On November 18th, Valley of Memory was released for Assassin’s Creed Mirage. This free story expansion is available to all owners of the game, regardless of platform. It was released alongside an update that slightly improved the original mechanics. We explore the impact and the outcome of this DLC in our review.
The Tragedy of Basim
The expansion’s plot begins before the final stretch of the main game. At the start of the “Head of the Snake” quest, a boy appears in the Invisibles’ office, delivering a message to Basim from his friend Dervish regarding the protagonist’s father. Together with Basim, they travel to a new location—Al-Ula Valley—to find any clues about the assassin’s ancestor.
You can complete the main storyline of the expansion in about three hours—it’s like a standalone movie that will brighten up an evening. The story itself isn’t particularly brilliant: it’s a tale of fathers and sons, embellished with a pinch of revenge.
However, the ending offsets the banal narrative. When Basim finally finds his father and sees him as he is now, it’s heartbreaking—especially if you’re drawn to the theme of parental relationships and/or have already lost one. It’s here that you immediately understand the true meaning of the DLC’s title: “Valley of Memory.”
On the one hand, the expansion’s events have no connection to the main theme of the Assassin’s Creed series. There’s no Order of the Ancients—the enemies are a band of bandits—no Hidden Ones, no Isu artifacts, and no other themes important to the overall lore. And if you were expecting anything like that, you’ll likely be disappointed with “Valley of Remembrance.”
On the other hand, the entire DLC is Basim’s personal story, deepened just before his body is possessed by the Isu Loki. This is precisely what Ubisoft games have been lacking in recent years: emotion. Especially in Ubisoft Quebec games, as Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Shadows also feature themes of family and revenge, but everything is constructed so sparingly and emotionlessly that by the end of the game, you have no desire to sympathize with anyone. Whether you’ve played it or not—it makes no difference!
In “Valley of Memory,” Ubisoft Bordeaux sets the right example for their colleagues. They use well-established storytelling tropes: lighting, music, framing, themes, character behavior, a touch of sadness, symbolism, and so on. It’s not brilliant, but it works! If you liked Basim as a character—specifically him, not Loki—then you’ll love the new story. After all, if you think about it, he’s one of the franchise’s most tragic protagonists: he lost his parents as a child, suffered nightmares, shared a body with another consciousness, and in the end, simply vanished, giving way to the evil Forerunner.
Fabulous Al-Ula
The new region is relatively small: it contains one town and a few forts, the largest of which must be cleared at the end of the expansion’s story. The rest of the area is desert and rocky terrain. Fortunately, the “Black Box” mechanics remain intact: the few fortresses that must be cleared during the game can be completed in a variety of ways. The final fort has two stages, each of which can be completed in at least two ways!
As bonus activities, the game offers you some side stories to complete—essentially just a few stories from NPCs that you simply have to listen to and sometimes make a choice about. Spoiler: they don’t lead anywhere. Collectibles, like chasing scrolls with sheet music, are still there, though there aren’t many of them.
Over three hours of playtime, the gameplay isn’t particularly varied: clearing outposts, eliminating targets, searching for clues—all in the same old series formula. However, all components of the expansion are executed to a high standard, very close to what’s been seen in previous games in the series. In fact, I’d dare say, even better, given the slight innovation in gameplay.
With the release of the DLC, the developers improved the parkour system. Now, while climbing walls, the player can jump in any direction, greatly diversifying and simplifying the exploration process. Sometimes, you can even avoid some of the game’s predetermined solutions and come up with your own ways to reach certain points. However, this feature must first be enabled in the gameplay settings.
During the story, you’ll be given the opportunity to escape from prison, though it’s not exactly fun: you’ll have to wait a long time before you get a chance to escape. You might have to complete a couple of tasks for a bird, but that’s just a couple of minutes of gameplay, enough to keep the player from getting bored.
There’s only one major side quest here: help a lady recover her stolen treasure. Simply find clues, explore the locations, find the missing item, and return it to its owner, earning the corresponding achievement and receiving the NPC’s gratitude.
One of the update’s downsides is its technical state. The frame rate during gameplay often fluctuates between 40 and 60, and during pre-rendered cutscenes, it can even drop below 25, turning the video into a veritable slideshow. This issue also occurred in some moments during the main game’s release, but was later fixed. It’s especially frustrating when this happens during a touching moment, partially ruining the atmosphere.
Diagnosis
The Valley of Memory expansion for Assassin’s Creed Mirage is a solid one. While it’s not exactly a smash hit in terms of variety of side activities, it does offer a simple yet touching storyline. And the ending adds an extra layer of emotional intensity to an already solid game—it feels a little different than the main game’s ending.
The DLC lets you return to the game for another 5-6 hours to immerse yourself in the Eastern atmosphere, reliving Basim’s personal tragedy—and all completely free! It’s a shame the publisher didn’t offer a sale—the game’s online presence on Steam has increased, but not dramatically. Perhaps the player base is larger on other platforms.
Parkour innovations greatly enhance the overall gaming experience. Exploring the magnificent city of Baghdad and the Al-Ula Valley has become much more engaging—parkour now rewards player ingenuity, opens up new paths to reach the goal, and is less of a hand-holding experience. Navigating your way across rooftops and cliffs is now much more enjoyable.
And all this goodness is given away for free—a great reason to return to one of the best Assassin’s Creed games of recent years!
Pro
- A simple but touching plot
- High-quality innovations in gameplay and development of old systems
- The add-on is free!
Contra
- Problematic technical condition at the release of the add-on
