878 AD Winchester Events Share 6 May 2023 Written By: Edited By: Aaron Young Colum Blackett Back To Database Introduction 878 AD is a unique collaboration between Hampshire Cultural Trust, Sugar Creative and Ubisoft, in an attempt to bring history and games together. By embarking on this adventure, you will get to witness key moments in Winchester’s Anglo-Saxon history. This immersive experience will allow you to travel back in time and observe the events that led up to the Battle of Edington in May 878. 878 AD is a pioneering collaboration between the heritage sector, the gaming industry and technology innovators. Together they have managed to make the City of Winchester come alive. All credit to Hampshire Cultural Trust. Location The 878 AD experience is situated in the centre of Winchester. There are two parts to the event, one is indoors in The Brooks shopping centre and the other is around the city itself. 878 AD – Upper Floor of The Brooks – Winchester – S023 8QY Check the site for travel options. I used the Park and Ride which I would recommend. Link to Site: Home | 878 AD - Step into Anglo-Saxon Winchester Information The experience is split into an interactive attraction supported by live performances, and an augmented reality app tour which you can complete at your own leisure. I would recommend checking that your smart phone is compatible prior to visiting. The indoor exhibition took me 60 mins to complete but it will vary depending on how involved you want to be. The app tour around Winchester will take slightly longer, roughly 90 mins. When I attended the event, it was pretty quiet, but I believe there is a limit of 16 who can participate at any time. However, there are 15 minute time gaps so you should not have to wait long. I booked in advance to avoid disappointment, especially if you are travelling some distance. It is good to note that the experience is card only, but you can book in advance. 878 AD has a small gift shop so you might want to bring your card along. Ticket prices vary but you can see all the options on the site. Although the price is slightly higher than I would have expected, the fact you can return as many times as you like within 12 months makes it very worthwhile. It is also a nice perk that you receive 20% off at the Ubisoft store by purchasing a ticket. All credit to Hampshire Cultural Trust. Interaction As an interactive experience, 878 AD is great fun. There are objects from the Anglo-Saxon era on show, including the exquisite Winchester Reliquary. You can participate in Anglo-Saxon games both in the flesh and on interactive screens. These screens will be very familiar to anyone who has played the Discovery Tour. The quizzes are only short but really easy to do and tests your knowledge of the time period. I have to say the tech on show is very impressive and helps compliment the information boards. The whole atmosphere and aesthetic of the event is beautifully put together. You can really see the effort that has been put into making this the best possible attraction. I wish I could have experienced this when I was a kid, as the visual learning on offer here is perfect for my personality type. As you enter the event there is a short video which sets the scene for what is about to unfold. It is like a mini cinema experience that uses Assassin’s Creed Valhalla as the backdrop. I was immediately brought back to when I first fired up the game. The mood of the room is helped tremendously by the fantastic Valhalla soundtrack which plays in the background of the video. All credit to Hampshire Cultural Trust. Live Performances I am not usually one for audience participation but after my visit to 878 AD, I can definitely say the experience is richer for it. Even my Dad who attended the event with me thought that the acting brought something different to the table. He didn’t engage as much as I did but thought that the event would have not felt the same without it. There are multiple characters from the Reeve to a thief, the solider and the slave. They bring stories and events to life from the streets of Anglo-Saxon Winchester. If you are up for some fun, try pretending you are a Dane instead of a Saxon. The Reeve did not take too kindly to my love of the Vikings. All the actors are very engaging and knowledgeable, so don’t be afraid to ask them questions. All credit to Hampshire Cultural Trust. Shop As you exit the event there is a small shop with both historic and Assassin’s Creed Merchandise. From what I could tell a lot of the Assassin’s Creed items can be purchased from Ubisoft or gaming sites such as EMP. Although there were a few AC15 items that are not so easy to get hold of in the UK. I personally purchased a graphic novel and my Dad bought me a Viking cup with a cool wolf on it, the same style as the tattoos in the game. It is card only payment so if you are looking to purchase something make sure to bring it along. 878 AD: Winchester Revealed Once you have finished the indoor experience you are free to roam the streets of Winchester where you can continue your journey with the augmented reality app. It is a free download and staff will be on hand to help set you up before heading off. It is just worth checking that your phone is compatible prior to visiting. By completing the 878 AD interactive experience, you will be rewarded with rare Assassin’s Creed Valhalla in game content. The app allows you to explore the city as it is now but using the technology to transport you back to how it was. By collecting the fragments you will reveal Alfred’s lasting legacy. Not only that, it takes you on a nice tour of the city allowing you to revel in the sights. There are other tasks to complete such as creating your own shield, making pots and building various things. You can even learn how to fire a bow to protect the city. I visited during the winter and a mixture of the weather and travel time meant that I could not fully complete the experience, however I will defiantly be retuning soon. It is all immensely impressive and engaging, allowing you to add that fun element to learning about history. This truly is the modern way of engaging audiences and I believe 878 AD has pulled it off brilliantly. All credit to Hampshire Cultural Trust. The View from the Community Aaron Young: For me this event combined two of my loves, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and The Last Kingdom. Being able to go to such a significant place in history and learn even more about the time period blew me away. I hope that Ubisoft can continue to collaborate with other locations to provide such an interactive experience. Noel Young: My son kindly invited me to come along with him to this exhibition. I have an interest in history and in particular this period in the history of England. I am familiar with the series of fictional works by Bernard Cornwell which dovetail nicely with this subject, along with the links to Assassin’s Creed. During the visit to Winchester, I found the exhibition fascinating, not only in the historical context but also in how it is closely associated with the AC Valhalla. The level of attention to detail applied to the creation of the game was incredible. I was so impressed that I purchased AC Valhalla and have since been enjoying it greatly. The experience of playing this game has been hugely enhanced by visiting the 878 AD exhibition. Conclusion 878 AD is a fantastic experience that seeks to redefine what it is to learn about history. The event manages to cater for all age groups, immersing them in the rich heritage of Winchester while adding the glamour of the gaming industries most well know franchises. The actors play their roles perfectly enriching the experience through a different kind of interaction. The technology on show is pushing boundaries and ensuring that learning and history remains a fun thing to do. For some the event would seem a little short, especially at the cost – however if you are in to history or the Assassin’s Creed franchise you will not be disappointed. Plus with unlimited returns within the year and a beautiful city rich with history you cannot go wrong for a day out in Winchester. comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who joined our AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer back in 2021 after the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. After building momentum and interest on TOWCB website for Virtual Photography, Aaron established TOWCB Virtual Photography Team, of which he is now Team Leader. Throughout 2024, TOWCB VP Team will be sharing community captures in dedicated articles, and providing a positive environment on Twitter for gamers to share their shots. Aaron Young

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Photo Mode Review Community Share 18 Mar 2025 Written By: Edited By: Aaron Young Turið Torkilsdóttir Back To Database Ubisoft are back with another entry into the wonderful world of Assassin’s Creed. This time we are off to the highly sought after Japanese setting. This series just seems to be going from strength to strength and is now one of the most established franchises in the gaming industry. With Ubisoft doubling down on their core IP’s it is safe to say that this is only the start of a new wave of games from the historical playground that is Assassin’s Creed. Assassin’s Creed Shadows doesn’t deviate too far from the previous RPG titles, but then again why would it. They have all seen huge success and Shadows even takes some cool learnings from the extremely popular Mirage. Once again Shadows features a photo mode but for the first time Ubisoft have moved away from the classic UI. This latest entry sees us enter Japan with a focus on dual protagonists. Something that Ubisoft Quebec have dabbled with before in Syndicate. We are thrown into 16th century Japan towards the end of the Sengoku period. For the first time in the RPG titles, we will have the Assassin Brotherhood fighting against the Templar Order. The player can flip between Fujibayashi Naoe a female shinobi, or Yasuke, an African samurai who is inspired by an historical figure of the time. The story starts off very promising and aligns itself in a similar way to Origins. Shadows does well to introduce characters and give them meaning. There is a clever use of flashback to further our connection to Naoe, this serves the story in deeper ways than we have previously seen. The early stages of the game can feel a bit slow and the lighting flat, but once you exit the prologue the game becomes far more impressive. There is a considerable leap in night-time lighting which does allow for some very unique captures. Gameplay wise Shadows really pushes forward with the mechanics of the previous entries. There is an increased sense of satisfaction when entering an encounter and the finishers are brutal. Everything just seems so smooth and effortless. At its core though Shadows is a Ubisoft game and does what it knows best. There is a world building that is so rich and full of life that you really feel like you are in the Animus playing out a genetic memory. The Photo Mode: If you have played any of the RPG games, you will be familiar with the Assassin’s Creed photo mode. Ubisoft have pretty much run the same system for four games now with just minor evolutions. It was a solid photo mode and despite not having the bells and whistles of a Sony version it was widely appreciated, especially for newcomers, to the virtual photography world. This time around we have a few upgrades with the new UI being the most noticeable. Accessing the photo mode has not changed, with a click of L3 & R3 you will be free to snap away. We are still not able to capture during cutscenes, but this isn’t common practise, so I am not surprised. Despite the new UI everything works as you would expect, and we only have four tabs to work with, making this a soft reboot of the photo mode. The composition mode has minimal on-screen distractions with all your options being confined to a box in the lower right-hand side of the screen. A simple press of (triangle/Y) will remove the editing functions and allow you to view your capture unimpeded. The camera action closer resembles what you would use in real life. The movement however is a little rough and lacks the smoothness of the old version. There is a generous range, but it remains restrictive especially now we don’t have a bird companion to use. The bumpers on your controller are able to rotate 90 degrees for those nice portrait shots, a simple function that is essential to a virtual photographer. The zooming function that I so loved in the previous games has been replaced with focal length and the narrowing of the field of view still acts in the same manner but feels a little rougher and lacks the speed we are used to. Now that it is controlled by a slider you can at least see the value so once you find a nice setup it is easier to repeat. There are a few grids to play with but in the most part you will probably find yourself only using the rule of thirds option. The camera will still pass through characters if you get too close and collision course with objects in the world can sometimes impede a nice composition. However, Assassin’s Creed has always been generous with movements of the camera and this remains in Shadows. You can even take it underwater for those quirky captures. You will be pleased to know that in my time with the game I have not observed that the DoF has any bugs like previous versions. There is no flicker when DoF and high contrast combine and the DoF issue where it would sometime just not operate has been fixed. The DoF function has been slightly complicated by adding focus distance and aperture sliders. The auto focus cursor of the old titles has gone, and you don’t have just one slider to operate. There is an auto focus toggle that mostly comes in handy for close-up captures. Once again, its baby steps in terms of evolution, and it’s mostly a case of learning to use it. The third tab on the new UI is where you will find arguably the most interesting improvements. Filters have now been removed from the upper section of the photo mode and instead we have two options: FX Filters and Filters. The former being the most intriguing with filters that complement the setting of the game. Most notable are the Red Dragon and the Ink as they can turn a normal capture into something quite different. Sadly, we cannot make any manual adjustments to the FX Filters, but it is possible with the standard filters. This is good because I found these to be limited. Along with the filters we have our other colour-orientated sliders. You can increase/decrease the values to adjust temperature and tint to balance the colour tones of your capture. In addition, saturation can be used to increase your vivid output or introduce some nice black and white to proceedings. The pace in which these sliders move can be quite frustrating and you will find that the higher values can negatively affect the skin tones of character making them appear sunburnt. That being said, this is not too dissimilar to what we have experienced before and functions adequately for the user’s needs. I was very surprised to find the fog option has been removed. This for me feels like a huge loss given it was a much-celebrated function that is rare to see in a photo mode. Bloom has also been removed so you are left to rely on the games weather and lighting to create atmospheric photos. Both of these options were so interesting to play around with, however I have found Shadows to be on another level in terms of lighting and ambiance so hopefully we won’t miss out too much. I mention above that the lighting has improved and that is the case for the majority of the game. There are times when things will look a little flat and muddy, but I often found the landscape to be quite majestic and vibrant. The real noticeable improvement with lighting is at night where people and points of interest seem to have a spotlight on them. Admittedly this can seem a bit forced but I have found it to be hugely beneficial for night-time photography, something that was mostly impossible in Valhalla. Sadly, we haven’t been given the custom lighting options or the ability to change the time of day. The latter is something that I wish Ubisoft had implemented, especially as it featured recently in Star Wars Outlaws. We are not left without options though with the games new seasonal mechanic there are ample opportunities to diversify your captures in varying ways. It is worth noting that Ubisoft has continued with their support to virtual photography by including the ability to capture straight to Ubisoft Connect. Your captures will be compressed but they will be uploaded to Shadows Photo Mode website for you to obtain. Not only that but they will appear on the world map in the location of your photo. Other players will then be able to view these, making it a great feature for showing off your Shadows adventures. Shadows features two extremely powerful protagonists who contrast perfectly. The cleverly designed switching between the two allows us to take photos of each with ease. They both make for great subjects and the return of loot drops from Odyssey, means there is far more variety of styles to capture. Unfortunately, with no tattoos or hair customisation like we had in Valhalla there are limited options to put your own stamp on both characters. Additionally, both characters lack expressions meaning most portraits look the same. Nonetheless we have been treated to a fluid combat system that includes some devastating finisher moves. All of which pose opportunities for interesting and stylistic photos. Plus, the world we are in is so populated with both intriguing places and inhabitants who act out their daily lives. There are small villages and huge castles to explore, that have been well executed in terms of design and detail. Being an Assassin’s Creed game we are obviously treated to picturesque scenery and distinct wildlife. All of this plays into the hands of a virtual photographer who can at a click of two sticks turn feudal Japan into works of art. Rating: Assassin’s Creed Shadows isn’t pushing any boundaries with the game or the photo mode, but I am not sure it has to, and it doesn’t stop it from being one of the best entries in the series. It is however probably the most polished Assassin’s Creed we have had to date. Ubisoft perhaps finds themselves fighting against unrealistic expectations brought about by the quality of the Sony exclusives over the last few generations. What’s obvious is that Ubisoft knows how to handle the Assassin’s Creed franchise, and you can see the love and dedication that has gone into this entry. There will not be many of the core fanbase who are not happy with what they see. Ubisoft should be praised for giving us a new photo mode, despite it being a little safe. There are better and more intuitive photo modes out there, but it could always be argued that if it isn’t broke why fix it. Assassin’s Creed is all about the characters and the beautiful world in which it is set. A standard functional photo mode is all you need as the beautiful backdrop of Japan will provide the rest. Thanks to Ubisoft for providing a code for the purposes of this review. comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who joined our AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer back in 2021 after the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. After building momentum and interest on TOWCB website for Virtual Photography, Aaron established TOWCB Virtual Photography Team, of which he is now Team Leader. Throughout 2024, TOWCB VP Team will be sharing community captures in dedicated articles, and providing a positive environment on Twitter for gamers to share their shots. Aaron Young

