Assassin’s Creed has returned once again to its roots, focusing first and foremost on the assassination aspect and shying away from the modern day Abstergo narrative (don’t worry, you’ll still have Nexus VR for your fix). Set in Baghdad in the mid-800s during the Anarchy of Samarra, players will see themselves rise through the ranks of the brotherhood as young Basim Ibn Ishaq in crucial points of his life alongside the Hidden Ones.

　　In the stage presentation as well as a deeper dive behind closed doors, Assassin’s Creed Mirage is already a fantastic return to form with an emphasis on the stealth gameplay that later RPG entries began to shy away from. Many of Basim’s tools in his arsenal, including the sleep-inducing blowdart and smoke bombs, encourage making Basim’s actions more elusive while offering opportunities to escape if his actions become too high profile or conspicuous. Early on, it appears that Basim can unlock each of his five tools one by one in any order, giving players a slightly different experience than their friends based on how they progress.

　　Crowd-blending is a mechanic that’s been traditionally part of the Assassin’s Creed playstyle, allowing their chosen assassin to walk among the ranks of common folks without drawing attention to themselves, although it appears Basim may have a price to pay to do so (at least to encourage a group of unsuspecting NPC’s to wander into the stronghold of his chosen target). His bonded eagle partner Enkidu also plays a crucial role in locating and marking targets, although he refuses to fly in airspace controlled by a Marksman archer, forcing the player to eliminate any threats to his companion before the flight can resume.

　　If Basim’s cover is blown, combat remains a valid option for the young assassin. The showcase provided us a quick look at combat primarily through Basim’s sword and dagger combination and spinning flourishes while the hidden blade so far appeared to be exclusive for assassination attempts and not as the parrying tool that Ezio used in the past (and only a single hidden blade, as Basim appears to still have his right ring finger intact). Assassin’s Focus is a new ability that Basim acquires that as a bar fills up, allows him to quickly chain assassinate targets within eyesight, dashing instantly from one target to the next.

　　Fans that are eager to pick up Assassin’s Creed Mirage on October 12th, 2023 might want to first play through Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and its most recent DLC, namely The Last Chapter. Or, on the other hand, players could also enjoy Assassin’s Creed Mirage all on its own and then experience Last Goodbyes in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and appreciate the plot threads first laid last year.

　　Following the presentation, Narrative Director Sarah Beaulieu was available for a one-on-one interview on Assassin's Creed Mirage. Check out the transcript below.

　　I  want to come out swinging here because fans have been curious after the last Valhalla DLC. Is Basim Loki?

　　*Laughs* So, shortly, the Basim from Valhalla and the Basim from Assassin's Creed Mirage are two very different characters. He's very young when we start the game, as you saw from the trailer, and he's going to evolve into something else.

　　I asked because ever since the last Valhalla DLC, fans have been looking for the connections on how everything neatly ties together from the prior entries into Mirage.

　　Yes, and we actually worked with the makers of Valhalla on that aspect just to make sure that I was right about what they had in mind when they created the character. But the character in Mirage is very unique, and it's very different. You probably heard it in his voice, and you saw it in how he moves and acts.

　　Assassin's Creed Mirage is about Basim's evolution throughout the lineage, especially within the Hidden Ones.

　　Absolutely. And through Roshan (played by Shohreh Aghdashloo), that's one of the Hidden Ones that is very important. We have a couple of other characters supporting this evolution.

　　Will the modern-day Abstergo Industry play into Assassin's Creed Mirage?

　　No, we have no modern day in the Mirage. We have an introduction of the game where we set the modern days and we understand where this is coming from and you're still in the Animus, obviously. But that's all.

　　The price point has been something that fans have been curious about. Obviously, with this being priced much less than Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Odyssey, should fans be concerned if they liked that type of large scale narrative?

　　So, the narrative and the game in general is closer to the first Assassin's Creed games. That means it's more compact, for sure that's why the price is cheaper.

　　And there's not going to be any extraneous stuff, like other modes, correct?

　　Absolutely, that's Basim's story. That's his city.

　　It's good to see the return of the ring finger's sacrifice to gain the Blades' power. I thought that was a crucial character-defining moment for Altair, so it's great to see the callback.

　　I hope you love the scene we made for this specific moment!

　　He's not going to lose two fingers so he can have two blades, will he?

　　I'm not going to say anything about the fingers, but you'll see something interesting.

　　Having the eagle there, are they going to play more of a story element as well?

　　Yes. I can say briefly that the relationship between Basim and his eagle is important.

