If the Assassin’s Creed saga has been characterized by something, it is by the fact that most of its plots deal with link the present with the historical period in which its chapters take place, and at the same time connect both with Isu civilization, the one that preceded humanity and was devastated by solar flares millions of years ago. Assassin’s Creed Mirage is a bit out of the ordinary since only during the introduction of the game it seems that we are contemplating fragments of the presentbut the references to the present in this case take shape, although not as we expected, and of course it is also possible to contemplate part of the Isu technology in various parts of the game.
But it is the final part of the game which contains many parallels with certain movie starring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt, linking in some way with the present, only as a tribute. To this we must add that Mirage is considered a prequel to Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, since it stars one of the characters with whom we interact in said game: Basim. But how can these brushstrokes be combined to explain the ambiguous and I would even say unfinished ending of the most recent chapter of this series of Ubisoft games? Now we look at it, but I warn you: This article has spoilers and big spoilers about the plot and ending of Assassin’s Creed Mirageso if you don’t want to spoil it, stop reading right here and finish the game first.
Basim had his own Tyler Durden in Mirage
Since the first game in the Assassin’s Creed saga, many fans remember the maxim of Nothing is true, and everything is allowed. This interpretation has undergone changes or evolutions as the saga has progressed, but I would dare to say that in the last stages of Basim’s adventure it takes a quite interesting interpretation.
Without entering into more spoilers than necessary, and not to highlight what is obvious that many of you will have already experienced, the last moments of the game after having ended the Order in Baghdad They take a most dramatic turn of course. It all starts from the fact that our ultimate goal refers to us like the prodigal son who returns. Obviously, this is difficult to understand due to the fact that before becoming involved with the Order, Basim had never had direct dealings with them.
But before the last leader of the order can tell us more, Roshan appears and kills himwarning Basim that if he chooses to follow the trail of what his victim has said she will will not hesitate to kill him. The fact is that Basim returns to his home in Anbar to rest, once again tormented by the genie. And againthis Nehal there to do a proposition. Intrigued by the words of his enemy and with Nehal insisting that He must find out what he saw that night in which the artifact was stolen all those years ago, both decide to return to Alamut and find out what it was that they stole and why the Order seemed to know more about Basim than himself.
Upon their arrival in Alamut, the Order has beaten them to it and is attempting to end the Hidden; Basim is attacked and rescued by a former comrade, Nur. But there is no trace of Nehal, so he interprets that at least his friend is still alive. Basim manages to prevent the disappearance of the hidden ones by saving several members and to Maester Rayhanwho understands that our protagonist has an important relationship with what the Hidden Ones They have been guarding under the floor of the Temple.
However, upon reaching him, and after stopping Rosham’s attack (who is clearly acting as final boss of the game in this epilogue), Nehal knows exactly what to do to open the chamber that Basim revealed a moment ago. Inside, we clearly see Isu architecture and machinery. There are more devices like the one Basim stole from the Winter Palace at the beginning of the game, or like the ones in the Chamber of Mysterious Shards. Are Isu memory disks, those who keep experiences and knowledge of the ancients so that they are not lost to their heirs. By the time Basim reaches the center of the chamber, we see that there are a sarcophagus that when you open it, Nehal appears from inside him.
This is where it is established the relationship of Mirage with ‘Fight Club’. In the movie David Fincherin the last bars of it, the anonymous narrator (Edward Norton) discovers that the man with whom he has been living all this time and who has prepared the bombs to ”restart” society,Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), was a projection of your psyche to help him achieve his goals, but in reality it was the narrator himself who was the architect of the idea and the creator of the Fight Club.
If you have a good memory, you will have noticed that Nehal is never present in the conversations that Basim has with other characters.
Nehal is Basim’s Tyler Durden; It was he who actually killed the Caliph and activated the Isu memory disk that they stole, and if you have a good memory you will have noticed that Nehal never this present in the conversations Basim has with other characters, he is always absent. On the other hand, she is the only one who has always understood Basim’s suffering from the visits of the Genius, and by accepting it and merging with his memory, he becomes complete again as Loki; which brings us to the Connection with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and why the Order was so interested in him, and why Roshan didn’t want Basim to explore that area of the temple of the Hidden Ones.
Who was the genie that tormented Basim?
After discovering that Nehal is a part of himself, Basim accepts her, and the reason for this imaginary friend was so insistent The idea of finding out what the disk he stole at the beginning of the game was was to remind Basim of his true identity: the reincarnation of Isu Loki.
Those of you who have played Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and his DLC Dawn of Ragnarok, you will remember that in said game and additional content, Basim wanted to take revenge on Eivor Varinsdottir for the fate that the Isu who reincarnated in her inflicted on Basim in the past: the disk we stole at the beginning of the game is Lok’s memoryi (Basim) tortured and imprisoned in the sarcophagus by Odin (Eivor).
Loki’s traumatic memory of being locked forever in the Ygdrassil/Animus of the Isu tormented him until the end of his days; a memory that he genetically passed on to his human descendants, the most recent and receptive of all of them being Basim, and that manifested itself in the form of nightmares with a genius that tormented him only in dreams, but that began to become more intense from the day he played the Isu disk that he had to steal and contained Loki’s last moments, and could also emerge in violent acts such as murders.
Further proof that Basim stopped being the same after this episode is in his last words in the game
Naturally, those who have not played Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will not understand this relationship. It’s not explained very well either. the reason why Roshan leaves the Hidden Ones in the last scene of the game. Perhaps it is because she knows that not all reincarnated Isu or those with their essences intact are benevolent towards humanity (Juno wanted to reconquer the Earth and eradicate humans as seen in Assassin’s Creed 3 and Black Flag), and evidently the members of the Order or the Templars later worshiped these reincarnated avatars of the Isu as their mastershence Qahiba (the leader of the Order in Baghdad) will try convince Basim to join them.
Further proof that Basim stopped being the same after this episode is in his last words in the game during the coda after the credits; he says he craves the reunion with those who made him suffer if they are still on Earth. And if you need further proof that Basim is now Isu Loki reincarnated and with his memories recovered from him, it is the fact that when he calls upon Enkidu, the eagle who has been faithful to us throughout the game make a wound on his face and refused to rest on his arm. She knows that what has called her is no longer her friend and her master, but another being.
A smart maneuver to replay Valhalla or try it
Regardless of whether we have played the previous game in the saga or not, Ubisoft has known string together a mysterious ending but far from leaving fans of the saga indifferent, it may make them want revive Valhalla to see how it all connects. Mirage was conceived as a reboot of the sagabut it is very striking that instead of looking forward chronologically to learn of Basim’s fate (either with another game or with additional DLC), it forces us to look just what we have behind us.
Obviously those who will play Valhalla they won’t be surprised of Basim’s change to his new self as Isu Loki, and even if you ask me I would say that it is a little forced. The genie’s appearances are sporadic throughout the game, and although Nehal’s plot twist I was surprised and pleased by how it was handled, it doesn’t seem like they wanted to close all the plot threads. We do not know what happened to the rebellion of Ali, what was it the reaction of the Hidden Ones knowing that Basim was the reincarnation of a potentially dangerous enemy, nor how other cells of the Order they could react to the total loss of their members in Baghdad.
What the game does achieve at least is what we have mentioned, that the bug bit us to replay AC Valhalla, and if we haven’t, then give it a try, although don’t expect an adventure as direct and condensed as the one we just completed. As already happened with Odissey or Orgins, Valhalla is one of the greatest Assassin’s Creed that have been done, so be patient.
