Ubisoft found itself in a regrettable situation recently when its in-development Assassin’s Creed Victory was leaked online via Kotaku, months ahead of its intended reveal. Sadly for the French publishing giant, this wasn’t just a bit of gossip and some dodgy, off-screen image that could be easily explained away; we’re talking crystal-clear screenshots and cast iron info, the sort of unimpeachable evidence that forced Ubisoft’s hand to confirm the game’s existence shortly after. Bad for them, but for us fans, the confirmation of a Victorian London setting was about as good as it gets, especially after the bungled launch of Assassin’s Creed Unity the previous month.
So, that got us thinking. Assassin’s Creed is synonymous with scaling real-life landmarks, before performing the daredevil ‘Leap of Faith’ into a conveniently-placed hay cart below, right? Right. Just as well, then, that London’s full of legendary landmarks, and we can’t wait to scale them—here’s 5 iconic landmarks we can’t wait to visit in AC: Victory.
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BIG BEN
One of London’s most iconic landmarks, the Elizabeth Tower—colloquially known as Big Ben, despite the fact this actually refers to the bell itself—was constructed in 1858, and remained a staple of the London skyline throughout the Victorian era and beyond. You’d be hard pressed to find something to give Big Ben a run for its money back in those days, although if we’re talking contemporary landmarks, the London Eye certainly stands among the most famous. However, with AC: Victory, we couldn’t think of a better place to scale and leap off of, and we’d be thoroughly surprised if this wasn’t one of the major viewpoints in the game, and a place where most players would want to visit first. From the look of early screenshots, Big Ben is going to make an appearance, so we can deduce the game is set post-1858—go on, imagine that view!
THE TOWER OF LONDON
This historic castle, used to imprison everyone from Guy Fawkes to the Kray Twins, has a long and bloody history, and is architecturally one of the most striking landmarks of the capital. In other words, a fine fit for Assassin’s Creed Victory. It’s not just the White Tower itself to marvel at; the Tower of London itself covers the whole grounds, including the grisly Traitor’s Gate, plus in the mid-1800s the Tower saw its last major efforts to fortificate the structure. Of course, you can’t talk about the Tower of London without touching on a good ghost story, so we’re hopeful that Ubisoft will incorporate some suitably spooky side quest to tie in with the Tower’s long history of execution and torture. Right now though, we’re more interested in getting a view of the Thames before diving off of Traitor’s Gate into the murky depths.
ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL
The unmistakable dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral has dominated the London skyline for centuries, and would surely make a compelling addition to Victory’s depiction of smoggy, 18th century London. Measuring a whopping 365 feet, the cathedral, sumptuously designed by Sir Christopher Wren, ranks as the tallest city structure at the time of Queen Victoria’s reign (and would remain so until 1962), making it a must-have building to scale and one that will surely contain a viewpoint at its peak. Aside from the dome itself, the rest of the building is an architectural stunner, with plenty of opportunity to explore inside and out, and would no doubt serve as a brilliant backdrop to one of the game’s crucial assassination missions.
10 DOWNING STREET
Okay, so the humble abode of the prime minister may not offer quite the vertiginous heights as Big Ben or St. Paul’s Cathedral, but its status as an iconic London establishment cannot be understated. Another product of Sir Christopher Wren, the colloquially-named ‘Number 10’ dates back some 300 years, and contains over 100 rooms, presenting an ideal location for one of those all-too rare indoor missions that Assassin’s Creed can provide. During the time of Queen Victoria however, the building was rarely used except for meetings and other such events, so perhaps it could be utilized as an assassin or Templar stronghold? Aside from that, we love the idea of climbing across the top of Number 10 and stalking our prey through the foggy streets, before leaping off and performing a stealth air assassination.
BUCKINGHAM PALACE
The sprawling home of the British monarch is perhaps one of the most significant buildings that could appear in Victory, least of all because it’s a stunning piece of architecture and is quintessentially British in every respect. However, Queen Victoria was the first official monarch to take up residence at the palace, which she did upon ascending to the throne in 1837. Given Victory’s setting, it would be appropriate for Ubisoft to include a visit to Buckingham Palace in some respect; after all, the series is no stranger to visiting the sprawling home’s of kings and queens, as seen in Unity when Arno infiltrated the King Louis XIII’s sumptuous abode. Furthermore, it would be great to see the palace in its earlier incarnation, as much of what we see today wasn’t started until years later. Plus, how awesome would it be to scale the Queen’s residency and stand atop the palace, feeling as badass as Brian May did during the 2002 Queen’s Jubilee celebrations?