Since its debut in 2007, the Assassin’s Creed video game franchise has been creating digital representations of historical cities. Ubisoft, the developer, has hired historians to ensure an accurate portrayal. Despite its academic potential, the violent themes in the game have prevented it from being a teaching tool.
In 2017, Assassin’s Creed launched the Discovery Tour. This is a mode that removes the violence in the main storyline and keeps the virtual world. It also adds guided tours to learn about the actual history and traditions of each location. Each installment of the Discovery Tour adds back elements of a traditional video game. After 3 installments of the Discovery Tool, it was removed as a separate entity and embedded back into the main storyline.
This review explores each Discovery Tour installation: Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla. It also discusses increased gamification culminating in the removal of the tour in the newest installment, Mirage. Finally, it questions the balance between academics and video games and how this tool can be most effectively utilized.