Highlights
- Assassin's Creed Mirage serves as both a throwback to the series' early gameplay and a bridge to the franchise's future, making it a crucial entry in the overarching canon.
- The game follows Basim Ibn Ishaq, a character introduced in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and will explore his past in Baghdad and shed light on the history of the Assassin Brotherhood.
- Assassin's Creed Mirage may reveal how the Isu god Loki manipulated Basim's life and the world around him, potentially setting the stage for a villainous arc for Basim in future games.
When Assassin’s Creed Mirage launches later this year it will take on the weighty role of serving as not only a throwback to the gameplay of the series’ earliest entries but also a narrative bridge to the franchise’s future. Even with several titles set to release in the coming years, out of all the Assassin’s Creed games currently in development, Assassin’s Creed: Mirage’s setting and story are likely to be the most important to the Ubisoft series’ overarching canon.
Following the adventures of Basim Ibn Ishaq, a Hidden One first introduced in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Assassin’s Creed Mirage is set to have an outsized impact on the series’ lore. With the ending of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla planting the seeds for the new game’s Basim-centered storyline and hinting at big shakeups in store for the factions vying for control of the world, Assassin’s Creed Mirage could provide answers to some of the series’ biggest questions. This is why Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s return to the series’ past will move the franchise forward while also paving the way for its next evolution.
By Returning to its Past, Assassin’s Creed Mirage Will Move the Franchise Forward
When players last saw Basim Ibn Ishaq in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla he’d been revealed as a reincarnation of the Isu god Loki. Doggedly determined to find his children Fenrir, Jormungandr, and Hel by the game’s end, Basim agrees to help the Assassins in their ongoing war against the Templar Order while still secretly searching for his offspring. By revisiting Basim’s life before he’d learned of his true nature Assassin’s Creed Mirage can show how Loki had been manipulating the trajectory of Basim’s life, and the wider world around him, to his own ends for years.
While some of Basim’s early adventures have already been chronicled in the novel Assassin’s Creed: The Golden City, Assassin’s Creed Mirage should help fill in the gaps. Tracing his rise from an orphan to a master assassin, Assassin’s Creed Mirage will explain how Basim mastered his deadly craft and likely helped set the stage for the Hidden Ones’ evolution into the Assassin Brotherhood centuries later. These insights into Basim’s past should flesh out the history of the ancient order at the center of the franchise and pave the way for its next evolution.
The Events of Assassin’s Creed Mirage Should Pave the Way for the Franchise’s Next Evolution
Though likely featuring the most honorable version of the character yet, Assassin’s Creed Mirage may also set the stage for a potentially heartbreaking future for Basim. No matter how principled Basim may appear, the increasingly corrupting effect of Loki’s machinations on his human vessel is sure to be a big focus of the story. And given the Isu god’s centuries-long quest to reunite with his lost children at any cost, Loki’s schemes in Assassin’s Creed Mirage could pave the way for a villainous arc for Basim in future games.
Showing how Loki influenced the Hidden Ones and the world at large even before meeting Eivor will let Assassin’s Creed Mirage provide more insight into the Isu’s ultimate goals. Fleshing out these missing details should shed light on Basim’s motivations ahead of the release of Assassin’s Creed Infinity, set to become the home of the series’ modern-day storyline. And with Basim now once again involved in the Assassins’ war against the Templars, his adventures in the ancient world are sure to shape the future of the ongoing conflict.
Though it takes place centuries before the latest events in the series, the story and setting of Assassin's Creed Mirage are likely to have a huge impact on the franchise’s future. By delivering a game that not only pays homage to the past, but also sets the stage for what’s yet to come, Assassin’s Creed Mirage could go down as one of the most important entries in the series yet.
Assassin's Creed Mirage releases October 5 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
