Basim's fight against the Order of the Ancients just got a lot more perilous, as Ubisoft has added permadeath mode to Assassin's Creed Mirage as part of today's 1.0.7 update.
According to the patch notes posted on Ubisoft's official website, permadeath, known as the Full Synchronization Challenge, is "the ultimate test of your assassin skills." Here, should Basim die or commit any illegal actions that would normally see him desynchronized from the animus - such as murdering innocent folk or wandering beyond the boundaries of the map - your run will end, your save file will be wiped, and you'll have to start from scratch.
You don't walk away entirely empty-handed, though, as you're treated to a screen with info on how you fared before everything went to pot. This includes your overall play time and the number of enemies you managed to take down.
As anyone who's played any entry in the Assassin's Creed series will know, your carefully laid plans have a habit of going awry, so this mode is certainly not for the faint-hearted. Still, it's a great new addition for those keen to raise the stakes, and there are rewards on offer for those who manage to make it through, including talismans, outfits, and dyes.
Aside from permadeath, Update 1.0.7 enhances your cosmetic options with the transmog feature and includes a surprise Easter egg in the form of "a new special assassin that you might meet purrusing the streets." You'll also find a plethora of bug fixes that iron out issues related to graphics, audio, New Game Plus, and more.
After years of action-heavy titles in huge open worlds, Mirage is a true and triumphant return to the series' roots. "Ubisoft Bordeaux has delivered exactly what it promised," we said in our Assassin's Creed Mirage review. "Assassin's Creed Mirage is a compact, stealth-focused adventure that punishes anyone trying to go in loud, and it does so in a world that's always a delight to explore (and be chased through)."
Meanwhile, Assassin's Creed Red, Ubisoft's open-world RPG set in Japan, is set to launch by March 2025.