Mixing the famous Assassin Brotherhood with the turbulent, artistic, and splendid Dark Ages Middle East is a match made in heaven. Ubisoft bringing the Assassin’s Creed franchise to 10th century Baghdad and Abbasid Caliphate has the potential for being one of the best AC games in franchise history.
It’s no secret that most of the Assassin’s Creed games in recent years haven’t really been what one could call the “pinnacle of Assassin’s Creed”.
Sure, there have been some major successes, such as Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (which is one of my favorite AC games even though it’s not really “Assassin’s Creed”), that ensured the franchise has not undergone a complete decline in quality, but a lot of the recent games just aren’t up the standard of the past glories.
Games like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Origins are fun and can be really rewarding to play at times, but there’s just a blandness in story and characters that I can’t get past.
Obviously, some people will vehemently disagree with me about these two games and say that they are better than Odyssey, which is perfectly fine as they might be right. There are cool aspects to both Origins and Valhalla (such as the graphics, historical characters introduced, gameplay, combat, etc.), but the overarching story I find to be better significantly better in Odyssey than in Origins and Valhalla.
Perhaps I’ll be convinced one day that these two games are better after another playthrough, but that’s not this day.
Nevertheless, the reason why I’m so excited about Assassin’s Creed Mirage is that it not only is set in one of the least depicted times and places in “pop culture” (I don’t think I’ve ever seen a game set in pre-Crusades Middle East) but could also have some of the most fascinating story and gameplay choices the serious has offered to date.
A game based in Baghdad, one of the most important and politically relevant cities in the Middle East in the 900’s, under the rule of the Abbasid dynasty, one of the most powerful, wealthy, successful, artistic, advanced, and complex societies in Middle Eastern history, practically writes itself as a classic Assassin’s Creed adventure. And the Cinematic World Premiere trailer proves it.
(Ubisoft-Assassin’s Creed Mirage-Cinematic World Premiere Trailer)
There’s no end to the betrayal, murder, assassination, secrecy, politics, wealth, corruption, and in-fighting in the history of Baghdad that the Ubisoft developers could draw inspiration. Plus, there’s also some real-world assassins Ubisoft could include: The Hashshashins.
The history and fascination behind “assassins” as we know them today is due a lot to the historical Order of The Hashshashins, who came to prominence around 100 years after the time this game is set (circa: 1090) and operated all throughout the Middle East and Anatolia (modern day Turkey).
Perhaps there will be a storyline that deals with a group of The Assassins splintering off after a dispute and forming The Hashshashin, or maybe the main character will help form The Hashshashins.
Anywho, the early Islamic-Middle Eastern cultures have always been such a fascinating topic for me, so that’s probably why I’m so excited about this game. As I said, the Abbasids and the dynasties after them were easily the most successful and fearsome in all of the western hemisphere at the time, which was why The Crusades, The Reconquista, and the endless battles between the Byzantines and the Caliphates occurred.
Having a game set during the heyday of that great culture, which was one of the few societies in the western hemisphere actually keeping notes, records, and making scientific and culturally advancements after the fall of Rome, just has endless possibilities in storytelling terms.
Maybe the Assassins will have to contend with an invading Byzantine force from Anatolia that has dealings with an early version of the Knights Templar, or, judging by the trailer, the Assassins will have to fight off a corrupt/complicit ruler within the Caliphate. The possibilities really are endless.
(Ubisoft-Assassin’s Creed Mirage-Cinematic World Premiere Trailer)
Plus, the graphical achievements of the recent decades ensures that Ubisoft can capture 900s Baghdad in its full glory, which is a must for such a vibrant and interesting culture as the Abbasid’s had. Oh, and the main character from the trailer looked and reminded me a lot like everyone’s beloved Ezio.
Hopefully I’m not overhyping this game to the extreme, but I really believe Ubisoft has a gem on their hands if they can do the story and characters justice.
I guess we’ll have to wait and see when the game comes out this year.
Images Source: Featured Image: (Ubisoft) (Assassin’s Creed Mirage: Cinematic World Premiere | #UbiForward – YouTube)
In Text Image 1: (Ubisoft) (Assassin’s Creed Mirage: Cinematic World Premiere | #UbiForward – YouTube)
In Text Image 2: (Ubisoft) (Assassin’s Creed Mirage: Cinematic World Premiere | #UbiForward – YouTube)
