In a new video posted this afternoon, Ubisoft has shed light on Basim and how he’ll play when Assassin’s Creed Mirage launches in October.
In the video posted, we learn more about the man who would befriend Eivor, the protagonist of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.
Assassin’s Creed brings back the basics
Basim is our main protagonist in Mirage. He’s a fascinating character, one that fits the mould of the classic Assassin: deadly and resourceful, with a complex personality,” says Sarah Beaulieu, Narrative Director. “For that reason, we felt Mirage needed to be a strong narrative-driven experience.”
“We knew early on that we wanted to explore a reminiscent setting of the first Assassin’s Creed game, so naturally, we made the connection between the Golden Age of Baghdad and Basim,” reveals Stéphane Boudon, Creative Director. “It was a great opportunity to show some of the events that defined him as a person.”
The next Assassin’s Creed game was experienced without having witnessed the events of Valhalla; this is something the team working on the project ensured that anyone could come in with no previous knowledge. Boudon also confirms that there will be a lot of secrets, Easter eggs, and connections with past games and the overall lore of the series.
The team then set out to honour the Levantine Assassins by harnessing several familiar elements, including the robes and colours the first Assassin’s Creed game brought to the masses. When Basim becomes an Apprentice, his robe within the Hidden Ones is a white robe with blue shades and a small beaked hood. As he completes missions and grows as a warrior, so do his outfits as he eventually gains a red sash and a more defined beaked hood.
Once Basim joins the Hidden Ones, his old life begins to conflict with his new one as he works to free Baghdad from oppression while drifting from his old friend Nehal and becoming closer to Roshan.
This ties into the combat system as there is no experience-based progression when fighting enemies. Instead, a linear-based progression system gives Basim the skill points needed to become strong. Today’s video reveals three skill trees: Phantom, Trickster, and Predator.
As you follow the story and complete missions, your rank increases
within the Brotherhood, giving you new assignments, outfits and tools opportunities. There are new tools that can be upgraded and customized for Basim, giving him a deadly and effective Assassin toolset.
These tools can allow for some exciting and unexpected gameplay strategies when fully upgraded.
We’ve seen the Blowdart being used to knock enemies out and poison explosives to remove enemies from a distance.
And to personalize your version of Basim, Ubisoft is bringing back the ability to dye your robes, something we haven’t seen in several iterations.
Lastly, Basim’s primary weapons are the sword and dagger, which might sound familiar to Altair fans. Ubisoft’s animation team’s goal was to create an agile Master Assassin, one that was elegant and deadly. This shows how Basim differentiates from Eivor, who could wield several weapon types in Valhalla. In Mirage, there is only focus on the sword, allowing the team to focus on keeping Basim agile and intuitive to control.
We’ve already been told Basim isn’t a brute and is much more inclined to be stealthy before entering battle as a last resort – combat comes with more significant challenges, higher stakes, and a greater reliance on tools to escape tricky situations.
It also shows Ubisoft has addressed combat by removing hit numbers in battle and bringing back the classical parry move that previous Assassins had, allowing for killstreaks.
