Assassins Creed Unity: Why The Game’s Notre Dame Is Historically Inaccurate

Ubisoft shared a new development interview for Assassin’s Creed Unity, where senior level artist Caroline Mousse explains why the game’s version of Notre Dame is not historically accurate.

The first thing history aficionados will already have noticed, and possibly have excused, Ubisoft for was the spire. The original spire Notre Dame had would not have given players as sprawling and impressive a view of Paris.

For those curious, this original spire was a belltower that held five bells, and was one of many parts of the church destroyed or ruined by revolutionaries. As the interview indicates, it was made of wood, and just would not have suited gameplay as well.

Similarly, Ubisoft adjusted the insides of the cathedral for the sole purpose of making it better gameplay wise. For example, incense and cables were added to the second level of the building so that it would be easier to navigate around. Caroline describes it as adding a personal touch to the game, and she did it several times throughout.

Caroline also brings up that they were never going to be able to make a 100 % accurate recreation of Notre Dame, surprisingly enough, because of copyright. In particular, there is an organ in the cathedral that is under copyright, so they were only allowed to build a passable replica of it.

Of course, if Ubisoft took artistic license with Notre Dame, they would do it with every part of Revolutionary France, and they did it to make the game more playable.   

Are you familiar with the history of Revolutionary France? What parts of it would you like to experience in this game? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.

Assassin’s Creed Unity will be released on November 11 to Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.