Welcome back to Assassin’s Creed Ideas, where we look at possible settings for the next Assassin’s Creed game each Tuesday. I’m taking over for BlackTideTV to discuss one of the most rumored time periods. Let’s talk about the Wild Wild West.
If you missed any of our previous entries, you can catch up with the following links:
- Assassin’s Creed Ideas: Ancient Egypt
- Assassin’s Creed Ideas: World War One
- Assassin’s Creed Ideas: 1920s America
- Assassin’s Creed Ideas: Modern
The Frontier
The period after 1775 in the Western US is often called the Wild West. The Louisiana Purchase opened the frontier west of the Mississippi River to settlers from the East coast. These frontier settlements were full of potential and lawless by nature. The golden age of cowboys both real and mythical took place between 1866 and 1886. This is a gold mine of potential AC plotlines.
Assassins and Templars have already appeared in early American timelines, so why wouldn’t they be present in some form or another during the Wild West period? The uncharted nature of the Eastern frontier is a prime location to discover Pieces of Eden.
What to Expect
What would we see and do out West? There is so much that could be added to make this AC stand out from past entries…
Unexplored Lands and Isolated Settlements
This could be the first truly free roam AC game. Similar to how players discover locations in games like Fallout, a Wild West setting would let players explore the frontier and discover the land for themselves. As the game progresses through time, previous locations could develop and new ones could appear. This game would actually benefit from being smaller than other open world titles.
Vehicles
Syndicate brought several new modes of transportation to the series. Without carriages and trains, going to the Wild West would be pointless. Along with the horses from earlier in the series, a Wild West setting could add caravan and train robberies as objectives. It would be possible to put players on both sides of the robberies.
The game could follow the construction of the railroad system, creating fast travel points.
Mercenary Work
One of the Wild West’s most famous tropes is the bounty poster. Walking in to a new settlement or town and checking a board for a list of assassination targets would fit the series well. The higher the bounty the larger the gang you’ll have to fight. Body guard and retrieval missions could also be added to spice things up.
Maybe this time around you could build your character’s legend the way you see fit. Along with a story following historical events, you decide who you want to be. Maybe you are the first Assassin in the frontier and you make your own rules. Why be a bounty hunter/vigilante, when leading a gang is more effective to stop the Templar’s goals? If a train is carrying Templar goods and weaponry, isn’t breaking the law done in the name of greater good?
Hunting and Scavenging
An important part of past entries, the Wild West would make great use of this mechanic. Most of your gear should be made of leather, but other herbs and animal byproducts can also be important.
This brings me to my favorite part of the Wild West: Miracle Elixirs. For the first time in the series there could a “potion” mechanic. These could cause a range of effects. Mix onion juice and rattle snake poison to make a stealth potion. Mix jalapenos and gunpowder and you get something that makes your quick draw faster. Rather than mix these yourself, you could bring the ingredients back to a chemist/doctor to create these zany elixirs for you.
Combat
I love that AC is never about the guns. Ubisoft said they didn’t want modern weaponry in AC and they stuck to it. But on that note AC: Wild West would benefit from looking away from the hidden blade. Don’t trash the famous tool entirely, but make it more customizable. There are so many things that could also be hidden in the gauntlet the blade is normally housed in. Maybe add a gun to make duels a breeze. Maybe the close combat experience is important to you? Then re-enter the hook blade and use it for both combat and drawing your gun faster! Bringing back the pivot blade of AC3 would also be a great option.
Making six shooters and rifles a part of the story would be cool. Maybe yours is a special revolver manufactured for Assassins? Maybe you’re known for using a silenced revolver that’s a smaller caliber than other guns. Good for assassinations but maybe not a shootout.
Would you like to see an Assassin’s Creed game set in the Wild West? Is there a problem with the setting for you, or anything you would like addressed? Ideas on the story or outlaws you’d like to see? Let us know in the comments section down below.
