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Arno Victor Dorian is a fictional character in
Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...
's ''
Assassin's Creed ''Assassin's Creed'' is a historical fiction, historical action-adventure video game series and media franchise published by Ubisoft and developed mainly by its studio Ubisoft Montreal using the game engine Anvil (game engine), Anvil and its m ...
'' video game franchise. He serves as the protagonist of the 2014 game ''
Assassin's Creed Unity ''Assassin's Creed Unity'' is a 2014 action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It was released in November 2014 for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One, and in December 2020 for Stadia. It is the eighth majo ...
'', in which he is portrayed by
Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
actor
Dan Jeannotte Daniel Jeannotte (born 22 September 1981) is a Canadian actor. He gained recognition for his roles as Brandon Russell in the American-Canadian fantasy television series '' Good Witch'', and as James Stuart in the CW period drama series ''Reign. ...
through
performance capture Motion capture (sometimes referred as mocap or mo-cap, for short) is the process of recording high-resolution movement of objects or people into a computer system. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, medical applications, and for val ...
, and voiced by Godefroy Reding as a young child. The character's other appearances include the novelization of ''Unity'', also released in 2014; the 2017 mobile title '' Assassin's Creed Unity: Arno's Chronicles'' as its titular player character; as well as
cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...
s in the 2014 game ''
Assassin's Creed Rogue ''Assassin's Creed Rogue'' is a 2014 action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft Sofia and published by Ubisoft. It is the seventh major installment in the ''Assassin's Creed'' series, and is set alongside 2012's '' Assassin's Creed III'' and af ...
'', the 2016 live-action film adaptation of the series and the
2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony The Olympic Games ceremony#Opening, opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics took place on 26 July 2024 across Paris, beginning at 19:30 Central European Summer Time, CEST (17:30 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC). As mandated by the Olympic ...
. Within the series' alternate historical setting, Arno was born into a
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
-
Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...
noble family who have long been loyal to the Assassin Brotherhood, a fictional organization inspired by the real-life
Order of Assassins The Order of Assassins (; ) were a Nizari Isma'ilism, Nizari Isma'ili order that existed between 1090 and 1275 AD, founded by Hasan-i Sabbah, Hasan al-Sabbah. During that time, they lived in the mountains of Persia and the Levant, and held a ...
. Arno is orphaned as a child after his father is murdered, leading to his adoption as a ward by the de la Serre family, who are secretly members of the
Templar Order The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a military order of the Catholic faith, and one of the most important military orders in Western Christianity. They were founded in 11 ...
, the mortal enemies of the Assassins, in turn inspired by the
Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...
military order. The romantic relationship between Arno and his childhood friend Élise de la Serre is central to the story of ''Unity'', the events of which are set in motion when Élise's father is killed. Arno resolves to investigate the reason behind the murder and join the Assassins at the onset of the French Revolution. The character has received a mixed critical reception, with some reviewers criticizing Arno as dull and not being particularly memorable as a series protagonist, while others praised him as a likeable character with an interesting backstory.


