It’s clear to see whyAssassin’s Creed Mirageis exciting for many fans of the Ubisoft IP, promising a return to basics. While there are manyAssassin’s Creedgames on the horizon that aim to tackle different points of history, the closer proximity ofMiragemakes it the single-most advertised of those projects, including a full-length trailer that shows off the setting and general tenets of gameplay.
WhileAssassin’s Creed Miragepromises to return to the franchise’s roots in terms of gameplay, it is also returning to the IP’s geographical origins.The narrative ofMiragepromises to be an exciting one full of established characters, and there is no reason that this cannot be extended to any potential single-player DLC, which has a lot of potential to touch back in with fan-favorite assassin Altair.
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The Story and Setting of Assassin’s Creed Mirage
Assassin’s Creed Miragewill take place in the 9th Century, set in the city of Baghdad around 20 years prior to the events ofAssassin’s Creed Valhalla.Miragefeatures Basim Ibn Ishaq as a protagonist, with his place in the franchise having been established by the main narrative ofValhalla. Acting as kind of soft prequel,Miragewill tell the story of Basim as a younger man who escapes his troubles by joining the Hidden Ones, a precursor organization to the Assassin Brotherhood.
It is likely a core story element ofMiragewill see Basim come to terms with his status as a sage for the Norse Isu God Loki. The genetic memories of Loki bled into Basim’s conscience over time, fostering an obvious crisis in identity and personality.Miragealso promises to do away withthe newer RPG elements of theAssassin’s Creedfranchiseby offering a more intimate, smaller-scale gameplay experience akin to its original titles. This likely means the game is more narrative-driven than recent installments, opening the door for even more post-launch narrative DLC to hitMirage.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s Potential DLC Characters
BeyondValhalla, it can be said thatMirageis most closely linked to the originalAssassin’s Creed, which also took place in the Middle East around some of the same locations thatMiragewill explore. The only significant aspect ofMiragethat separates it from the originalAssassin’s Creedis the time in which it is set, withMiragetaking place roughly 300 years prior to the events of the original Ubisoft title.
While this seems like a huge gulf in time, it is a fairly small difference when considering the usual time-jumps that the series employs. The shared setting and relatively close timeframe betweenMirageand the firstAssassin’s Creedseems like a perfect opportunity for DLC starringoriginal protagonist Altair Ibn-LaʼAhad. Altair is one of the most beloved protagonists in the franchise, with the absence of any real contemporary representation meaning there is a lot of room to check in with the assassin as part ofMirage.
Like the overall story ofAssassin’s Creed Mirage, this potential DLC could showcase Altair’s younger years when he is being inducted into the Brotherhood and working his way up the ranks of the organization, giving an intimate window into the life of this well-known but underrepresented characters. It remains to be seen whether such DLC will become available forMirage, but it would undoubtedly be a fascinating concept.
Assassin’s Creed Mirageis in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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