The Assassin’s Creed series has been active for more than a decade and has got to the point where characters have become practically interchangeable due to the transition to RPG elements. However, games like Assassin’s Creed: Revelations provided solid characterizations for fans to follow.
As the final story for Ezio and Altair, the game featured Ezio traveling to Constantinople in the hopes of ridding Templar influence by accessing Altair’s memories. This backdrop brought with it several supporting characters and villains, with some of them ending up as more engaging than others. With the series long past genuine story arcs, it’s worth looking into the best ones in Revelations to appreciate the franchise’s early works.
Abbas Sofian
Abbas will be remembered mainly for his anger toward Altair, blaming him for his parents’ death. Although this arc started out as slightly sympathetic, it eventually turned into one of the most hated for Assassin’s Creed fans. Abbas’ role spanned several decades, yet he remained completely one-dimensional.
His entire story was about taking over Masyaf to spite Altair even after everyone had moved on. Abbas caused the flashback sequences with Altair to feel repetitive, as he was there mainly to scream about his anger and make things worse by taking control of the Apple of Eden. Few would have mourned him by the time he was killed by Altair.
Desmond Miles
Stuck on the Animus Island inside his mind, Desmond’s role in the game was basically to recap the important plot points of the Assassin’s Creed series. While some insight was provided into his childhood, these solo sequences were a chore to play through for the needless puzzles that had to be solved and many would have skipped completing them.
Desmond was otherwise limited in his involvement in the main plot, which was a step down from his previous growth in Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. The complete lack of action sequences for Desmond meant he had little to offer in terms of gameplay.
Clay Kaczmarek
Clay held a lot of promise upon introduction, as the mystery of Subject 16’s identity was brought up frequently in the previous three games. However, he generally spoke in vague sentences without providing any real exposition and turned up too infrequently to leave a lasting impression.
Everything that needed to be known about Clay turned out to already have been delivered in the earlier games and Clay’s only interesting contribution to the story was sacrificing himself to save Desmond. The idea of his wanting to share Desmond’s body was floated at one point, but this intriguing notion wasn’t followed up on.
Tarik Barleti
Tarik falls under the characters who would have done well to have a bigger role in the story. He was the leader of the Janissaries and a complex person whose allegiance was unclear right until his death. It was this uncertainty that made him interesting, as he could be seen as a villain without antagonizing Ezio.
It was after Ezio assassinated him that he realized that Tarik was against Prince Ahmet as well and that their interests were aligned. Tarik’s demise was a shame since he could have been a valuable ally to Ezio, while also leaving fans wondering how he would’ve been as a fully fleshed-out character.
Prince Ahmet
Ezio’s earlier two games had placed the Borgia family as the main villains, so it was refreshing to see a different rival. Prince Ahmet came across as a combination of Rodrigo and Cesare Borgia, having the cunning of the former and the ruthlessness of the latter.
He managed to get under Ezio’s skin by taking the life of his close friend and abducting his love interest, setting up Ezio’s finale in grand fashion as he clashed with Ahmet to bring an end to his plans. Ahmet’s one downside was his tendency to chew the scenery, which was a stereotypical villain move that didn’t feel original in execution.
Yusuf Tazim
Ezio had Leonardo da Vinci as his close friend in his previous stories, but Yusuf offered a character who was Ezio’s equal in athletic prowess. Yusuf was also a funny person whose lighthearted personality was welcome in an otherwise heavy-handed story.
His absolute loyalty to Ezio allowed Yusuf to become a fan favorite, whose presence would assure players that they had an ally accompanying him. The game also used Yusuf’s death as a way to motivate fans into feeling the personal rivalry between Ezio and Ahmet.
Altair Ibn-La'Ahad
Despite showing up in small sequences, Altair had one of the best storylines in Assassin’s Creed, as his life played out over the course of the game. Starting out as a young man, Altair was shown facing Abbas’ antagonism, marrying and losing his wife, watching his son die, and eventually passing away in the vault meant for Ezio to find.
Fans were encouraged to experience the pain Altair felt for watching his loved ones perish and being exiled from his home. It would have been better if there were more sequences dedicated to playing as Altair outside of Masyaf, as controlling him only for small bursts left more to be desired.
Prince Suleiman
Portrayed as a wise, young future ruler, Prince Suleiman turned out to be a smart friend for Ezio whose interactions with the protagonist were always thought-provoking. Suleiman was the only nice and sympathetic royal character in the game, which was welcome, considering the likes of Ahmet were constantly antagonizing Ezio.
Suleiman was the audience surrogate in some ways, as his beliefs over the plotting against him were what Ezio followed upon. In the end, fans were encouraged by the fact that Suleiman was confirmed to one day become a king himself.
Sofia Sartor
Ezio’s romance with Cristina Vespucci was doomed across the two previous games and Sofia was a splendid inclusion for providing Ezio with a happy ending. Her kind but firm personality made it a treat to watch sequences between her and Ezio as their love blossomed.
Sofia was a headstrong character who was a good contrast to the rather meek Cristina, and someone fans wouldn’t mind seeing in the Assassin’s Creed TV series. Unlike many other characters, Sofia actually spoke her mind without engaging in arguments with Ezio, which allowed her to stand out compared to the rest.
Ezio Auditore
It’s a given that Ezio was the most interesting character in the game, seeing as his swan song was set up to provide him with a complete ending. Ezio finally matured out of his womanizing and rash ways to become a calmer person, while he didn’t miss a step when it came to combat and platforming.
He made the right choice of going with his happiness rather than to chase the power of the Apple of Eden, with Ezio giving up the life of an assassin after learning from Altair that he couldn’t change the world on his own. It was sad to see Ezio bow out after three games, but his deserved happy ending at least left fans satisfied.