Creation and development

Scriptwriter Travis Stout, who wrote the story for the single player campaign of ''Unity'', explains that Arno Dorian is a lead character who constantly questions the Brotherhood of Assassins' legitimacy and belief system. He created Arno as a "very well educated young man, raised in a noble household, with access to tutors and books, and thus is very well-read", and that he has a tendency to use humor to deflect whenever he is emotionally vulnerable, and habitually quotes classical texts whenever the opportunity arises. Stout claimed that he "tried really hard" to develop an interesting character that feels like a real person, "the complete opposite of the usual grizzled tough guys spouting one-liners that gamers are used to seeing in action games and movies". He addressed the particular spelling of the character's first name, and explained that besides the fact that the phonetic spelling makes it easier to pronounce, it is in fact an older French/Germanic variation which is less common than the more conventionally French Arnaud. Stout grounds this naming in the Dorian family history, explaining that Arno's family "is a very old one and they've been Assassins for a very long time so we wanted to give him a slightly more antiquated name". In an interview with ''
Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'' is an American monthly Video game journalism, video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and video game console, game consoles. It debuted in August 1991, when the video game reta ...
'', ''Unity'' creative director Alex Amancio explains the conflict between Arno's character arc and Élise's goal for vengeance. Amancio emphasized that Arno joins the Assassins with the ulterior motive to resolve the mystery behind the death of Élise's father. Arno eventually develops a belief in the Assassins' cause and what they stand for, he is still constantly questioning their methods and refuses to follow their values blindly, especially since the man who raised him and the father of his love interest is a Templar. Amancio explained that both characters have the same goal though their starting point are based on different reasons: while Élise is purely driven by revenge for the murder of her father, Arno strives for redemption and attempts to find out why it occurred in the first place. Amancio said the development team wanted to highlight the bond between Élise and Arno, and that a serious and mature love story is something Ubisoft had been wanting to portray in a video game for a long time. Amancio claimed that the developmental team saw an opportunity to develop this plot for the
eighth generation of video game consoles The eighth generation of video game consoles began in 2012, and consists of four home video game consoles: the Wii U released in 2012, the PlayStation 4 family in 2013, the Xbox One family in 2013, and the Nintendo Switch family in 2017. The ge ...
. Amancio noted that love stories "are always a hard thing in video games because ultimately they can very easily become a tangent," and that by concepting Élise as a Templar and making that a core part of her identity, it forms part of the character's actual struggle and prevents it from becoming a "B-plot or a tangent". Inspiration was found in video games from the 2000s like ''
Ico is a 2001 action-adventure game developed and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. It was designed and directed by Fumito Ueda, who wanted to create a minimalist game based on a "boy meets girl" concept. Originally ...
'' and '' Passage'' which also depict nuanced love stories within their narratives. Amancio noted that both are bound by the laws of their respective organizations, who are mortal enemies of each other, and the narrative explores their divergent ways of approaching a situation, and that "the closer Arno gets to Élise and her methods, the more he will stray from the Assassins and their methods. Ultimately, their goal is to obtain something and it's really what each of them willing to do to reach that goal." Amancio describes the dilemma Arno faces when it comes to choosing between love and duty as an "impossible choice". Amancio explained that Arno does not get very involved politically in the French Revolution, with the ideals and extremism of the historical period merely provide a compelling backdrop for his personal struggles. Arno's goals with the Assassins align in that they are trying to prevent needless or senseless death; as explained by Amancio, the French Assassins are "trying to prevent the power from exploding, but they're trying to get the least involved as possible, because they also believe people have to go through their mistakes again. However, they are worried that somebody might be pulling the strings, so they're trying to find out who that is and what they're trying to accomplish." Arno's fighting style involves the smooth executions of his targets. He is capable of swiftly running up to an enemy, kick their legs out from underneath them, and puncturing their chest with the Assassins' signature Hidden Blade. Arno also has new weapons at his disposal like the Phantom Blade, a
crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an Elasticity (physics), elastic launching device consisting of a Bow and arrow, bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar f ...
-like attachment which adds a projectile mechanism for his Hidden Blade, and is ideal for stealthy or long-range kills. The ''Dead Kings''
downloadable content content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can be added for no extra cost or as a form of video game monetization, enabling the publisher to gain ad ...
pack also introduces the Guillotine Gun, an axe that also functions like a
grenade launcher A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially designed, large caliber projectile, often with an explosive, Smoke screen, smoke, or tear gas, gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary gre ...
or
blunderbuss The blunderbuss is a 17th- to mid-19th-century firearm with a short, large caliber Gun barrel, barrel. It is commonly flared at the muzzle (firearms), muzzle to help aid in the loading of Lead shot, shot and other projectiles of relevant quantity ...
with a long-range attack that strikes multiple enemies at once.