What we want to see from Assassins Creed Mirage Wishlist Share 15 May 2023 Written By: Edited By: TOWCB Team Colum Blackett Back To Database Here are the key things that members of TOWCB Team are hoping to see in Assassin's Creed Mirage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_Z1q9zpKNo Aaron Young (TOWCB Writing Team) Improved Parkour, Stealth and Photo Mode ''I would love to see Mirage replicate the Unity formula with its atmospheric City and excellent parkour. I would quite like the memory sequences to return so that we are able to replay moments without having to restart the game. If possible I would also adore the reintroduction of customisation that Unity did so well and Jedi Survivor has just replicated. I can’t wait to be a real Assassin again patrolling the rooftops. As an archer I really hope Ubisoft has reconsidered the use of bows. I understand that they can be a little over powering in a stealth focused game, however AC III pulled it off. It’s bizarre to think Basim would not use one. To balance the gameplay why not make arrows sparse like the last of us. An Assassin with limited tools is surely the best. Finally and most importantly for me would be the inclusion of Valhalla’s photo-mode. The love that is out here for Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography is phenomenal with many tags still trending long after the games have gone. It is clear that Virtual Photography sells games and keeps a title in people’s minds. There is a respect for the Assassin’s Creed photo-mode despite how basic it is compared to say Horizon. I am most at home with the Valhalla Photo-mode but would love to see: -More distance -Expressions -Poses -Outfit Changes -Day and night options -Custom Lighting -Save Camera Positions -Photo-Mode in cut scenes -Hide Characters -Close up shots Even just a few of these things would go a long way to pushing the Assassin’s Creed photo-more tools on.'' A mock-up of how Assassin's Creed Mirage could look by FrameHoldPhotography ActualSpider-Man (TOWCB Writing Team) Narrative Pay-offs, Isu Puzzles and Links to Valhalla ''The setups of Valhalla’s multiple cliffhangers deserve their payoffs. By that I mean we need to see William Miles and crew synchronize Basim’s DNA into memories for William to experience. We need to see the impact of a Reborn Isu teaming up with Assassins. We need to see the Modern Day fallout of Layla’s sacrifice. We need to learn whether Loki had forged that last recording Layla sent to “not come find her”, or if that was truly Layla’s final wish. And regardless of that wish, we need to see Loki chastise William for leaving his son to die, and explain to him that Desmond is alive in another plane of existence as The Reader. It worries me how de-emphasized the Modern Day has been in the advertising for upcoming titles, reminding me of the same happening to the parkour in the past, and I hold out hope for at least SOME Modern Day answers in Mirage. It also being centered around our new Isu ally, I crave more meaningfully intricate Isu Language puzzles, and not just using Isu transliterations to spell English words, but broadening the language with needed AC-centric words we don’t already have, like colors (red, blue, yellow, white), relationships (beyond “Mother/Father”, we need brother, sister, partner, enemy, ally), time (more than “day”), etc., that would bring a huge smile to my face! Of course, surrounding the historical portions, I’m wanting this “return to form” to be a balance of Brotherhood’s scope, Unity’s parkour system, and a mix of the RPG combats. Personally I found the thousand things to do on the newer trio’s maps to feel like meaningless busywork when they weren’t somehow connected to the overall narrative, where Brotherhood excelled. Unity should be the benchmark of AC fluid motion mechanics, and I’ve sorely missed depth to the traversal, so I’d like to see its return. And I did have fun engaging in different styles of combat with different weapon and armor loadouts in the recent games, so I would like to see that consistency stick around, but with preferably much less damage sponging. It is a power fantasy, after all! All in all, I just want to see how Ubisoft decides to run with having full-on Reborn Isu DNA being in Assassin possession, something the Templars have been attempting to do since Black Flag. Are we gonna see the internal struggle of the mind between Basim & Loki firsthand? Is Basim going to have his own regressive memories from the Isu Era to flesh out more of Loki’s backstory? Are they going to link Basim & Roshan’s history up to Valhalla in meaningful ways? Fingers crossed, I sure do hope so.'' Colum Blackett (TOWCB Admin) Improved Parkour, Alamut Castle and Smoke Bomb Crafting Pieced together using quotes from our new podcast, Rally the Creed #1 . ''I think Assassin's Creed Mirage is sort of meant to be like a stepping stone. It's like a smaller bite-sized chunk of a game and then a bigger game is to follow. Fans are waiting for a game that really is ticking all the boxes in terms of the pillars of the franchise. If you look at real parkour. They have to reinvent that whole pillar if you ask me. People who are free running. they do this for a living, they're performing moves never seen in an assassin’s creed game, and time after time it's sluggish in-game. They need to really look at the parkour in Valhalla, really. It's sort of set the framework for parkour opportunity. The opportunity to do parkour is excellent, but parkour itself isn't. You want to really move and feel like an eagle above the crowd.'' ''There's a lot of things that they could do that, even though it's meant to be a smaller game. They could really add some scope to it. I mean for example it's set in a region that we've not really seen before. It looks like it's going to bring in Alamut which is the original Assassin castle. So where you had Masyaf in Assassin's Creed I, this is like a precursor to that. So like a base for the Assassins, so is literally the birth of the Assassin Brotherhood after the Hidden Ones go into hiding. '' ''And the cool thing with that trailer is that when Basim uses the red smoke bomb, that's almost like a call-back to Revelations, where you could craft your own smoke bombs. And that's a mechanic they could bring into this game. You can put blood in it, you put gold in it. You could have people running in the street. You know, the the beggars will run after you. It's a distraction and that's great for an Assassin. If you hiding in plain sight, I mean, you literally have got something in your pocket that can bring the whole street to the other side and you can just sneak in.'' ''If you're playing like an Assassin, why not unlock Assassin robes and you'll know you're getting rewarded by the Brotherhood, and with this game Mirage, it looks like you start as a Novice. I mean in the trailer he's literally a street thief who comes from nothing who works his way up through the ranks, and every time he does a mission he could gain a different piece of equipment, or by doing more training'' Listen to the full episode below to hear our full discussion on Assassin's Creed Mirage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fm3zWTQznA Fr ameHoldPhotography (TOWCB Admin) Fluid Parkour, Replayability and Chain Kills ''I would love to see Mirage mix my favorite elements of the classic AC formula with subtle flairs of what we saw in the new RPG trilogy. A return to fluid parkour in tightly packed cities like we saw in Unity and Syndicate would be amazing, along with black box missions for key targets. The ability to replay missions and memories is also something I would really like to see come back in Mirage. There are so many key moments in Odyssey and Valhalla that I would love to replay, but I don’t feel like starting another game just to reach that one moment. I prefer the combat system and skill trees that were present in Origins, Odyssey, and especially Valhalla, and I would like Mirage to incorporate vastly different playstyles and builds for Basim. While I would like there to be more of a focus on stealth in Mirage, having the ability to spec out different builds for poison, traps, and range could be really fun. I would love to see Mirage bring back multi-kills as well—chaining kills in the older AC games was too much fun. Lastly, I want Mirage to include a more robust Photomode. Having the ability to change time of day, lighting, poses, and outfits would be amazing for virtual photography!' A mock-up of how Assassin's Creed Mirage could look by FrameHoldPhotography Gustav Poulsen (Gargudon) (TOWCB Video Content Creation Team) Varied Gameplay, Levelling Up & Optional Objectives ''Really I’d just love to see a return to the old, pre-Origins formula gameplay and structure wise. This mainly means the return of memory sequences over quests, and more varied gameplay overall; everything from main story missions with optional objectives, side missions, collectibles, 100% total completion etc. Origins did everything too loosely, there was no real difference between main and side quests, everything felt quite repetitive, and more or less being forced to play side quests in between main ones to necessarily level up was quite a drag, and made me quite uninvested in the story. Speaking of leveling up, I honestly have nothing against that; earning XP and skill points, and buying skills to upgrade your character. It works really well in both Unity and Syndicate, and in other Ubisoft titles like Far Cry, but there it works much better as you level up and acquire more skills as you naturally progress through the story.'' Screenshot by Col_96 from Assassin's Creed Unity Joe (UbiCypher) (TOWCB Social Media Content Team) Return of William Miles, Hassan-i Sabbah cameo & a Notoriety System ''I'd like to see if William appears as the user of the Animus reliving Basim's memories, and an interaction between him and Basim out of the Animus, Mentor to Mentor discussing the future of the Brotherhood now that Basim is the first ever recorded human being from the past to actually have revived (except Juno) and the consequences over the rest of the cells scattered around the globe it could cause to learn about such information. Also, William learning of Desmond's consciousness being within the super computer and undertaking a mission to try and bring him back somehow would be beautiful. Of course, the birth of the Assassins as we know them to finally wrap up the whole Hidden Ones ordeal and perhaps a cameo in the very end or post credits of Hassan-i Sabbah (perfect occasion to make his physical appearance) in the first mandates of the Creed. I'm intrigued about the parkour since lately there have been statements about the whole Unity inspiration thing being dropped for a more similar movement set tweaked from Valhalla. Weaponry, gadgets, locations, architecture and sandbox traversal also appeals to me as I always loved to go to the objectives on the roofs feeling like a real Assassin rather than walking which we have had a lot of in the last three iterations. I hope the dye mechanic is also back as well as a notoriety system, along with an economy one too similar to the Auditore through renovations.'' Promo image for Assassin's Creed II Michael Doyle (TOWCB Admin) Impact upon the World, Economy options and Building a Spy network Pieced together using quotes from our new podcast, Rally the Creed #1 ''But I think yeah that that does touch on something as well which is what we don't see too much of in Assassin's Creed is how the missions are linear, so obviously traditionally you kind of stuck to a path whereas now you can kind of roam around and you can kind of leave the area to to reapproach from different vantage points. But we don't really see too much of missions, where your actions impact story. So, you know, if you go to spare someone's life versus if you don't. If you decide to assassinate someone, from behind, or if you try and take them from afar, we don't really see how that impacts the story. And I think that'd be quite an interesting one to see in the newer game. But perhaps you then hear the guards later on talking about the events: Did you hear, he was killed without even being seen? He was behind a painting, that would be cool because then it brings you into the world almost as if you're having this impact on the the NPCs around you. Be quite an interesting one to look at.'' ''That's why I loved Assassin's Creed II. Just the ability to build out this thing and then it makes you money that you can then use, and then reinvest it. I think you could, especially if we're looking back at you know, Mirage and the idea that perhaps, he's on the streets and he hasn't got a lot of to begin with, watching that transition as you play the character into actually owning things or being able to invest in things. Maybe you can buy your own market stores that make you money and then they could be lookouts. So then you can get letters saying, Oh, they've seen guards here or they've heard this and you know, building more of a massive experience in the city. I think that would be quite an interesting one as well. And I think, especially in a game like Assassin's creed, that's what they would have. They would have eyes on the ground. They would kind of have this network. They don't join the Brotherhood, butthey're out there sort of being the eyes and ears.'' ''That'd be a great throwback. If you kind of see, you know, that's coming in from each of these people. Not teaching them, perhaps, but, maybe giving them wisdom, giving them insight, the odd skill that you can teach. Then you build this whole experience as a player of the game, you feel like you're not just playing as one character. You're almost playing as a community. You're playing as if you're part of a movement. Against the enemy, not just you as a lone wolf, which some games do feel like, even though you do have people around you, it is just very much you versus everyone else. Be quite nice to have that sense of camaraderie.'' Listen to the full episode below to hear our full discussion on Assassin's Creed Mirage. Mike Smith (TOWCB Admin Team) Discovery Tour at Launch & Basim's ageing ''I would like to see a more in depth Codex for the history of the characters and locations. With the listing of a new Discovery Book Wonders of the Orient I am hoping that a new Discovery Tour will be available at launch, or released as a DLC. I would also like to see Basim age over the course of the story to see how he becomes the Basim we know at the beginning of Valhalla.'' Peter Strat (TOWCB Video Content Creation Team) Stealth Tools, Intricate Level Design & Improved Parkour. ''For me I'd love to see a renewed focus for the two of the three main pillars on the series when it comes to gameplay. Combat has received a number of changes over the years but the other two pillars, parkour and stealth, have for the most part, regressed in terms of depth and player expression. Parkour had many layers, allowed for player expression and gave you more control in the early games in the series. However in recent titles, this has slowly been stripped away. A lack of control, options and overall fluidity as you move through parkour sections in recent titles has really made me miss the prior games. Stealth is a strange one but the tools you had access too in titles like Unity and the readability and consistency of a game like Origins slowly fell away. Another aspect I'd love to see return is a renewed focus on locations and further more, more intricate level design. The first couple of games felt grounded in their cities and they felt like a "main character". Cities had depth and a level of connectivity that made running around the rooftops such a blast. Sadly that's been missing, especially in the RPG trilogy. From a story point of view, I'd love to see a return of target focused plot lines and sequences. Something about learning all about a target, how to deal with them potentially and getting to know all about their character has felt sorely missed in the last few games.'' Yasmin Page (TOWCB Art Team) Historical Events, Animus Database Entries & The World Feeling Alive ''What I’m looking forward to most in Mirage is seeing how they develop the world and tie Basim’s story in with the historical events of the 860s. That was something I really liked with Assassin’s Creed 2 (for example) — that Ezio’s story really felt really grounded within the Italian Renaissance and his actions impacted real people. It really builds into the idea that the Assassins and Templars have always been there in the background, pulling the strings and shaping the world as we know it. Following on from this idea, I would also like to see a return of the Animus database, providing information on the historical events, places and characters that Basim will encounter in game. It’s a small detail, but as I first got into the series through my love for history, it really enriched my playing experience. If not a database, then another Discovery Tour would also be wonderful. Also, like many others in the team have said, I would love to see a return to Unity style parkour and the stealth of the earlier games in the series. It provided a different kind of challenge to missions other than just combat (although that is fun in itself). Stealth and parkour are such intrinsic things to the Assassin’s Creed series, and while I have loved the more recent titles it was a shame to see them lose importance. Ultimately though, I am excited to explore the world they build. The environments of Assassin’s Creed have always been full of life and detail, from the NPCs to the buildings and the music, and I’m sure that Mirage will not disappoint. ' We would like to say a huge thank you to all TOWCB team members who contributed towards the creation of this article! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author A collection of articles from The Ones Who Came Before team. TOWCB Team

