Alexios and Kassandra

Alexios () and Kassandra () are two interconnected fictional characters in Ubisoft's "Assassin's Creed" video game franchise. They are featured as the player characters of the 2018 video game "Assassin's Creed Odyssey", and also appear as unlockable characters in the spin-off mobile game "Assassin's Creed: Rebellion". Alexios and Kassandra are portrayed through performance capture by Michael Antonakos and Melissanthi Mahut respectively.
Within the series' alternate historical setting, both characters are siblings who were separated from their Spartan parents and each other during childhood due to a prophecy delivered by the Pythia, the Oracle of Delphi. Through their mother Myrinne, the siblings are descendants of a fictional version of Leonidas I, who is himself descended from the otherworldly Isu, the so-called First Civilization and wielded a spear that is imbued with fantastical powers.
In "Odyssey", the player has the choice to play either Alexios or Kassandra as the game's protagonist; the chosen character becomes the elder sibling in the game's narrative, who is stranded from childhood on the island of Kephalonia following a traumatic incident at Mount Taygetos, and as an adult becomes a legendary mercenary known as the "Eagle Bearer". The younger sibling in turn becomes "Deimos", a revered enforcer of a secret society known as the Cult of Kosmos. "Odyssey" follows its protagonist's journey across the world of Ancient Greece during the Peloponnesian War in an attempt to reunite with their family and to hunt down members of the Cult of Kosmos, who are depicted as the orchestrators of the war. Within the series' lore, Kassandra is designated as the canon protagonist, appearing as such in "Odyssey"s October 2018 novelization and later reconfirmed in "Odyssey"s sequel "Assassin's Creed Valhalla".
Both characters have received a positive reception from video game journalists and series fans following their debut. Kassandra in particular has received attention as a positive example of gender equality and representation in video games, as well as critical acclaim in response to Mahut's performance and interpretation of the character.
Creation and development.
The player experiences the memories of either Alexios or Kassandra during the Peloponnesian War as part of a simulation played by archaeologist Layla Hassan. As a mercenary who is typically referred to by the term "misthios" which means "employed for hire" or "hired servant" in the ancient Greek language, both player characters are considered a departure from series tradition as neither are a member of the Brotherhood of Assassins or any related organization. As Alexios or Kassandra, the player may choose how to respond to non-player characters by engaging in dialogue trees with them to learn information and progress the story, with some of the choices potentially changing or affecting the fates of the characters they interact with. Throughout the game the protagonist has access to a loyal horse named Phobos, whose appearance is customizable and can be summoned almost anytime and anywhere.
In an interview by Tom Hoggins from "The Telegraph", "Odyssey" senior producer Marc-Alexis Côté said that the Kephallonia section early in the game is "about discovering who these characters are and find out why you should join them on this journey". Côté explained that the notion of choice is determined by the development team as one of their "core pillars" for the game, and that is extended to the player being given their choice of character. Côté noted that player feedback from the option to play as Evie Frye in "Assassin's Creed Syndicate" helped informed the team with insight on how to push this further for "Odyssey", and claimed that the team was able to build a better game as a result as everyone is satisfied with the "good gender split on the game". Since the player can choose to play as either character, the vast majority of the game's dialogue revolving around the protagonist is gender-neutral with only occasional exceptions. The implementation of a branching dialogue system, which Côté said is supposed to transform the way player's would approach their gameplay experience through dialogue choices, was the main change in how the developmental team approached building the game. He explained that it involved a lot more preparation compared to previous projects in the series, as the writing team for "Odyssey" expanded from a duo to a team of fifteen staff members during development. Côté said that the game's novelization was an extension of the project, and as its narrative is meant to be linear, a canon storyline for the novel had to be drafted.
In July 2020, a report by Jason Schreier from "Bloomberg" about the mishandling of sexual misconduct allegations by Ubisoft claimed that Kassandra was originally meant to be the sole playable character of "Odyssey", and the inclusion of Alexios as an alternative player character was insinuated to be the result of a compromise with Ubisoft management, a situation described to be "illustrative of the sexism ingrained within the company".
Portrayal.
Actors Michael Antonakos and Melissanthi Mahut, who portray Alexios and Kassandra respectively, are of Greek heritage. With regards to the casting process of characters in "Odyssey", audio director Lydia Andrew noted that Ubisoft tried to look for actors who are from Greece or have Greek ancestry. She indicated that it felt like a good opportunity to have a "deep dive into the culture of Greece and obviously Ancient Greece", and that it is just as important to work with good Greek actors as casting a great actor who is very good at portraying an accent. Mahut recalled that Antonakos was already chosen for the role of Alexios prior to the finalization of her own audition for the role of Kassandra, where she had the opportunity to play off Antonakos.
