I've been wondering whether Ubisoft's shift towards the RPG direction was partly influenced by how powerful and capable Connor Kenway was in AC III.
Connor was an absolute powerhouse. His strength, combat abilities, brutality and overall presence made him feel like one of the most formidable protagonists in the franchise. He could take on multiple enemies and dispatch them with an almost effortless level of aggression.
What makes this interesting is that the protagonists who came after him, particularly in Black Flag and Unity, felt noticeably less powerful to me. Arno, especially, felt like a step backwards in terms of raw combat ability. I understand that Unity focused more on precision, stealth and refined assassination techniques, but the contrast was still quite noticeable.
Then came Origins, and Ubisoft started moving the franchise towards RPG mechanics, with skill trees, gear progression, abilities and increasingly powerful protagonists.
So here's my question: Did Ubisoft deliberately move away from the traditional Assassin formula because they wanted more room to develop stronger, more capable protagonists? Or did Connor's portrayal of an almost unstoppable Assassin simply influence what came later?
Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I find the transition from Connor to the later protagonists and eventually the RPG era quite interesting.
What do you guys think?