Summary
Ezio, Rayman, Altair. These are just a few examples ofamazing protagoniststhat have come from Ubisoft games over the years, and needless to say, these developers have created some of the most iconic heroes ever seen in gaming. Still, with such a staggering number of games under their belt, it’s only inevitable that at least a few Ubisoft games would slip under the radar for some people, and as a result, it also means their protagonists can similarly be ignored too.
Sometimes, this happens due to the quality of the game they’re featured in, but there have also been plenty of occasions where other characters steal a protagonist’s spotlight within the same series. Either way, it’s resulted in a fair few of Ubisoft’s protagonists being given the “underrated” treatment, with these individuals being the biggest examples.
Jason inFar Cry 3was the first protagonist in the series who truly felt like they were a real person who was interacting with the world around them, rather than a blank canvas for the player to project themselves onto. Ubisoft continued this trend with Ajay inFar Cry 4who, while not quite as chatty as Jason, still plays a huge role in the wider story, and ultimately, the fate of Kyrat as a whole. Although Ajay is only visiting Kyrat so he can spread his mother’s ashes, he soon becomes wrapped up in the ongoing conflict between the rebellious Golden Path, and Pagan Min, who is secretly trying to mold Ajay to become the next ruler of the country.
Ajay shows quite a bit of emotion throughout the story, especially near the beginning where he tries to resist getting involved in the whole conflict, but gradually starts to accept the plight of the Golden Path as something worth participating in. Jason is usually theFar Cryprotagonist who gets all the attention, but Ajay’s relevance to the world and fascinating backstory still makes him a great hero to play.
When taking a look at the feats Nomad has achieved throughout the two games he’s featured in, it’s honestly quite staggering how much he’s accomplished during his time asthe team leader of Ghost. Not only did he manage to dismantle the powerful Santa Blanca drug cartel during Operation Kingslayer, but he was even chosen to work alongside the legendary Sam Fisher during Operation Watchman where the two retrieved a piece of stolen intel.
Nomad is also without a doubt one of the coolest protagonists Ubisoft has ever created, always remaining calm and collected and being able to take on what feels like hundreds of soldiers at once thanks to his firearm and combat expertise.Ghost Recongames aren’t exactly known for their characters or stories, so although Nomad is still a great character whom Ubisoft put a lot of time and effort into fleshing out, he, unfortunately, gets overlooked, despite how great he actually is.
While Ubisoft allowed players to get a taste of what playing as a Templar would be like in the first hour or so ofAssassin’s Creed 3, this was expanded upon inAsasssin’s Creed Rogue. Thisspin-off titlefollows Shay, an ex-assassin who would come to follow the Templar order after uncovering the true motives of his previous group. BecauseAssassin’s Creed Rogueisn’t a mainline entry in the series, it unfortunately often gets forgotten about completely, even though it has what some consider to be one of the greatest stories in the franchise, alongside a brilliant protagonist.
Though he starts as a loyal member of the Assassins, who up to this point in the games had been seen as the squeaky-clean good guys, Shay eventually turns his back on them after realizing how many innocent lives they were willing to put at stake to retrieve the artifacts. Shay’s charismatic personality already makes him a fun character to be around, but his affiliation with the Templars also helps to shed a lot of light on this faction, who had otherwise always been seen as the villains.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crownis the first game in the series where players don’t fill the shoes of the prince himself. Instead, the leading role is now taken up by Sargon, and though he can start out seeming like somewhat of an outsider to the actual story,once players complete the game, it becomes clear that he’s crucially important to the narrative.
For many fans though, what was more exciting was the reality that a newPrince of Persiagame was even being released at all, which is understandable given that the series had gone over ten years without a new entry by the timeThe Lost Crownwas released. That said, while he may not be classed as a “prince,” this shouldn’t take anything away from Sargon as an actual character, because he’s still an extremely lovable protagonist who receives plenty of development.
Because theAssassin’s Creedseries is already packed full of memorable and iconic protagonists, it means it can be difficult for any newcomers to make their mark, considering they’ll always be compared to the likes of Altair and Ezio. This sadly was the case for Bayek who, while well-written and compelling as a protagonist, didn’t receive the flowers he deserved upon the game’s release. A primary reason for this was that many people were more concerned withthe open world ofOrigins, and the brand-new RPG-like gameplay mechanics which were being introduced.
In truth, Bayek is more than worthy of being a protagonist in this long-running series, especially considering how well he manages to nail the whole aura of what being an Assassin means. On the surface, he can come across as mysterious and stoic, but underneath it all, he’s a generous and honest man who always remains faithful to his Brotherhood principles. Additionally, because Bayek is also the first Assassin of the Brotherhood, he is an incredibly important character in the world as a result.
Watch Dogsis one of the most fascinating games Ubisoft has ever developed. What should have been a ground-breaking next-gen title that gave players immense amounts of freedom to interact with their environments ended up being a familiar, but still innovative, open-world game that wasn’t received too well upon release. This also meant that Aiden, the leading protagonist of the game, got shunned by a lot of people, with some seeing him as too moody and introspective.
Now that the dust has settled, a lot of players have started to look back a little more fondly on Aiden, seeing him as somewhat of a hidden gem of a character, considering the amount of personal development he receives throughout the story. Hishacking expertisemixed with his obsession with revenge sends him down a very dark road within the first few hours of the game. However, Aiden soon becomes fixated on enacting justice in the world by punishing those who he thinks deserve it the most, making for a pretty compelling and memorable protagonist as a result, who deserves a lot more credit than he receives.
