On Monday, June 12th, 2023, Ubisoft Showcased their upcoming line-up of games set to release in 2023 and 2024. Although there was no information about upcoming Far Cry projects and no appearance by Beyond Good and Evil 2, the Ubisoft Forward showcase showed off a variety of other games. Most notably, Ubisoft fans got new information on Assassin’s Creed Jade, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Star Wars Outlaws, The Crew Motorfest, and The Division Resurgence. After the presentation, we had the opportunity to meet with Ubisoft to preview their upcoming Asassin’s Creed projects; the meeting showcased gameplay from Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Assassin’s Creed Jade, and Assassin’s Creed Nexus.
AC Nexus
Our meeting with Ubisoft started out with a preview of Assassin’s Creed Nexus. Assassin’s Creed Nexus will be an immersive VR experience on the Meta Quest. The game will let the player step into the shoes of three legendary assassins. The game will feature new stories for all three assassins all combined into one Single player campaign.
Abstergo is determined to find more Pieces of Eden in order to control humanity. Knowing that Connor, Kassandra, and Ezio have all come in contact with a piece, they aim to use their descendants to reach their goals. By using their memories, they aim to look back into the past using the Nexus eye. The Nexus Eye would give any who enters it the ability to step into the shoes of the three legendary assassins and help Abstergo manipulate humanity’s mind. It is your goal to Sabtoge their goals.
According to Ubisoft, Assassin’s Creed Nexus story will,
Encounter familiar faces such as Leonardo Da Vinci in the Italian Renaissance, as you uncover a story full of harrowing conflict, stolen treasure, and revenge. In Ancient Greece, play a central role in an intense struggle during the time when the “Thirty Tyrants” brutally rule Athens. During the American Revolution, get caught up in a world of espionage, intrigue, and betrayal.’
The game will feature open-map environments with a tactical sandbox., It is up to the player how to tackle each challenge through either stealth or combat. Players can flick their wrists to use the blade. Reach over the shoulder to grab their bow and reach at the chest for crossbows, daggers, and smoke bombs.
The game will feature a variety of accessibility options to help players who are VR-sensitive. The game has including dynamic peripheral vision blocking, and teleportation instead of climbing or parkouring. The game features dynamic vignetting, blacking out the edges. The game also has systems to help with fear of heights or vertigo or those kinds of sensitivities. One feature, for example, is a subliminal grid that gives you a sense of grounding underneath your feet, even if you’re standing on the edge of a rooftop.
Codename Jade
During the meeting, Ubisoft showcased Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade; the game is designed in partnership with Level Infinite for Android and IOS. The game is set in China during the Third century BC. The game is designed to use intuitive controls on phones but will also have controller support.
Jade takes place between the events of Assassin’s Odyssey and Origins. The game uses The Unreal engine for development. According to Ubisoft, Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade will grant,
Players will get to access a huge open world set in third-century BC ancient China, featuring iconic Assassin’s Creed’s gameplay elements: exploration, parkour, combat, and assassination. For the first time in the franchise, players will be able to customize their character’s appearance and make it their own, before tackling the journey ahead, filled with ancient history and hidden dangers. During this pivotal era, the Qin Dynasty unified China and secured the trade route to the West. Players will have to take on desert raiders and work to dismantle conspiracies, taking on greater responsibilities and facing new challenges along the way, from the Great Wall to the imperial capital of Xianyang.
Players who are curious can register for Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade’s beta testing now at https://www.assassinscreedcodenamejade.com/
Assassin’s Creed Mirage
Assassin’s Creed Mirage is developed by Ubisoft Bordeaux that was founded in 2017; the studio features 400+ employees with Bordeaux being the Lead studio. Bordeaux is supported by eleven other Ubisoft studios with 500 developers working on Assassin’s Creed Mirage. Mirage looks to pay homage to the first Assassin’s Creed taking place in Middle East Baghdad during the 13th century.
The game will be a self-contained narrative. In the new trailer, Basim is cornered and facing death in its face but is saved by an assassin. As an angry mob chases them, the female Assassin tells Basim to not overthink and jump as she dives into the water. He fails to do so and flails as he falls into the water.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage continues the story of the feather that originates from Egypt. The feather forges the Assassin’s path. While Basim sleeps he is haunted in his nightmares by a weird wraith lurking in the shadow. Mirage showcases Basim transforming from a street thief to a master assassin. Basim is equipped with a variety of tools such as a Sword, dagger, bow, and five other tools; during the preview, the Blow darts, throwing knives, and smoke bombs were showcased.
Parkour is still a key focus with stealth still being an important part of the game. Investigate, hunt, strike, and escape. The game features a variety of new combo attacks and different kill finishers. During the demonstration, Ubisoft showcased the Assassin’s contracts that can be found in the Assassin’s safe houses; these are side missions, not standalone operations. The demo takes place right after the first main target assassination.
Moving throughout the City
As Basim commits crimes around the city citizens will respond to your actions and the game’s wanted gage will increases. The player can remove wanted posters, pickpocket important individuals, or bribe heralds. By removing the notoriety, Basim can move around the city allow easier. If you get lost or disoriented, you can look at the investigation board that replaces the quest menu. The board allows you to track the order and side missions.
In the mission, we are heading to the prince’s palace to assassinate a priority target. The game uses the Connor Swing and Pole jumps to help Basim move around the city. If traveling by foot is taking too long or gets boring, the player can summon a camel or a horse to move around the city.
Surviving
Verticality is important to get a lay of the land. Launching the eagle while higher up grants a better lay of the land. Be careful though, Marksmen can take out the eagle and the eagle will not be available until they are taken out. Once the marksmen are taken out, Enkido can be used to scout the area.
Infiltrating areas is easier now with the blend-in feature returning in Assassin’s Creed Mirage. The player can have Basim blend in with a group or he can bribe others to distract or pass by patrols. Combat is a backup way to survive with stealth and assassination being the primary focus. The player can have Basim chain abilities. With the Assassin’s focus ability players can target multiple enemies and have Basim assassinate them quickly. Once the assassination is complete escape the scene of the crime to end the contract.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage standard version will cost $49.99 while the deluxe version will cost $59.99; the game will be available on October 12, 2023, on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
