I used to be very into Assassin’s Creed as a series once upon a time. Kicking around important cities during major events in the past while climbing buildings and evading guards was something that I went back to time and again without much complaint. Okay, no. I complained constantly. But then Ubisoft pivoted with Assassin’s Creed: Origins, deciding that the series needed a bigger scope, more of a focus on pure action, and more RPG elements.
I don’t necessarily dislike the previous few games bearing these traits. I mostly just lamented how they cost the series its identity. But Assassin’s Creed Mirage promised a return to the series’ roots. Has it really done that, though? The answer is mostly a surprising “yes!”
Assassin’s Creed Mirage places players in 7th-century Baghdad as they occupy the shoes of a man named Basim, a former thief who becomes inducted into the order of the Assassins (the Hidden Order here) after being forced to flee his hometown during the game’s prologue. I was fairly pleased with this choice, as it’s the first time in years that we’ve actually gotten to play as an Assassin and not a precursor to them or a Viking that happened to be tangentially related to them.
The focus of the game is very much pared back comparatively in ways that I’ll be breaking down shortly. But even this was more of a gear shift than anything else. After all, the game began production as an expansion to Assassin’s Creed Valhalla before the decision was made to make it a full release.
“But Assassin’s Creed Mirage promised a return to the series’ roots. Has it really done that, though? The answer is mostly a surprising ‘yes!'”
Anyone tracking Ubisoft’s current offerings will see that this isn’t the only recent example of this, as The Crew Motorfest itself was originally intended to be an expansion for The Crew 2. This means that Assassin’s Creed Mirage is very much built on the Valhalla framework, for better or worse. The biggest change here is in regard to focus.
The map isn’t enormous and is comparable to the maps of some earlier games. Instead of giving us a massive slab meant to represent part of a whole country, the game is centred around Baghdad. As such, it’s meant to be a 20ish hour experience as opposed to the 100+ hour timesinks that the last three entries have been.
You’ll still be able to undertake sidequests, loot chests, nab collectibles, and more, but Assassin’s Creed Mirage is just that much more focused overall. Instead of a sprawling amorphous blob of a narrative, you’ll be focusing on tracking down members of the Templars (still simply known as The Order here, as the game predates that particular group.)
It’s nice to once again jump into an Assassin’s Creed game, knowing that I won’t become mercilessly burned out by bloat after a few dozen hours. Plus, spending most of my time in a city proper is much appreciated. Granted, there’s still a large wilderness surrounding the city, but the emphasis here isn’t on a bunch of mount-based travel again.
“It’s nice to once again jump into an Assassin’s Creed game, knowing that I won’t become mercilessly burned out by bloat after a few dozen hours.”
Thus, the overall scope of the game, its city-based nature, and the focus on assassinations are all definitely a return to form. Then there’s the gameplay. If you’re looking for classic Assassin’s Creed, then Mirage also mostly ticks those boxes. But this is built on Valhalla, so plenty of that game’s quirks are carried over.
General movement options are the same. You can still call a mount to your side. Attacking and dodging use stamina, but Basim isn’t as much of an action hero as protagonists in the last few games were. You can still fight crowds of foes just as you did in older games, but the quick, effective combos of newer titles are now far less effective.
Basim’s normal melee strikes are slower and don’t stagger foes like, say, Eivor’s do. There are also no ARPG-esque special attack skills. You have a regular swing and a strong swing. If you get surrounded, you have to deal with it—as you did years—ago by parrying weaker enemy attacks and one-shotting them or carefully dodging and getting licks in when up against more dangerous foes.
“At its core, Assassin’s Creed Mirage is very much a throwback that has a lot in common with the new games due to using them as a foundation, but there was a very concerted effort here in regard to hitting those nostalgic chords.”
As such, there’s a much greater emphasis on stealth. When up against hordes of standard enemies, you can dispatch them all fairly easily, but you’ll likely want to bail when up against multiple strong ones. A heat system returns that once again annoyingly requires you to track down and destroy wanted posters.
Due to actually being in a city now, you’ll also find yourself doing a lot more free-running. Due to all of this, Mirage honestly doesn’t feel all that different from older Assassin’s Creed games when it boils down to the major stuff. At its core, Assassin’s Creed Mirage is very much a throwback that has a lot in common with the new games due to using them as a foundation, but there was a very concerted effort here in regard to hitting those nostalgic chords.
The issue with all of this is that the gameplay here is mostly on the same level it was back when Assassin’s Creed Unity came out. Climbing and positioning are rigid, enemy AI is questionable, and the general mechanics still need some work. If you’re hoping for a modern Assassin’s Creed game that updates the classic-style entries, you won’t find much advancement here.
The main difference is that Basim gains focus when stealth-killing enemies. When a focus bar is full, you can slow down time and pick out targets to instantly teleport to and kill in a chain. You won’t be able to use this all the time, so it’s not like this mechanic turns Mirage into Dishonored, but it’s one of the few new things on display in the game.
For better or worse, Assassin’s Creed Mirage is the throwback Ubisoft promised us. It’s strongly evocative of earlier games (with a setting that is more than reminiscent of the one from the very first game) and offers up the old Assassin’s Creed that some of us have been asking for. I just hope that, at some point, Ubisoft gets the systems up to modern standards so that we can have an AC game that blew us away like Assassin’s Creed II did.