Portrayal

Dan Jeannotte Daniel Jeannotte (born 22 September 1981) is a Canadian actor. He gained recognition for his roles as Brandon Russell in the American-Canadian fantasy television series '' Good Witch'', and as James Stuart in the CW period drama series ''Reign. ...
provides the motion-capture and voice performance for Arno Dorian in ''Unity''. Jeannotte praised the script and writer of ''Unity'' for telling a complex and emotional story, which originally drew him to the project. Jeannotte described Arno as relatable and admirable, who uses humor as a defense or coping mechanism in the form of snappy remarks or sarcastic one-liners. Jeannotte noted that Arno is a skeptic who always questions everything about the Brotherhood of Assassins, including their cause and how they operate, and that Arno's snarky personality and tendency to raise legitimate questions is necessary in a video game where there's a necessary amount of suspension of disbelief for the plot to make sense. Although ''Unity'' is set in Paris with many French characters, their lines in English are not delivered with French accents. Like other characters in ''Unity'', Jeannotte used a
British accent Spoken English shows great variation across regions where it is the predominant language. The United Kingdom has a wide variety of accents, and no single "British accent" exists. This article provides an overview of the numerous identifiable ...
for Arno, with comparatively few dialogue or words being delivered in French. Jeannotte explained that while the developmental team had considered French accents during discussions, the final decision was made "using the cinematic conceit of having historical British accents like you would in something like the movie ''
Gladiator A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their ...
''". Jeannotte felt that it was appropriate as he personally did not believe that English spoken in a French accent comes across as "cool" as a British accent, and claimed that it is commonplace in cinematic depictions of foreign language settings in the English medium. Jeannotte estimated that the script for the main storyline of ''Unity'' to be between 350 and 400 pages, which excluded dialogue for optional side missions; by comparison, a typical film script would usually come to about 120 pages at the most. The script for sound effects, such as one-liner quips or grunts when the player character gets hit, would come to about 60 pages. Jeannotte said there was not much opportunity for on-the-spot improvisation in the form of creating new or improvised lines, though he grew to understand the character quite well and would have his own interpretations of how the character would react under specific conditions. He noted that the producers are open to collaborating with voice actors, and readily take in feedback proposing potential changes to a dialogue line or movement in a certain way. For the motion capture aspect of the character, Jeannotte wore a suit fitted with reflective markers as well as a helmet attached with a camera and microphone. He would perform in a studio set up with a large quantity of cameras that would capture movement from numerous angles; as he enacts a scene, his movements would also be followed by a few handheld cameras and booms. He recalled that the facial capture helmet took time to get used to, and he had to learn what actions are possible or impossible within the framework of the device. For a romantic scene with involved kissing between his character and another, he would rehearse it once with his scene partner without their helmets on so they could understand what the scene was like and grasp the right emotional tone for it. They would re-enact the scene with their helmets on, but with a foot far from each other. Jeannotte concluded it was "such a treat" to be able to wear a motion capture suit as a means to "embody the character physically", which helped him perform his lines better.


Appearances


''Assassin's Creed Unity''