　　You obviously see him with the marksman trying to protect him from danger there. So I think that that's a very crucial part of their relationship there, on a mechanical level.

　　Absolutely. But as you surely know, mechanics and narrative are supposed to work together very strongly. They're very intertwined. So yes, I'm glad you spotted that.

　　Does synchronisation play a factor in the story of Assassin's Creed Mirage?

　　So, similar to all the AC games, if you cross the boundaries or if you kill too many people in a safe area, for example, yes, you're going to have the synchronization come into play. The Animus is still there.

　　Will the way that players proceed through a mission, whether they are playing exclusively stealthily or if they draw a lot of focus to them, impact the narrative, be it like alternate endings or anything of that nature?

　　No, there is one ending and a specific ending because the evolution of Basim is very specific and it has to lead to the other Assassin's Creed, especially Valhalla. So that's why there is a very specific ending and there are no character choices.

　　What about the narrative involving the Isu? Is that in Assassin's Creed Mirage?

　　Yes, absolutely. Like the Animus, the Isu are very core to the lore of Assassin's Creed, so they're always there somewhere. So yes, there are new elements related to the Isu.

　　What sort of collectibles will players be able to discover the underlying narrative?

　　You have the main story and structure in the open world facing all the members. And you have what we call world events similar to other titles, where you come across something in the city and it's not planned. We also have side missions, like assassination missions, stealing missions, et cetera. Everything that was built for the side content, like contract missions and world events, they are all meant to support character evolution in a historical setting in that world. So they all serve the narrative in one way or another.

　　In the gameplay demo of Assassin's Creed Mirage, you showed Basim's ranking changing. How does that work?

　　That's the Hidden Ones' ranks. Every time you kill a target, a main target for example,  you get a new rank. It's really Basim as an assassin evolving until he becomes a master.

　　Will combat be more difficult if he goes toward a certain target without having achieved a certain rank first?

　　No, you can do every target the way you want in the order that you want without having made any progress. You can do anything.

　　With regards to the tools available in Assassin's Creed Mirage, can they be unlocked in any order?

　　Yes, exactly. You get to choose. Every time you kill a main target and you go back to the bureau, you report to the Rafiq and you get to choose one of the tools.

　　From a thematic perspective, what would be the best tool for Basim to start with?

　　Great question. I'm going to give you my favorite one. I think my favorite one is the smoke bomb. But for a very, very simple reason, which is I love the visuals. I love the effect that it has in terms of visuals. So that would be my favorite. I also think it fits him well symbolically.

　　Do you have an idea of how long it'll take to complete Assassin's Creed Mirage?

　　It's very similar to the first Assassin's Creed. You can compare it to that one.

　　I did see a filter to change the game's lighting to match the first Assassin's Creed. Will there be any others?

　　This is the only filter that we have. It is an idea from our director (Stéphane Boudon), and I think that's a great idea. Do you like the idea?

　　I absolutely do. The collectibles of the flags and the feathers can be a bit excessive in the earlier titles. As far as customizing Basim's identity, will there be various skins and colors to be able to dye his gear?

　　Yes. You have different outfits first. You have different dyes. You can choose the dye for the outfit from the menu. There are plenty of different outfits.

　　One key component of the end game of an Assassin's Creed title is collecting very specific items to unlock a very iconic armor set, something that's essentially the ultimate armor for that given character. Will Basim have something similar in this?

　　Yes. You do have some options like that. You can absolutely collect some things and get a very specific outfit in Assassin's Creed Mirage.

　　Are you able to talk about what those things you're collecting are?

　　No, because that's got to be spoiling. But yes, you can do that in specific missions.

　　Will you be able to toggle whether he has his hood on or off as you wish?

　　No, because the problem is more in terms of cinematics, it is very difficult to do that.

　　Will we see him in iconic costumes like Altair's Robe?

　　Yes!

　　When Assassin's Creed Mirage finally launches, is there one specific scene or something important that you think the players should keep an eye out for?

　　The very last one. I'm not kidding, that's the first one I wrote and that's the one I love.

　　Wonderful. Thank you so very much for your time.

　　Assassin’s Creed Mirage will be available on both previous and current generation PlayStation and Xbox titles as well as PC and Amazon Luna for $49.99, with a Deluxe edition with Prince of Persia-inspired DLC for $10 more and a GameStop-exclusive Collector’s Case Bundle for $149.99 that includes a Steelbook case, brooch replica, 32cm figuring of perching Basim, map, mini-artbook, and ‘selected soundtrack’ of Assassin’s Creed Mirage.