Assassin’s Creed Origins began a trio of games that took the emphasis away from stealth and sent it into a more RPG direction. These games were divisive among fans as some loved the new RPG direction while others felt it was too much of a departure for the series. While these games were generally well received, they proved that bigger is not always better. Each following game suffered from feeling bloated by excess filler content and forced grinding to progress, an experience that could be described as quantity over quality. Where these games shined they truly excelled, but it was easy to lose sight of this amidst all the padding. Assassin’s Creed Mirage is a return to the series roots. Not only have the newer RPG trappings been abandoned in favor of returning to the the gameplay of the original Assassin’s Creed titles, but the game promises to be more streamlined and a lesser time commitment.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage takes place prior to the previous titleAssassin’s Creed Valhallain the year 861 CE. The protagonist is a lowly street thief by the name of Basim Ibn Ishaq, a name which may sound familiar to longtime fans. Getting by through his thievery, Basim wants more and tries to catch the eye of of a Hidden One by the name of Roshan. Through a series of chance events, Basim ends up being taken under her wing as he begins his training as a Hidden One, just in time for a mysterious threat to appear in Baghdad which Basim becomes instrumental in the fight against it.
Fans who have played the recent Assassin’s Creed titles may have noticed that each game is bigger and longer than its predecessor. Assassin’s Creed Mirage is a step back from this, shrinking both the size of the map and the amount of hours required to complete it. As part of the attempt to make Mirage in the style of older Assassin’s Creed games, the city of Baghdad is much smaller and more condensed than what the recent games have offered, closer in scope to Paris fromAssassin’s Creed Unity. The amount of time required to complete Assassin’s Creed Mirage is also shorter, with the main campaign projected to be completed in 15-20 hours. Personal time it took to complete the game was around 23 hours and that included a fair amount of exploration and side quest completion. Most players will likely spend significantly longer than that if they choose to thoroughly explore every area and complete the optional side quests, but this game is a return to an era where a player can do everything it has to offer without requiring their playtime hours to hit triple digits. This approach significantly helps the pacing.
Basim may be called an assassin, but he does a lot of detective work. The true identities of his adversaries are hidden and he needs to thoroughly investigate many points of interest in Baghdad in order to figure out who he needs to kill. Throughout the story he’s pointed in the right direction many times by his allies, but a few crucial details require more diligence from the player, such as looking at crude drawings of maps to figure out where this location corresponds with the actual game map. Other times he needs to gather intel from NPCs, whether by directly talking to them or eavesdropping on their conversation, hidden in plain sight on a bench. There was still a lot of treasure and quest markers on the HUD but some quests only hinted at vague locations of where Basim needed to go which helped create a real sense of exploration.
The gameplay of Assassin’s Creed Mirage is what veterans of the series have grown to expect. Basim is a capable swordsman in a hand-to-hand fight, but as a true assassin he’s most effective when he strikes from the shadows. He does have Assassin Focus, which when at maximum power can freeze time to kill five enemies effortlessly. There are certain aspects of life in Baghdad Basim needs to adapt to. Money isn’t readily given to him, so using the pick pocket skill is essential but fortunately easy to successfully pull off. This is also a good way to acquire specific coins that are useful for bribes. Crime in Baghdad isn’t tolerated, and even if Basim is able to outrun the guards and hide, he’ll need to tear down the wanted posters if he wants his notoriety level to go away. As a trained assassin, Basim is able to use eagle vision to perceive important information in his surroundings that may not be perceptible to the naked eye. His falcon companion Enkidu can also scan the area for points of interest and threats, but he won’t take flight if there’s a marksman nearby.
Compared to the recent games, Basim’s choice of equipment is more limited in scope. He can equip different outfits, some of which offer bonuses like reducing his crime notoriety or making his movements quieter. His weapons are limited to a sword and dagger, which can be upgraded at tailors and blacksmiths respectively to increase these bonuses. His arsenal includes an assortment of projectiles that include throwing daggers, poison darts, explosive traps, noisemakers and smoke bombs that can also be upgraded to receive practical bonuses. Picking everyone’s pocket early on is advisable to collect trinkets to sell in order to upgrade all this equipment.
It should be noted that with the Deluxe Edition there’s a mild element of pay to win. The Prince of Persia equipment includes a dagger that slows time on perfect parry and a sword that replenishes one fifth of Basim’s health on kills when time is slowed, which can make battles significantly easier. This is a single player game, so these paid items wouldn’t incur any bonuses against other players, but there are some who have opinions about in-game items purchased with real money that offers any advantage beyond cosmetic.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage is a refreshing return to the franchise’s roots. While there were many positive aspects about the recent RPG titles,Odysseyand Valhalla did push the limits of how much time one can devote to a single player campaign. Mirage is a more condensed package, but it doesn’t feel bloated with content that does little beyond expanding the time required to complete the game, nor does it force the player to spend a significant amount of time grinding to stand a chance against enemies. It brings back the feel of the classic Assassin’s Creed titles, reminding the players why Assassin’s Creed II is one of the most celebrated entries while adding just enough modern touches to feel contemporary. It’s a relatively short game, especially compared to the more recent Assassin’s Creed titles, but this is also the most fun I’ve had with Assassin’s Creed in years. The story’s pacing was such where I never got bored during the review and always felt like progress was being made toward the resolution.
The graphics in Assassin’s Creed Mirage are on par with the previous releases which is probably to be expected as it was made for both current and last-gen consoles. They aren’t bad by any means, but it’s apparent this was designed to be playable on last-gen machines. There weren’t too many major bugs outside of a few visual hiccups with clipping a few instances where dead people were still moving a bit. The controls in battle combat settings work well, but sometimes during sequences of parkour and wall climbing, it isn’t always easy for Basim to go where he is supposed to, but that could be due to the fact there’s so much freedom in how to traverse Baghdad.
Closing Comments:
Assassin’s Creed Mirage is a triumphant return to the style of the original Assassin’s Creed games. It maintains some RPG elements such as upgrading equipment and learning abilities through skill points, but this is done on a smaller scale than the most recent predecessors. Mirage hits the sweet spot when it comes to game length, long enough to feel worthwhile but short enough where it never drags or feels bogged down by filler content. In a nutshell, it delivers the classic Assassin’s Creed experience with a few modernizations. Assassin’s Creed has been going through many changes recently as would any franchise that’s been around for over a decade, but Assassin’s Creed Mirage is the return to form that the series needs.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage
Reviewed on PlayStation 5
