Perhaps as an answer to previous fan complaints over the lack of female assassins in the game, the newest trailer for Assassin’s Creed Unity reveals a new significant, female character: Elise the Fiery Templar. You can watch the new CG trailer featuring the reveal of Elise in the player below.
In the new video, game protagonist and assassin Arno races across the streets and rooftops of Paris to save a woman doomed for the guillotine. That woman is Elise. Luckily, Arno makes it to the scene in time, before Elise is decapitated. Arno runs through a group of guards and frees her. However, the two are quickly surrounded by armed soldiers.
According to a press release from Ubisoft, Elise is an independent and young noblewoman. Her character description also says that Elise wants to secure her seat of power among the Templar elite during the period of the French Revolution. Eventually, she will cross paths with Unity’s main character, Arno, and form a bond with him. It slightly reminds me of Altair and Maria Thorpe. Altair formed a bond with Templar agent Maria and eventually the two fell in love. The couple later married and started a family that would lead to the line of Assassins depicted through numerous games in the franchise.
In addition, Ubisoft announced that Elise is featured in the new paperback novel, also entitled Assassin’s Creed Unity, written by Oliver Bowden and published by Penguin Random House. The story will be told from Elise’s point of view and follow her journey with Arno during the epic battle between the Assassins and Templars. According to the synopsis, Elise and Arno are fighting “to avenge all they have lost.”
I am curious as to whether this trailer was carted out as a way to appease critics of the game because of the lack of a playable female character. This was a completely CG video with no actual gameplay. It makes me wonder if Elise’s inclusion is a last-minute decision for the game. Personally, I thought criticism of Ubisoft for having protagonists that are mostly “angry, white male archetypes” was unfair. In the past, the company has produced many games with diverse casts and protagonists. However, it is not even clear if Elise is a playable character. Based on the video, it appears she will participate in the action in some way. If Elise is a reactionary character, I think we will be able to tell when the full game hits. Assassin’s Creed Unity is set for release on October 28 for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Windows PC.
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