AC Movie Press Event London (First 20 minutes (From Memory & Notes) Events Share 12 May 2016 Written By: Edited By: Colum Blackett (Col_96) Ashlea Blackett Back To Database I recently attended The AC Movie Press Event in London, and saw the first 20 minutes of the upcoming Assassin's Creed Movie (Amongst many other things). This article is written from my memory and a few notes. (MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE ASSASSIN'S CREED MOVIE) So the movie begins with an Eagle soaring over New Mexico, showing us a high angle shot of the sand below. After flying over several isolated buildings, we zoom in on a small town. The music playing is Young Dead Men by The Black Angels , a song that I thought worked very well with the scene. The lyrics especially made it work. "Run for the hills, pick up your feet and let's go" The Eagle flies off, and we focus in on a hooded young boy riding his bike through a quiet, dusty town. After several cinematic shots showing the boy biking, he bikes towards his home and gets off the bike. The lively introduction music that was playing fades out, and we the boy slowly enters his home. A new song starts playing through a record player, creating a creepy atmosphere. The boy calls out for his mother as he comes in through the back door. The next shot we see is of a woman sitting in a chair, staring across the room. Blood can be seen on her chest, and it becomes apparent that she has been stabbed. The camera slowly pans across her body, and we see that she is holding a strange looking necklace with the Assassin insignia. The necklace is wrapped around her hand, and is covered in blood. The boy walks towards his mother slowly, looking at the injuries inflicted on her. The camera pans towards the right hand side of the room, and we see a hooded man facing the other way. Whispering to himself he says "Laa shay'a waqi'un moutlaq bale kouloun moumkine." (Nothing is True. Everything is Permitted). It was nice to hear the Maxim of The Creed again, but this was a super creepy scene! He turns around, and the camera zooms in on his face. He is a bearded man, and looks like he is possessed. The boy nervously says "Dad", and the man begins to walk towards the boy. The camera focusses in on his hidden blade, dripping with blood. His dad, looking menacing in a dark green hoodie, walks towards his son. In the distance we hear sirens approaching, and Joseph says to his son "Your blood is not your own Cal." As the police cars slowly pull up, Callum runs out the door as his father is arrested. As the cars pull up, we see a Templar Cross Necklace (The Ubiworkshop one) danging from the inside car mirror. (It was the exact same one that I was wearing at the time, and Justin Kurzel had actually noticed we wearing it earlier that day) As the police enter the house, the camera pulls away and focusses on Cal, freerunning accross the rooftops. We see several slow motion shots, as he jumps from roof to roof. As the sirens fade away, we cut to present day, and Lynch is now sat in a prison cell drawing. We see his wall, and the entire segment is filled with dark sketches. several seconds of watching Cal sketch away in his cell, we see a guard talking to a priest. "All he does is draw. It's against the rules, but what can we do. Man likes to draw" says the guard, looking at Cal on the CCTV monitors. We are then told by the guard that Callum beat someone to death. The priest enters the cell to speak to Cal, and sits down beside him. Lynch looks at the priest and says, "Are you here to save me". The priest asks Cal if there is anything he can do to bring him comfort. Cal says that there is a poem that his mother used to say to him as a kid. (It's an extract from " After Apple Picking" by Robert Frost) . The priest and Cal recite the poem together, and then we see Cal being taken to the Execution room. In the room Cal is strapped to a machine that will give him a lethal injection. Lynch appears to show no remorse, as he looks at the family members of the person he killed through the glass. He is asked if he has any final words and he says "Tell my father I'll see him in hell". With this the clock hits 18.00, and we see the liquid being pumped into his arm. This is quite a horrible scene, as Lynch realises that he about to die. Bits of this execution scene can be seen in the first 30 seconds of the trailer . As Callum falls asleep, the camera goes blurry then dark. He then wakes up next to a woman, who tells him that her name is Dr Sophia Rikken. He's in a hospital bed, and is extremely weak. "Where am I" he asks. "At 6pm yesterday evening, you were executed, and pronounced dead. You no longer exist". She tells him that he needs to take some time to recover, as they have to use a liquid so strong that it makes the prison guards think that the convict is dead. "It's the only thing strong enough to get past the guards". She tells him that he is now her patient at an Abstergo facility, and she is going to help him get better. Cal gets out of the chair and tries to escape. As soon as he gets up, his legs give way and he falls into the corridor. Sophia says that it's okay to the guards, and Cal slowly limps around the facility. He sees many other patients wearing the same white outfits that he is wearing. The Abstergo Facility looks like a hospital, and is extremely white and clean. Cal slowly runs underneath the Abstergo logo, and stumbles onto the floor. Getting back up, a little girl says to him "Your blood is not your own". This is the same line that his father said to him earlier in the movie. Cal gets up and continues his slow run around the facility. He enters a room that is filled with trees and plants, being attended to by other patients in the facility. Cal slowly walks towards the edge, where he bumps into Michael K. Williams who says Nothing is True. Everything is Permitted. (In Arabic) Cal walks towards the ledge, and we are shown the building that he is being kept in. The Abstergo facility is in an old church in Madrid. Cal looks out at the city and he is told that there is only one way to escape this facility. Cal gets up and continues his slow run around the facility. He enters a room that is filled with trees and plants, being attended to by other patients in the facility. Cal slowly walks towards the edge, where he bumps into Michael K. Williams who says Nothing is True. Everything is Permitted. (In Arabic) Cal walks towards the ledge, and we are shown the building that he is being kept in. The Abstergo facility is in an old church in Madrid. Cal looks out at the city and he is told that there is only one way to escape this facility. Sophia enters the room with Abstergo guards and Michael K. Williams says "The walls have eyes". Cal looks at the guards, and at the height below, considering whether to jump or not. "You are not a prisoner here" Sophia says to Cal. "You can leave whenever you chose". We are then shown Alan Rikkin, watching the entire thing. Panning across his office, we see the Aguilar's crossbow on his desk. We also see a vast collection of weapons, including hidden blades. Cal looks around the room, and is hit with a tranquiliser dart. Sophia is furious that her patient has been subjected to violence already, but the guard replies tells her that her father ordered it. We are then shown Aguilar and Maria running away from a group of Templars. The fight through several buildings, using several weapons including throwing knives and bow and arrow. Maria is especially talented with hidden blades.The fight breaks into several houses, and after killing many enemies, the two Assassins take to the roof tops. We see several long jumps across buildings, as the Assassins are chased by their enemies. They both jump into a tunnel, and kill the remaining Templars with hidden blades. The fighting is quick and clean, something that can be seen in the trailer. We then cut back to modern day as Callum wakes up. Sophia says "Prepare the Animus" and Callum is strapped in. This scene needs to be edited digitally, as it currently just shows Cal climbing wooden planks. It's like an indoor freerunning course, but with editing, will probably look more like the structures that Aguilar is actually climbing. I really enjoyed the event, and the footage was amazing! Images from UbiBlog comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Col is one of the UK's leading Assassin's Creed Community members, and is best known for establishing both 'The Ones Who Came Before' fan community and 'Isu_Network' content creation program. As Team Leader for The Ones Who Came Before, Col was officially recognised by Ubisoft, becoming one the UK Assassin's Creed community ambassadors in 2016. He has attended many events after spending a decade in the AC Community, and has worked on countless projects, all of which you can find here on TOWCB website. He is also a former Ubisoft Star Player and member of The Mentors Guild, two recognisable community programs which opened doors and took his status within the AC Community to the next level. Colum Blackett (Col_96)