At the beginning of the process, the creative directors and writers of "Odyssey" gave both actors a "skeleton" idea of their characters as well as some insight as to their history, possible path and general characteristics. Antonakos and Mahut made it a point to work as a team, often holding discussions with each other about where they saw their respective characters going, and what they thought their main attributes were, and how they would respond in key situations. During motion capture sessions they would constantly give each other notes as to how they would like to approach certain scenes. Voice over sessions involved a lengthier process as they often were not in the same area or room, so they followed their personal choices as well as guidance by their respective directors.
Antonakos did not initially know what Alexios would look like and developed his own take on the character by drawing inspiration from previous series protagonist Ezio Auditore da Firenze, as well as the animated series iterations of Wolverine and Batman from the 1980s and 1990s. Antonakos described Alexios as a "boisterous Bruce Wayne with a Greek accent" who resembles an "explosive Wolverine" when he is angry. Antonakos was also inspired by Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here", which he used to ground the character into something deeper after he is given the context of the character's backstory as a "soundtrack to his pain". On the character's display of machismo, Antonakos said Alexios is essentially a demigod with supernatural strength who is also immersed in the Ancient Greek warrior culture and explained that his arrogance is "just a show, a mask for his insecurity of being alone", noting that he is in truth "a big kid acting tough" with "huge guilt issues" and "something to prove".
On portraying the identity of Deimos for their respective characters, Mahut wanted Kassandra to remain as a relatable character, even when she commits acts which are cruel or inhumane. She took key elements that made the elder sibling what they are, and "put a filter over them". She tried to imagine how a younger sibling would evolve from a traumatic childhood of being rejected and abandoned, but at the same time possessing a god-like strength. Antonakos decided to play Deimos as a different person entirely, and explained that he is the younger sibling who never experienced a normal childhood living in Spartan society and thus does not possess the same moral compass an elder Alexios would have had because he was never shown any compassion and sympathy by those who raised him. Antonakos projected a darker and lower voice compared to the one he gave Alexios as the Eagle Bearer, giving him no room for a smile unless it had a sense of tormenting behind it. As part of their motion capture performances, which constituted about 10%-15% of the game, the actors had to wear velcro/lycra suits and helmets with attached cameras. Both Antonakos and Mahut did their best to match each other's performances, gestures and movements, as the production team would use the same edits to cut the scenes together.
Appearances.
"Assassin's Creed Odyssey".
Alexios and Kassandra both play a central role in the narrative of "Assassin's Creed Odyssey". The player assumes control of former Abstergo employee Layla Hassan, who discovers the broken spear of King Leonidas of Sparta, which is in fact a powerful Isu artifact. After reliving Leonidas' final moment of triumph during the Battle of Thermopylai for the game's tutorial section, she is then presented with a choice to explore the genetic memories of Leonidas' grandchildren, either Alexios or Kassandra, via her portable Animus machine in her search for the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus, another Isu artifact; whoever is chosen is revealed to be the legendary mercenary known as the Eagle Bearer who was active during the Peloponnesian War, and whose exploits are detailed in the previously lost accounts of a version of Herodotos in the "Assassin's Creed" universe.
"Odyssey's" story begins with the Eagle Bearer on the island of Kephallonia, taking odd jobs and establishing a reputation as not only a reliable problem-solver, but also a capable warrior. A flashback memory reveal that they were exiled from Spartan society as a child after they attempted to stop a Spartan elder from throwing their younger, infant sibling from Mount Taygetos at the urging of the Pythia, who determined that the child if allowed to live would be responsible for the potential glory or downfall of Sparta. As punishment for inadvertently sending the Spartan elder falling to his death, they were cast down by their father Nikolaos, who was compelled to do so by the Spartan leadership, but survived the fall and ended up in the care of a con man named Markos, who is based in Kephallonia. The elder sibling retains Leonidas' broken spear as an heirloom and sidearm, becomes a wandering mercenary as an adult, and earns the moniker of the Eagle Bearer as they are constantly accompanied by an eagle known as Ikaros.