Arno is the protagonist of the 2014 video game ''
Assassin's Creed Unity ''Assassin's Creed Unity'' is a 2014 action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It was released in November 2014 for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One, and in December 2020 for Stadia. It is the eighth majo ...
''. Within series lore, he was born in
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
, the
Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...
, in 1768, to Charles Dorian, a French Assassin, and his Austrian wife Marie. Arno's mother left the family when he was a young child after discovering Charles' affiliations, leaving him to raise Arno on his own. Like other protagonists in the ''Assassin's Creed'' series, the memories of his life and exploits as an Assassin are explored by another protagonist from the modern era, using a device capable of recreating the genetic memories of a historic individual via DNA samples. While visiting the
Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
with his father when he is eight years old, Arno wanders off with a girl he just met, Élise de la Serre. Minutes later, Arno finds that his father has been killed, and treasures the last thing he has left from him — a gold pocket watch. Now orphaned, he is accepted by the de la Serre family as a ward. The head of the family, François de la Serre, is the Grand Master of the French Rite of the Templar Order, but out of respect for Charles Dorian's memory, he never lets Arno know about his father's true affiliations or the circumstances of his death. Arno grows close to his new kin, in particular with Élise, with whom he falls in love later in life, but has to face death once again when François is killed in 1789. Framed for the murder, Arno is arrested and sent to the
Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stormed by a ...
, where he befriends a fellow prisoner, Pierre Bellec. Having personally known Charles Dorian and recognizing Arno's potential, Bellec teaches him how to sword fight and invites him to join the Assassin Brotherhood after they both escape during the
Storming of the Bastille The Storming of the Bastille ( ), which occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, was an act of political violence by revolutionary insurgents who attempted to storm and seize control of the medieval armoury, fortress, and political prison k ...
. After being rejected by Élise for failing to deliver a message which could have prevented her father's death, Arno contemplates Bellec's offer and joins the Brotherhood to avenge François' death. The following five years see Arno going on a quest for redemption as he assassinates various Templars involved in the conspiracy that got his adoptive father killed. However, his methods often go against the Assassin Council's orders, who begin to question his loyalty to their cause. Through his investigation, Arno eventually uncovers the identity of the Templar at the head of the conspiracy:
François-Thomas Germain François-Thomas Germain (1726–1791) was a French silversmith who was often commissioned by European royalty. In addition to his work for the French court, François-Thomas Germain also received notable commissions from foreign courts, including ...
, the leader of a radical faction within the Order who intend to continue the work of
Jacques de Molay Jacques de Molay (; 1240–1250 – 11 or 18 March 1314), also spelled "Molai",Demurger, pp. 1–4. "So no conclusive decision can be reached, and we must stay in the realm of approximations, confining ourselves to placing Molay's date of birth ...
. Learning that Germain intends to kill Élise, Arno protects her and persuades her to seek an alliance with the Brotherhood. Bellec, who opposes the idea due to his intense hatred of the Templars, murders the Assassins' Mentor,
Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, Count of Mirabeau (; 9 March 17492 April 1791) was a French writer, orator, statesman and a prominent figure of the early stages of the French Revolution. A member of the nobility, Mirabeau had been involved in numerous ...
, to prevent the alliance, leading to Arno confronting and killing Bellec atop the
Sainte-Chapelle The Sainte-Chapelle (; ) is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century, on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine in Paris, France. Construction b ...
. During the later part of the French Revolution and the beginning of the
Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...
, Arno works with Élise behind the Assassin Council's back to hunt down Germain and his remaining co-conspirators. ''Unity'''s alternative presentation of historical events sees Arno being personally involved with several notable events that occurred during this time period, such as the
execution of Louis XVI Louis XVI, former Bourbon King of France since the Proclamation of the abolition of the monarchy, abolition of the monarchy, was publicly executed on 21 January 1793 during the French Revolution at the ''Place de la Révolution'' in Paris. At Tr ...
and the arrest of
Maximilien Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; ; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman, widely recognised as one of the most influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. Robespierre ferv ...
, as well as befriending
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
. After Arno lets Germain escape during a confrontation in order to rescue Élise, the latter rejects him again and abandons him to pursue vengeance on her own. Furthermore, the Council become aware of his activities and expel him for insubordination. Arno falls into a drunken depression as a result, but is convinced to save Paris after Élise returns for him. The two work together to kill Germain in the catacombs underneath the Paris
Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
, but Élise is mortally wounded during the fight. The ending of ''Unity'', which chronologically takes place years later, sees Arno back in the Brotherhood, narrating about how his understanding of the Assassins' Creed has changed and promising to continue protecting Paris. The ''Dead Kings''
expansion pack An expansion pack, expansion set, supplement, or simply expansion, is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game, video game, collectible card game or Miniature wargaming, miniature wargame. An expansion may introduce new rules ...
for ''Unity'' expands upon Arno's experiences after Élise's death. He initially falls into depression and is no longer interested in being an Assassin, refusing to act when he learns Napoleon plans to retrieve a powerful Piece of Eden from the catacombs of Saint-Denis. However, with encouragement from a young boy named Léon, he comes to terms with his past and regains his resolve, finding something else to fight for besides Élise. With Léon's help, Arno retrieves the Piece of Eden before Napoleon's traitorous captain can, and sends it to the
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
ian Brotherhood of Assassins for safe keeping.


