Draugoth
Gold Member
Assassin's Creed Mirage is doing amazing things in Baghdad, serious history-defining things, and yet for long-term Assassin's Creed fans there's one other location in Basim's adventure that's the true lure. We've seen the Assassins have many homes over the last 15 years, but if there's one true home of the Hidden Ones, it's the Alamut.
This striking fortress has notoriously always been known as the home of the Hidden Ones, but this is actually the first time that we'll be able to actually explore the Alamut. "We already know it's currently under construction because in fact Darby [McDevitt, narrative director on Assassin's Creed Valhalla] already put some clues about it in Valhalla, so we had a really good foundation to build this story", explains creative director Stéphane Boundon.
The legendary location has somewhat mythical status for the series, having only so far been referenced in Assassin's Creed: Rogue, Assassin's Creed: Revelations, and the novel Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade, but having strong connections to iconic characters like Altaïr Ibn-LaʼAhad. For long-term fans, it's a huge deal to now have the location featured – even if at this stage it's still being constructed – and the team at Ubisoft Bordeaux knows that. The dedicated souls even went as far as to play every single Assassin's Creed game to date in preparation – even if art director Jean-Luc Sala admits that some haven't aged as well as others – "it took us a very long time".
"I fought for Alamut even though the producer was not happy about it," laughs narrative director Sarah Beaulieu, with Boudon saying it was a "specific effort" to add the location on top of the team's work recreating Baghdad. "It was an opportunity to pay homage to the franchise," says Beaulieu. "The Alamut is big in the Assassin's Creed lore, and I think the community would have been very sad if we had missed that opportunity."
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