important kill and within their memory corridors that odin slowly tries to influence their decisions and take over their mind, their literally struggling with the influence of a split personality

I would say look at ac 1 again cuz it’s more subtle but they def focus on how you are basically a crazed and merciless killer, since Altair actually seems to enjoy killing more than trying to not kill

Nathan Drake is probably the most psychopathic “hero” in a game. Bro is totally cool with committing genocide for the sake of adventure and treasure that he “doesn’t profit from”

It would be interesting to watch a video (maybe the channel's first serires?) where you delve in the psyche of each character (or at least those that you find more interesting), how the events of the games shape their personalities and so on.

Showing gameplay of Bayek dressed as Altair while comparing the two was a nice touch. I always appreciate when the gameplay on screen matches up in some way with whatever is being talked about.

Ezio already said it “The Life of an Assassin is pain, you suffer it, you watch it happen” I believe that in Assassin’s Creed tragedy is the motor that pushes the game forward.

This is literally the thought Yoko Taro had about Dynasty Warriors that inspired him to make Drakengaard.

Fun fact: the first ever stoners (weed smokers) to exist in history were the “hashashin” which assassin’s creed bases their assassins on. There were 2 reasons for this as yes for the most part they were clinically insane so they smoked it to stay there hand from people who weren’t there target. As well as a way to help them remain calm and focused through the entire time they are after their target.

This was actually intentional. Assassin’s Creed was based on the novel The Alamut By Vladimir Bartol In the book an old man drugs a bunch of soldiers to make them believe he can send them to heaven. He utilizes this to basically make death seeking assassins In the book he has a motto with a double meaning “Nothing Exist, everything is permitted” to his followers it meant only heaven is the true world so anything is necessary to achieve it. But to the old man it meant his own nihilism in life If you notice every game gives a different meaning to this motto. I think the hidden story in AC is how both assassins and Templars are slaves to their master who are attempting to makes slaves of the whole world -the best members being psychologically disturbed is a given to cults

Here's something that might interest you. The origin of the word assassin is hashashin, which means hash-eater. Yes, hash here refers to what we call hash today, marijuana. They are known to have taken drugs or behaved as if.

7:07 i agree that Ezio wouldnt be a good representation of what the standard assassin would be, and i admit he is a very Hollywood take on assassins; but ive always enjoyed the trope/idea of a man on a mission who is willing to do anything to achieve his goal. While it makes sense a crazed man might be driven to be an assassin because of their mental state/other problems, theres something uniquely scary about a person whole lost everything (family at a young age in such a tramatic way), and CONSCIOUSLY desides to opperate the way they do because theyre so dedicated to their goal. Youre right, ezio is closer to a movie than reality, but i felt his story was realistic enough. In ezio shoes, id imagine most would settle into a quiet life and play safe. Ezio upturned the whole system he felt wronged him while not being a psycho.

I mean, Ezio in 2 would have portraits of his targets decorate his room after he kills them. That is serial killer 101, very Dexter of him

Aya definitely disturbed me during her little speech

No wonder why the hashashins needed to smoke that hash.

I would never trust an assassin completely bc the most of their work is taking lives, not saving them. Actually we do not get to see the saving part that much. Assassins are just servants to the greater cause, they have blinded themselves on purpose for the creed. I think it would be interesting if you explored the nuance of the creeds philosophy through games.

I think the memory core represents that , when killing , the protagonsists only focus on their target , thus the rest of the room dissapears to them

1:01 min - You mean like soldiers?

