League of Legends recently unveiled its newest champion Akshan as part of its Sentinels of Light summer event. A rakish rogue fighting for justice, he will bring powerful and reviving skills to League of Legends, Teamfight Tactics, Legends of Runeterra, and League of Legends: Wild Rift. Looking at Akshan's character art and costume design, it's not hard to recognize another video game hero: Desmond Miles of Assassin's Creed.
Akshan is an assassin with marksman abilities. The Rogue Sentinel carries a powerful, ancient weapon, a gun that he modified to have a grappling hook as well. He was designed to dominate the midlane with flexible position control, and can even use his grappling hook to swing through the air while firing his gun at enemies. The new League of Legends champion has a flair for the dramatic in combat, a concept not unknown to the Assassin's Creed universe.
This is not the first time a League of Legends champion bears resemblance to a pre-existing character or person. In November 2020, an article was posted on The Medium by a woman claiming Seraphine, League of Legends' newest champion at the time, was based on her without her permission. Riot denied these accusations, acknowledging any similarities between Stephanie, the article's author, and Seraphine were purely coincidental. Additionally, the long-standing animosity between DOTA 2 and League of Legends fans largely stems from accusations the latter stole character designs from the former. Whether coincidence or not, the similarities between Akshan and Assassin's Creed's Desmond are significant.
League of Legends Akshan vs. Assassin's Creed's Desmond
The most obvious comparison is in the wardrobe. Artwork of Akshan with his hood up is in many respects evocative of images of Desmond Miles in his Assassin's Creed getup. Hoods that peak in a V shape cover their eyes (though Akshan's is the inverse of Desmond's), while their goateed mouths display the hint of the smirk. Even more, Akshan's hood has an emblem that looks both like the letter A and a riff on the symbol of the Freemasons, bringing Assassin's Creed even further to the top of a viewer's mind. Additionally, Akshan wears white robes, clasped together at his chest. While he doesn't wear a shirt, and Desmond is well-garbed under his outer cloak, it's a similarity worth noting.
The second and perhaps more obvious comparison is the assassin aspect and combat flair. According to League of Legends' developers, Akshan's combat is designed to be powerful and flashy, and players are able to use his grappling hook to fly across the map. Some of Assassin's Creed's most iconic gameplay is Desmond leaping off buildings, flying through the air to make an escape or kill. Though Akshan hasn't yet launched in League of Legends games, it will be interesting to see whether other similarities arise once he officially becomes a playable character.