Other appearances

Arno appears in the novelization of ''Unity'' as its co-protagonist along with Élise. A young Arno appears in the Palace of Versailles during the ending sequence of ''
Assassin's Creed Rogue ''Assassin's Creed Rogue'' is a 2014 action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft Sofia and published by Ubisoft. It is the seventh major installment in the ''Assassin's Creed'' series, and is set alongside 2012's '' Assassin's Creed III'' and af ...
'', in which players control Charles Dorian's killer, the Assassin-turned-Templar Shay Patrick Cormac. Arno's Assassin outfit is unlockable to wear in ''Rogue''. The remastered version of ''
Assassin's Creed III ''Assassin's Creed III'' is a 2012 action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the fifth major installment in the ''Assassin's Creed'' series, and a direct sequel to 2011's '' Assassin's Creed Revelations' ...
'' also features an outfit themed after Arno, though it does not resemble its final design seen in ''Unity''. Arno makes a cameo appearance in 2016 live-action ''
Assassin's Creed ''Assassin's Creed'' is a historical fiction, historical action-adventure video game series and media franchise published by Ubisoft and developed mainly by its studio Ubisoft Montreal using the game engine Anvil (game engine), Anvil and its m ...
'' film as an apparition encountered by
Michael Fassbender Michael Fassbender (; born 2 April 1977) is a German-Irish actor. His accolades include nominations for two Academy Awards, four British Academy Film Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. In 2020, he was listed at number nine on ''The Irish Ti ...
's character Callum Lynch. The film's novelization confirms that Arno is an ancestor of Lynch. Arno is the player character of '' Assassin's Creed Unity: Arno's Chronicles'', a 2017 side-scrolling mobile game released for the Huawei Honor smartphone series. The game roughly follows the same storyline as ''Unity''. In 2024, during the
opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.
, Arno Dorian made an appearance carrying the olympic torch in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
through parkour the streets and landmarks.