I like this idea, but I would also like to expand that Ezio not being a good example of this is exactly what proves your point & contradictingly makes him a great example of this point. Basically, in order to be an assassin or indeed a templar, you have to have some kind of mental disconnect between your targets & them being living beings in order to spend your entire life hunting & killing people mostly to further the agenda of your side of the war, sculking in the shadows & using deception on unsuspecting people to gain access to the target who may have a family of their own that would miss them. However, I would add that the level of psychological disturbance not only depends on being a killer/assassin, but also depends on exactly what type you become. Whether intentionally or not I think this is reflected in each assassin through their personalities, actions & backstories. For example as you said Bayek & Altair are great examples of extreme psychological disturbance, but Ezio isn't, but then if you look at their entire lives, not just what we play as, all canon sources & pieces of information we are given you can see that Bayek & Altair were born into violence. Bayek began life as a medjay being trained from a young age, as shown he's already been training his own son for a while despite his son being at best 6-8 years old at best guess. And it's canon that Altair was literally born in the brotherhood & was raised from birth to become an assassin. This is why Altair has the tone & emotional depth of a wooden plank for most of the first game, and only develops emotions when he meets his wife & lives in exile for years raising their children. He is functionally on the same level as a sociopath by the start of the first AC game. This is also why Bayek has more personality & emotion, he was raised in violence, and possibly lost his mind after his son died, as did his wife, but despite being raised in violence the Medjay still lived functionally normal lives for the time period & he would have been raised around the normal people of Siwa & clearly has pre-existing relationships outside of the murder-cult that Altair was raised in. Then you have Ezio, who comparatively wasn't much of an actual assassin compared to Bayek & Altair. Sure he did plenty of murder, but it was more along the same lines as the average political feudal system he was born into anyway, and from what we can see of his life even inside the more murderous gameplay segments Ezio was more likely to be engaged in politics, banking/money management, socialising, womanising, and standard non-murderous fist fights that any typical Italian youth would've been engaged in. You can see him develop the more stoic silent professional cold assassin personality as he ages, but since Ezio lived a much more varied lifestyle beyond just plain murder-cult assassin you can see it takes years longer for the borderline serial killing to catch-up to him mentally, especially since he has a very strong support system even if he does struggle to talk about his family's murder. Not even all of his family, he still has a relatively healthy family life even after the murders because he has his sister, mother, for a time uncle, and numerous love interests he would probably consider part of his family. He grew up with his relatives until he was practically an adult by renaissance age standards. If you go through each assassin & templar main character you can see when the violence started, the people in their lives, and when exactly they started to become more apathetically inclined in their careers as murderers. And you can even see which emotions remain because of those environments. For example Adebowale's quest is more vengeful at the beginning, but it comes after learning to tolerate abuse for a long time, so his approach is more measured & less emotionally impulsive than say Ezio's youth or Edward's entire life. But when he grows old you can see he's become more cold, bitter & apathetic. In fact the only one off the top of my head that doesn't become old, cold, apathetic, or bitter to some degree is probably Edward Kenway because he was barely an assassin at all & he grew up during a time when deaths were more common, so it took less of a toll on his mind being exposed from a younger age, and most of his reputation as a callous murderer was more rumours stirred by his allies because he was a pirate. If anything he was more of an average naval soldier with powerful friends & above average skills. Most of his greater skills were more in commanding a crew, thievery & bar brawls. I'd have said stealth too, but I can't think of a single stealth mission that didn't eventually end in Edward failing to remain as stealthy as assassins & templars leading to his discovery & a major gunfight ensuing which makes sense given he was a pirate who was improvising & had maybe two or three actual stealth lessons with the assassins. And he's not entirely free of mental illness, after all it's well established he's childish & deals with bad situations with humour, sarcasm, barely disguised tantrums about how things didn't go his way, or blatant alcoholism. After him I'd say maybe again Ezio because out of all main characters I can think of these two characters probably had the least assassin-based lifestyles & were more normal for their time & social class outside of the secret orders of assassin & templar. It's just sense to conclude that the more murderous, secretive & detached their lifestyle with these orders was from normal human life the less psychologically healthy they become & the more isolated & apathetic they become to murder. Which is really bad when the two least apathetically murderous characters are an alcoholic thief with a big boat & basically renaissance batman with an actual personality & extreme rizz, but also half of his friends, family & casual acquaintances die frequently (Honestly with how fucked his life was after Uberto's betrayal how tf is Ezio the mentally healthiest main character in the series & easily the most charismatic personality... actually that is weird because people generally like Edward for his personality more than his 'assassin' career so I guess the lesson is the healthiest & apparently sexiest assassins had a mostly normal childhood & only got abused as young adults onwards? I guess? Man what a life lesson...).

Speaking of the point you bring up in 6:47, in Unity, when Arno is about to do his first assassination, Pierre Bellec gives him possible options as to how he may do it, and he says this interesting thing, I don't remember the exact quote, but essentially that in times before Altair, some assassins would go in kamikaze style, where they run in without an escape plan, kill their target and get cut down by the guard or whoever. It supposedly sends a powerful message.

The thing about Ezio is that he developed emotionally well, he was pretty much an adult went his family was killed & was in the end, able to ditch his quest for revenge.

