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I’m looking forward to Assassin’s Creed Mirage. Why?
For a game that was supposed to be a DLC to Valhalla and instead, to get a full-blown release date coming up on 5th October, Mirage must be worth it.
Maybe that’s just why Ubisoft released an early peek into Assassin’s Creed Mirage Gameplay mechanics.
Here’s all about it and more.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage: Return to The Roots
2023 marks the 15th anniversary of the first-ever Assassin’s Creed game to be released and since then paved the way to maybe the most endearing, loved and popularly associated video game series ever.
Since then, we’ve had ups and downs, shifts in the gameplay dynamics, struggles to maintain its cult following and above all, a nascency in approach.
I still play Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Ubisoft has that uncanny ability to make a video game grow on you, not like GTA, but like a movie, a story that’s worth living in.
And Valhalla was a lot of fun as well. But Assassin’s Creed was never just about RPG mechanics. It was more than that. About stealth and skills.
Which is why AC Mirage gets a full game.
It is about going back to what made this franchise what it is.
What Will Assassin’s Creed Gameplay Be Like?
Ubisoft Bordeaux, the creators behind Assassin’s Creed Mirage, had a challenge on their hands in that they had to create a whole game with a character (Basim) that has a predetermined future in another AC game.
This is the first time this has happened in AC. And the devs had little to no space at all when developing the story of Mirage.
However, this is perhaps the most exciting Assassin’s Creed game yet.
Why?
Because finally, we get what we always wanted. More stealth. More parkour. More action.
I miss the early cult Assassin’s Creed games, the holistic combat and stealth gameplay. Sadly, Ubisoft never really got to expand on that. (Hitman 3 was revolutionary!)
Until now.
Right from 0:40 we see Basim using previously inanimate objects as animate distractions. This opens a whole new layer of gameplay possibilities and one I hope there’ll be a variety of in the core game.
Move to 0:50, you get to see blind parkour moves in a do-it-to-know-it style. Again, I’m already excited about how that would work in the game. Will it allow faster sleeker parkour skills, or will it also make you react instinctively to embrace practice for perfection?
Cut to 1:08 and Basim’s sliding downhill on a rope (reminded me of old Project IGI missions).
Interestingly, at 2:38, we see Basim select the Blowdart. That’s a lot better than bows and arrows in Odyssey or Valhalla to quote the latest. This is a consistent shift back to stealth combat; just what Assassin’s Creed was all about in the first place.
Interestingly at 3:30, Basim relies on the Eagle’s vision, this time he’s Enkidu. What’s more, Enkidu retreats when an arrow is shot at him and immediately Basim reaffirms changing the approach to the mission. I’m in.
Although I wish Ubisoft tried to make it even more realistic, the fun begins at 5:58.
It’s not like you can go completely undetected but that’s not the intention of the gameplay mechanics either. But what you can do is make a quick getaway using a whole lot of stealth-based items at your disposal.
Set in a rustic and vibrant 9th-century Baghdad, AC Mirage is limited in quantity but rich in quality. It’s the perfect setting almost for an Assassin’s Creed that’s purportedly all about going back to the roots.
IMO – this is Ubisoft giving what its loyal and patient fanbase wants and testing the water while at it.
If AC Mirage is just what the franchise needs to get back into the top charts again, there’s no denying that Ubisoft will take this to heart and come back bigger, better, and deeper with a large open-world stealth combat epic befitting the scale of the modern gaming and the ethos that defines Assassin’s Creed.
Based on all that Ubisoft has released on Assassin’s Creed Mirage gameplay mechanics, I’m looking forward to it more than I was with Valhalla.
