Successful, violent video game franchises aren't generally known for their feminist leanings, and the Assassin's Creed titles are no exception, until now... maybe. This video reviews Ubisoft's newest installment, Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, released in October 2015, which features some distinct differences from its predecessors. Most notably, it has two protagonists, one of which is a woman. Twins Jacob and Evie Frye fight to free London's oppressed working class from the clutches of evil businessman and Templar (Assassin arch-nemesis group) leader, Crawford Starrick. The storyline is pretty standard for any Assassin's game, but includes far more female characters than ever before. Sarkeesian notes that the expansive franchise has received criticism in the past for its lack of playable ladies (save for a tie-in game released mainly on handheld platforms that followed a female pirate), and Syndicate seeks to remedy the situation.
The Frye twins are first presented together and it is made clear that they are equals, but as the game progresses, Jacob's plotline takes center stage. For side-quests players can choose to play as Evie or Jacob, but if they lean toward the latter, they only interact with Evie sometimes, though her story and character are far more compelling than her brother's. Many of Evie's quests see her cleaning up arrogant, brutish Jacob's messes. This is disappointing because a female character as well-realized as Evie is rare in the gaming world. She is never sexualized or objectified, is appropriately dressed for killing people and scaling buildings, and doesn't seem like a male character who was gender-swapped at the last second.
Other than Evie, there are several female characters within the world, from rival Blighter gang leaders to Queen Victoria. One of the Frye's close associates, Ned, is a trans man. The prostitutes seen on street corners, used as cover for male protagonists in previous games, are completely absent from Syndicate. While the game is wonderfully gender-inclusive, it fails miserably where race is concerned. Henry Green, and Indian assassin with whom Evie has a romantic subplot, is the only recurring character of color in the entire game.
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| Evie and a Templar leader, pre-battle |
I really loved this video because it echoes all of the feelings I had while playing Syndicate, which I finished last week. It was an especially enjoyable video because all of my friends who play video games are guys who aren't particularly interested in hearing me dissect the game's gender politics, so it was nice to hear my own thoughts vocalized. I attended San Diego Comic-Con last summer and ended up at the Assassin's Creed panel, even though I'd never played a game from the franchise before. I left the panel SO excited to play Syndicate because I'd be able to play a super-violent video game as a girl!!!!
I've been a gamer since second grade and a feminist since I was born, so the lack of playable, or even humanized, female characters in the gaming world has never gone unnoticed by me. As I got older and became able to purchase rated-M games, I found that I liked my games as bloody as could be. This meant loving GTA V for car chases and shootouts, but not loving the first-person POV lap dances at strip clubs. Even playing Assassin's Creed II post-SDCC, I was disappointed to find literally one recurring female character... and she eventually seduced the protagonist.
When I played Syndicate, I played as Evie whenever possible. Because of this, I didn't really notice that Jacob's story took up so much more of the game than his sister's, but I definitely see it now. I did notice, to my delight, that there were women everywhere throughout this game's 19th-century London, and they were all treated like competent human beings! To my disappointment, I also quickly noticed how white the game was. But despite its shortcomings, Sarkeesian and I both agree that Syndicate is a big feminist step in the right direction.
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