Assassin’s Creed Mirage Reviews: The original Assassin’s Creed, released in 2007, had a great concept. It was about ancient Assassins who protected the weak and fought against the evil Templars to save the day. The story had a great twist with the ancient civilization and a modern-day twist. After 16 years and 12 games, the franchise has evolved. It now includes naval combat RPG elements and plays more like The Witcher 3 than a stealth action adventure. Assassin’s Creed Mirage aims to bring back the elements that made the original games fan favorites, providing a more focused and enjoyable experience. Does it succeed, or does it fade away over time?
Story
You play as Basim Ibn Ishaq, a street thief caught up in an event that sets him on the journey to becoming an Assassin. If you’ve played Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, you’ll recall Basim and how he influenced Eivor, the game’s protagonist. There was also a surprising plot twist at the end. In Mirage, we see Basim in his early days as he learns the ways of the creed.
The story of Mirage is simple and easy to follow, without any spoilers. You go from one assassination to another while trying to stay updated on the political problems in Baghdad, the new setting for Mirage. Ezio Auditore da Firenze’s story in Assassin’s Creed II, Brotherhood, and Revelations is the best. No Assassin’s Creed game has matched the character development, progression, and depth seen in this one. We like Edward Kenway from Assassin’s Creed Black Flag. He’s selfish, motivated by his interests, unpredictable, and an exciting character overall. Basim’s fate in Valhalla is known, but We expected his journey to be more captivating and focused on him, similar to Ezio’s story. However, that’s not what happened. The story is okay, with some good plot twists at the end.
Gameplay
Assassin’s Creed Mirage brings the franchise back to its roots, focusing on stealth and traversal. The gameplay remains consistent with the changes introduced in Assassin’s Creed Origins. Mirage follows a familiar gameplay loop. You start by visiting your hideout and receiving information about your next target. Then, you conduct investigations, identify the target, and embark on an assassination mission. The last assassination mission for each target is similar to what we’ve seen in recent Hitman games. To successfully infiltrate, create a plan. Use a distraction to lure the target out and strike from the shadows. This new game has a unique twist compared to previous ones. Although your choices are limited for each assassination, it’s refreshing to see Mirage attempting something Hitman has already mastered.
Basim feels slightly heavier than Ezio in combat. It’s not easy to fight multiple enemies at once. To defend against attacks, try blocking and countering. However, it’s even better to rely on your gadgets and stay in the shadows whenever possible. You have various tools, including throwing knives, noisemakers to distract guards, darts, smoke bombs, and more. User can upgrade each to avoid being detected or escape a difficult situation.
User also have a version of the mark and execute feature from Splinter Cell: Blacklist. You can slow down time and choose up to five enemies to run in a smooth assassination move, except during combat. You can do this in the air, as soon as you detect it, and even while on a rooftop. It’s a fantastic way to defeat many enemies at once. The only requirement is to perform stealth kills to replenish this meter.
In Assassin’s Creed games, you can travel with a horse or camel and an eagle to scout. You can upgrade your abilities and gear using the standard skill tree. There are also new outfits and weapons to discover. Completing side quests called contracts will earn you in-game tokens, which can be used with merchants, mercenaries, and others.
The parkour in the franchise has returned to its roots! In Baghdad, the parkour is similar to Assassin’s Creed II, III, and a bit of Unity because it is densely populated. Walking through the city is enjoyable because convenient elements allow you to make cool parkour moves. The game draws inspiration from the franchise’s roots with elements like parkour, research-based assassinations, and combat. However, the overall experience is more similar to recent entries in the franchise.
Graphics and sound
We didn’t expect Assassin’s Creed Mirage on PS4 and Xbox One to look amazing. When playing the game on the PS5, We could choose between quality mode and performance mode. We mostly played the game in performance mode, and it was smooth, with just a few small hiccups. Texture pop-in remains a problem, which is disappointing given the PS5’s powerful SSD. The visual language of details, animations, environments, and more is on the same level as Valhalla, which is good because Valhalla is a visually appealing game. The visuals in this game are not as detailed as those of Horizon Forbidden West or God of War Ragnarok, which are open-world games available on both the previous-gen PlayStation consoles and the PS5.
Baghdad is a big city with lots of people. It has different parts and old buildings that give it a unique feel. If you want to experience the original Assassin’s Creed game, you can change the color tone to match it. However, We felt that the game’s native color palette was a better fit.
The sounds in the game are incredible. The combat sounds like bangs and swishes, the music after an assassination is intense, and the eagle screech when you do the leap of faith is iconic.
Fans of the show “The Expanse” on Amazon Prime will recognize Shohreh Aghdashloo’s voice in the game. She plays the role of Assassin Roshan, Basim’s mentor, and an important character. The rest of the voice cast also does a great job with their convincing lines, although sometimes the story needs more depth.
Verdict
Assassins Creed Mirage intends to bring back the original Assassin’s Creed game with a mix of nostalgia and modern gameplay elements. Is it successful? It depends on how much you liked the original game and the RPG version of Assassin’s Creed. It’s okay if most people see it as another Assassin’s Creed game. As someone who has played all the mainline Assassin’s Creed games, including Assassin’s Creed Chronicles, We found the more focused experience enjoyable and satisfying. That’s quite a statement, especially since we must complete AC Odyssey and Valhalla.
Rating: 7 out of 10.
Pros:
- Hardcore Parkour!
- Thrilling Assassination Scenarios
- A more compact and streamlined package.
Cons:
- Boring story
- The visuals on the PS5 feel outdated like they belong to the previous generation.
- Add padding to make the gameplay longer.
More info
Ubisoft Bordeaux is a developer.
Publisher: Ubisoft
Available on: PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, iOS
Review: PS5
We tried out a pre-release version of Assassin’s Creed Mirage that Ubisoft provided us.