The Memory Corridor #25 Released AC Games Versus History & Future Historical Settings Podcast Share 4 Jun 2023 Written By: Edited By: Gustav Poulsen (Gargudon) Colum Blackett Back To Database In Episode 25 of The Memory Corridor, host Gargudon is joined by AC community member and content creator AC_Landmarks for a comparison of historical time periods and characters portrayed in the games and real history, as well as a deep dive into potential future historical settings. Covering everything from the real life Templars, the Renaissance, the American Revolution and much more in between. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUQR9P2x2VM comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Gustav / Gargudon is an active and versatile content creator, who started out in podcast hosting in 2016 - hosting the discussion based show “The Memory Corridor” - but today mostly specialises in video creation, interviews, writing and composing. He joined The Ones Who Came Before in 2019 for a merger, publishing new episodes - and reviving the show following nearly a year of inactivity - on our platforms, until phased out in 2023. Today, his landmark projects include the Sounds Of History project - an original Assassin’s Creed inspired instrumental music project, featuring five tracks inspired by as many different games - other original fan themes plus covers of iconic AC tracks, as well as video interviews with a number of high profile names in the world of AC, from Roger Craig Smith, Jesper Kyd and more. Fun fact, among his growing colourful tattoo collection, Gustav is the only member of our team to have the TOWCB logo inked. Gustav Poulsen (Gargudon)

'Forgotten Youth' Project Launched Community Share 2 Feb 2021 Written By: Edited By: Gustav Poulsen (Gargudon) Ashlea Blackett Back To Database We here at The Ones Who Came Before are once again teaming up with our good friend Gustav from the AC Partnership Program to make a difference. We are proud to announce that we will be fully supporting 'Forgotten Youth', a new initiative that aims to shine a light on the collective trauma young people face due to worldwide lockdowns. The project will be a gathering point for discussion, reflecting on the long-lasting consequences and damage caused by COVID-19. If you feel that the pandemic has affected you in any way, you are not alone. Share your stories in a community network as society begins to open up, and we begin to understand the full extent of the worldwide ramifications. Do you feel like the worldwide lockdowns have thrown you into a state of loneliness, sadness or depression? Do you feel uncertain towards the future because of them? Do you have something on your mind you want to talk about, or simply want off your chest? Do you want your voice to be heard? Our very own @ Gargudon , who is mostly known for hosting “The Memory Corridor” podcast and sharing AC virtual photography on The Ones Who Came Before, has recently launched the project Forgotten Youth . The project aims to spread awareness about young people, who have been mentally affected by the lockdowns, by gathering and sharing stories. The lockdowns have taken their toll on the mental health among the youth in different ways. Young people are currently living through the transition into adulthood with limited opportunities to shape themselves, during the formative shaping years of their youth. Links to the Forgotten Youth project, as well as to how you can share your own story can be found below. If anyone has any questions regarding the project, feel free to DM us or @ Gargudon directly." Links Facebook Instagram Twitter Youtube: How to Share your Story comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Gustav / Gargudon is an active and versatile content creator, who started out in podcast hosting in 2016 - hosting the discussion based show “The Memory Corridor” - but today mostly specialises in video creation, interviews, writing and composing. He joined The Ones Who Came Before in 2019 for a merger, publishing new episodes - and reviving the show following nearly a year of inactivity - on our platforms, until phased out in 2023. Today, his landmark projects include the Sounds Of History project - an original Assassin’s Creed inspired instrumental music project, featuring five tracks inspired by as many different games - other original fan themes plus covers of iconic AC tracks, as well as video interviews with a number of high profile names in the world of AC, from Roger Craig Smith, Jesper Kyd and more. Fun fact, among his growing colourful tattoo collection, Gustav is the only member of our team to have the TOWCB logo inked. Gustav Poulsen (Gargudon)

Understanding the Isu Language: Particles and Affixes Analysis Share 1 Oct 2024 Written By: Edited By: Edenoi ActualSpider-Man Back To Database For this article we'll be looking at particles and affixes in the Isu language. In English as well as many other languages, we have prepositions which help to describe how words or phrases relate to the rest of the sentence, such as "inside" or "above" or "for." Isu has essentially the same class of words, but because they come after the word they refer to instead of before, we call them postpositions. Postpositions in Isu can also be used as prefixes for verbs to modify the meaning of the verb. Think of the difference between the words "act" and "enact" or "communicate" and "excommunicate." The postpositions known to exist in the Isu language, along with their Proto-Indo-European "descendants," are as follows: Postpositions/Prefixes Apo, meaning "from," related to the PIE *apó Arhz, meaning "out," related to the PIE *éǵʰs Az, meaning "at," related to the PIE *ád Bṛ, meaning "before," related to the PIE *per- Chaz, meaning "toward," related to the PIE *ḱe- + *ád Chṇ, meaning "with," related to the PIE *ḱóm Chṇtæ, meaning "against," related to the PIE *ḱómteros (*ḱóm + *-teros) Hṇ, meaning "in," related to the PIE *h₁én Hṇdṛ, meaning "amidst," related to the PIE *h₁entér (*h₁én + *-tér) Ṇ, meaning "not," related to the PIE *n̥- Ṛ, perhaps meaning "for" and also used to form infinitives, related to the PIE *r̥ Ubo, meaning "below," related to the PIE *upó Wṛ, meaning "again," related to the PIE *wert- Zo, meaning "concerning," related to the PIE *do Notes The suffixe -tæ forms a contrast to a postposition (e.g. "with" becomes "against"). The prefix ch- alters the meaning of a postposition in a way that adds contextual information, known in linguistics as deixis (e.g. "in" becomes "with", "at" becomes "toward"). Presumably, the Isu word for "above" would be ubṛ, related to PIE *upér Isu also has a number of suffixes that can turn a word into a different but related word, like how "congregate" can become "congregation" or "wonder" can become "wonderment" in English. The known suffixes and their functions are as follows: Suffixes -æs forms an action noun from a verb (similar but not related to English "-tion") -dach forms an agent noun from a verb (supposedly a more archaic alternative to -ér below) -drṃ forms an agent noun from a verb (specifically used for tools, e.g. zḷvdrṃ "shovel") -ér forms an agent noun from a verb (virtually identical but not necessarily related to English "-er") -mṇ forms a result noun from a verb (equivalent to English "-ment") -ṇd forms the gerundive (possibly also gerund) of a verb (similar but not related to English "-ing") -nos forms an adjective from a noun or verb (equivalent to English "-en" in wooden, golden) -os forms a noun from an adjective (similar but not necessarily related to English "-ness") -rhú forms a collective noun (so far only confirmed to describe groups of people, e.g. komhaæzrhú "council") -to forms the past participle of a verb (similar but not related to English "-en" in stolen, proven) An action noun refers to the process of doing an action, an agent noun refers to the person or thing doing the action and a result noun refers to the result of doing an action. The gerundive is a form of a verb that acts as an adjective describing someone or something doing the action, such as in the phrase "howling winds." There are a few known conjunctions in Isu, which are as follows: Conjunctions Hṇu, meaning "but" Ig, meaning “or" -kwat, meaning "and" when suffixed to the second of two words, related to the PIE *-kʷe Ḷ, meaning "and," used for joining clauses rather than individual words Other Particles De makes the preceding verb progressive (meaning that the action is ongoing) More Isu Studies You can find more articles on the Isu language linked here: Understanding the Isu Language: The Basics comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Eden is a codebreaker who joined The Ones Who Came Before during the Assassin's Creed Shadows promotional campaign, helping the team to decipher numerous codes and puzzles used for marketing. She is also a high school Maths tutor, and has previously published a few short TTRPG's with more projects in the works. She first started playing Assassin's Creed in 2010, and is especially interested in the glyphs and puzzles, and platforms such as Assassin's Creed Initiates that expand the lore in creative ways. Edenoi

Deciphering the Secrets of the Assassin’s Creed Shadows Community Challenge and Mystery Box Breakdown Share 1 Jan 2023 Written By: Edited By: TOWCB Team Colum Blackett Back To Database During the marketing campaign for Assassin's Creed Shadows, we were thrilled to announce that TOWCB / Isu_network Team Leader Colum Blackett (Col_96) was granted the rank of Veteran Master, and received an Assassin's Creed Shadows Mystery Box from Ubisoft! Straight away we gathered our team of codebreakers and set about trying to crack the secrets of the box. TOWCB Codebreakers: Ashlea_97 FrameHoldPhotos Edenoi ActualSpider-Man TheNerdyArcher We were thrilled to see a community challenge so early on in the AC Marketing campaign, and it provided many twists and turns which kept us guessing right until the very end. The Mission Upon receiving the box, Col was invited to a Discord server with other 'Veteran Masters' (content creators and box-owners). THE EXPERIENCE This Discord experience is separated in two parts: A Community quest that starts on June 3rd. You have 24 hours to solve all the community riddles. A Content Creators quest that starts on June 4th. They will be streaming live. As members of the Assassin's Creed community and thus, Apprentices, you are tasked to solve riddles that will give important information and hints for Content Creators and their dedicated quest. Follow their streams tomorrow to discover the end of the story but also solve their riddles together. In this adventure, you will be referred to as Apprentices, whereas Content Creators will be referred to as Veteran Masters. In the server, bots would provide clues and questions in order to progress further into the deeper layers of the challenge. The Box The box measured 17cm across by 23, and featured Japanese text on the box which translates roughly to '' bravery, honor, respect'', signaling positive virtues. 勇名誉礼思義羊ホ戈仁 The box was also secured using a puzzle lock, which took some time to open. Ash had a great deal of fun figuring it out. Master Komatsu Uchihira (Discord bot) provided a poem to help Veteran Masters to open it. The poem refers to the different levels of security on the lock, which all had to be completed in the correct order. Completing one level would unlock another, and so forth. Also provided was a diagram showing the correct order in which to open the combination. Here is our video showing Ash cracking the combination. Inside the Box: A blood-stained note A scroll detailing the quest A Map of Japan Hidden Blade poster Community Riddles Puzzle #1 : Apprentices were invited to the Discord server and encouraged to work together in order to assist Veteran Masters the following day. Master Komatsu Uchihira (Discord bot) provided a riddle which encouraged apprentices to rewatch the CGI trailer Answer: D.O Master Komatsu Uchihira (Discord bot) congratulates the apprentice and suggests that the letters could be initials that stand for something. Next, Apprentices had to mention the letters to characters (Discord bots) in order to gain more information. Answer is SACHI Puzzle #: Puzzle #: After opening the box, Veteran Masters informed Master Komatsu Uchihira (Discord bot) of their success, who congratulated them on opening the box. Next, Veteran Masters would receive their first instructions. It became clear that it was impossible to progress from this stage without the help of 'apprentices', so for those who opened the box early, like us, it was a waiting game. The event kicked off on the 3rd June 2024 when community members were invited to join the 'Assassin's Creed Shadows: The First Mission' Discord server. Puzzle: Origami? Puzzle: Sign language? The blood-stained note. VIDEO OF INK FADING AWAY comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author A collection of articles from The Ones Who Came Before team. TOWCB Team