Not to mention how physically jacked an Assassin must be to do what they do. They have to be faster, stronger, and way more skilled than professional soliders, not to mention the specialist enemy types that they have to contend with as well. I wager that every enemy type encounted throughout the series has been fought and killed by an Assassin canonically, so everyone from Phylakes to the Pope's secret police, to the Royal Navy, etc., has been bested by an Assassin. That's crazy to think about, really. Killing the best of the best in the world.

Ironically this makes for a more interesting and deep narrative than what Ubisoft has been capable of

Insanity is an ongoing theme in Far cry 3, but now in assassin's Creed?- Is this a crossover?- 😮

Exectly why Eivor never joined them and even mentioned that his brother saved him, otherwise he would have been on a really dark path. He literly says that in Valhalla

This is why Batman doesn't allows himself to cross that line.

Great video. It’s like Bayek was having an ongoing “dance with death” .

The best way to understand the personality of assassins is to understand the lives of ancient soldiers. There is a significant difference between modern philosophy and morality and our ancestors understanding of things. The hardest part to convey in translation however is that these humans are just as intelligent as we are and just as irrational. What may be obvious to one person is not obvious to another. However there’s still a lot of overlap (like drawing ding dongs on walls)

Video game violence is not ANYWHERE NEAR real world violence. As a paratrooper that has committed violence against terrorists, You cannot fathom how taxing that really is

Assassins are indeed pretty messed up. You usually get the "ancestor did not kill civilians" message, but guards are free game. If you carry a sword, you're expendable. There's plenty of corrupt guards in the franchise, but most are just doing their job. In the earlier games, you had to give up your ringfinger to join the Brotherhood. I get that it's a test of commitment, but it's also pretty brutal, when you could just as easily carry a regular knife. Then there's also the insane drive Assassins have in killing Templars. Every game has at least one sympathetic Templar, and Assassins like Connor and Arno wonder if compromises are possible. But then you get fanatics like Achilles and Bellec, who hate Templars as a whole. If you have the title, you are a target. That level of cold-blooded hatred is messed up.

I feel like the best explanation for the Animus even though I've never really thought about it before is that the Assassins are so focused on that conversation they're not paying attention to their environment and since they never experienced the environment so you don't either

Someone who works with killing and makes sense is Agent 47, but that is considering his story. I've never heard about an assassin who had no emotions at all, who was made to be used as a killing weapon.

i mean canonically certain assassins actually did not kill that many people outside of their targets and the occasional unavoidable guard etc. for example one of the more mentally stable assassins in my opinion would be arno dorian from unity, definitely traumatised he is in the midst of the french revolution it was a very traumatic historical period and the death of elise sent him into a depressive spiral which eventually he was snapped out of, but if you watch his attack animations if you dont do finishers on enemies even after they go down they still move they are still alive (obviously in lots of pain) but alive, he is a revolutionary and definitely traumatised but overall he seems pretty sane. the more devoted assassins like bellec, altair, bayek and the kenways are all definitely unhinged though. (yes edward wasnt a devoted assassin early on he was a pirate all the way but still kinda nuts and who can blame him)

For me, I always like tampliers more. Assassins always were about violence and if they think something doesn't look right, they just go and kill their leader, no matter who this is. And they just say it's for greater good and peace and freedom. And all that you see is assassins doing bloodbath over 4000 thousands years.. Like they gave us an opportunity to play as tamplier once, and I was so involved and hyped and thought I'm doing the right thing

I'm an old school AC fan myself & this is really fascinating to think about. Fantastic video!

I think an exception for this is Arbaaz Mir from AC chronicles India, because he only kills if he needs to and prefers non lethal takedowns

This kinda bothered me the most when playing Odyssey. I couldn't take Kassandra seriously because of how artificially charismatic, "funny" and normal she acted on cutscenes, while on gameplay she was murdering like 20 guys every 5 minutes. I really wished they explored more of that psychological aspect, it's not like it's impossible to overlook it, but it still feels lacking.

insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, so framing this from the context of the assassins expecting change to come from their serial killings could very much classify.

Assassin Creed lore aside, plotholes or not because animus and stuff. All humans have a savage side to them it's dormant but it's there due to many factors like chemical, environment, or hereditary these traits get awakened. Examples would be drugs like PCP would induce rage or hallucinations, growing in a place where it's common place to see people beating or killing each other like colosseums, or hereditary where someone inherited their parents genetic disposition to produce more testosterone to make them more assertive and aggressive. These episodes that Bayek or the other assassins experience are normal for humans, that's why there are cases of people pleading that they had temporary insanity in an altercation them saying that they "blacked out" and the other guys face being busted up and them not knowing anything about it. Anyone who hasn't experienced that adrenaline surge calls BS, but to anyone who experienced it before know that feeling all too well that the brain can't think properly once all those chemicals get released from the brain. Some people regret their actions, but some people also admit to getting pleasure out of it like those cases where they got revenge for a close friend or a family member and they acknowledge it was an evil deed but they didn't regret their action.

