Everyone is a little confused with Ubisoft's latest endeavour, as it's a collaboration between the Mr. Men and Assassin's Creed, of all things. Despite the mature themes, especially of the most recent Assassin's Creed games, Ubisoft has teamed up with the Mr. Men to bring children some history told through their characters, and people are split on their thoughts.
As previously mentioned, Assassin's Creed games are rather violent, and more recently, sexual - we're looking at you Kassandra and Alexios, but that hasn't stopped Ubisoft pairing the games with the Mister Men for an interesting collaboration. I mean, come on, the violence is sort of the highlight of all the Assassin's Creed Valhalla trailers, like the one below. In a post announcing the books, Ubisoft says, "The most iconic heroes of the Assassin's Creed franchise are joining the ranks of the Mister Men and Little Miss famous picture book series!"
The post from Ubisoft continues, "By mixing the Assassin's Creed sense of adventure and history with the colorful and delightful designs of the Little Mr. Men, these books will appeal to both young and adult readers. Follow Mister Ezio, Little Miss Kassandra, and Little Miss Eivor, as they each try to complete their own missions in the first three books of this series!"
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Though, yes, there is a lot of violence in the games, that can be eliminated (excuse the pun) using Discovery Tour - a mode already included in Assassin's Creed Origins, Odyssey, and eventually Valhalla as a way to use the incredible details in these historical worlds as an educational tool. Ubisoft go to such an effort to make these worlds interesting and decently accurate (so much so that Unity's Notre Dame model is being used as a resource in the reconstruction of the cathedral) that it's a good idea to make these tools for kids to explore.
As the press release says, though, these are aimed not only at kids but adults too. It might just be a cool gift to a friend you know likes Assassin's Creed. The only hesitation I have, is I hope parents without gaming knowledge don't assume Assassin's Creed titles are suitable for young kids from this.
The discussion on Reddit follows a piece from GamesIndustry.Biz who proclaimed "Mr Men books are for children. Assassin's Creed is not and never should be." Calibrynes on the Assassin's Creed subreddit says, "I think there's a much more complex discussion to be had here, as Ubisoft has a massive network of historians and researchers they both employ and collaborate with. The discovery tour modes themselves are a testament to how these games can be used as educational tools. I think there's very little harm in leveraging that knowledge to teach history to younger generations, assuming it is handled correctly."
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The_Great_Madman says that's it's on the parents ultimately, "Ubisoft isn't raising your kids you are and ultimately you are responsible for what they read". Others, like Lee_Troyer, think it shouldn't be so much a problem with Ubisoft's responsibilities but with the Mister Men publisher - "I wouldn't fault Ubi but rather whoever owns the Mr Men license. That's one hell of a gap in tone for a crossover. They seem to disregard their license way more than Ubisoft in this collaboration."
It's caused a lot of discussion on if the books are a good thing or not, and honestly, it's really a preference. If you're a massive fan of AC and have young kids, it's a fun way to include your interests in education, but if you're a guardian with little gaming knowledge, it might be seen as a little weird.
Featured Image Credit: UbisoftTopics: News, Assassin's Creed