5 Things in the Assassin's Creed Shadows Claws of Awaji Expansion We Want to See More of Breakdown Share 15 Oct 2025 Written By: Edited By: Eric Allen (Milz_VP) Colum Blackett Back To Database Article features Spoilers for Assassin's Creed Shadows: Claws of Awaji. The first major DLC for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, titled Claws of Awaji, released in September of 2025, and many eager Assassins have uncovered its secrets since then. The DLC sees Yasuke and Naoe head to the island of Awaji, where Templar threats still remain. Like the main game, Claws of Awaji gives us targets to take down and several new additions to gameplay. Let’s unpack the five things Awaji did that we need to see more of in Assassin’s Creed going forward. Promotional image for Claws of Awaji 1) Lateral Playable Cut Scene One of the most unique elements of Claws of Awaji is how it introduces Naoe and Yasuke to the island. The pair attend a puppet show that seamlessly transitions into a fully playable lateral sequence. As the storyteller unveils the tale of a mysterious shinobi, you travel across the screen, delivering silence upon your enemies. This play style harkens back to the titles included in Assassin’s Creed Chronicles. In both artistic direction and execution, this scene serves as an excellent path between the events of the main story and the new journey about to unfold on Awaji. 2) Both Protagonists on the Battlefield at the Same Time In the main campaign, Naoe and Yasuke acted mostly independently during missions; you would decide who would take on each objective, and that was that. But Claws of Awaji changes this dynamic. Here, both protagonists take the field of battle simultaneously. You fight as Yasuke, protecting Naoe while she finds the way forward, and during key moments, you’re prompted to switch between the two for smoother execution of your goals. This approach feels more immersive and gratifying for both characters in a narrative sense; in the next DLC, we’d love to see even more teamwork like this built into the dual-protagonist system. Promotional image for Assassin's Creed Shadows 3) New Ambush Encounters Want to spice up your open world? Make it more dangerous. On Awaji, even the most innocent-looking villager may be hiding a blade poised to strike. Traps lie unseen beneath your feet, triggering surprise attacks that catch even seasoned assassins off guard. These moments form part of the new ambush mechanic introduced in Claws of Awaji. In a game with such a vast open world, players often develop a sense of safety outside of missions. Claws of Awaji deliberately strips that comfort away, making you vulnerable to sudden, unpredictable encounters. The result is a subtle but powerful tension; every step feels uncertain, every shadow suspicious. It’s a great addition that unfortunately fades too quickly if you rush through the main story; but signs point to this mechanic returning. Ubisoft has confirmed that the upcoming Valley of Memory DLC for Assassin’s Creed Mirage will contain ambush encounters. It will be free to all players who own the game when it launches on November 18. Danger lurks in the shadows on the island of Awaji 4) The Boss Fights The crown jewel of Claws of Awaji are the boss fights. The DLC provides 30 new targets for Yasuke and Naoe. There are four main adversaries and 26 minor targets all out to keep our heroes from achieving their goals. Hunting down the lesser targets remains similar to the main campaign, but facing down the primary antagonists is where Claws of Awaji shines brightest. Each of the encounters has narrative weight to it and is more unique than any of the enemies Yasuke and Naoe have faced before. The structure draws inspiration from the best elements of prior games: the open-ended “black box” assassinations of Valhalla and the “weaken your enemies first” progression found in Odyssey. Some lesser foes can be eliminated strategically to gain advantages in later encounters, while one key target even receives a cinematic assassination that nails the DLC’s tension perfectly. These showdowns deliver some of the most memorable combat in the series; if future titles continue to build on the depth and creativity of these boss encounters, they could set a new standard for Assassin’s Creed combat. Tomeji in Assassin's Creed Shadows: Claws of Awaji 5) Becoming More a Part of the Wider Assassin–Templar Conflict It’s been a long time since players truly stepped into the era of the Assassins and Templars. Since Origins, we’ve followed the Hidden Ones and their allies, watching the early philosophies that would one day define the Brotherhood. But with Shadows, the series finally returns to a period where both factions exist in full. This marks a return to form and, more importantly, stabilization of the overall narrative. Naoe and Yasuke indeed discover the existence of the Templar Order, but neither becomes a part of the Assassin Brotherhood. Claws of Awaji introduces us to Japan’s only Assassin of the Brotherhood; Naoe’s mother, Tsuyu. She was the first Japanese Assassin but failed a mission and became trapped on Awaji. Once she joins with Yasuke and Naoe, they too become part of the larger picture. Perhaps in the next DLC, we will see them meet more members of the Brotherhood and aid in a plot involving the Templars and Isu tech. They never mentioned Isu artifacts in the main campaign, so the door is wide open. Fujibayashi Tsuyu Assassin’s Creed Shadows: Claws of Awaji expands the base game in meaningful ways. Between its tense ambush encounters, unforgettable boss battles, and long-awaited return to the true Assassin–Templar conflict, this DLC feels like the bridge fans have been waiting for. If this is where Shadows begins to connect its world to the wider saga, the next chapter could be something truly special. Scenes from the Claws of Awaji Launch Trailer comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Eric is an experienced social media manager who joined TOWCB Social Media Team in February 2024 in an effort to help the team establish a clear identity for Isu_Network. Professionally, Eric has managed social media platforms in a number of fields such as fashion, trucking and more, working alongside 300+ brands. Taking on the role of social media coordinator, we worked with Eric from 2024-2026 to create consistent social media content that is both engaging and memorable. Eric Allen (Milz_VP)

Interview with Matt Ryan: Edward Kenway's Actor in Black Flag Resynced Interview Share 21 May 2026 Written By: Edited By: TOWCB Team Back To Database We are proud to release the second interview in our new series dedicated to the development of Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, Matt Ryan, who provided the voice and motion capture performance for Edward Kenway in both the original and upcoming remake! We had a very short window to record an episode of Rally the Creed Live on Location at a preview event for Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced Preview event in Paris, enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d92JPVPV9To comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author A collection of articles from The Ones Who Came Before team. TOWCB Team

Verrell is an experienced social media manager who joined the program in Summer 2021. By joining the program, he will have the chance to expand his reach within the community, and help TOWCB Team reboot the program with fresh ideas and projects. Keep an eye on TOWCB Instagram account throughout 2022 and beyond. Previous Next Social Media Muhamad Verrell Previous Partner Verrell is an experienced social media manager who joined the program in Summer 2021. By joining the program, he will have the chance to expand his reach within the community, and help TOWCB Team reboot the program with fresh ideas and projects. Keep an eye on TOWCB Instagram account throughout 2022 and beyond. Twitter | Instagram Work

Michael Draft Article Community News Watch Dogs x Assassin's Creed Crossover Officially Announced 19/8/21 By Colum Blackett Edited by Ashlea Buckley Share Season Pass owners for Watch Dogs: Legion will soon be able to play as Darcy, a futuristic Modern Day Assassin operating in London. In an update launching August 25th, Darcy will be introduced as a playable character in the main game and online mode, alongside two new story missions that will be available for all players. Although the addition is purely f an service rather than a canonical crossover, fans are undoubtedly excited to Glimpse was revealed back in February Where this article comes to the opinion of myself, is in the latest three titles, an opinion made after seeing the Ubisoft team that works on the Assassin’s Creed series’ game plan for future DLC and the recent announcements of more transmedia stories. Stated simply, the story must be progressed with a shift in focus towards a third party, the Isu race. While AC Origins established the backbone to the creation of the Assassin Brotherhood via the Hidden Ones and their leader Amunet, it wasn’t until the post-game that a proto-Assassin group was introduced and their creed established. Gameplay moved to a more combat focused style with skill trees and gear sets, over the expected gameplay of gear and evasive movement and tools to work from the sidelines of battle. The next title, Assassin's Creed Odyssey , which took place nearly 360 years before Origins dove into the lore of the Isu by telling the Greek Epic of Kassandra of Sparta, a demi-god trying to discover the secrets of her heritage and stop a hidden organization known as the Cult of Kosmos. From this title came the “Fate of Atlantis” DLC which put the misthios (mercenary) in the pantheon of the Isu, the Gods of Greek Mythology. Following this was the age of the Vikings and the journey of Eivor (mentioned before) as she worked to establish a home for her people in England while on the side assisting the Hidden Ones from outside their order. With the inclusion of transmedia stories, the Assassins vs Templar had shifted to the budding seed of a bigger war, Man vs God. While the story of the Assassins was still present (Bayek & Amunet, Darius, and Basim & Hytham), the new characters (Kassandra, Eivor, & Geirmund of Geirmund’s Saga) were locked in wars of nations (The Peloponnesian War & the Norse Invasion of Europe). What links all of these warriors from the RPG titles is their belief in the Gods. Egyption, Greek, and Norse Gods that in the lore of Assassin’s Creed were known as the Isu. The Isu are a race of pre-human beings powered by divine abilities and tools known as the Pieces of Eden. Both the Assassin’s and the Templars fight over discovering and collecting these tools to overpower the other and either save or control the world from the destructive nature of the Isu’s creations. Focused now on exploring this outside party, the Isu’s humanity and corruption as a people and puppeteers of the Genetic Memories that were witnessed with the RPG protagonists is simply the next stepping stone in lore and world building. These are times where choice and belief in higher powers, victory in battle and the search for wealth were more culturally driven than the secret war of the previous 10 years of games. Whilst Ubisoft works on the next stage of the series with Assassin’s Creed Infinity, an entry that is seeming to move towards a live service, the Assassins we have come to love have been provided a new home in the various mediums of transmedia, showing that the series and its historical timeline is not always controlled in secret, but sometimes by the actions of warriors seeking a seat at the table of the gods. With future content being released across transmedia, which includes the games, Ubisoft should take what their fans are saying about the lack of Assassins in the main staple of the series (the games) but fans should also take into consideration the effort and world building that is put into transmedia as some of these stories would not translate well to a game or add-on. The other benefit of these tales is that you get to experience the world through the eyes and minds of multiple authors and artists while you learn more about the characters and location with descriptive detail and inner thoughts which give a more fulfilling experience. In time, I hope a balance of story and traditional mechanics, such as the return of the stealthy nature of the original games, can be reached to bring life back to the abandoned bureaus and the fans of the past back to the wonderful fold of the Assassin’s Creed series. With how great the community is and how supportive it is within itself, I have enjoyed my time with the world of AC and seeing how what started as a game in the shadows of the major AAA games has become a beacon for adventure in the annals of history. Mike Smith is a collector of all things Assassin's Creed and a major supporter of the transmedia platform for the series. With nearly a full library of Assassin's Creed media, he is exploring the universe in order of Genetic Memory, and waiting eagerly for the next story to be released. Mike joined the program in 2021 as an Online Article Writer, and has a section dedicated to his work in the Community Hub. About the Author

