Highlights
- Assassin's Creed Mirage features a protagonist, Basim, who may be considered uninteresting even if he's iconic, similar to the first game's Altair.
- The story and gameplay of Assassin's Creed Mirage may be intriguing, but Basim's delivery and personality leave much to be desired.
Making intriguing video game protagonists can often be difficult, and no series knows that more than Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed franchise. Over the course of 13 mainline installments, the series has had its fair share of notable protagonists. At the same time, it has also had many bland ones along the way. Assassin's Creed Mirage may be a fun return to form for the series, but it also seems to suffer from the latter.
Assassin's Creed Mirage puts players in control of Basim before the events of Valhalla. In this game, they get to see his story in greater detail, which helps add to his persona in its predecessor immensely. However, some players may find him to be a pretty boring character. While an interesting story may play out around him, his delivery and personality leave much to be desired. But that may actually make him the perfect protagonist to headline this classic experience since he seemingly shares many similarities with the franchise's first assassin.
Basim has the Worst Aspects of Altair
The original Assassin's Creed was a fantastic surprise when it launched back in 2007. The mythos that Ubisoft had created was intriguing, the historically accurate cities were a joy to explore, and the actual story was not half-bad either. However, the protagonist Altair was not that memorable. He will always be known as the one who started it all, though there is a reason he is often overshadowed by Assassin's Creed 2's Ezio.
The story of Assassin's Creed may have been interesting, but Altair was more of a bland character. His delivery did not feel that natural, he seemed pretty one-dimensional, and he was just not that intriguing of a character. Even though the studio has done a good job at expanding his story since, the version of Altair that players see in the first game can be pretty forgettable. That is something that Assassin's Creed Mirage's Basim seems to suffer from as well.
Just like with the first game, the story of AC Mirage can be very intriguing. However, it feels like it is being held back by an uninteresting main character. His dialogue also feels kind of bland due to either the writing or the actual delivery. On top of that, he also feels a bit one-dimensional even with the heartbreaking backstory Ubisoft gave him. Still, despite fans of Valhalla being interested in learning more about him, he does not seem to be that interesting of a person.
It is a shame that Basim is arguably not as interesting as the likes of Ezio, and yet it may actually work here. Assassin's Creed Mirage is supposed to bring the franchise back to its roots after three massive RPG titles. Since the first game also arguably had a lackluster protagonist, this feels like the perfect nod to the originals in a way where the central protagonist may have an iconic status despite not having the most well-developed character. This does not excuse the use of a bland protagonist, but it does help it feel more associable with those early titles in another way.
Assassin's Creed has had its fair share of uninteresting protagonists, which may have held back some of the games' potential a bit. However, Ubisoft usually makes up for it by delivering intriguing stories, fascinating open worlds, and a satisfying gameplay loop. It seems to be doing all of that with Mirage, which helps distract from the fact Basim may not be that enjoyable. And since he feels so much like Altair, Ubisoft may have another Ezio waiting around the corner, but fans will just have to wait and see.
Assassin's Creed Mirage is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
