What the hell IS the Animus anyway? Why is everyone so angry at Desmond? And what's the deal with the Apple?
I'm currently replaying the old Assassin's Creed games, and I'll be honest: every time I'm torn away from the historical action just to push some glowing cubes through underground concrete ruins in the modern storyline, I briefly wonder what I did to deserve this. And although I was never a big fan of the present-day story, I have to admit that I never fully understood it back then either. So it's time for a proper recap of the Abstergo-Templar-Animus story.
All images © Ubisoft
Desmond Miles grows up as the son of assassin William Miles. His family tree reads like a "Greatest Hits" list of the series: Altaïr, Ezio, Connor – all contained somewhere in his DNA. Desmond eventually has enough of it, runs away, and becomes a bartender in New York.
That lasts until Abstergo, the Templar corporation with the subtle elegance of a sledgehammer, finds and kidnaps him. The reason: his ancestors had contact with the Pieces of Eden, the overpowering artifacts from the First Civilization. Of particular interest: the Apple.
In Rome, Desmond ends up in the Animus, supervised by Warren Vidic and his assistant Lucy Stillman. Through the Animus, he experiences the memories of Altaïr. In the process, he gets the bleeding effect, which gives him the abilities of his ancestors, including Eagle Vision. He uses this to discover strange messages on the walls of his cell, left behind by "Subject 16." Although he is no longer alive, his data remains haunts the system. Reassuring.
Lucy helps Desmond escape. Together, they meet Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane, the latter of whom built the Animus. In the safe house, Desmond experiences the life of Ezio Auditore while developing his own assassin skills thanks to the bleeding effect.
Spoiler: Abstergo finds the group, and they flee again.
The group moves to Monteriggioni. Desmond delves into Ezio's memories again and learns that Ezio hid the Apple under the Colosseum.
When they recover the artifact, the Apple briefly takes control of Desmond and forces him to kill Lucy. Turns out Lucy was an Abstergo mole. So not too much of a loss. After that, he falls into a coma and is transported back into the Animus.
Desmond finds himself unconscious on an artificial Animus island. His thoughts are confused, his sense of self rather optional. There he meets Subject 16 who helps him stabilize his memories.
In the end, Desmond encounters not only Ezio, but also Jupiter, one of the Isu. Jupiter tells him about an ancient solar catastrophe that almost wiped out everything, and sends Desmond to the Grand Temple where he can prevent the next apocalypse.
Desmond wakes up right there.
Desmond, Shaun, Rebecca, and William Miles are working at the Grand Temple to save the world. To do so, Desmond needs energy sources and the right key, which he searches for in the memories of Haytham Kenway and later Connor.
In between, Desmond himself travels through Manhattan and Brazil to obtain energy sources. During another mission, his father is kidnapped. Vidic issues an ultimatum: the Apple in exchange for his father.
Desmond chooses "no," rescues his father, kills Vidic in Rome, and returns with the energy source.
In the temple, Desmond meets Juno and Minerva again, who give him two options:
He chooses to save the world – but dies in the process.
Desmond Miles, 1987–2012. The end of a chaotic life.
The modern story parts of these games are more of an addition than the core. Summary:
Shaun and Rebecca hunt for the Veil of Eden in Syndicate. They don't get it, Rebecca is shot but survives. The Templars Berg, da Costa, and Ardant grab the artifact. Ardant dies from an electric double blade, which Shaun uses surprisingly well.
Layla Hassan, a talented but underestimated Abstergo employee, stumbles upon the origins of the Assassins during her research. Alone, equipped with a portable Animus prototype, she investigates Bayek and Aya – and stumbles upon long-forgotten Isu facilities. Abstergo betrays her, her colleague Deanna dies, and William Miles offers Layla the chance to join the Assassins. She finally agrees.
Layla searches for the staff of Hermes Trismegistos, another Piece of Eden. To find it, she experiences the life of Cassandra, who survived for thousands of years thanks to the staff.
In Atlantis, Layla and Cassandra meet face to face. Cassandra hands her the staff and dies.
Layla must then pass tests that take her through simulations of Elysium, Hades, and Atlantis. The staff gives Layla extraordinary abilities, but at the same time increases her emotional instability. An unfortunate incident ends fatally for her colleague Victoria, and Layla loses the support of most of the Assassins. Shaun and Rebecca take over supervision again.
Nevertheless, she continues her work, now with Desmond's old team. The Earth is showing worrying disturbances: magnetic field fluctuations, failures, disasters. The trail leads her to Eivor and finally to an Isu remnant called Yggdrasil.
There she meets Basim, who is actually Loki and has been digitally stuck for centuries. Layla enters the machine, stabilizes the magnetic field, and thereby enables Basim to escape into the real world. Basim disappears with the staff, Layla remains trapped.
It is unclear whether she is still herself or rather a consciousness pattern in the system. Good for Basim, less good for Layla.
This concludes the modern-day story in the classic sense.
Assassin's Creed Mirage deliberately chooses to completely exclude the modern world. No Layla, no Basim, no Assassin offices, no global crises. That's quite nice for a change.
Assassin's Creed Shadows breaks new ground: there is no longer a modern character – you are the modern character. The Animus is used directly via the Animus Hub. Your perspective becomes a narrative tool. What you see, how you interpret it, how "real" the simulation is – all of this can be manipulated, and the framework is so open that Ubisoft can do whatever the story demands in the future.
I'm currently replaying the old Assassin's Creed games, and I'll be honest: every time I'm torn away from the historical action just to push some glowing cubes through underground ruins in the modern storyline, I briefly wonder what I did to deserve this. And although I was never a big fan of the present-day story, I have to admit that I never fully understood it back then either. So it's time for a proper recap of the Abstergo-Templar-Animus story.
All images © Ubisoft
