10 Times Changing Protagonists Killed Video Games

Setting each instalment within wonderfully realised historic settings and blending action, stealth, and parkour gameplay to stellar effect, it's easy to see why critics and fans continue to adore the Assassin's Creed games.

However, there's one element of this franchise that's been on life support for years, and that's its modern-day storyline.

Alongside Altair and Ezio's adventures, the initial games also followed Desmond Miles as he joined the Assassins in the present day to find a way to stop an apocalyptic event. This parallel plotline was the connective tissue that drove the series forward from the first game through to Assassin's Creed III. However, after that game concluded with Desmond sacrificing himself, Ubisoft hasn't known what to do with this storyline.

This was evident in sequel Black Flag. Although often considered to be one of the series' best entries, the modern-day plot that saw players wander around an Abstergo office lacked any sort of interesting gameplay or narrative. The introduction of Layla Hassan in Origins temporarily gave the series a new direction, but this also fell apart after Valhalla.

With the modern-day plot being non-existent in Shadows, leaving Valhalla's cliffhanger unanswered, the series feels like it's been spinning its wheels for a decade.