Assassin's Creed Mirage's Valley of Memory DLC Closes Another Chapter of Basim's Life

Assassin’s Creed Mirage‘s Valley of Memory DLC will take Basim out of Baghdad and into the Valley of AlUla when it releases on November 18. In doing so, it will force Assassin’s Creed Mirage‘s protagonist to confront his demons in a whole new way.

Spoilers for AC Mirage’s Base Game Ahead

Game Rant recently sat down with some of the devs behind the Assassin’s Creed Mirage DLC, including creative director Olivier Leonardi and producer Vincent Maulandi-Rabbione, who spoke about what fans can expect from Basim’s journey in this previously unseen chapter of his life.

Valley of Memory is Another Chapter For Basim

In the story of Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Basim is marked not only by his identity as a reincarnation of Loki, but his rough-and-tumble upbringing on ninth-century streets. Separated from his father at a young age, Basim grew up a street urchin and part of a network of thieves within Baghdad. As fans know, Basim has always been haunted—including by his past life as the Isu Loki.

Fans know his destiny is greater, although what that destiny is remains to be seen, but Basim’s character in AC Mirage and beyond is anything but cut-and-dry. Leonardi spoke as to what this new chapter of his life will entail and, ultimately, how that will close it.

“It’s really the whole theme of the coming of age, putting your past behind you. This is a real kind of wound for Basim: he’s been abandoned since he was seven and raised as a street thief, and he was absolutely traumatized by the slaughtering of the children by the Caliph. He has to get answers about why he was abandoned, why the Caliphate was pushing his dad away. What happened in those 10 years since he was separated from his dad? With the answers he’s going to get from pursuing this new quest, he’s going to close another chapter of his past life. Then, you’re ready to start the last act—the moment whre you become someone else as well. We really wanted to place that at this moment, because it’s another kind of door we can close so you can proceed with you to the next chapter.”

Basim spends a good amount of time in the plot of Assassin’s Creed Mirage wrestling with his past, struggling with his identity as Loki (even if he may not be fully aware) and his time with the Hidden Ones. Who Basim was before he became Loki, in full, is being expanded in the Valley of Memory.

Furthermore, Leonardi was quick to point out how the Valley of Memory DLC for Assassin’s Creed Mirage will maintain Basim’s character. Leonardi spoke about the new faction of thieves that Basim will have to contend with, and how they’ll prove to be another opportunity to show Basim’s disdain for injustice:

“That’s closely related to the nature of the new faction: they’re robbing, they’re stealing, and they’re even storming the houses of the recently deceased and stealing what they have. It’s not just affecting the travelers, but the local population, so Basim, being Basim, is going to have to do something about it. It’s helping the local population get rid of the new faction, and as we’ve hinted many times, this new faction will have something to do with the disappearance of his dad.”