<em>Assassin’s Creed Chronicles</em> will explore new horizons for the series

By Will Fulton March 31, 2015

Assassin’s Creed Chronicles Announcement Trailer [US]

The Assassin’s Creed series is heading further east than ever before with Assassin’s Creed Chronicles, a three-part downloadable game series that will take players on a historical tour of 16th-century China, 19th-century India, and early 20th-century Russia.

Ubisoft announced the first game of the trilogy, Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China, last fall as part of Assassin’s Creed Unity‘s season pass. It stars Shao Jun, the sole remaining member of the Chinese Assassin’s Brotherhood, who trained under Assassin’s Creed 2 protagonist Ezio Auditore in some off the franchise’s expanded universe spinoff media. Set in 1526 as the Ming Dynasty is starting to fall, it is a story of revenge, though we do not yet know whom she is avenging.

Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India and Russia will feature assassins named Arbaaz Mir and Nikolaï Orelov, respectively. Both characters have appeared in Assassin’s Creed graphic novels. India takes place in 1841 during the Sino-Sikh War, and Russia will be set in 1918, in the immediate wake of the October Revolution when the Bolsheviks seized power.

All three games differ from the main franchise in terms of gameplay as 2.5-dimensional side-scrollers. Each has its own visually distinct and painterly aesthetic that reflects the culture in which it is set.

Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China will be available on April 21 for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. It will be free to anyone that purchased a season pass for Assassin’s Creed Unity, or $10 to purchase otherwise. The two subsequent games will be released separately at a later date, yet to be announced.

The next main entry in the series, Assassin’s Creed Victory, will head back toward the occident for a Victorian London setting. Ubisoft has confirmed the leaked assets as accurate, but has not yet provided a timetable for release any more specific than the rumored late 2015.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…

Gaming

The best video games of November 2023: Super Mario RPG, Assassin’s Creed Nexus, and more

Princess Peach in Super Mario RPG.

After a hectic October and the lackluster Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III becoming available on November 10, you might have felt like this outstanding year for games was finally wrapped up and that paying attention to new releases was less necessary. That feeling would be misguided, as plenty of outstanding games dropped this month. From new games tied to huge franchises like League of Legends and Mario to more experimental indie games and new IP, quite a few awesome games have flown under the radar this month.

In particular, the following seven games stuck out to us the most as the best video games released in November 2023. Give them a shot before the year ends; you might find one of them makes for a fine last-minute addition to your personal game of the year list.
Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story

Gaming

Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR turned me into a sociopath (and I love it)

Ezio sneaks up on a guard with a crossbow in Assassin's Creed Nexus VR.

I’ve done a lot of memorable things in VR this year. I’ve climbed mountains, commanded hundreds of tiny people, and even paddled through the seas in a kayak. With Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR, I get to add another virtual feat to that list: I’ve jumped down on top of an unsuspecting guard and plunged a hidden blade into his throat with pinpoint accuracy. And I’m a little worried about how delighted I am by that.

Ubisoft has been a long-time supporter of VR going back to early standouts like Eagle Flight, but Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR finds the publisher making its full leap of faith into the tech. It’s not another virtual “experience” based on one of its popular IPs, but rather a full-throated Assassin’s Creed game with just about everything you’d expect in its console counterpart. There’s sneaking, parkour, lock picking, pickpocketing, death-defying leaps, and even a wealth of collectibles hidden in small-scale recreations of historical locations. All that’s missing is the open-world glut -- and that’s arguably its best quality.

Gaming

Assassin’s Creed Mirage ending explained: What happens to Basim, Nehal, and Roshan

Basim showing off his hidden blade in front of the Bagdad cityscape.

Assassins’ Creed Mirage is out now, bringing the series back to basics with a game focused on one of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s most intriguing characters. This adventure follows Basim as he goes from Anbar street thief to expert Assassin in Baghdad while hunting down members of The Order of the Ancients. As a prequel, there are some things about Basim as a character you might already know going in. Still, learning exactly how Basim stumbled upon these revelations is entertaining itself.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage is shorter than other games in the series (at around 12 to 17 hours to complete), but most of the noteworthy reveals are saved for the story’s ending. If you want to know how Basim discovers who he truly is or just need to read a recap of the narrative’s major events, this is an overview of everything that happens in Assassin’s Creed Mirage and how it concludes in spectacular fashion.
How does Assassin’s Creed Mirage begin
Assassin’s Creed Mirage begins with a brief narration from modern-day Assassin Brotherhood Mentor William Miles. In the game’s only Animus-referencing narrative segment, he admits that he was worried people would learn the wrong lesson from Basim’s story. He now recognizes that his story “has much to teach us” and is now sharing it. He then sets the stage for its ninth-century Baghdad setting, the threat that is The Order of the Ancients, and Basim’s humble origins and eventual challenging of the Creed’s ideals.
This intro then transitions into a dream sequence for Basim, where a creepy jinni attacks him. Upon awakening, he’s comforted by his friend Nehal, and they set out to complete a contract for their friend Dervis in Anbar, a smaller city close to Baghdad. After pocketing some people and stealing a shipping ledger, Basim and Nehal learn that Dervis is working with a member of Hidden Ones named Roshan.
Roshan initially rejects Basim when he asks to come with her on a mission to retrieve a chest from the Caliph’s Winter Palace, but he and Nehal end up sneaking off and trying to get it anyway. Upon successfully infiltrating, they learn that the Caliph is working with The Order of the Ancients. They get to the chest and find a mysterious device inside it that gives him a vision of one man torturing another. The Caliph catches Basim doing this, and Nehal stabs and kills the Caliph.