Ubisoft plans to pay tribute to the roots of the series with Assassins. It was one of the main wishes of long-time fans of the series, who could never connect with the new trilogy, Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla.
The French company finally responded to their request by introducing Assassin’s Creed Mirage. Ubisoft announced the title after its information was leaked, releasing a trailer and information about it during the Ubisoft Forward conference. Here we will share all that we have learned about Mirage so far and see whether this title is exactly what Assassin fans are looking for.
It is an action-adventure game with a focus on stealth. Although its map is smaller than the new trilogy; the audience is dealing with a more dynamic environment filled with various NPCs. That is, almost similar to what we saw in Unity.
Mechanics
Many role-playing mechanics have been removed from this version, and the game follows a much more linear approach than the likes of Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla. Instead, Parkour, stealth, and assassination of important characters, all three of which were the main features of the classic Assassin’s Creed gameplay, are present in Mirage. Of course, Ubisoft has made changes to this formula. It has inherited a part from all essences released so far, according to the director of Mirage. Due to the game’s focus on stealth, the developers have designed new tools and weapons for Basim (the main character). One of them is mine detection, which causes the formation of a red cloud so that Basim can quickly escape from danger when necessary.
In addition, Baghdad’s design was based on Parkour, allowing Basim to quickly jump from one roof to another and pass the obstacles. Interestingly, Ubisoft has announced that it has increased the speed of Parkour even compared to the classic versions so that users can feel agile when moving in the high areas of the city. In addition to recreating classic movements and animations, the creators have also designed new Parkour moves for Basim.
The assassination of Negative Characters
Finally, we come to the assassination of negative characters. The Ubisoft Bordeaux team has focused a lot on this section and has provided the audience with new possibilities for this work.
The creators call these missions Black Box missions. You can assassinate your targets in different ways. If you are one of the old fans of this series, you are familiar with these types of missions.
Interestingly, the production team has designed a special tool to assassinate game characters. Another important feature added to this section is the ability to kill multiple targets at the same time, which has returned to this issue from the classic versions, although the creators of Mirage emphasized that this feature will be more like Mark and Execute in Splinter Cell Conviction.
Basim Ibn Ishaq
The game’s main character is Basim Ibn Ishaq, whom the audience of the Assassins series met for the first time in Valhalla. Basim was one of the most influential characters in Valhalla, but the story of Mirage takes place in the ninth century in 861 AD, about 11 to 17 years before the events we saw in Valhalla. Of course, the distance between the two parts is not clear. Valhalla took place between 872 and 878 AD. The producers have even referred to Mirage as a “Coming of Age” story as it follows Basim’s journey across several years. According to Ubisoft, we will witness Basim’s character transformation in this game and how he joins the Assassins.
According to Mirage Narrative Director Sarah Beaulieu, the game shows how the young and raw Basim transforms from a street thief to a master assassin. Throughout the game, we also learn more about The Hidden One’s cult, led by Aya and Bayek that was established in Assassin’s Creed Origins.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage set in Iraq
According to Jean-Luc Sala, the artistic director of Mirage, Baghdad was one of the most advanced cities in the world in the 9th century, a city that was the origin of modern science, art, commerce, and innovation.
The production team used many historical texts and related documentaries to design Baghdad as best as possible. To better understand this city during that period, they studied other important Iraqi cities of that period such as Samarra. There are four parts of Baghdad in Mirage. According to historical documents, Karkh was established 11 years after the formation of Baghdad and is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Baghdad. The other part is the “Round city of Baghdad”, considered a green place and the Abbas Caliphate’s main seat.
In addition to the meticulously designed locations, Sala promises that the city will be extremely busy and crowded. In this regard, Sala says, “The residents of the city react to your every move.” In this case, we can expect Baghdad similar to Paris Assassins Creed Unity.
Release Date and Platforms
PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X players will be able to play Assassin’s Creed Mirage in 2023. PC users can also purchase this version through the Ubisoft or Epic Store. This game is available to the audience in three different editions. The normal version is 50 dollars and is even 10 dollars below the price of 8th-generation games. The Deluxe Edition version includes the story DLC of 40 Thieves of Baghdad. According to the creators, they made this DLC inspired by Prince of Persia. Finally, the limited Collector’s Case, in addition to the main game and its DLC, includes a 32 cm figure of Basim, a physical map of Baghdad, and an excellent steel book.
Conclusion
Assassin’s creed Mirage includes many features that fans of the classic versions of the Assassins series have been waiting for. We also hope that this game is exactly what fans of the classic series have come to expect.