One thing I never liked about every AC game after the first one was how every main character needed to be a mass murderer. You can complete most of AC1 killing only the target except for the slave trader, fake Robert and the ending and even in all those cases you're defending yourself from people attacking you. In AC2 you have missions like "yeah we need to lit bonfires across the town, go kill a couple dozen guards". And of course, every guard in every city is just an asshole so you don't have to think too much about tbe hundreds of people you're slicing.

Reminds me of the ludonarrative dissonance of Nathan Drake; to be upbeat and constantly making jokes while murdering tons of people.

Yeah even the creators of the game have to be mentally disturbed too

Naoe will be a perfect example of this being that her father friends and family die in iga by the templar's and it screws her up mentally and leads to her violent actions of revenge and joining the creed. Her story will be fun to play as she will be a tradition true assassin and maybe master assassin like shao jun.

Honestly, when you really put it into perspective, it’s not really surprising that Jack the Ripper became Jack the Ripper after going rogue. The lifestyle they lead is just not sustainable.

I dont think that the memory corodor is more than an animus thing inside the assassins head. Dont forget that arno openly discussed other peoples memories to the other creed members after taking care of specific targets and the other characters respond normally to these comments. Something worth noting

If someone kills my son, I would be mentally disturbed NOT to avenge him. Bayek has rage only in the first couple of vengeances. He goes progressively getting really calm and wise each memory corridor. Bayek's memory corridors should have a context. It's not like he is getting crazy; he doesn't live in a renaissance italy, he lives in a more than 2 millenia ago egypt, that is known for being probably the most religious and mistic culture of all times. So yeah, his memory corridors may have a more spiritual touch to it, with references to gods, duat, feathers.

Bro Your not my favorite AC RU-vidr just for now Your the GOAT I love this content Great idea Great music Choice Your perfect Mad respect bro

Another reason why Altair is my favorite... He's perhaps the coldest one we've played as. The Creed was his religion. And even witnessing him at old age. He redefined the Order...but was it because of guilt or that same cold calculus of Order vs Chaos?

True, to quietly wait until the last minute to shoot someone the last possible second with hint yeah. Also an Assassin sometimes has to control impulses like does one let something play out or blindly go in.

I think Assassins are not exactly humans, I don't know much about the insane and inconsistent precursor story of the AC franchise, but Assassins are physiologically different. They have super human senses, stamina, agility and strength. I think their predatory nature is just a trait of their species, meaning they can still interact with humans in a normal and meaningful way and then shortly after go on a killing spree without a hint of remorse, the same way a hornet wouldn't have a problem killing 100s of bees.

What's even more disturbing imo is that most assassins will often show extreme religious zeal with an ideology (often the creed but not always or only that). Which goes to show that's exactly what happens inside the mind of a person who is neck-deep into political ideologies, and yes I'm poking a hornet's nest here, I know. Both sides. Let me poke further by saying that the writers didn't consciously put that into the story and that some of them actually believe that lifestyle is the right thing to do if you ultimately want to reach your ideological goals. Something that I think is even more disturbing.

Another video that makes me appreciate playing ac origins so much

Great video! You've made me think about these games in a way I never thought of and yet it makes sense, and SHOULD make sense to think about when viewing the narrative of each game. Videos like these encourage me to replay the franchise again despite my growing disinterest within the last few years.

The 1st thing that comes to mind for me when talking about how mentally disturbed the assassins are is jack the ripper in syndicate who literally is an example of a deranged assassin

Mirage is pretty much about a mentally insane guy. As basim follows someone who doesnt exist

The orgin of the word “Assassin” comes from Hashashin, which means someone who is insane because of drug consumption. Because you’d have to be on drugs for the crazy things those assassins did in real life. :)

The assassin word itself comes from a Persian word for a group of people who called themselves "hashashin" and to put it simply they were technically part of a religious cult and for the most part they were always drugged with "hashish" . So yes they were definitely disturbed in many ways both in games and real life

I’ll say you are one of the few RU-vidrs who has ever covered this topic Im glad you chose ac to look at it