This Week in Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 22nd to 28th May Community Share 30 May 2023 Written By: Edited By: Aaron Young Colum Blackett Back To Database Welcome to the weekly virtual photography roundup hosted by Aaron Young from The AC Partnership Program. Every week I will be picking our top 5 favourite Assassin’s Creed shots and showcasing them on The Ones Who Came Before website, in order to promote virtual photography and talented content creators within the community. Aaron is a keen virtual photographer and loves to post his journeys through Assassin’s Creed on Twitter. Keep an eye on the site as more weekly shots are added, we are looking for captures across all Assassin’s Creed games. Tag your photos to the #TOWCBWeeklyCapture for a chance to be featured. This week’s theme: Assassin’s Creed Paradise Game: Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag VP Artist: @ TheLordReylus This letter box capture is such a perfect way to kick start this week’s showcase. For a 9 year old game this shot looks great, a testament to the quality of Assassin’s Creed games. On first glance I was sure that this was from Odyssey it looked that good. The colours here are so relaxing and the shot is very peaceful. I adore the sun bouncing off the sea, and the seagulls in the distance. The gem of the shot has to be the ship's sail just poking up on the horizon. The Ancient World Game: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey VP Artist: @ Birgamerinalbu1 We are now off to Odyssey for some truly mesmerising shots of the Greek landscapes. Check the link below for the full set, I picked this particular shot due to the incredibly colourful scenery. That water flowing against the shore is stunning. I also like the palm trees and the beautiful statue in the distance. The mountains and the beach are so picturesque and the whole ambience of this shot is so captivating. Link to set: The Ones Who Came Before Photo of the Week: The Ancient World - Picked by Oliver (Aged 5) ''I like this photo because it is very peacful and calm. I really like the palm tree and the beautiful colours. I would really like to be on this beach having fun.'' Mirage Game: Assassin’s Creed Origins VP Artist: @ missroseplays In the week where we finally saw some gameplay from the much anticipated Assassin’s Creed Mirage, I thought it fitting to feature a shot that looks like it could be straight from Baghdad. This beautifully minimalistic photo captures the essence of a weary traveller crossing the desert in search of his next target. I admire how the shadow line splits the shot with the delightful image of Bayek on his horse just off-centre. A truly wonderful piece of virtual photography. Norse Warrior Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ reddeadgem This is an awesome portrait of Eivor as he stares into the distance. The depth of field is faultless, allowing Eivor to stand out amongst the scenery. Attention to detail is on point. The hair looks almost real and the tattoos impeccable. This capture would have fit nicely with our tattoo themed week. I really believe Ubisoft did a fantastic job with both character models for Eivor, and they are one of my favourite protagonists to capture for sure. Duo Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ NIKOOO-WOLF The final shot of the week is spectacular. I cannot believe how good this capture looks. The level of detail on both Sýnin and Eivor is immaculate. The fog-like hue that surrounds them adds so much mystery. Such a well-timed shot with both characters looking in the same direction, I wonder what it is they have seen. A perfect pick for #Thorsday with Synin representing Odin’s eye, even if he is a Falcon here. And that sums it up for this week’s Assassin’s Creed virtual photography recap list! Thank you for checking out this week’s photo collection. This would not be possible without the virtual photographers out there so a huge thanks to them. Until next week keep those shots coming in! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who joined our AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer back in 2021 after the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. After building momentum and interest on TOWCB website for Virtual Photography, Aaron established TOWCB Virtual Photography Team, of which he is now Team Leader. Throughout 2024, TOWCB VP Team will be sharing community captures in dedicated articles, and providing a positive environment on Twitter for gamers to share their shots. Aaron Young

Assassin's Creed Mirage: TOWCB Spoiler-Free Review Reviews Share 1 Jan 2023 Written By: Edited By: Colum Blackett (Col_96) Ashlea Blackett Back To Database ''A solid entry that recommits the series to providing a memorable stealth experience'' Assassin's Creed Mirage is here, and our admin team over at The Ones Who Came Before headquarters were lucky enough to play the game early thanks to the Community Development Team at Ubisoft! Taking players back to 9th century Baghdad, Assassin's Creed Mirage is a thrilling stealth game that will surely act as a turning point for the whole series. Recent entries delivered expansive narrative arcs that can be overwhelming for players, but Mirage does everything it can to d eliver a more focussed narrative experience, with a main storyline which can be completed in 15-20 hours. This is a breath of fresh air, and a much needed change, as the risk of getting lost in its own size was beginning to seep in. The biggest strength of Assassin's Creed Mirage is that it isn't afraid to embrace it's identity, proudly reclaiming control over it's own image. The series found itself in a period where it began to lose itself, but Mirage is AC rediscovering itself after an identity crisis, and once again finding what makes it special. The game acts as a very reflective piece of content, and shows great awareness from the development team over the recent issues fans have had in general. I t r eintroduces mechanics which should never have been removed, and builds on the past to deliver an extremely strong and well thought out story that feels like the ultimate culmination of what came before. There's no doubt that Mirage is a solid entry that recommits the series to providing a memorable stealth experience. It really is a special game, and fans around the world are in for an absolute treat. After a lackluster marketing campaign, the main driving force of the marketing pushing general interest has been the passion of the development team who have been vocal in their belief in the project through intervews and dev diaries. After the announcement back in 2022, the community immediately got behind the time period and main character, as Basim is someone who immediately generates interest after his intriguing appearance in Assassin's Creed Valhalla. More importantly though, Mirage promised to return Assassin's Creed to its roots, and it certainly delivered. Comparisons can be drawn to just about every other game in the series, most obviously AC1 and AC2, with a parkour system inspired by Unity. The charm of the game is how it acts as a prequel to the original, released back in 2007, but drives the series forward by reintroducing elements from later games such as a notoriety system. To spark interest, Mirage soesn't need to do anything too innovative, past games laid the groundwork for mechanics, and the game just needed to reintroduce rather than reinvent. Rather than trialling new systems, Mirage examines what worked in previous titles and brings them back in a triumphant blend of past and present, colliding to produce the future. ''A triumphant blend of past and present'' Graphics and Stability I was immediately impressed with how stable the game feels at launch, encountering no bugs or glitches whilst running the game on PC with Ultra settings. In what feels like the most stable release in recent memory, Mirage runs on PC at an uncapped framerate, meaning high-powered machines can deliver an incredible experience for gamers. Baghdad and it's surrounding area are incredibly impressive, with the game doing a great job at bringing a real sense of individuality to the Round City, with each district feeling different from the next, something which was also featured in the original game. It's noticable how poorer districts of Baghdad are run-down, and the living conditions for those living there are insufficient. It's clear that the team did their homework when creating the city, taking great care with its overall creation and delivery. Mirage re-introduces impressive crowds, and along with it, the notion that an Assassin is but a blade in the crowd, waiting to strike. One thing that makes the city feel alive is how NPC's react to Basim's presence when he raises his notoriety. You can hear guards discussing his acts, or comment on his likeness to the culprit they are searching for. Regular civilians will even report Basim to the guards, in the hope that he will be reprimanded for his crimes. This is a first for the series, and a really nice feature to be introduced. Baghdad is a living, breathing environment, and the regularly changing day and night cycle and quest opportunities keep it interesting through the playthrough. The controls feel familiar, something which will be a relief for long-time fans. Change can take a long time to adapt to, but the controls for Mirage feel right, with no remapping needed. Safe parkour routes can be navigated by holding down space, and parkour down returns by pressing 'C', a nice and simple system that is made more dynamic through the flair of freerunning the game adds. One thing I did spot however graphically is how the faces sometimes let the game down. I found that Basim's facial expressions can be comical at times, especially in cutscenes. making him look wide-eyed and youthful. This may be something which the team choose to address in future patches, as releasing a stable and issue-free game at launch is more important. I would be keen to see enhanced details on faces added in a future update later down the line. In order to capture the beauty of the game, Photomode has been available at launch, something which will no doubt thrill the virtual photography community, who are eager to dive in and explore the world. During my playthrough, I frequently found myself stopping to capture the moment with the familiar photomode tool. I can't wait to see what the community manages to produce. ''Mirage re-introduces impressive crowds, and along with it, the notion that an Assassin is but a blade in the crowd, waiting to strike.'' Parkour Parkour is encouraged at every turn in Assassin's Creed Mirage, and the city of Baghdad provides many paths to elevation that compliment the enhanced flair of Basim's movement, which takes inspiration from Assassin's Creed Unity. The dynamic new parkour system is a break away from the wooden, sluggish freerunning styles recent games have provided, opting for a complete overhaul that introduces a splash of intensity and charisma. It feels as if the team behind the parkour animations really wanted to give Basim some personality within his movement, moving away from an uninspired, dated system. Elevators can be found on the streets to take Basim to the rooftops in seconds, giving him the element of surprise over unsuspecting enemies. Movement across the city is aided by the return of the corner swing, which featured heavily in Assassin's Creed Revelations. Ropes bridge the gap between buildings, providing clear routes to navigate. Mirage introduces a new mechanic for parkour, the pole vault, a balanced piece of wood which can be used to cross gaps between buildings or even water. This is a particularly usefu l feature when Basim is being pursued by guards, as each pole has a one-time use, meaning he cannot be followed. Speed of movement is adjustable in the settings, meaning players can tailor their parkour experience. Basim is faster and more agile than Eivor, and animations were produced specially to give players a sense of speed when running, jumping, vaulting and free roaming. Players will notice how the new parkour system allows Basim to glide over objects, moving seamlessly with flair. Also noticable is Basim's ability to jump further than previously possible, leading to more opportunities when on the more. I actually found the new parkour system to be much more realistic than what Assassin's Creed fans have been working with recently, leading me to wonder if the team possibly took inspiration from real-life parkour artists / freerunners. The range of movement in this game is seriously impressive, and it's only a matter of time before we s ee masters honing their craft and navigating the city of Baghdad with creative variety. You can climb fallen trees, which I found to be incredibly useful to gain an aerial advantage. In what is certainly the first 'traditional' Assassin's Creed game in years, Basim certainly has the moves to match his status within the Brotherhood. The game brings back Open windows for Basim to climb through, like in Assassin's Creed Unity,making the game feel more open and lifelike. Overall I think the game lends itself well to parkour, hinting at it's existence at every opportunity. I felt that it was especially pushed within the layout of Baghdad, and missions seem to provide routes for parkour which make quests easier when followed correctly. A good example of this are the tailing missions which make their return. I think Mirage's parkour is way better than the sluggish system we saw in Valhalla, and the introduction of new animations and fluidity makes it interesting and useful rather than a painful hinderence. ''Basim moves seamlessly with flair.'' Stealth Stealth in Assassin's Creed Valhalla was a step in the right direction, but Mirage goes even further fixes all of the issues players had in the previous title. Social stealth has been restored to it's former glory, and feels more alive than ever before. Basim can blend with crowds, pay groups for cover, use benches and hay bales for cover, and finally, stealthily enter a roof garden to dispatch a nearby guard with a whistle. It feels like the series has come full circle, bringing back the original stealth mechanics in a more lively open world. I like how guards are inquisitive, but don't spot you straight away like in Assassin's Creed Valhalla. The player can once again hide in long grass and bushes to keep out of sight, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Basim can hide in prayer booths, and use them to hide bodies. The same can be said for the roof gardens, which featured in Assassin's Creed I. The most noticable change from Assassin's Creed Valhalla though are the new kill animations. Whilst waiting on a corner, Basim will cleanly dispatch an enemy with the hidden blade to then calmly drag their body out of sight. It's an instinctive but deadly manouver, and it very often prevents other enemies from spotting a body. Basim also has 'Assassin focus', a rapid series of moves that take out enemies so fast, the Animus simply can't keep up, resulting in a glitch effect. This feature was heavily controversial at first as some fans felt it was a supernatural fast-travel power, but it has since been explained as Basim's lightning fast reflexes. It can be incredibly useful to get out of tricky situations. The system stems from a similar thought process to what we saw in Assassin's Creed Syndicate, where Evie Frye could practically turn invisible by controlling her breathing. Air assassinations are the best they have ever been in the series, aided by Basim's long distance jumps, you can take an enemy out from further away than usual. You don't have to be directly above the target, which makes it fun to run and jump down on a target, dropping in to deliver a killing blow. The game provides great variety when it comes to assassination animations, so with practice, fans will soon be performing incredible speed runs featuring a balance of parkour and aerial assassinations. Death from above is extremely satisfying, and it seems that Basim and his Eagle Enkidu have more in common than first realised, moving swiftly like an Eagle above the crowds. The notoriety system returns in Assassin's Creed Mirage, and will affect all players as it did in the Ezio games. Tear down Wanted posters or pay heralds to reduce Basim's notoriety, reducing the heat as he moves through the city. When the wanted level is at its peak, the city will turn on him, making it incredibly difficult to operate undetected. For the first time, civilians will inform the guards of Basim's actions, and call for them to intervene should you commit a public offence. Information gathering plays a crucial role in the game, with all assassination missions starting out with an investigation. This is a real throwback to the original game, where Altair also had to conduct investigations to discover information before he could act. This is because he was demoted to the rank of a novice, which Basim is at the start of Assassin's Creed Mirage. Eavesdropping returns, and is once again a clever way of gaining information. During my play sessions, I have found it quite rewarding to once again sit on a bench and listen out for intel which could aid a later assassination mission. Basim's tools are essential to unlocking the full potential of stealth, with each tool in his Assassin arsenal acting as a lifeline in the right circumstances. The smoke bomb provides cover, masking his actions. This can be useful for assassinations or even for disorienting targets in order to pickpocket. You can escape guards in a cloud of smoke, as was demonstrated in the first trailer for Assassin's Creed Mirage. The Trap is a bomb which condures a plume of gas that renders guards immobile, giving Basim the chance to swoop in and deliver the finishing blow. The blowpipe, which returns from Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag, can be used to either knock out or poison enemies from distance. Throwing knives are similar, providing clean kills from distance. As the game does not allow for Basim to carry a bow, this is the main option for long-range distance kills. The noisemaker is a distraction device that can create a diversion, moving guards away from certain areas or clearing the path long enough for Basim to move. Finally, the flame, to light dark tunnels. This is my least favourite tool as I have not yet found a way of making it work in a stealth situation. Ideally, I would like to be able to throw the torch to set oil spillages on fire or even tents, but so far they have simply burnt out. Overall, the tools are incredibly important to increasing Basim's chances of a successful stealth mission, so I recommend unlocking them all as early as possible when playing Mirage. Finally, Basim's Eagle Enkidu can be used to look for opportunities in the world, and highlight the presence of nearby enemies. After a while I found the eagle mechanic to be quite jarring, as it hones in on a particular point of interest, but it certainly gets better with upgrades. Overall, I found the stealth system in Assassin's Creed Mirage to be excellent, restoring old mechanics and making it deadlier than ever. Basim has the killer instrinct, and his actions feels decisive and calculated. I think fans will be extremely pleased that Assassin's Creed is once again focussing on its stealth roots, and is now pushing itself to be better than ever before. ''The player can once again hide in long grass and bushes to keep out of sight, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.'' Combat In Assassin's Creed Mirage, combat is a last resort for Basim. Before enhancing skills, the game provides a primitive combat system, which amplifies the overall commitment to providing a masterful stealth experience. Attacks are hit-for-hit, and stamina depletes quickly, so it can be tough for the players who wish to battle their way through Baghdad. It certainly can be challenging, especially when facing numerous adversaries. Basim will be cut down in the street as his stamina depletes. Some attacks cannot be parried, leading Basim with just one option, dodge out of the way, a move which heavily depends on stamina. On hard mode, it's frequent to die whilst trying to take on numerous enemies, something which was never a problem in the RPG games. I like that this is the case though, as it really encourages players to reconcide their method, and resort back to a stealth approach. Skills add another element to the combat system, introducing features that make it easier when facing opponents. 'Kick Back' is a skill which introduces a powerful kick attack upon completion of a successful parry, which can be used to disorientate or even cause the death of an enemy by kicking off buildings or even into wooden structures which can collapse. This skill is similar to the Sparta Kick from Assassin's Creed Odyssey. 'Counter Roll' allows Basim to quickly move out of the way as an unblockable attack is about to land, moving him into a strategist position behind the enemy where he can inflict damage. Finally, 'knife recover', which is also a useful skill for stealth, which adds auto-collecting throwing knives which have already been used. In close-quarters, throwing knives can be used to eleminate enemies who are charging towards the Assassin. Although combat is quite basic in comparison to previous entries, it does provide a real sense of progression, as Basim climbs the ranks within the Brotherhood. The once-charistmastic thief uses his new training to defend himself in a scrape, and that's what the game does well. It feels like Basim only uses combat if there are no other options, as a true Assassin should act as a blade in the crowd. Plot Assassin's Creed Mirage follows the transition of Basim from a street thief to a Master Assassin. Players begin the game in Anbar, where Basim the thief uses his skills to steal money and food to help those around him and him self. The early on pickpocket tutorial introduces players to the timing mechanic, which can be tricky to master, but essential if you wish to avoid conflict. He wants a better life for himself and others around him facing poverty. He is a conflicted character, carrying a family burden, as his father Ishaq was an architect who was simply forgotten after the construction of the Great Mosque of Samarra was completed, when another took credit for the project. Ishaq was exhiled, and died in poverty, scarring Basim foreve r. He also finds himself experiencing nightmares, where a Jinni torments his resting hours. This is the first time seeing recurring dreams in the series, showing their intensity and effect upon his life. Fueled by confidence in himself and his abilities, Basim seeks a better life for himself, setting his sights upon the Assassins, an illusive group who provide work for street thieves. Desperate to prove himself, but lacking discretion, a trait worthy of The Hidden Ones, and something which is noticed by Mentor Roshan, rejecting his initial advance s to join. Basim is aware of the existence of The Hidden Ones and aspires to aid them more, but not to help their cause, but to better his own position in life. The game quickly evolves from tutorial missions to a main mission which gives the player a reason to care about the enemy faction, The Order of Ancients, which Basim stumbles upon. The opening main mission, the Winter Palace infiltration sets this up nicely, introduces the organisation as a powerful faction operating from the shadows, controlling the leaders of the land, and through their influence, the people. The Order operates ina similar way to the version we saw in Assassin's Creed Origins, hiding behind masks and nicknames to keep their identities secret. Upon joining the Assassins, Basim must hunt them down one-by-one to aid the cause of the Assassins. Additional areas in the game are a nice surprise, as the game was purely advertised as Baghdad. In fact, players can also visit the outskirts and other areas such as Alamut and Anbar for plot purposes. Basim is moved across the map seeking information on his targets and reporting to various Hidden Ones Bureaus. In this sense, the game feels very much like Assassin's Creed I, where Altair would travel across The Holy Land. Although short, Mirage features one of the strongest Isu stories we have seen so far, and makes it more personal and import ant than ever, continuing the reincarnation narrative outlined in Valhalla. Unfortunately the game continues the trend of gradually stripping away Modern Day gameplay that has left players with very little since the Desmond games. The narrative pushes an interesting modern day story through cutscenes, which is certainly better than it's entire removal which would probably be easier for new players to understand. For fans following the ongoing Modern Day narrative, Mirage has a lot to be excited about. I like how the Modern Day seems to be once again moving towards making the threat for humanity , similar to what we saw in Assassin's Creed III, where momentum came to it's conclusion as Juno escaped her prison and unleashed herself upon humanity. Shorter stories work so well in the Assassin's Creed series when told correctly, and what I like about Assassin's Creed Mirage is that it feels like it found clever ways of connecting the past and future. Hopefully this trend continues one-day with the introduction of 'Assassin's Creed Infinity', a project which is set to introduce a launcher which features all past and future content. Mirage reflects Basim's clever and cynical nature in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, revealing his troubled past and journey tow ards becoming an Assassin. Basim's actions have consequences, and Mirage takes the time to remind players of what more recent games in the series have been missing. Conclusion Assassin's Creed Mirage delivers a strong narrative which serves as a poignant tribute to Russell Lees, a writer who sadly passed away during the development of the game. Immediately after booting up the game, the award-worthy music takes hold and doesn't stop, providing atmospheric and moving tracks and sounds throughout. Basim becomes the embodiment of the Brotherhood, acting as its blade from the shadows. He is the stealthiest Assassins yet, using his tools to take down targets, masking himself in the crowd and creating opportunities to lure out targets to strike. The Voice acting was excellent throughout, with highlights from Shohreh Aghdashloo ( Roshan), Lee Majdoub (Basim), and notable performances from the voice actors behind Fulash and Rayhan The stand-out performance from Mirage is Baghdad itself, a city which feels bustling with life and diversity. Each district has it's own personality, and the use of Arabic speaking voice actors abd script writers makes the experience feel more authentic. Finally, I think fans will be particularly impressed with how the team behind Mirage hits pause on the RPG direction of the franchise, and sets a new course, rediscovering what makes Assassin's Creed special and reintroducing cut features which feel familar and refreshed. The game feels extremely satisfactory for old fans of the franchise, and is a great place to start for new players looking to kick off their Assassin's Creed journey. I hope that the developers behind Assassin's Creed Mirage go on to work on future AC projects, and that we don't suddenly have a huge surge of rushed content after this huge step in the right direction. Assassin's Creed Mirage: 9.5/10 'A solid entry that recommits the series to providing a memorable stealth experience'' comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Col is one of the UK's leading Assassin's Creed Community members, and is best known for establishing both 'The Ones Who Came Before' fan community and 'Isu_Network' content creation program. As Team Leader for The Ones Who Came Before, Col was officially recognised by Ubisoft, becoming one the UK Assassin's Creed community ambassadors in 2016. He has attended many events after spending a decade in the AC Community, and has worked on countless projects, all of which you can find here on TOWCB website. He is also a former Ubisoft Star Player and member of The Mentors Guild, two recognisable community programs which opened doors and took his status within the AC Community to the next level. Colum Blackett (Col_96)