The Eagle Bearer is recruited by a mysterious merchant named Elpenor to assassinate the "Wolf of Sparta" in the "polis" of Megaris, and departs Kephallonia after befriending a naval captain named Barnabas and assuming command of his ship, the "Adrestia". During their time in Megaris, the Eagle Bearer learns that the "Wolf of Sparta" is in fact the sobriquet of Nikolaos; that he is not in fact their biological father and has another adopted son, Stentor; and that their mother Myrinne left Nikolaos and Sparta shortly after the incident at Mount Taygetos. The Eagle Bearer travels to Phokis to confront Elpenor, who reveals himself to be a member of the Cult of Kosmos and is aware of their lineage as the grandchild of King Leonidas. Disguised with Elpenor's mask and robes after killing him, the Eagle Bearer infiltrates a secret Cult meeting in Delphi where they discover that their younger sibling had survived the fall from Mount Taygetos, but is corrupted and twisted as part of a plot orchestrated by the Cult of Kosmos to become their champion known as Deimos. Accompanied by Barnabas and Herodotos, the Eagle Bearer embarks on an extended journey across the Greek world on board the "Adrestia", where they encounter interpretations of various real world historical figures in the "Assassin's Creed" universe such as Perikles, Kleon, Aspasia, Sokrates, Alkibiades, Aristophanes, Hippokrates, Brasidas, and the Two Kings of Sparta. The Eagle Bearer eventually reunites with Myrinne, who had assumed the alias of Phoenix as the oligarch of the "polis" of Naxos, and they work together to undermine the Cult's activities in the Greek world and to convince the Spartan regime to reinstate their citizenship and ancestral estate.
The Eagle Bearer encounters and fights Deimos at the Battle of Pylos, but is captured and taken to Athens, where Kleon enjoys popularity as a leader of the city-state following the death of Perikles years prior, and reveals himself to be a Cult member all along. The Eagle Bearer successfully escapes captivity and thwarts Cleon with the help of their Athenian allies. The Eagle Bearer later joins Brasidas' Spartan forces in confronting Cleon's Athenian army at the Battle of Amphipolis, where the leaders of both armies die in battle which heralds the end of the first half of the Peloponnesian War. Depending on key decisions made by the player at predetermined points of the game's narrative, the Eagle Bearer either redeems or kills Deimos at the game's ending, and their actions also have a direct bearing on the fates of their extended family members and determines whether they will have a successful family reunion for the main plotline's epilogue. At some point during their lifetime prior to the conclusion of the Peloponnesian War, the Eagle Bearer also meets their biological father Pythagoras, who is revealed to be a descendant of the Isu like Myrinne and Leonidas, and inherits the Staff of Hermes from Pythagoras to safeguard Atlantis' secrets, gaining biological immortality in the process. In the modern day, they meet Layla in Atlantis, and tasks her with restoring the balance between order (represented by the Templar Order) and chaos (represented by the Assassin Order) and passes away peacefully after relinquishing the staff.
DLC.
The first DLC expansion pack of "Odyssey", "Legacy of the First Blade", reveals that the Eagle Bearer is the ancestor of Amunet through the consummation of their relationship with the surviving child of Darius, a Persian freedom fighter based on the historical figure Artabanus of Persia. In the DLC pack, they are being pursued by the Order of the Ancients, another clandestine organization who are the precursors of the Templar Order, determined to bring order to the world by force and hunt down individuals with Isu heritage whom they brand as "Tainted Ones". The second DLC expansion pack of "Odyssey", "The Fate of Atlantis", explores the Eagle Bearer's duties as the so-called Keeper and their encounters with members of the Isu civilization.
In other media.
For the game's novelization written by Gordon Doherty, Kassandra appears as the Eagle Bearer who opposes the Cult of Kosmos and eventually inherits the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus from Pythagoras. Alexios is shaped to become a weapon to be used by the Cult, henceforth known by the name Deimos. His allegiance to the Cult puts him at odds with his sister, who attempts to dismantle their influence across the Greek world in the midst of the Peloponnesian War and to reunite their family, and later dies fighting Kassandra at Mount Taygethos.
Alexios and Kassandra are available as unlockable characters in the 2018 mobile game "Assassin's Creed: Rebellion".
Promotion and merchandise.
Although Kassandra is designated as the canon protagonist for the novelization and was featured prominently in gameplay demo footage shown at E3 2018, the vast majority of the marketing campaign and available merchandise for "Odyssey" exclusively featured Alexios, including the game's three pre-order statues, cover art, official trailer, header image on Uplay, and so on.
As part of a promotional collaboration between Ubisoft and Amazon, Alexios is featured as part of "Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Spartan Skill", a free downloadable Alexa-based content available for all Amazon Echo devices. A limited edition "Assassin’s Creed"-themed Amazon Echo device, designed to resemble a Spartan helmet, was also released.
Reception.
