Is Assassin’s Creed Nexus canon? The first big test in VR for Ubisoft’s flagship franchise, Assassin’s Creed Nexus has a lot to live up to given the series’ history. When looking at the narrative in Nexus, it would be easy for Ubisoft to distance the game from the canon it’s created so far, but is that the case?
After proving itself to be one of the best VR games of the year, we can confirm that Assassin’s Creed Nexus is canon to the wider Assassin’s Creed universe. The original stories, following three fan-favorite assassins, are a faithful continuation of each of their legacies. Each story considers everything that has happened to each assassin up to the time that we joined them and leaves no plotholes to be exploited.
Ezio Auditore da Firenze has his story picked up approximately two years after the events of Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood. This means that we are seeing events play out that take place between Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood and Revelations, although the events of Nexus are not based upon stories or lore set out in either of these games.
We get to explore Moterrigioni and Venice as Ezio. interact with his sister, Claudia, and an aged Leonardo Da Vinci. Stealth and movement are key to Ezio’s story, as Venice is a densely populated map with plenty of parkour-friendly terrain.
For Kassandra, a lot more time has passed in her story arc, 20 years after the Battle of Amphipolis to be exact. We join the misthios long after the events of Odyssey’s main story, with her youthful look and voice attributed to finding the key to immortality, the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus. She encounters old friends while in search of mythical treasures before getting caught up in a battle between Athens and Sparta.
Finally, we have Connor Kenway – also known as Ratonhnhaké:ton – where no time has passed because his storyline takes place during Assassin’s Creed 3. In a slight twist compared to the other arcs, Connor is meeting with Achilles, who passes away during the events of the third mainline game, placing the events of Nexus during the timeline of that game.
Key to Assassin’s Creed Nexus’ story is how we’re able to experience memories from three different assassins when their bloodlines differ. Well, this loophole has already been covered up nicely by Ubisoft, as it is stated that you only need the DNA of an assassin’s bloodline to explore their ancestor’s memories. Abstergo has simply obtained their DNA and is using it to explore the memories of Ezio, Connor, and Kassandra.
If you’re keen to know what we thought about Ubisoft’s return to VR, check out our Assassin’s Creed Nexus review. If you want to check out some more games to play on your VR headset, we have found the best Meta Quest 3 games that you just have to try.