Art Reveal: Basim and Loki by SophiaEA16 Art Share 28 Apr 2021 Written By: Edited By: Sophia Ashlea Blackett Back To Database We're pleased to reveal a new piece of art created by our very own SophiaEA16 from the AC Partnership Program! To celebrate the launch of our new interview with Carlo Rota, who provides the voice and mo-cap performances for Basim and Loki in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, we reached out to Sophia with an idea. What if Basim looked in the mirror one day and saw his past staring back at him. Sophia took this starting point and made it her own, creating this beautiful piece to accompany our interview, and we couldn't be happier with the final result. Loki's menacing eyes create an atmosphere of uncertainty, something that we really wanted to capture in this piece. What are his intentions? What will he do next in the Modern Day? Find out Carlo's thoughts in our new interview, which releases Friday 30th April 2021! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Sophia is a talented artist and Twitch streamer from Venice who joined the program in early 2021. During her time on the program, Sophia worked closely with our community members on a number of art different projects, such as competitions and fundraising campaigns. Sophia

What is going on with the Assassin's Creed X Netflix Live Action Series Prediction Share 31 Dec 2024 Written By: Edited By: UbiCypher (Joe) Colum Blackett Back To Database 2024 is nearing to its end and I was wondering what I'd like to see in relation to Assassin's Creed for this year besides the All-evident Assassin's Creed Shadows hitting the stores soon. Well, I decided to boot up Netflix with my mug of freshly-made eggnog (Yes I do those and they're delicious) and for some reason I decided to re-watch the Official Movie which, in all honesty, is a good piece of media in my eyes specially in terms of Lore-expansion and Modern Day treatment which is on par with the darkness Abstergo Industries represents along the color palette of the movie further enhancing that hostile and rude mood. It's incredible to think that the movie was released 8 years ago now and I still remember the premiere so vividly. So, what best time but now to do some backtracking and see what happened with the sequel and why we still have no word on the planned trilogy or Netflix Live-action adaptations for that matter, let's go back in time! Assassins Creed: The Movie Trilogy -"This is the sort of origin of his story. We have an idea of where he's going to go over the next two films". -Michael Fassbender. Michael Fassbender during an interview on the future of the Movies with Cinema Blend in 2016. According to Michael Fassbender in an interview hosted by Cinema Blend on the 16th of December 2016 a few days before the movie's official release, the Irish-German-born actor commented on the future of the Movie which by that point was already aiming for a trilogy stating -"We have an idea of where he's going to go over the next two films. We kind of did a three-film arc. We'll wait and see how people respond to this, but for sure, we have an idea of where he's going to go next". explaining the roadmap expected to follow if the budget somewhere between $130M and $200M was surpassed in terms of sales, which, never happened, the movie only roughly reaching $240M worldwide, enough for 20th Century Fox to remain silent on the matter, unfortunately these two sequels never seeing the light of day. The mixed receptions however did not slow down Ubisoft's efforts though as prior to the movie's release in theaters the French company was already in the talks with Netflix to secure a slot in their streaming service for "Multiple Projects" among which an official Live-action series, Animated spin-offs produced by American film producer and screenwriter Adi Sankhar; (DREDD, 2012), (Lone Survivor, 2013), (Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix, 2023), (Devil May Cry coming 2025) and Movie Sequels were planned to be developed until the 20th of March 2019 when Disney acquired Fox, restructuring the Studio and cancelling all projects tied to Assassin's Creed based on the movie's mixed reception and low box office takings. Assassin's Creed Official Show x Netflix Official Assassin's Creed Netflix TV Show logo. “We’re excited to partner with Ubisoft and bring to life the rich, multilayered storytelling that Assassin’s Creed is beloved for". -Peter Friedlander, Vice President, Original Series, Netflix. 27 October 2020. It wasn't until 2020 that we as fans would get any kind of information on Ubisoft's decision to make the long awaited jump to TV show at the yearly Ubisoft Forward conference where it was announced that an official partership with Netflix was settled to bring a Live-action show based on the hit franchise with Jeb Stuart, known for "Die Hard" and "Vikings: Valhalla" appointed as the showrunner a year later after the announcement. The river still followed its course without interruptions once again however and the raft was eventually lost at sea, Jeb Stuart quitting the project altogether in 2023 due to creative differences. "I think it was a little bit of a move of executives from LA to London, and it allowed the London group who, unfortunately, had to inherit my vision of what it was instead of getting to develop their own vision. So I think that's fair. I know it's going to be great whenever it comes out. I think the Ubisoft guys are fantastic. I think it's a terrific franchise. It was just a good, mutual time to move on for both sides." -Jeb Stuart during an interview with Collider, 2 January 2023. As of now, further details about the Netflix series, including its release date and new showrunner, have not been announced. We'll just have to wait and see, possibly at the next Ubisoft Forward. Also, it is important to keep in mind that Tencent is around the corner which may or may not put a halt to Assassin's Creed coming to TV at all in the future. Happy New Year! Image from our AC Netflix Community Fan Casting Article comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author UbiCypher (Joe) is an Assassin's Creed Transmedia expert who worked as the Lead Admin for the Isu_Network social media team, providing consistent social media content in the form of Assassin's Creed lore trivia, puzzles and news coverage, spending countless hours researching the series and real history. In 2025, he stepped back from his social media duties to pursue other opportunities. UbiCypher (Joe)

