The Animus has been a quintessential part of the Assassin’s Creed franchise. This device serves as the conduit between the past and the present. Those who inhabit the device can connect to ancestors through their genetic code. To this day, the protagonists in Assassin’s Creed still use this device to experience the lives of past warriors.
But there are plenty of things about the Animus that isn’t consistent in the series. Over the course of the past decade, Ubisoft has continued to build on a device that seems increasingly convoluted and confusing.
10 The Introduction of the Animus
The confusion starts from the inception of the Animus in the very first entry of the series. In 2007, Ubisoft introduced players to the first Assassin’s Creed. Desmond Miles, as essentially kidnapped, isolated, and told to partake in a shady science experiment.
Players would later realize that the experimental device was linking him to the mind of his ancestors. Why use such a contrived method of introduction to a fantasy adventure series? Fans have been asking this question for well over a decade.
9 Easy Access to the Device
After the first game’s events, Miles and a group of ally assassins make their way around a litany of hideouts while strapping Miles down to a chair every chance they get. What was once a machine that required an entire room to operate became convenient to transport.
In just a few iterations, Ubisoft made finding an Animus a normal and ordinary event. It’s hard to believe a device that can transport a mind back in time to ancestral experiences is so easy to manage.
8 Why Are There So Many Models?
Even if the Animus is easily transported, it still doesn’t explain how the Assassin Order can fund the machines that essentially transport them back in time. Players believe that this ragtag group is destitute and on the run throughout the franchise, but every game has them sporting a new edition like the latest iPhone.
The fact that Ubisoft chose to embrace this device as a storytelling method isn’t an issue. Still, the lack of continuity in the real world has made it the least enjoyable portion of the game for most of the franchise.
7 Glitches Don’t Destroy The Human Mind
Canonically, the Animus is a device linked to the human brain. It’s also been shown to be incredibly buggy—each iteration of the Animus sports bugs that would make even the most unfinished games this generation blush.
In many cases, Assassin’s Creed’s technology is heavily flawed, even struggling to run at times. Whether Desmond or Layla are booted out of programs entirely or cast into the digital sea of code during a startup error, it’s hard to believe these experiences don’t damage the mind in some way.
6 Abstergo Hosts Assassination Training Events
The natural opposition to the Assassin Order is that of the Templars. This organization has seemingly infiltrated the public eye as a company called Abstergo. Today’s Templar Order vastly outnumbers the Assassins and has them on their last legs.
Knowing this, why would the company use the Animus to train so many of its members? Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood introduced a side story where Abstergo created an assassination simulation that many in their care could take part in. The risks seem to outweigh the benefits far, as any rogue agent would take the experience they earned with them.
5 Why Does The Series Continue to Use It?
Commitment to the Animus over the course of the franchise is inconsistent at best. While it maintained a stable connection to the plot in earlier Assassin’s Creed games, the more recent games are another story. Entries like Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag don’t even give a face to the user and only have players pop out once or twice.
At this point, it would make more sense for Ubisoft to ditch the device entirely. After Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, players are again without a face behind the device. The majority of the fanbase doesn’t want it used, as it just impedes the part of the enjoyable game.
4 Players Can’t Switch Genders in Odyssey
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey took a large leap in player choice by giving the fans a chance to choose the gender of the protagonist. This was a welcome addition that helped people feel represented. What didn’t make sense was the premise that players could never change genders after their initial choice. This is especially problematic because so many players found out later on that Kassandra had superior voice acting. Those who wanted to experience her side of the story would have to start from scratch. Thankfully this issue was remedied in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.
3 Every Abstergo Employee Has a Personal Unit
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag gave players a new perspective on the Animus. Users were able to see the game from the eyes of a faceless Abstergo employee. While this employee was not named, it did help give a better picture of the facilities Abstergo can provide their workers. Desks are lined with the Animus tech.
Why give such a valuable device to a faceless worker, though? It seems risky to allow even grunts to get their hands on machinery that arms users with the abilities of legendary warriors like Edward Kenway.
2 Abstergo Commercializes Their Greatest Weapon
Abstergo’s greatest invention isn’t a secret; it’s a household name. The Animus is marketed as an entertainment console to civilians, and many have one in their homes. Why they would leave their greatest advantage out in the open is nonsensical at best.
Ultimately it seems like a move that highlights the incredible hubris in ignorance of the modern-day Templars. They’re actively helping their competition access the tools they need to overthrow them.
1 The Bleeding Effect
The main reason that series heads have used the Animus is the Bleeding Effect. This process burns the users’ memory and skills who use the device for elongated periods of time. This could give the host the franchise favorite Eagle Vision, hallucinations, and the know-how to enact physical tasks their ancestors could.
While this makes sense for mental processes, it just wouldn’t work for physical tasks. No matter how strong the mind is, if the body cannot acclimate, it will fail. It’s a glaring omission on the part of the franchise and one that is hard to overlook.
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