Ubisoft has released a new Assassin's Creed game most years since beginning the series in 2007, with over a dozen games in the main series. This can provide a challenge for newcomers looking to get into Assassin's Creed but not sure where to start.

With this guide, we'll go through the series, explaining which games make the best entry points and which should be left for later in your journey into the world of Assassin's Creed. Note that this guide avoids side games such as the 2.5D Chronicles subseries, as these are less representative of the series and are generally not recommended as entry points.

Assassin's Creed (2007) - Recommended

Unsurprisingly, the very first game released in the series makes a perfectly good entry point. If you already know that you want to experience the entire series, then you can just start right at the beginning and play each game in release order (the same order that they appear in this guide). You'll follow every development and can be sure you aren't missing anything.

Assassin's Creed II (2009) - Ideal

There are, unfortunately, reasons why beginning with the first game may be untenable. The original Assassin's Creed is the only game from the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 era that has not been re-released for later hardware, making it more difficult to play the game than any other if you play games on console. The first game also has essentially no accessibility features, including subtitles, which may make playing it impossible for some.

The good news, however, is that the first game is easily skipped. While the modern day storyline of Assassin's Creed II does pick up where the previous game left off, the historical setting which makes up the majority of the game is brand new. Additionally, the plot of the first game is largely dedicated to establishing the basic concepts of the series, which means you really aren't missing too much by starting with the second. Think of it as a story beginning in medias res and you'll be just fine.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (2010) - Not Recommended

Brotherhood is a direct continuation of Assassin's Creed II in both the historical and modern day portions of the plot, and is therefore among the worst entry points to the series. Play Assassin's Creed II first, then move on to Brotherhood.

Assassin's Creed: Revelations (2011) - Not Recommended

Like Brotherhood, Revelations is a part of the Ezio trilogy (named for the historical protagonist) as well as the Desmond saga (named for the modern day protagonist) and is best played after Assassin's Creed II and Brotherhood.

Assassin's Creed III (2012) - Not Recommended

Assassin's Creed III (actually the fifth game in the series) features a new historical setting, but it also includes a substantial modern day storyline which serves as the culmination of the series up to that point. The Desmond games (all of the games in the list up to here) are best played in order starting with either the first or second game.

Assassin's Creed: Liberation (2012) - Not Recommended

Liberation was originally released as a kind of companion to Assassin's Creed III for the PlayStation Vita handheld console and is thus not really part of the main series, but was later ported to major consoles and can easily be mistaken for a main game. Liberation is a decent attempt to make Assassin's Creed work in a handheld format that largely preserves the gameplay of the main series, but it is nevertheless hampered by its handheld origins and is thus not the best representation of the series for someone just getting into it.

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (2013) - Ideal

Black Flag is a highly regarded entry in the series which serves as something of a soft reboot for the series. The historical storyline is technically something of a prequel to Assassin's Creed III as it actually stars the grandfather of the latter game's protagonist, but it doesn't assume any knowledge of previous games. The modern day story features a faceless, nameless protagonist controlled from a first-person perspective who knows nothing about Assassin's Creed lore, so you won't be left behind in that regard either. All told, Black Flag is an excellent entry point to the series.

Assassin's Creed: Freedom Cry (2013) - Recommended

Freedom Cry is a standalone expansion to Black Flag starring a major character from the latter game, which might sound like a bad place to start. However, the plot of Freedom Cry is largely unrelated to Black Flag. As it isn't quite a major release, Freedom Cry is perhaps not as good an entry point as Black Flag, but it does the job just fine, especially if you prefer to aid a slave revolt over piracy. Also it does not feature a Modern Day storyline so it is a great place to start for new players.

Assassin's Creed: Rogue (2014) - Not Recommended

Rogue is a sort of interquel between Black Flag and Assassin's Creed III and has strong ties to both games, including major returning characters. Additionally, the game features a Templar as its protagonist rather than an Assassin and subverts the Assassin's Creed formula in certain ways, which you'll appreciate more once you're more familiar with the franchise.

Assassin's Creed: Unity (2014) - Not Recommended

Unity is a controversial entry in the series which was widely regarded as a buggy disappointment on release, although it has developed a bit of a cult following since. The game has a new setting and barely any modern day story, which means you won't be missing much in terms of context if you start with Unity, but its generally poor reception compared to the rest of the series makes it hard to recommend as a first encounter with Assassin's Creed when there are other options that are more universally beloved.

Assassin's Creed: Syndicate (2015) - Ideal

Syndicate, like Unity, features a new historical setting and minimal modern day aspect, which takes place in the form of cutscenes, but it also has the advantage of addressing complaints about Unity. Play it for a mostly light-hearted, steampunk take on Assassin's Creed.

Assassin's Creed: Origins (2017) - Ideal

Origins acts as another soft reboot for the franchise, introducing not only a new historical setting and a new playable modern day protagonist, but also RPG mechanics. The story of Origins depicts the formation of the society that would one day be known as the Assassin Brotherhood, which makes it a great entry point to the franchise.

Assassin's Creed: Odyssey (2018) - Recommended

Odyssey continues taking Assassin's Creed even deeper into the RPG genre, including male and female character options and romanceable NPCs. The historical portion takes place chronologically earlier than any other game in the series, so early that there aren't actually technically any Assassins in it because those haven't been invented yet. The modern day story does continue following the same protagonist from Origins, but doesn't require any knowledge of the previous game. The main strike against Odyssey as an entry point is that it's so far removed from the other games, it almost isn't an Assassin's Creed game. However, if you want a game that's as much of an RPG as possible, complete with an epic quest and an almost mythical hero, Odyssey is a solid choice.

Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (2020) - Not Recommended

Valhalla's modern day storyline follows on from major events not only in Odyssey and its DLC, but also as far back as the Desmond saga. In addition, while the historical setting of Valhalla is new, the story features important plot points that build on concepts from the previous games that may be difficult to understand without the proper context. Wait for your Viking adventure until you've played the previous Assassin's Creed games.

Assassin's Creed: Mirage (2023) - Not Recommended

Mirage is a direct prequel to Valhalla and deals heavily with major revelations from that game, leading to an ending that may make little sense if you haven't played Valhalla first.

Assassin's Creed: Nexus VR (2023) - Not Recommended

Nexus is the first virtual reality Assassin's Creed game and though it is not part of the main series, it does replicate much of the traditional Assassin's Creed gameplay with motion controls from a first-person perspective. More than the nontraditional medium, what makes Nexus a less than ideal entry point is the fact that it stars three characters returning from previous games and doesn't do much to bring you up to speed on these characters, their stories or the core concepts of the series.

Assassin's Creed: Shadows (2024) - ???

Shadows is still an upcoming release as of this writing. It features an entirely new setting and no modern day aspect in the game itself (although it is set to include a kind of launcher presented as an Animus, the device from the series that allows one to experience others' memories preserved in DNA). This suggests it may be a good entry point for the series, but it's hard to say before the game actually comes out.

Best Entry Points

• Assassin's Creed II - Renaissance Italy

• Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag - Golden Age of Piracy

• Assassin's Creed: Syndicate - Victorian London

• Assassin's Creed: Origins - Ptolemaic Egypt

All games except for the original (and Nexus) are available on recent PlayStation and Xbox consoles, and all of the games (except Nexus) are available on PC. Nexus is available on Meta Quest headsets.