Promotion and reception

Like other protagonists in the series, Arno Dorian has been subject to merchandise. A 16 inch tall figurine of Arno is bundled with the Collector's Edition of ''Unity''. Arno's likeness, along with five other series protagonists, was used for a line of character-themed wine labels as part of a joint collaboration between Ubisoft and winemaker Lot18; the full name of his label is "2017 Arno Dorian
Qualitätswein The German wine classification system puts a strong emphasis on standardization and factual completeness, and was first implemented by the German Wine Law of 1971. Nearly all of Germany's vineyards are delineated and registered as one of approxi ...
Niederösterreich Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which has been the capital of ...
Zweigelt The Zweigelt (), also known as Rotburger, is an Austrian hybrid grape variety created in 1922 by Friedrich Zweigelt (1888–1964), who later became Director of the Federal Institute and Experimental Station of Viticulture, Fruit Production and ...
", which alludes to the character's
Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...
heritage. The character is described by the wine label as struggling with finding his way in the world, and is often misunderstood despite his pure intentions. Overall critical reception for Arno has been mixed. Kimberley Wallace from ''
Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'' is an American monthly Video game journalism, video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and video game console, game consoles. It debuted in August 1991, when the video game reta ...
'' said Arno's personality is a "no-nonsense type with a sharp wit, but he doesn't hesitate to be brutal", and observed that as an Assassin, "he will go for the kill when the situation demands it, and since he only uses a single blade, he gets creative, especially when facing multiple enemies". She argued that regardless of Arno's tactics, he is a "likeable guy through and through", and claimed that it is "the one comment that has surfaced most as more people at Ubisoft are playtesting the game" prior to its launch in November 2014, and observed that since his world is full of "shades of gray", it forces him to question everything, from his allies to the woman he loves. Brenna Hillier praised the narrative in ''Unity'' as a genuine story due its focus on the characters' personal journey, as opposed to nonsensical content framed by the game's writers to fit an existing set of missions and side-content. She noted that Arno's character arc is solidly written and he has clear goals and motivations for his actions. Chris Carter from ''
Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017 and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. Histor ...
'' found Arno to be "not quite as memorable as Ezio or as dashing as
Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...
", but nevertheless a likable and believable character in terms of how he is tied into the narrative. Writing for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', Stephen Totilo noted that players of ''Unity'' no longer have the moral certitude which justifies their player character's efforts as in many other video games, and that the conceit of a freethinking Assassin who occasionally crosses the flawed order that he joined in the first place for the Templar he loves is "a fitting plot for a game set in Paris at the time of the French Revolution, itself a drama of faltering ideals". Tom Phillips from ''Eurogamer'' further praised Arno's continued character development from the aftermath of the main storyline as presented in the ''Dead Kings'' DLC. Conversely, other reviewers considered Arno's storyline and romance with Élise to be forgettable. In his review of ''Unity'' for ''Kotaku'', Totilo found Arno himself to be a dull character, "whose sole interesting personality trait is that he is in love with a woman who is a Templar". Andrew Webster from ''The Verge'' found him to be an "incredibly unlikable lead" and compared him to ''
Watch Dogs ''Watch Dogs'' (stylized as ''WATCH_DOGS'') is an action-adventure video game franchise published by Ubisoft, and developed primarily by its Montreal and Toronto studios using the Disrupt game engine. The series' eponymous first title was rele ...
'' protagonist Aiden Pearce. He criticized the character for having "basically no memorable personality traits, aside from the fact that he's a sociopathic killer". Webster drew attention to a scene where he went on a killing spree just so Arno could "steal some wine and have a drink", with no indication afterwards that he has expressed remorse, other than being angry that his watch was stolen while he passed out from drinking. Both Elise Favis from ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' and Marty Sliva from ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
'' criticized Arno as a "one dimensional" character, who brings nothing new in terms of gameplay mechanics. Andy Kelly from ''
PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...
'' remarked that Arno starts off with a strong backstory, but gradually becomes less interesting as a character with the progression of ''Unity's'' narrative as he gradually embraces his identity as an Assassin. The character appears in several "top character" ranking lists of ''Assassin's Creed'' series protagonists with generally low placements. Arno's lack of a French accent have attracted a negative reception. In his review of ''Unity'' for ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
'', Peter Nowak was bewildered by the fact that ''Unity's'' cast of French characters all spoke in British accents, and considered it the worst aspect of the game. Sliva criticized the decision to use British accents for quintessentially French characters like Arno and Napoleon to be "completely inexplicable and immersion-breaking". Panelists on the Australian television program '' Good Game'' produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) had a similar reaction, and drew attention the fact that Ubisoft is a French company and that another series protagonist Ezio Auditore speaks with an Italian accent in previous instalments of the video game series. The panelists formed a view that while Jeannotte did a fine job as Arno's actor, a French accent would have given the character a unique quality. French website ''Gameblog'' expressed disappointment in response to Jeannotte's unflattering comments about French-accented spoken English, and insisted that the usage of a British accent does not necessarily produce a better aural experience.


References


External links


Assassin's Creed Unity: Introduction To Arno , Ubisoft [NA]
on the official Ubisoft North America
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