The Female Assassin Makes a Comeback: A Look at Evie Frye in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate

The thinking woman.

Standing silently on the shoulders of Aveline de Grandpré who led Assassin's Creed: Liberation on PlayStation Vita, Evie Frye is the first female protagonist for a main Assassin's Creed title. Opposed to her twin brother Jacob Frye in the upcoming Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, who has a brash, aggressive attitude toward the Templars who have an iron grasp on London's aristocracy, Evie has a more conservative and classical approach to her craft. Where Jacob believes in rallying the streets gangs against the upper class right out in the open—perhaps serving both as an army and a distraction—Evie takes to the shadows and assassinates targets deliberately and with calculation.

At a private pre-gamescom Ubisoft event, I had the chance to don the hood of Evie Frye as she delved into one of the numerous fan-favorite Blackbox missions; in fact, Ubisoft boasts that Syndicate will have the most Blackbox missions of any game in the franchise. Standing upon a nighttime ferry, I watched the Tower of London roll gently into view. Small groups of locals, some in top hats and some in frilly dresses, huddled about the dock plastered with advertisements hawking the tower as a tourist attraction. Taking an indirect approach, I scouted the landing area, combing the length of the outer wall, in search of the best place for the rope launcher with which Evie can speedily move toward a ledge (just like Batman… or is that Batgirl?).

After scaling the parapets and evading the groups of patrolling Queen's Guard, I quickly found the starting point for the mission, an assassination attempt on Lucy Thorne. Neither the brightest nor the strongest Templar in the order, she was a relatively easy target but was surrounded by sturdy castle walls and numerous soldiers loyal to her cause. Luckily, with the handy zooming of the camera on specific locations around the tower, the Blackbox mission focused upon three possible strategies to reach Lucy Thorne: an allied guard fighting for the Assassins, the Master of Keys who had arrived just in time to be pilfered, and a constable who had been put under house arrest without just cause. Given that I needed a bit more time to become reacquainted with the controls, I opted for the first option before trying the third.

As a master of stealth, Evie can hide in plain sight so long as she remains still for a few seconds. This made traversing around the castle quite simple despite the soldiers marching around the main castle. With a few peeks around corners and an almost over-appreciative use of Eagle Vision, I cautiously approached the allied guard who considers the idea of pretending to arrest Evie so that she can enter the premises as a prisoner while hiding in plain sight. It was a risky strategy, but after tiptoeing past the guards near the entrance, next to the stairs, up through the inner chambers, and straight to Lucy in the central ballroom, the reward became clear. All it took was one cutscene for Evie to cross Lucy, along with her pompous attitude, off the bloody list.

Feeling more comfortable with the action, I then tried the murderous approach by hoping to free the constable from his locked office, which was but a quick skip and a hop from the main tower. I moved Evie along the inner part of the outer wall, hoping to slip unnoticed. Unfortunately, two guards spotted her immediately, so Evie needed to silence the pair quickly. This, she performed with ease, though killing too many innocent guards would have lead to a synchronization penalty.

With that short bout of practice out of the way, I found an open window on the second floor of the office and decided to whip out Evie's throwing knives, for which she has double the capacity compared to her more belligerent brother. Headshot after headshot, I nailed every Templar-grubbing guard in the building and had myself a firm chat with the newly-freed constable, who was grateful enough to give Evie control over four guards still loyal to him. Allies in hand, I sprinted toward the main tower for battle, taking care to counter attacks in familiar Assassin's Creed fashion and blast foes with Evie's Voltaic Bomb which stunned every guard dumb enough to crowd around the bottom of the staircase. With all the commotion, Lucy Thorne was no longer in the main ballroom. Slicing and dicing a few extra guardsmen, I found her hiding behind a box at the very top of the castle… as if that would protect her from Evie's hidden blade.

Gifted with the powers of the Assassins that came before her, Evie Frye stands firm on her own, pairing well with her twin Jacob who revels in the fray of close combat. It remains to be seen whether Evie and Jacob will have distinct missions across London given the stark contrast between their combat styles, or if you can switch between them freely no matter the quest. Whatever the case, the Templars don't stand a chance. (Twin powers activate!)

Assassin's Creed: Syndicate releases worldwide on October 23, 2015 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.