Assassin’s Creed Mirage: everything we know about the return to AC’s roots
With Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Ubisoft Bordeaux is stepping back in time to get in touch with Assassin's Creed's origins (not to be confused with Assassin's Creed Origins) and returning to Baghdad for its setting. Thanks to the latest spate of details and reveals from Ubisoft at the PlayStation Showcase in May and the totally-not-E3 Ubisoft Forward in June, we’ve gotten a closer look at what Mirage’s lead Basim will be getting up to. And it's a whole bunch of parkour and stealth, just as Ezio Auditore da Firenze would expect.
If you want details, this is your one stop shop to drop in on, so check out all the freshest tidbits and well-aged facts on Assassin’s Creed Mirage.
What is Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s release date?
Assassin’s Creed Mirage releases on October 12, 2023.
With the release date finally announced by Ubisoft at the PlayStation Showcase in May, we also found out that it’ll be on PC on the Epic Games Store and the Ubisoft Store. Though it’s likely to come out on Steam eventually since previous games have shown up there, don’t hold your breath during the wait. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla didn’t show up on Steam until two years after its initial release and I don't want to be liable for your death.
How much will Assassin’s Creed Mirage cost?
The standard game prices seem to be settling at $70 for large AAA games, it seems like no one's told Ubisoft yet. Assassin’s Creed Mirage is available via Epic Games for $50.
Here’s the latest breakdown of Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s gameplay
From the latest trailer, it’s clear that Basim will really be relying more on the stealthy approach than the stars of the last few Assassin's Creeds. The focus in Mirage is on sneaking in between guards, eliminating obstacles while avoiding detection, and clever use of different tools and parkour in the environment to make up for mistakes—moving away from the more open world- and combat- focused entries in the series. It’s particularly exciting to see the parkour back as a bigger focus in the urban environment of ninth century Baghdad. Ubisoft Bordeaux that its approach “is closer to the Ezio games, where it’s all about keeping the flow and momentum going, with the design centered around verticality.”
The variety of assassination options feel like the early Assassin’s Creed games—especially Assassin’s Creed 2, as the team at Ubisoft calls out when showing off the return of the ‘bench assassination’—but looks a lot smoother and faster. Basim simply moves a lot more like a master assassin than Ezio did, with the benefit of a decade and a half of refinement under his belt.
There’s also an excellent rundown by the team at Ubisoft that shows what their approach to the three pillars of Assassin’s Creed gameplay are. It covers Mirage’s return to a balance between parkour, stealth, and assassinations. You can also check out the original premiere trailer from back in September 2022 for some more choice stuff.
What kind of Assassin's Creed is Assassin's Creed Mirage?
The simplest way to put it is that stealth is back in a big way. With the move away from a giant open world towards a more linear narrative, you’ll find Basim in more situations where you have to pick a way through the guards using the new tools—like blow darts you can customize to damage or knock out enemies—and old fashioned stealth takedowns.
This also means the return of social stealth, so you can mingle with crowds and blend in to avoid otherwise troublesome enemies. But new enemies like the marksman—who can shoot down your eagle while it's scouting—and guards who can summon reinforcements with a horn will make planning your approach more challenging than starting a brawl.
Likewise, parkour has brought back corner swings and quick ascents, and you can really see in the gameplay footage how quickly and smoothly Basim moves across the roofs of Baghdad. Larger gaps between buildings can also be crossed with the new pole vault, though I have to question a city with so many ready-made Olympic events at hand.
Where is Assassin’s Creed Mirage set?
Basim is going to be running around ninth century Baghdad, starting in 861, which puts it about 20 years before his appearance in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. The city of Baghdad is a lot denser than recent games in the series, and the tops of buildings are looking to be just as important as the streets and alleys below.
What about Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s story?
We’ve already gotten a look at what drives Basim Ibn Is'haq, who joins the Hidden Ones in their mission to track down and eliminate the Order of the Ancients to break their hold over Baghdad. Creative director Stephane Boudon laid out the intent behind the story clearly: “300 years before the time of Altair, we are telling the story of Basim and how he became a master assassin.”
This younger version of Basim from his appearance in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is a step back in time, and will show his transition from a street urchin to the deadliest living thing outside of Australia.