A dream for many fans of the series!

Finally, there is official information that not only confirms the leaks, but reveals even more.

After the many leaks in recent days, Ubisoft couldn’t help it and confirmed Assassin’s Creed Mirage before the Ubisoft Forward. But a lot of information has not been shared, so far only insiders have given it to us. And as the showcase shows, the rumors about playing with Basim are true. Other than that, Ubisoft has revealed a lot more that hasn’t been circulating on the net.

First, some highlights on AC Mirage:

• Gender: Action adventure with story focus
• Release: 2023
• Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC and Amazon Luna
• main workshop: Ubisoft Bordeaux
• Editions: Standard (50 euros), Deluxe (60 euros) and Collector’s Case (150 euros)
• Pre-order: now, pre-order bonus: exclusive side quest “40 thieves”

From thief to master

As the first works already showed, Basim Ibn Is’haq is the main character of Mirage. He’s already known as an important key character in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, which takes place well over 20 years after Mirage.

Coming of Age Story: As a result, Mirage begins with a younger Basim in the year 861. As a cunning thief, he not only has to deal with the dangers of the streets of Baghdad, but is also tormented by nightmarish visions and a difficult past. However, when he meets master assassin Roshan, he joins the Hidden Ones (precursors to the Assassins) in the pursuit of justice and the search for answers. From then on, Basim is trained by Roshan and eventually achieves the rank of master himself.

Ubisoft didn’t mention any time jumps in the story, but since we’ll be playing Basim first as a thief, then as an apprentice, and finally as a master, which takes several years, the time jumps are inevitable.

Who are the bad guys in Mirage? Unsurprisingly, the hidden ones also get it in Baghdad with the Order of the Ancients (Order of the Ancients, later Templars). It has not been confirmed yet, but we will probably have to face several important people of the order again, who hide behind a mask, similar to the new AC parts. In the first trailer, which also exudes a certain Aladdin flair, we can already see them:

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Assassin’s Creed Mirage – This is what Basim’s adventure looks like in the trailer

Also seen in the trailer: The mountain fortress of Alamut, the home of the assassins that we already know from the first game with Altair. However, this is still under construction. And at the very end of the trailer, we see a monstrous figure in the dark. Exactly what it is has not been said, but it may have something to do with Basim’s vision. Maybe it even has something to do with Loki? Ubisoft hasn’t lost a single word about the connection between the two.

If you want to know what Loki and Basim are, take a look here:

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Assassin’s Creed Mirage

I don’t like Basim, but that’s why he could be the perfect protagonist

The motto of the game is very clear: “Back to basics” – Ubisoft dubbed it itself. This means we experience a linear story with a pre-set start and end, although sometimes we have a choice of which mission we want to tackle next. On the game side, the emphasis is on three points:

stealth

Sneaking, hiding, and stealth killing should be the focus more than in most games. For example, there are rooftop hideouts again, as a leak has already revealed. Basim also has Enkidu, an eagle that we can use to scout the area from the air and mark enemies and resources. But beware! There are special archers that can take down Enkidu. Here we have to decide how we want to proceed tactically.

Parkour

Baghdad, with its four different neighborhoods, should serve as a “playground”. Jumps around the corners of houses, pole vaults over large ravines or the outline of scaffolding should invite us to move quickly through the dense and bustling city with the agile Basim. NPCs should “react to our every move”, whatever that looks like in detail.

assassinations

In combat, we not only use typical weapons such as sabers, but also mines and blowguns. We can also set traps and slow down time enough to mark several enemies for Basim to eliminate in a sequence of quick kills. Significant assassinations are black box missions where ways and means can be determined. If an important person is eliminated, this is again illustrated by cutscenes like in part 1. You can already see it in the trailer.

With Mirage, Ubisoft finally takes the path that many fans (including me) want: Back to basics. Their goal is to deliver a modern take on the gameplay and features that defined the early games, especially Part 1. And so far, from what I’ve seen, I’m pretty optimistic.

Ubisoft seems to struggle to bring in enough new ideas to make Mirage feel fresh and modern without wasting or carelessly copying the old concept. We’re focusing on stealth, parkour, and assassination, but also a lot of little new ideas like pole vaulting, which promises to be a good balance. At least if Ubisoft doesn’t overdo it and fill the world with uninspired tasks. But since Mirage is meant to be an homage to the early games, that should still be limited.

With Basim we also get an exciting character, which also raises some expectations due to his role in Valhalla. Not all players will immediately get along with him. Mirage must succeed in bringing him closer to us in a new way that still makes us sympathize with him enough for the story to resonate with us. So I see another major stumbling block here.

There were even more new Assassin’s Creed games at the Ubisoft Forward Showcase. Codename Jade, Codename Red, and Codename Hexe were introduced. Apart from this, other games were also featured. For more on all of this, check out our Ubisoft Forward preview.

After all this information, what do you think of AC Mirage? Are you looking forward to an Assassin’s Creed based on the old games?