19/07/2023 New information about the Order of the Ancients in Assassin’s Creed Mirage has come to light, the text and title of this article has been updated to reflect that.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage is one of the most exciting upcoming Xbox games out there and has the potential to be one of the best Assassin’s Creed games yet. The recent gameplay deep dives and behind-the-scenes looks at Basim help to reinforce that. A game that honors the original Assassin’s Creed game in more ways than one, Mirage follows Basim as he rises up the ranks of the Assassins Order to free Baghdad from the oppression of the Order of the Ancients – classic Assassin’s Creed, then. This makes it one of the most exciting upcoming PS5 games out there, but how much freedom will you actually have compared to the recent RPG entries? Well, you’ll be pleased to know that you’ll be able to pick your own path to Master Assassin in Assassin’s Creed Mirage – sort of.
In an interview with Wccftech, Mirage’s narrative director Sarah Beaulieu confirmed that Ubisoft isn’t going to dictate which order you tackle your main targets in Assassin’s Creed Mirage – or, how you tackle them. However, this isn’t the whole story.
When asked if combat would become increasingly difficult if Basim “goes towards a certain target without having achieved a certain rank first”, Beaulieu responded with confirmation that players “can do every target the way [they] want in the order that [they] want without having made any progress”. What does this mean? Well, it means that Basim should jump up a rank in the Order of Assassins every time you take-down a member of the Order of the Ancients. So, by the time you’re crossing off the final name on the list, you should become Master Assassin – in theory.
Although, it turns out that the first target you come up against is actually scripted. In a Reddit AMA, creative director Stephane Boudon confirmed that “the first [target] is mandatory” in Assassin’s Creed Mirage. From then, though, you’re free to pick your path.
To be honest, we think this makes perfect sense. There has to be a way for Basim to become involved in this struggle and – just like Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla – the fact that some of these targets are tied to the narrative will only add to the weight of each task and make them more than meaningless assassinations.
If you’re wondering what else we learnt about the narrative of Assassin’s Creed Mirage, aside from the fact that it seems quite disconnected from the actual members of the Order of the Ancients themselves, you’ll be pleased to know that Beaulieu has confirmed that “there are new elements related to the Isu” in this game – and, that the only modern-day section is at the game’s start.
So, once we get through the introduction, which should establish that we’re still in the Animus and why Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s Basim – who’s also the main modern-day protagonist now (it’s confusing) – is re-exploring this period of his history.
Is this going to be one of the best games of all time? Well, you can be the judge of that by looking at the gameplay footage above. What we’ve seen might not match the scope of a huge open-world experience like Tears of the Kingdom, or the impressive graphics of The Last of Us Part 2, but it’s certainly going to be a treat for Assassin’s Creed fans – especially if you’re someone who can’t wait to bribe their way through the game. Although, as we now know, you’ll be able to tackle each problem any way you like.