Echoes of History

Assassin’s Creed Rogue lets players explore the frozen world of the Arctic coastline of North America. Players inhabit the memories of Shay Cormac, an Irish Assassin who switches sides to join the Templars, against the backdrop of the Seven Years’ War, or as its American theatre is known, the French-Indian War.

Dr Holly Nielsen is joined by James Nadiger, scriptwriter on Assassin’s Creed Rogue, to shed light on the dramatic shif...

Assassin's Creed Rogue and Assassin's Creed III let us sail through the frozen waters of the Northwest Passage at the most dangerous time in history.

From Hudson Bay to Hawaii, the coasts of Canada and the USA were mapped as an unintended consequence of history’s greatest explorers trying to find a navigable path from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Just what was it that made this route so hard to find? And how did explorers overco...

Assassin’s Creed Rogue allows players to explore the icy landscapes and freezing oceans of the Arctic as it was during the Seven Years’ War. Appropriately, it also lets players hang around with one of history’s greatest explorers: Captain James Cook.

What made Cook an exceptional navigator? And how does his depiction in the video game compare to the reality of the man? Historian and adventurer Ken McGoogan helps Dan Snow get und...

Assassin's Creed Rogue takes us back to a time when the troubles of royal houses in Europe violently affected the lives of people across the Atlantic Ocean. When the Old World and the New World violently collided in the French-Indian War. But that was just one part of a clash of empires.

Professor Emma Hart joins Dan Snow to explain the complex causes and events of an 18th century conflict that was so huge, it might truly claim...

For the past few weeks, we have investigated the history behind Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. In this episode, Matt Lewis joins historian and video game writer Holly Nielsen to step into the Animus and uncover how history and gaming interact. Holly speaks exclusively to Benjamin Hall, World Director of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, about how the developers met the challenge of bringing the past to life.

Echoes of History is a Ubisoft po...

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey immerses players in the mythology of Ancient Greece. In particular, they can walk in the footsteps of Theseus through the Labyrinth and come face to face with the mythical Minotaur.

Commonly associated with the maze-like Knossos palace on Crete, how much of the myth is rooted in reality? Prof Nicoletta Momigliano guides Tristan Hughes through the pathways between myth and reality of the Minoan Labyrinth.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey lets players spend time with renowned philosopher Sokrates - but it also lets us meet his surprisingly younger and outspoken wife, Xanthippe. Sources are clear that Sokrates valued her independent mind and argumentative nature. This raises the interesting question, to what extent was Sokrates’ worldview influenced and shaped by Xanthippe’s honest companionship?

Prof Michael Griffin helps Tristan Hughes t...

Assassin's Creed Odyssey puts us at the heart of the expansive conflict that occurred when Athens went to war with Sparta: the Peloponnesian War. Guest host Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Roel Konijnendijk to recount the causes, events and legacy of this pivotal war in the ancient Greek world.

Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit. 

Hosted by: Tristan Hughes

Edited by: Michael McDaid

Produce...

For the past few weeks, Matt Lewis has investigated the history behind Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. In this episode, Matt joins historian and video game writer Holly Nielsen to step into the Animus and uncover how history and gaming interact. Holly speaks exclusively to Jeffrey Yohalem, Lead Writer on Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, about how the developers met the challenge of recreating the people and places of the past.

Echoes of ...

Assassin's Creed Syndicate recreates Scotlland Yard, the famous home of the Metropolitan Police Force, and lets players explore its overcrowded nooks and crannies. Today we return to Matt Lewis and Dr Jonah Miller as they put a magnifying lens to the history of both Scotland Yard as a place, and on the policemen and detectives that worked within it. How and when did the Metropolitan Police begin? Why is it called Scotland Yard? And...

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate takes players to Victorian London. This was an age of massive social change through technological innovation and cultural exchange, as the industrialised British Empire extended around the world.

Perhaps the greatest symbol of Britain’s power and influence at this time was the Great Exhibition and its iconic venue, the Crystal Palace.

Tom Furber, Research Fellow at the London Centre for Public History, ...

Assassin's Creed Syndicate incorporates technology into its gameplay and story more than any other game in the series. Its setting in Victorian London represents the culmination of a remarkable period of British history known as the Age of Invention. Or does it? Did the Age really end, and are we still living in it?

To help Matt Lewis get to grips with the vast and fascinating Age of Invention, he's joined by Dr Anton Howes, aut...

Assassin's Creed Chronicles India begins in the glorious Amritsar Summer Palace, and allows players to climb, jump and fight over its rooftops against the spectacular backdrop of the capital of the Sikh Empire.

The Palace was the brainchild of Ranjit Singh. To help conjure the experience of visiting the Summer Palace, and to understand its wider significance, Matt Lewis is joined once again by Davinder Toor.

Echoes of History...

Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India puts players in the heart of the Sikh Empire in 1841, at a time when only the Sikh Empire remained unconquered by the British. Perhaps inevitably, this decade witnessed the bloody Anglo-Sikh Wars. These conflicts would ultimately determine the fate of British power in India, and by extension, the power of Britain worldwide for the next century.

To shed light on these complex events, Matt is joi...

Of the many empires that have risen and fallen throughout history, Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India draws our attention to one of the mightiest and most short-lived: the Sikh Empire in the early 19th century.

One man is considered essential to the Empire's formation and success: Maharaja Ranjit Singh, a self-taught, one-eyed warrior who commanded the respect of the British Empire. In this episode, Davinder Toor helps Matt Lewi...

5. Assassin's Creed Shadows Review

Assassin's Creed Shadows is now available to play! Matt Lewis had advanced access to the new game and stepped into the shoes of a samurai and shinobi in medieval Japan, armed with the knowledge he's gained about Japan's legendary warriors from this special series.

He's joined by historian and video game narrative designer Holly Nielsen, who brings her experience to review how the developers of A...

Assassin's Creed Shadows gives us the chance to explore the places where history occurred. One such place is recreated in remarkable detail: Azuchi Castle. Built by Oda Nobunaga as his ultimate stronghold, not only was its site of huge strategic significance, but it revolutionised Japanese castle-building and lent its name to a new era of Japanese history: the Azuchi-Momoyama period.

Professor Oleg Benesch, author of Japanese Ca...

Chasing Shadows 4. Warfare

Assassin's Creed Shadows gives players the chance to experience history as two icons of medieval Japan: samurai and shinobi (known today as ninja). In this special series, Matt Lewis and Professor Eric Rath from the University of Kansas take an in-depth look at how these legendary warriors lived and answer the question, what is the difference between samurai and shinobi?

This episode thrusts us int...

Assassin's Creed Shadows introduces us to some of Japan's mightiest historical leaders. Yet, "beside every great man is an ever greater woman". One of the women behind the great unifiers of this era was Lady Nene. Wife of Toyotomi HIdeyoshi, one of the highest-ranking men in Sengoku Japan, she arguably wielded as much political sway as her husband… 

Matt Lewis is joined once again by Lesley Downer to explain the role Lady N...