Assassin's Creed: Valhalla has seen the release of numerous downloadable content expansions, which have added dozens of hours to the gargantuan open-world Viking experience. Assassin's Creed: Rift is rumored to be a new, smaller scope, stealth-focused game that was originally intended to be the next DLC expansion for Valhalla.
These rumors also state that Basim ibn Ishaq, a character introduced in AC: Valhalla, could serve as the game's main protagonist. If that is the case, players and fans of the Assassin's Creed series need to know who exactly Basim is and a little about his story.
9 Eivor Can Cosplay As Him
By using the Ubisoft Connect service, players can get ahold of Basim's robes. This will allow the player to outfit Eivor in the game with the robes and allow them to take on the role of Basim in a sense.
In a way, this serves as a precursor to the next Assassin's Creed title, which is believed to be focused on Basim The outfit itself changes the way that Eivor positions their hands, while also slightly repositioning Hidden Blade from atop Eivor's forearm, to squarely below it.
8 Basim's Numerous Affiliations
Over Basim's existence, despite his lack of trust in people, he connected with three distinct affiliations he made. The first two were during his years in the age of the Viking, while the other involves his rebirth into the modern day. The first connection was with the Hidden Ones, which was the original name of the Assassin Brotherhood that serves as the core of the Assassin's Creed series.
Basim would align himself with the Hidden Ones until 877, the same year he ended his connection with the Raven Clan. This was the Viking clan co-led by Assassin's Creed's main protagonist, Eivor. In modern times, Basim is sworn to Aletheia, his long-lost lover who revived him and brought him back to life.
7 The Voice Of A Traveled Man
The voice of Basim belongs to a voice actor by the name of Carlo Rota. In addition to voicing such a memorable character in AC: Valhalla, Rota has also appeared in live-action films such as The Boondock Saints and Saw V.
It is sort of fitting that Rota was cast as Basim as the two share a complicated and winding familial lineage. As a British-Canadian-American national, Rota has talked about his family history spanning numerous countries across Europe, Northern Africa, and Asia.
6 He Understands The Pitfalls Of Trust
People generally build strong assumptions and generalizations based on their personal experiences and what they derive from them. With Basim being attached to the Norse God of Mischief, it's understandable that he'd have a healthy dismissal of the idea of wholehearted trust.
When talking to Eivor in AC: Valhalla Basim goes as far as to say "But a man you trust with anything...can take everything." This was in reference to Odin's betrayal, something that stung Loki to his very core.
5 Basim's Birthplace & Parents
Basim was born during the 9th century under the Arabian Empire, referred to in AC: Valhalla as the Abbasid Caliphate. His father was an architect who worked on what is known as the Great Mosque of Samarra.
The sad part about this is that Basim's father died a poor and exiled individual, due to another person taking credit for the work he did on the mosque. There isn't much known about his mother, though. Basim was imbued with the genetic code of the Norse god Loki since birth, but the discovery of his true potential didn't come until much later in his life.
4 The Meaning Of His Name
Basim ibn Ishaq, like many characters in fiction, has a name with a deeper meaning behind it. His first name, Basim, is Arabic and when translated means "one who smiles," which is a clever nod at his true identity.
His nasab, ibn Ishaq, which indicates an individual's heritage, is likely referencing Hunayn ibn Ishaq. Hunayn was an Arab scholar during the 9th century who lived in Baghdad. Basim's name does a great job of tying to the lore of Assassin's Creed while also paying homage to his Arabic roots.
3 Basim's Time In The Grey
Basim is the reincarnation of Loki. Throughout Norse mythology, Loki has a history of manipulating others, but almost always succumbs to punishment by other greater beings who catch him in his mischief.
Basim suffered the same fate when the Vikings decided to trap him inside a place known as The Grey with the use of Yggdrasil. This was the eventual outcome following Basim's announcement of revenge upon both Eivor and Sigurd after establishing a new Ravensthorpe colony in England.
2 Why Basim Used The Animus
Throughout the Assassin's Creed series, people have used the Animus for a variety of selfish ambitions. For Basim, it provided him with a tangible way to see if he could find proof that his children survived the event known as the Great Catastrophe.
The Great Catastrophe was a cataclysmic disaster during an era in which humans and the godly beings known as the Isu co-existed, unharmoniously. Through the use of Eivor's genetic memories, he was able to work towards solving this personal mystery that ate away at him.
1 Basim Is Loki
The most crucial aspect of Basim is about who he actually is. He is not only a powerfully intelligent individual who knows how to get what he wants, but he is the human reincarnation of the Norse God of Mischief, Loki.
In the world of Assassin's Creed, humans who manifest as reincarnations of gods are labeled as Sages. Basim is indeed a Sage who was the newest birth of Loki thanks to the god's use of Yggdrasil to manifest the survival of his very consciousness. It makes sense that a stealth game in the series would feature an assassin with direct ties to arguably the sneakiest and most stealthy of all the gods of classical mythology.
Assassin's Creed: Valhalla is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.