Prior to the release of "Odyssey" on October 5, 2018, Côté observed that there appeared to be a lot of interest into being able to play a female lead character, with about three quarters of players selecting Kassandra as the player character during a gameplay preview session in September 2018, which exceeded his own expectations. Ubisoft Québec Game Director Scott Phillips revealed that two-thirds of "Odyssey" players chose to play Alexios by December 2018, although he noted that the choices were statistically more evenly split during the game's playtesting stage. Both Alexios and Kassandra were jointly nominated for the 2018 Gamers' Choice Awards Fan Favorite Character of the Year, and had high placements on a ranking list of best "Assassin's Creed" protagonists by "LADbible". For the 30th GLAAD Media Awards in 2019, "Odyssey" was one of five nominees for the inaugural "Outstanding Video Game" category. GLAAD credited the positive depiction of Kassandra and Alexios as sexually fluid characters to be one of the rationales behind the nomination, though the controversy generated by the "Legacy of the First Blade" DLC pack was also acknowledged. Xalavier Nelson Jr from "Rock, Paper, Shotgun" was of the view that both are "distinct, compelling, and valid protagonists" in their own right, and that the subtle variations between both choices colours the events of their game moreso then the differences between a male and female Commander Shepard for the original "Mass Effect" trilogy. On the other hand, both Ali Jones from "PCGamesN" and Fraser Brown from "Rock, Paper, Shotgun" questioned the Alexios-centric marketing campaign for "Odyssey" and the lack of promotion for his female counterpart. Joe Parlock opined that the executive-mandated decision to have an interchangeable lead made it more difficult for the writers to develop either Kassandra or Alexios as their own characters in response to the "Bloomberg" report by Schreier.
Kassandra earned a nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Character at the 22nd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, and has received near-universal acclaim from video game journalists for her characterization as an atypical female video game protagonist. Hoggins said Kassandra was the obvious choice for him, as she is "brilliant company" who takes absolutely no nonsense from anyone, as "her tongue is much sharper than the rusty sword she begins the game with". Samuel Axon from "Ars Technica" said Kassandra stole the show for him, and that choosing her for his first playthrough felt like a fresh experience; he liked the notion of a female character with agency roaming ancient Greece "liberally partaking in all the violent and sensual pleasures on offer with Conan-like revelry and impunity", framing an entirely different tone and context not unlike that of "". Writing for "PC Gamer", Fraser Brown formed the view that Kassandra is "immediately likeable" due to her "easy-going, roguish charm", and compared her "longstanding popularity" to that of Geralt of Rivia from "The Witcher" media franchise which end up overshadowing the "Assassin's Creed" series' other protagonists. Harry Shepard, also from "PC Gamer", noted that her "commanding presence oozes cool, and she has a more subtle charm" compared to her male counterpart. Colin Campbell from "Polygon" praised Kassandra as "one of the most complete human characters" he has ever played as in a game, noting that she comes across as "smarter and funnier" then her male counterpart, and that "her facial animations are a joy to watch, while her vocal reactions generally match her movements". Campbell's credited Mahut's performance for giving the role a greater range than Alexios’ actor. Ewan Moore from "LADbible" praised the way Mahut "imbues every line with a sense of playfulness and dry humour", which helps her character to stand out from other series protagonists. Noelle Adams from "Critical Hit" praised Kassandra as a physically strong and tough survivor who combines likeable traits from many other female protagonists in fiction and yet has a malleable personality, in addition to being better animated then her male counterpart. Her portrayal as an example of a liberated Spartan female archetype, as well as a potential bisexual or queer protagonist has also been praised.
Kassandra has appeared on several "top character" lists with high placements. "Paste Magazine" named her among the best new videogame characters of 2018, and praised her down-to-earth nature, as well as her confidence and self-assuredness which is considered to be rare for video game characters. Andy Kelly from "PC Gamer" proclaimed her to be the second best protagonist character of the "Assassin's Creed" series behind Ezio Auditore da Firenze, whose mischievous charm is said to be present in Mahut's performance; and "Polygon" ranked Kassandra among the best video game characters of the 2010s as well as one of their "69 biggest crushes of the last decade".
Alexios has also received a positive reception, though he often draws an unfavorable comparison to his female counterpart. Moore described Alexios as "funny, well-written, and kind while being a straight badass". Kelly considered Alexios to be well acted, but felt that Antonakos played him "far too straight", which in his opinion failed to differentiate the character from "a dozen other gruff videogame heroes". Shepard said he chose to play as Alexios as he preferred his character design as well as Antonakos' delivery of the profane word "malaka", and felt he could better relate to Alexios due to their perceived visual similarities, though he accepted that his personality "is a bit flat" when compared to Kassandra's. Campbell said Alexios has a depth of character who is "as good as the gruffly vengeful Bayek", but commented that Antonakos' interpretation of the character comes across to him as a "cut-out Mediterranean macho hero, almost to the point of parody", with the "aura of a comedically self-important cartoon character". Axon said playing as Alexios felt like the same framing he has experienced in video games hundreds of times before, including every mainline "Assassin's Creed" game except "Syndicate". Andy Kim from "US Gamer" reacted negatively to Phillips' sharing of player data which is skewed towards Alexios, and argued that two-thirds of the game's player base made the incorrect choice.