Assassin's Creed Mirage's Basim has new stealth tricks that even Ezio would kill for

In recent Assassin's Creed games such as Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla, Ubisoft dropped the focus on stealth in favour of a more combat-heavy experience in sprawling environments. For Assassin's Creed Mirage, though, developer Ubisoft Bordeaux is bringing the series back to its roots, with a renewed emphasis on sneaking through tightly knit environments and an array of versatile stealth tools that former protagonist Ezio would kill for.

According to creative director Stéphane Boudon, who spoke with GamesRadar+ as part of our Big in 2023 showcase for Assassin's Creed Mirage, you'll be able to adapt your equipment to suit your preferred way of approaching stealth situations.

"For stealth, we also reworked the stealth tools and their evolutions," Boudon explained. "Some of them are legacy tools (the smoke bomb, the throwing knives) you already know well, but the team worked on specific upgrades that will allow you to reinvent them to fit perfectly with your playstyle."

As well as new ways of utilising old favourites, Basim also has some fresh tools up his sleeve, including a detection mine which releases a cloud of smoke when triggered and a blowdart for when you want to take down the enemy quietly without getting too close. 

The way in which Basim blends in with crowds has also been reworked for a more seamless stealth approach. "You blend automatically as soon you have three people in your vicinity," says Boudon. "It's more difficult to master and less predictable but way more immersive."

During the same interview, Boudon revealed that Assassin's Creed Mirage's "more intimate scale" was shaped by fans fatigued by enormous RPGs. In terms of size, Ubisoft has previously said it will be similar to earlier games in the series like Assassin's Creed Revelations and Assassin's Creed Rogue and will take the average player around 15 to 20 hours to beat.

Assassin's Creed is one of many great games we've got to look forward to this year; see the rest in our guide to new games 2023.