This Week in Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 16th to 22nd October Community Share 26 Oct 2023 Written By: Edited By: Aaron Young Colum Blackett Back To Database Welcome to the weekly virtual photography roundup hosted by Aaron Young from The AC Partnership Program. Every week I will be picking our top 5 favourite Assassin’s Creed shots and showcasing them on The Ones Who Came Before website, in order to promote virtual photography and talented content creators within the community. Aaron is a keen virtual photographer and loves to post his journeys through Assassin’s Creed on Twitter. Keep an eye on the site as more weekly shots are added, we are looking for captures across all Assassin’s Creed games. Tag your photos to the #TOWCBWeeklyCapture for a chance to be featured. This week’s theme: Baghdad Painting Game: Assassin’s Creed Mirage VP Artist: @ giraph_1 “I have so much to tell you” Baghdad is a city that has deep roots in Assassin’s Creed lore. Throughout the series we have seen mentions of this beautifully vibrant playground. In 2023 we have finally been able to parkour its rooftops as Basim Ibn Ishaq. This striking capture has a real painting vibe, something that is amplified by the subtle white border. I adore the composition as it makes the city feel so big. This is assisted by the glorious water way running alongside it. There is a real Assassin’s Creed Origins feel to this shot, however the wondrous blue topped structures instantly tell us it is Baghdad. Lantern Game: Assassin’s Creed Mirage VP Artist: @ IronJoy_ “A beacon to light the way” Decorative is a word I would use to sum up Assassin’s Creed Mirage and the beauty is often in the detail. Entering into a city full of culture and innovation really helps to create a diverse world that not only tells a story but acts as a history lesson. This beautiful shot encapsulates the ambiance of Baghdad. The warm tones of the capture are delightful and the lighting is on point. The lantern attracts the eye but it’s the clever composition that draws your attention to it. I love the markings on the wall and the perfect balance of dark and light. Docking Game: Assassin’s Creed Mirage VP Artist: @ Cll3ar “I will go in quietly” One of the earlier missions in Assassin’s Creed Mirage sees Basim infiltrate a docked ship. It is the first real test of Basim’s training and rewards you with a nice outfit. This capture reminds me of Assassin’s Creed Origins and the constant flow of ships arriving at port. For me though this photo has been pulled right from the art studio at Ubisoft Bordeaux. The framing is exquisite and the saturation delightful. I love how you can see the beautiful blue topped building in the distance. I can just imagine this being Basim’s view as he plans his attack. Archway Game: Assassin’s Creed Mirage VP Artist: @ G_Assassin90 “It is but one path” Even though Assassin’s Creed Mirage is a smaller game compared to the recent entries, I feel it has embraced and perfected specific locations. Most if not all of the major landmarks are memorable and have key moments and cues that make them recognizable. This capture is just so striking with the mix of colour tones. The warm interior reminds me of the collector’s edition, especially with the decorative border. The framing is precision with the dome encased in the archway. I must admit the dusty atmosphere and the sense of community in the courtyard make the shot for me. Majestic Game: Assassin’s Creed Mirage VP Artist: @ cop_filip “We must go to Baghdad” Assassin’s Creed virtual photography can often excel in capturing the history of a location. Often character portraits rule but if you observe these masterfully created worlds you can see a lot is going on. This is one of the reasons the Discovery Tours have become so popular. This capture from Filip is a perfect example of the hard work that has gone into making Baghdad feel authentic. You could easily be forgiven for thinking this was a holiday snap. There is so much to love about this shot, the framing with the tree, the sunlight on the building and that elegant shadow of the bird cage on the wall. A perfect capture for the Baghdad theme. The Ones Who Came Before Photo of the Week Judge: @ _Virtualtourism ''A great capture. Once again Filip’s real world photography skills are shining through. You get the sense he’s walking through 9th century Baghdad himself rather than through a controller. Captures like this are precious in such a busy game, they shine the light on moments and scenes that can be easily missed. Filip has allowed us all to experience this through his photo. Great shot Filip.'' And that sums it up for this week’s Assassin’s Creed virtual photography recap list! Thank you for checking out this week’s photo collection. This would not be possible without the virtual photographers out there so a huge thanks to them. Until next week keep those shots coming in! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who joined our AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer back in 2021 after the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. After building momentum and interest on TOWCB website for Virtual Photography, Aaron established TOWCB Virtual Photography Team, of which he is now Team Leader. Throughout 2024, TOWCB VP Team will be sharing community captures in dedicated articles, and providing a positive environment on Twitter for gamers to share their shots. Aaron Young

2025 Assassin's Creed Community Fundraiser for Blood Cancer Launched Community Share 8 Jun 2025 Written By: Edited By: TOWCB Team Colum Blackett Back To Database Cancer. Everyone has a story. It affects us all. We are proud to announce that the 2025 Assassin's Creed Community Fundraiser will be raising funds for Blood Cancer Alliance and Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), a collection of charities around the world leading the fight in the battle against Blood Cancer. The Assassin's Creed Community are once again coming together to make a real-world impact for a cause connected to the franchise. Every Assassin's Creed fan knows that the series is deeply connected to DNA, exploring the memories of our ancestors using the Animus Device. Blood holds the key to every adventure. It's the holding cell for memories, and the life force of existence. There are around 240,000 people living with blood cancer in the UK. Together, blood cancers are the fifth most common type of adult cancer, the most common cancer amongst children and the third most fatal cancer. Your support will ensure that those fighting leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma and all types of blood cancer are able to live longer, better lives. In particular, your financial support will fund lifesaving research that will be used to improve diagnosis, treatment and care. Beating Cancer is in our blood. We are Assassins. GoFundMe Our Partners AC United Kingdom All-Father Media AndyReloads Cadaea G Assassin HangryHiggs Ironside George Ropotopolous The Hidden One The Podyssey Podcast Team: ExileAC & WillisMakesMovies Ubisoft We would like to say a huge thank you to all of our partners for supporting the 2025 Assassin's Creed Community Fundraiser! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author A collection of articles from The Ones Who Came Before team. TOWCB Team

Assassin's Creed Shadows Claws of Awaji DLC New Teaser Breakdown Breakdown Share 30 Aug 2025 Written By: Edited By: Zephryss Colum Blackett Back To Database https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI0WykO9QsI Ubisoft has finally revealed the release date for Assassin's Creed Shadows: Claws of Awaji DLC, which is launching on September 16, 2025. They have also shared a brand-new short teaser for the DLC. Here is the full breakdown of the new teaser. In the opening scene you can see a mysterious character from behind, holding a kanabo. He wears a dark red armored outfit with gold shell-like patterns on the sleeves. The symbol on the back of the character in the image appears to resemble a stylized wood grain pattern, which is highly likely to be a mon (family crest or emblem), a traditional Japanese symbol used to represent clans, families, or organizations. The pattern looks natural and abstract, evoking the look of topographic lines or swirling wood grain, which might symbolize strength, nature, or lineage. The 2nd scene shows a dark, shadowy figure crouching on a tree branch in the middle of a forest at night. This could be a member of the new enemy faction, Sanzoku Ippa. Moonlight shines through the trees, lighting up the figure just enough to reveal their armor and a curved weapon in hand. The enemy looks ready to strike or watch from above, hidden in the darkness. In the 3rd scene a person is seen running through a forest path, unaware that he's triggering a tripwire trap stretched across the ground. The wire is connected to trees on both sides and is barely visible in the dim lighting. In the bottom image, the trap has been activated, an explosion erupts in the background with sparks and flames bursting out violently. This trap appears to have been set by the new enemy faction, Sanzoku Ippa. In the 4th scene Naoe is fighting with two enemies. She is flipping over two enemies while holding a long staff weapon called a Bo. This seems to be a new skill that lets her attack while jumping through the air. In the 5th and final scene, Naoe shows her hidden blade to a mysterious woman, who immediately recognizes her and calls her by name. It looks like Naoe has finally found her mother, Tsuyu, in the Assassin's Creed Shadows Claws of Awaji DLC. Also, check out our full review of the new Summer Roadmap for Assassin's Creed Shadows. We've covered everything in detail. What are your thoughts on the new teaser for Assassin's Creed Shadows: Claws of Awaji DLC? How excited are you for the DLC? Share your thoughts down below! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Zephryss is a passionate social media manager based in India who joined TOWCB's Social Media Team in Summer 2024 to help the team prepare for coverage of Assassin's Creed Shadows news and updates. Recently, he completed his Masters degree in Electrical Engineering and is now preparing to take on a PhD. He loves video games very much, and since childhood has enjoyed playing various types of games in different genres He also has 3 gaming channels (Zephryss, Assassin Zephryss & Spider Zephryss) where he uploads gameplay videos regularly. Zephryss

Ubisoft have just released the World Premiere trailer for Assassin's Creed marking the dawn of a new era of the series Community The Assassin's Creed Community are raising money for Ocean Conservancy. Donate today Analysis Cracking the Isu Code: Part 4 Save 10% on officially licensed Assassin's Creed Origins merchandise with the code "TOWCB" Top Stories 16/12/21 By Preston Carbonaro Edited by Ashlea Blackett Share Assassin's Creed fans are working hard to crack messages written in the secret language of the highly advanced precursor race known as the Isu, and in the process, decode multiple hidden messages We here at TOWCB have joined the community efforts to try our hands at decoding these messages which are scattered around throughout the game; in Standing Stone puzzles, on Layla’s laptop, and even promotional content. We sincerely hope that none of you experience the Bleeding Effect during the decoding process … Interview with Magnus Bruun - Eivor Assassins' Creed Valhalla Merchandise Guide Q&A with Abubakar Salim - Bayek of Siwa TOWCB Plans for 2021 Netflix announce upcoming live-action Assassin's Creed series Female Vikings: The Real History Building an Assassin's Creed Community: Getting Started Mentors Guild Announcement Interview with Benoit Richer: Valhalla Co-Dev Game Director Interview with Eric Baptizat: AC Valhalla Game Director Interview with Jordan Van Andel (JorRaptor) Colours in Assassin's Creed: A Short Review 6 ways to stay entertained in the Assassin's Creed Community during isolation Interview with Carlos Ferro - Da Vinci 5 ways you can support TOWCB Interview with Jesper Kyd Col is the Community Admin for The Ones Who Came Before, and one of the Community Builders for The Mentors Guild. He is also a former Ubisoft Star Player, and has spent the last 7 years working within the Assassin's Creed community on countless projects. Twitter About the Author Preston Carbonaro Article contains ads that support TOWCB. Top Stories Decoding Brendan of Clonfert’s passage on the Isle of Skye (AC Valhalla)