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- With a series known for its rich and well-written characters, Basim was the least interesting one.
- The character felt bland and unfinished, had weak voice acting, and had practically zero character development.
- Basim, being the IP’s future, might be something to worry about.
I’ve been a massive fan of the Assassin’s Creed franchise ever since I played the first entry, falling in love with the direction this series took, diving into history with fictional changes and a war between Assassins and the Templars that would go on for centuries.
When Mirage was announced in 2022, I was surprised that Ubisoft would take the franchise back to its roots with a familiar face I itched to know more about during my Assassin’s Creed Valhalla playthrough. Basim Ibn-Ishaq, a seasoned assassin who basically welcomed Eivor to the brotherhood in Valhalla, was getting a backstory!
While Mirage was a bit overhyped for many, there were still parts about the game I appreciate and love that you can check out from our review of Asssasin’s Creed Mirage.
However, its biggest weakness was how desperate Ubisoft was to replicate the success of the first entry, and in doing so, they barely paid any attention to the core of the game, the story, and the character.
Having played the game, I feel that Basim’s portrayal in Mirage makes him the worst protagonist in the franchise.
Why it matters: Assassin’s Creed has historically featured well-written and memorable protagonists, so it was disappointing to see the lack of attention for Basim.
Basim Had Zero Character
For a character that was so mysterious and interesting in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, his portrayal was shockingly boring in Mirage.
It would be fair to say that Ubisoft neglected the character in favor of giving fans the original nostalgia for the series and the open world. Since Mirage draws a lot of inspiration from the first Assassin’s Creed game, it was not surprising that Ubisoft designed Basim’s character like Altair’s.
While Altair has a fair reputation as an assassin within the franchise and the brotherhood, mainly due to nostalgia, his character was somewhat bland. Later games like Assassin’s Creed Revelations fixed this mistake by giving Altair more time to shine.
However, Basim had practically zero character development throughout the game, as if they left the players to wonder how the character changed in the time skip between events of Mirage and Valhalla.
As a result, Basim’s character is a massive downgrade from Valhalla, but that can be overlooked, considering the character has yet to mature in Mirage. Still, he has no depth, emotion, or even an intriguing background.
Most of the time, Basim’s voice actor felt as if he was reading instead of speaking the script; combined with the fact that the animations were sub-par and didn’t even match the character’s tone most of the time, it automatically made him less interesting.
Ubisoft has stopped motion-capturing actors since Origins, which is why characters in Odyssey, Vahalla, and Mirage feel robotic. For future entries, I hope they start mocap again.
Basim’s Future In Assassin’s Creed
The next part discusses spoilers for Assassin’s Creed Mirage, so turn back now if you haven’t completed the game yet.
Basim was revealed to be the reincarnation of Loki from Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. In Mirage, he finally succumbed to his older self after entering the Isu temple. If you’re wondering why the Basim we saw in Mirage and Valhalla feel as if they were completely different characters, it’s because they practically are.
Consider it as if Loki’s memory was wiped, and he started anew as a different person in Baghdad. Like every other entry had a different protagonist, the modern animus user differed from Desmond Miles to the nameless ones in Black Flag to Layla Hassan, and finally, Basim Ibn-Ishaq.
This means that Basim will potentially stick around, at least for a few entries. And if someone is worried that we will get to replay the same old bland version from Mirage, worry not, as Loki’s character was much more nuanced.
However, Assassin’s Creed Mirage has left me doubtful about his portrayal in future entries. Hopefully, Ubisoft will play to Basim’s strengths, straying away from the bland character he was in Baghdad.
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[News Reporter]
Shaheer is currently pursuing a Business degree while also working as a part-time Content Writer. With his deep passion for both writing and video games, he has seamlessly transitioned into a role as a Journalist. Over the past two years, Shaheer has contributed as a freelancer to various websites and landed positions on acclaimed platforms like Gamerant. Currently, his role at Tech4gamers is as a Features Writer, but he also covers News occasionally. Shaheer’s favorite gaming franchises are Assassin’s Creed and the God of War series.
Get In Touch: shaheer@tech4gamers.com
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