More than hoodies, hidden blades, or alien artifacts, one of the defining features of Assassin’s Creed is the Leap of Faith. Ever since the first game, players have been yeeting their characters off of tall structures and into conveniently placed bales of hay, and now, several people are attempting that feat in real life.
Ahead of the release of Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced, Red Bull Gaming organized a tropical jaunt for several athletes, tasking them with recreating Edward Kenway’s signature leaps from the game. In total, the Red Bull crew took on four challenges: Jumping from a cliff into the ocean water, leaping from the top of a pirate ship, falling into a pile of sand, and capping the challenge with a Leap of Faith into hay.
Unsurprisingly, jumping into water resulted in zero fatalities, although there was some hesitation from the group when they were on the ship, due to the motion of the waves making the vessel sway about.
Once they got to the third challenge, things started to look a little hairy, with the sandpile not exactly providing the softest landing. The highest point from which a jump was executed was from 12 meters, with one of the Red Bull athletes coming dangerously close to missing the sand entirely. From there, the crew took on a classic Leap of Faith into hay, upping the ante and breaking the previous world record by jumping from a height of 18 meters–and in full Assassin’s Creed cosplay.
Once again, the team miraculously survived, setting a new world record in the process. It’s an impressive feat, although the 2016 Assassin’s Creed movie contains an even more hair-raising recreation of the Leap of Faith. One of the highest freefalls performed in decades at that time, stuntman Damien Walters jumped from a height of 38 meters, landing on a massive stunt mattress below–good thing it wasn’t a pile of hay, we guess.
Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced – Standard Edition (PS5, Xbox Series X)
$60 | Releases July 9
Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced Digital Deluxe Edition (PS5, Xbox Series X, PC)
$70 | Releases July 9
Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced Collector's Edition (PS5, Xbox Series X, PC)
$200 | Releases July 9
Fortunately, you won’t need to risk life or limb to perform these stunts in Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced. Launching on July 9 for PC and console, the game is a complete remake of Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag and brings it up to par with modern entries in the series. Opinions are mixed on some of the changes it introduces, which range from a refresh of the narrative to the removal of tailing missions with immediate fail states. Ubisoft has also begun promoting the game with a real-life treasure hunt, with $500,000 in booty waiting to be claimed.
