Assassin's Creed Shadows players are wondering what's happened to the series' modern-day storytelling.
Going back to the original Assassin's Creed, the series has been split across the past and modern day eras, with the characters journey into the animus having effects on what's going on in the real world. While the modern segments were loved or hated depending on who you ask, they have remained a big part of the series. Although, since the Desmond storyline concluded in Assassin's Creed 3, the modern day sections haven't been quite as prominent the Layla storyline across the three RPG entries did bring it back into the limelight somewhat.
However, despite setting things up for its protagonist in Valhalla, Assassin's Creed Mirage didn't feature modern day segments. And now its follow-up, Assassin's Creed Shadows, is continuing the trend, prompting fans to ask, where is the modern day?
The Assassin's Creed subreddit is filled with players questioning the lack of a modern setting, with one post simply asking, "what happened to Layla, Desmond, and Basim?" Without spoiling here, all three characters had significant plot developments at the end of Assassin's Creed Valhalla that weren't explored in Mirage, and that seems to be the case with Shadows (barring any hidden easter eggs still to be found). Although, the top comment in the thread argues it's been even longer since the modern day was meaningful, saying, "Odyssey and Valhalla added new elements, of course, it doesn’t feel that the story has actually moved forward since the mystery temples in Origins."
Another post titled "I'm worried about the future of the Modern Day" said, "With Mirage and now Shadows not having a Modern Day story that at least gives context to why we're reliving those memories, I'm worried that the series is moving away from one of my favorite aspects of the series. One that gave it a unique identity."
Given that both Mirage and Shadows have been somewhat of a fresh slate for Ubisoft's series after it took a lengthy break following Valhalla. So there is a chance that the studio has decided that it's less of a priority this time. Or perhaps these titles are a bit of testing the waters to establish a new era before bringing in what would probably have to be a new modern-day protagonist.
