Revamping the Narrative: Ubisoft’s Fresh Take on Mobile Gameplay in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

The stealth action franchise Assassin’s Creed is renowned for operating across multiple timelines, yet Assassin’s Creed Shadows is expected to shift away from the Basim and Loki-centric narratives prominent in the previous two games towards “a new chapter of contemporary storytelling.”

In a “Ask Me Anything” thread on Reddit, Ubisoft developer Johnathan addressed a question regarding Assassin’s Creed Mirage protagonist Basim’s possible connection to Shadows. Spoiler alert: as revealed in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Basim is also the reincarnation of the Norse god of deception, Loki. This connection makes him a key figure in both the current and historical Assassin’s Creed timelines. His significance in the last two main games prompts the question: will we see more of Basim/Loki in Shadows?

“I’ll attempt to respond to this without revealing too much,” Johnathan stated in the thread. “Shadows will set the stage for a new chapter of contemporary storytelling that will differ from what we’ve done previously, yet it is linked to our current lore and will evolve over time within the Animus Hub and future titles. The franchise team will share more details on this soon.”

This “new chapter” in the current timeline, along with previous details in the Reddit post that also dismiss Basim’s involvement in Shadows, suggests that we might be introduced to potentially new modern-day characters in the forthcoming Ubisoft game. So, bid farewell to Layla and Loki for now.

The next part of user ItZ_wArLoRzZ’s inquiry pertains to the established “Japanese lore from the Transmedia & Side Games” – specifically the mobile card game Assassin’s Creed: Memories and the Assassin’s Creed Blade of Shao Jun manga – and whether this will also be honored in Shadows. In his response, Johnathan hinted that “we’ve had to revise some of the AC Memories lore” to fit within the narrative of Shadows.

These changes may be subtle for all we know, especially if you don’t engage with every spinoff of Assassin’s Creed. However, if “revising” the lore of the card game has repercussions for the canonical timeline, it could present an exciting opportunity for dedicated fans looking for new developments come Shadows’ release on February 14.