And just like that, Assassin's Creed is heading to feudal Japan. After years of online speculation, longing fan conjecture, wistful rumors and ill-fated 'leaks' from those clearly no more in the know than any of the rest of us, The Animus has hit the jackpot. In the briefest of teases during Ubisoft's jam-packed Assassin's Creed Forward event – in celebration of the long-serving stealth 'em up series' 15-year anniversary – we saw a curved sword-donning ninja gracefully leaping onto a building, arms aloft, against a blistering blood red sunrise. Perched on a rooftop ridge, the hooded figure then flicked their wrist to reveal a concealed blade from within their sleeve, before smoke flooded the screen and a header read: Assassin's Creed Codename Red.
"This is Codename Red, our next premium flagship title and the future of our open-world RPG game on Assassin's Creed," said Ubisoft's Marc-Alexis Cote thereafter. "Developed by Ubisoft Quebec, the studio behind Assassin's Creed Odyssey, it will let players explore one of their most awaited settings, feudal Japan, and they'll live a very powerful shinobi fantasy."
Which, for many Assassin's Creed fans, will sound absolutely fabulous. My only concern at this early stage, though, is how well Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Nioh and its sequel, and Ghost of Tsushima have portrayed fantastical and realistic slants on feudal Japan in recent years. Couple this with Ubisoft's signature deference to history and setting in this series, as well as the fact players have been screaming for this location since Assassin's Creed 2's release in 2009, and I reckon Ubisoft Quebec not only has its work cut out for it here, but really must get this one right.
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Not that those in charge won't appreciate the significance of over a decade's worth of hype. As part of its Assassin's Creed Odyssey marketing campaign in late 2018, an actor portraying the game's co-protagonist Alexios answered fans' questions – one of which speculatively asked when 'AC Japan' was due for release, and what the character could tell us about it. "Nothing!" cried Alexios after drawing the camera close to his face. "There is no place more glorious than Sparta." The whole act was admittedly a wee bit cringeworthy, but it was good fun, and I particularly enjoyed this self-referential nod to Japan all the same.
In 2012, Alex Hutchinson, then creative director on Assassin's Creed 3, told the now-defunct Official Xbox Magazine that despite World War 2, feudal Japan and Egypt being three of the most-requested locations players would love to see Assassin's Creed visit next, he viewed these countries and events as "boring" and among the "three worst settings for an Assassin's Creed game". In 2017, of course, Assassin's Creed Origins visited Egypt in epic fashion – a five-star showing within a sprawling playground that was "everything you wanted the Creed to be", as per our review.
Between Ubi's past veiled acknowledgments of Japan and Hutchinson's old comments, then, it really feels like the tide has shifted for Assassin's Creed in 2022. With the wealth of upcoming content that came out of the anniversary event, it also feels like the series has reached a new juncture in its 15-year existence. In the aftermath of the livestream, 12DOVE Global Editor-in-Chief Sam Loveridge said Assassin's Creed Mirage is exactly what we need before the next generation of the series, and I reckon that's bang on the money. Mirage looks like a throwback to Assassin's Creed of old – eschewing the RPG-lite, open-world sandbox elements that the series' more modern entries have harnessed, in favor of the claustrophobic urban sprawl of Baghdad – and in many ways feels like a palette cleanser for what's to come. I wouldn't go as far to say this feels like a reset moment for the series, but it does feel like a pause for reflection before charging forward.
"I wouldn't go as far to say this feels like a reset moment for the series, but it does feel like a pause for reflection before charging forward."
And what better place to do just that than feudal Japan? A luscious, culture-soaked sandbox with dense forests, snowy mountain peaks, bustling towns, and iconic architecture – evolving the open-world elements recent series entries have developed, and leaning into the parkour and cloak-and-dagger stealth mechanics Mirage looks to revitalize. Yes, the likes of Sekiro and Nioh and Ghost of Tsushima have set the bar ever-so-high in this space of late, but as Ubisoft steers the Assassin's Creed series forward, these games should only serve as markers to match and, hopefully, surpass for Codename Red.
Again, fold in Ubisoft's penchant for historical storytelling into this mix, as well as an uber-passionate community who's longed for this setting for some time, and it really is an exciting stretch for Assassin's Creed. As Ubisoft well knows, the reveal was the easy part. Now it's time to wow us with what's under the hood in the coming months.
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