The Assassin’s Creed series has had its share of classic & iconic villains. Here’s a look at the best bad guys from the entire franchise!
Assassin’s Creed is a series built on the everlasting struggle between the forces of the Assassins, who wish to free the world from oppression, and the Templars, a group that seeks to tighten their grip on the world and see it made in their image.
Players have seen the Templars and the Assassins battle it out in over a dozen games and throughout the years, fans of the series have seen their fair share of epic villains in the Assassin’s Creed universe. These examples are some of the best villains that the Assassin’s Creed series has to offer.
Updated November 4, 2023 by Joe Grantham: Assassin’s Creed is one of the biggest gaming franchises of all time and Ubisoft shows no sign of slowing down its deliverance of stealth-based games in historical settings. With the games taking place in locations all across the globe and spanning well over a thousand years of history, the villains of Assassin’s Creed are naturally just as varied.
The best Assassin’s Creed villains have intriguing backstories, compelling motives, and ideally have a few endearing qualities too. Many of the best antagonists also only show their true colors towards the end of each game. 14 Aspasia – Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Not all villains have to be malicious bosses with incredible martial ability, and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s overarching antagonist Aspasia is a perfect example of this. For much of the game, the player is tracking the so-called Ghost of Kosmos, who is the leader of the Cult of Kosmos, an early precursor of the Templars in Ancient Greece.
Aspasia, who throughout the game is simply known as the wife of Athenian leader and politician Perikles, is eventually revealed to be the Ghost and puppet master pulling all the strings. While this was an unexpected twist, some fans did feel a bit underwhelmed. 13 Achilles Davenport – Assassin’s Creed Rogue
Achilles being on this list might come as a surprise to a few people as he was the mentor figure in Assassin’s Creed 3, but in Assassin’s Creed Rogue, he actually becomes the game’s main antagonist. Achilles becomes the villain when Shay Cormack betrays the Assassin’s Order and joins the Templars.
This paradigm shift was a very interesting look into the series as players got to see a different side to the Assassins that they were not used to seeing. This is particularly true in the case of Achilles as fans of the series have always seen him in a good light, however his descent into villainy felt a bit contrived. Thus while Achilles Davenport is a good villain overall, he isn’t among the absolute best. 12 Basim Ibn Ishaq – Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Basim Ibn Ishaq is easily one of the most interesting characters in the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Despite being the main antagonist of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Basim is the protagonist and playable character of Assassin’s Creed Mirage.
In Valhalla, Basim Ibn Ishaq plays a major role and at first, somewhat takes on the role of mentor for protagonist Eivor. His true intentions are soon exposed, however, and Basim ends up revealing that he, Eivor, and Sigurd are reincarnations of the gods Loki, Odin, and Tyr, leading to a fight and his eventual imprisonment. A divine villain with his own origin story is certainly unexpected, even if Basim isn’t as compelling as the absolute best AC villains. 11 Laureano De Torres Y Ayala – Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag
While Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag is considered one of the best Creed games, it isn’t known for its antagonists.
