Skip to main content

No Animus needed: ‘Assassin’s Creed’ VR experience sends you to another time


Assassin’s Creed star Michael Fassbender isn’t the only one who gets to travel into the world of the Spanish Inquisition. Thanks to a new virtual reality experience from 20th Century Fox, New Regency, AMD, and Alienware, you can too.

The VR experience shows the perspective of an Assassin, a member of the secret society from both the film and the Ubisoft video game franchise. It might not be quite the same as actually entering the Animus and taking the place of one of your ancestors, but on the plus side, you can do it from the comfort of your own home or wherever else suits you. The VR content will be available through the Oculus Video app for Oculus Rift and Samsung VR, plus as a 360-degree video on Facebook starting Thursday night, when it debuts at the 2016 Game Awards, reports Variety.

Recommended Videos

There are other alternatives for getting to see the world as an Assassin as well, so don’t worry if you don’t own the necessary technology yourself. AMC theaters in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, and Austin, Texas, will all offer moviegoers the chance to try the VR experience from December 2 to January 1. Each of the participating locations will have Oculus Rift demo kiosks that fans can check out.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

As for the movie, it will follow Fassbender as Callum Lynch, a descendant of the Assassins who is sent back to 15-century Spain via the Animus. There, he has to learn how to fight the Templar organization so he can apply that knowledge and defeat them in the present day. The Justin Kurzel-directed film also stars Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, and Michael K. Williams.

Assassin’s Creed opens in theaters on December 21.

Stephanie Topacio Long
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Stephanie Topacio Long is a writer and editor whose writing interests range from business to books. She also contributes to…
5 great Netflix movies to watch on Christmas
A TSA agent runs in Carry-On.

To quote a notorious line from a James Bond movie, "Christmas comes but once a year." Since that's the case, you better have something fun planned, or the holidays can quickly turn sour. You could watch a football game or go to the movie theater, but why bother with all that hassle when Netflix is just sitting right there?

The streamer has plenty of movies available, especially Christmas-themed ones. But the following list doesn't include such recent films as Hot Frosty or The Merry Gentlemen. Instead, these five movies are all guaranteed crowd-pleasers, even if they don't explicitly involve the holiday.

Read more
5 great drama movies to watch on Christmas
A man puts his hand on the steering wheel in a car in a scene from The Noel Diary.

'Tis the season for watching movies. It's a great opportunity to watch a movie since many of us will be off during the holiday season. There are so many Christmas movies to choose from that it can be overwhelming. Family-friendly classics like Elf, Home Alone, and A Christmas Story never go out of style. Rom-coms like Love Actually and The Holiday always play well this time of year.

There are significantly fewer Christmas dramas than the two categories mentioned above. However, the dramas that are available to stream are worth watching. Our picks for drama movies to watch on Christmas include a famous psychological drama from a master, an iconic adaptation of a novel, and a Netflix romance.

Read more
1999 had the greatest lineup of Christmas movies ever
Two men work on a film projector in The Cider House Rules.

We all have our traditions for Christmas. Some sing carols around the neighborhood while others wear ugly sweaters to work and make gingerbread at home. For myself, every year I always go to one place of worship on Christmas Day: the movie theater. I'll be there this year, plunging myself into the Gothic darkness of Robert Eggers' Nosferatu remake, watching Nicole Kidman submit to unspeakable carnal pleasures in Babygirl, and witnessing the birth of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown.

For as long as I can remember, I've gone to the theater on Christmas and watched three or four movies, usually from different genres, and it's always been the one present to myself that's satisfied me the most. But there was one year when my holiday movie marathon hit a perfect score, all 10s, and no notes: 1999. That was a great movie year, so it stands to reason its Christmas Day offerings would tower over the rest.

Read more