Let's talk about Bayek. *light spoilers*

[Maskeno]

So the protagonist of this game has grown on me a lot. While his characteristics aren't strong enough in any one place to compare him to others within the series, his range of emotions, aspirations and motivations make him my favorite in the game to date.

By comparison to Ezio, he is not cocky in a youthful way. Though our friend da Firenze grew into his strengths and became worthy, we meet Bayek as a husband, a father, and a world wise medjay in service of the Pharoah and the people of Egypt. He is cocky at times, but ultimately, does not seem over confident. Rather, he seems to be simply aware of his strength and prowess.

Going back to Altair, he was bawdy. Rude. Though he was the most skilled, he felt he was more. It wasn't until he surrendered his ego that he could be. In this regard he was not as charismatic as Ezio or Bayek. He was compelling because he was humbled, where Bayek is compelling because he *is* humble.

Jumping to Conner, there's a huge rift between their personalities in dealing with their losses. Conner, though rightfully bitter, never let's down his anger and frustration. He is intense and broody. In this regard he is the batman to Bayeks iron man. This is especially problematic to me however. The story telling I'm Ac3 never sufficiently impressed upon me the pain of Conners loss. Like batman, he feels a tad banal in that his loss does not feel as large because it is not altogether unique. It is in this regard I feel there were some wasted opportunities with Bayek. His story is remarkably sad. The things he experiences, children, one his own, murdered by the cabal he hunts. His personality and range as a character would have worked well with him being bitter and cynical, and yet he remains generally in good cheer and charismatic. It almost makes me sad for him. The entire situation speaks to how well he was written, because he is far more compelling than conner ever was, and he has maintained a sort of damaged optimism. Even after the brutal loss of Shadya, where we see him tortured by his failure to save her, his vindication and spite delivered excellently to the monster who killed her. (as an aside let me just say how brutal the sequence was. The pain being portrayed in the scene where her mother weeps in a musical intonation was positively palpable. I had to take a moment seeing this endearing young woman tied to a stone clutching her doll. It was powerful.

I'll end my observations with Edward, who, while certainly a realistic, believable character, failed to draw me in. He was pragmatic and intelligent, while keeping an edge of compassion within himself that isn't ever really explored in depth. Like the men around him would've expected, he maintains an air of confidence and conviction. Comparing him to Bayek is sort of far off. They share very little. Bayek only moves forward to set things right avenge his son and protect the people. Edward's goals, though sometimes noble are still mostly based in self interest. In short, for his theme of pirates, he works very well.

In all, I felt a lot more could've been done with Bayek regarding his rightful bitterness to the hand he was dealt, but I also felt that his refusal to slow down and become weighted by it and his actions made him that much more compelling. The tie in to his "weight of a feather" line to the method of contract collection in the assassin's brotherhood we see established in the first game was an absolutely delightful and endearing piece of story telling. Added to the first hidden blade and its flaw that costs him his finger, it creates a wonderful atmosphere of discovery. I really feel like Bayek is one of the most well written and well performed characters we've seen in this story.

I'd love to share opinions on this, see other winks to the audience I may have missed and hear other takes on this character. (I know I'm gonna take some heat for not loving ezio or Edward above all others) but feel free to share.

[RuleofTwo]

I feel like creed series fatal flaw is characters often don't have much depth. I'm sympathetic to Bayek's cause but I think Aya would have been a more interesting main protag. You'd get to work with Cleopatra more, Aya has a better character model imo, and she's just overall more bad ass. Edward and Evie are my favorite Creed characters as they're unique. The dashing and arrogant young man trope is used a lot in 2 and unity and its not traits that interest me much personally. Edward is arrogant too but hes a scum bag and fits the needs of a pirate pretty well.

I still havent played 3 due to bad reviews.

[Maskeno]

Originally posted by Furi0sa:

I feel like creed series fatal flaw is characters often don't have much depth. I'm sympathetic to Bayek's cause but I think Aya would have been a more interesting main protag. You'd get to work with Cleopatra more, Aya has a better character model imo, and she's just overall more bad ass. Edward and Evie are my favorite Creed characters as they're unique. The dashing and arrogant young man trope is used a lot in 2 and unity and its not traits that interest me much personally. Edward is arrogant too but hes a scum bag and fits the needs of a pirate pretty well.

I still havent played 3 due to bad reviews.

3 is good, but it's protagonist is a real wet sock.