Assassin's Creed: Empire - 9 Settings That Would Be Way Better Than Ancient Egypt

by Ewan Paterson

1. The Jazz Age

Assassin's Creed Unity Intro Screen
Ubisoft

For all of Unity's bluster and, let's face it, nightmare fuel, it would be unfair to dub it a total train wreck. Some sequences, like Arno's big hike up the Eiffel Tower in Nazi occupied Paris, showed plenty of potential for something great. And while the whole POV modern day storytelling may not have resonated as much as Desmond's story-arc (goodness knows why), there was one benefit that came with it: that tasty little teaser at the start.

Now I don't know about you, but that image of a Jazz Age Assassin is just too cool. Like, for a moment, can you just imagine a Gatsby-esque figure navigating high society in the east coast, all whilst contending with the shady figures of American big business? Or maybe even along the deep south, fighting against a myriad of oppressive power structures? Top that off with a killer soundtrack, and you could even give Mafia III a run for its money.

I know it's a tad unconventional compared to the other settings I've spoken of, and the rapid proliferation of automatic weapons would take some getting used to, but the series could definitely survive there. Heck, it could straight up thrive there; with prohibition and the Wall Street Crash serving as backdrops to the final act, you'd have a truly innovative AC title that would propel the franchise into the boundless possibilities of a late 20th Century setting. Now that would be impressive.

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What do you think? Is Ancient Egypt a great setting to head to? Or does ancient history fail to pique your interest? Be sure to post your thoughts below!

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Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.