Ubisoft Bordeaux On Its Nostalgic AC1 Filter In Assassin’s Creed Mirage

Assassin’s Creed Mirage takes players back to Baghdad, 861. It was during the Golden Age of Baghdad that it became the epicenter for culture and technology in the Middle East. It’s a vibrant city with guards and palaces as well as merchants. The city is vibrant and lively. It looks and sounds just like one. It’s painted with hues of desert orange and “Arabian Nights” blue skies, something intentional, according to artistic director Jean-Luc Sala. 

Sala and his team, having lived in the Tigris River region for many years, re-created the sights that Sala remembers. If my two hours with the game are any indication, it’s a beautiful result. Sala, the Ubisoft Bordeaux team and others added a feature to Baghdad that makes it look like Altair’s Jerusalem. 

In the video above, you can see the “nostalgic visual filter” in action, and if you’ve played Assassin’s Creed, it should look familiar. It’s basically an Assassins Creed Filter, designed to restore the blues and greens that were present in 2007’s first adventure. 

We know that our community is very excited [and] we also have a nice surprise for our long-timers,” Sala says in the video. We implemented a nostalgia visual filter for players who want to experience the game in the original desaturated color scheme of the first Assassin’s Creed. 

Having seen and played Mirage, it’s not a filter I plan on using much during my first playthrough – perhaps only during quests or moments that feel particularly like Altair’s adventure – but it’s neat that it exists. And it speaks to how Mirage is meant to celebrate the series’ 15th anniversary (which took place last year when the game was announced). Mirage is a spiritual connection or homage to the original game. Sala said that the filter was a wink, a nod and an homage to this. 

“I’m one those players who has a nostalgia feeling for those [blue-gray colors of the first Assassin’s Creed],” Sala tells me. They have a function in AC1. It was our intention to display this location in this light and tell the player, “It is there for you if that’s what you’re looking for.” It’s just like playing L.A. Noire in black and white or Ghost of Tsushima with the Kurosawa filter.”

He claims that the art direction for Mirage, which is the game’s official version, has more vibrant colors, but no filter. He said it was a cliche that Middle Eastern settings were yellow-filtered and that everyone did it like it was mandatory. “But we said, ‘Let’s be true to what it was – the real lighting and the real colors of everything, and that’s why it’s so vivid.” 

While I won’t be using this filter too much – Sala’s team has seemingly done a fantastic job with Mirage’s visual direction – I’m excited for players who want to revel in the nostalgia. The filter is well-done, and it’s sure that someone will create a comparison between Mirage using the filter and Assassins Creed in order to show similarities and differences. 

Assassin’s Creed Mirage is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Amazon Luna and PCs on October 5th. 

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