The new installment for PlayStation 5, Assassin's Creed Mirage, made with the gameplay of the previous one, offers everyone a fun adventure. If you are a fan of the saga, or at least you have played several of its titles, it will make you feel nostalgia and novelty because of how good it is for the saga to bring out its classic ideas. After its launch on October 5, 2023, we have all seen how developers can do a good job if they continue down this path.
If we analyze Assassin's Creed Mirage in depth, it is easy to come to the conclusion that it was born as an expansion to Assassin's Creed Valhalla. As much as the Ubisoft company remains firm in saying that it is an independent delivery, there is no doubt about the legacy that the Vikings have left in this game.
The most Assassin's Creed setting of all the Assassin's Creed games
The best part of Assassin's Creed Mirage is its setting. The game takes us stroll through historical landscapes, places of great importance, a more than welcoming atmosphere and beautiful settings that will make the player feel a very immersive experience.
In addition, we already missed a city with more constructions and barricades, which makes it perfect to develop the secrecy, which has characterized the saga since its beginning.
9th century Baghdad makes all this possible, roofs built almost without any sense, narrow alleys that make climbing possible, etc. This is so wonderful for the saga that the idea they have taken over time to expand the settings to larger scales is incomprehensible, which makes the gameplay counterproductive.
Visually, the city has immensity of details that we do not notice while we are playing, but it is worth stopping to admire. We see how the interiors are adorned with perfectly recreated decorations. The carpets, walls and clothing demonstrate the hard work done.
The story is interesting, although not very
In this wonderful city and its surroundings, you will find a plot already known to the faithful of the saga, The Order, this is found gaining strength, and it must be stopped at all costs. To achieve such a feat, we will have to interrogate all the henchmen of this organization, and thus find out who is the mastermind behind it.
This is not exactly a heartbreaking story, but it is appreciated that the narrative is simplified, to emphasize what really matters about the plot: Basim. This character will not be strange to many, since we had already met him in Assassin's Creed Valhalla as an experienced master assassin.
Probably, Assassin's Creed Mirage should have focused more on Basim, and it would have been a breath of fresh air in terms of narratives. They would have taken advantage of the fact that it is the first time that a character is beginning his role in the brotherhood. But they are large amounts of money invested, and they prefer not to experiment.
With this, we will start as a rookie in a school, in a unique perspective of the saga, and the truth is that it seems very short duration of the campaign, since there was a lot of fabric to cut.
On the other hand, this character also seems a little irregular in his design, despite having a great weight in the story. It is true that the plot deals with the evolution and maturity of our Basim, through interspersed scenes, but also that It makes us feel like we're playing with two completely different protagonists..
Sometimes we see one personality, and then another completely opposite, this tries to demonstrate the evolution of the character. The problem with Mirage is that it is too obvious, and shows us in 2 minutes what we should see in hours of play.
Best Parkour thanks to its great stage design
But hey, we're here to talk about games, so let's move on to plots. The Assassin's Creed saga has always been linked to Parkour, although lately it was a bit neglected in its latest games. This is one of the reasons why it has been desired for so long that this franchise look more towards its origins.
Now Ubisoft has shown to be fully aware of this, and in this release it has improved this aspect, although with some marked limits.
Mirage's gameplay is inherited from Valhalla and is extremely noticeable, especially when the character moves. The gameplay when you pick up the controller is very similar to that of the previous main installment, without seeing any real changes.
However, parkour is not exactly the same, it is clear that, in this new game, Basim has some other touch-ups, and some new animations. We see a few touches on the way you run, climb and jump, but the key is in the level design, which has improved considerably.
Assassin's Creed finally feels more like an assassin game than a casual adventure
We must also say that In Mirage, classic mechanics have been returned, such as the climbing limitation, so you will be forced to look for a pattern, to climb a building, or a wall. The game doesn't feel so rough in this aspect, on the contrary. Also Some impossible moves have been kept to ensure fluidity of the game.
The watchtowers have taken center stage again, now require a little thinking to find the way to them. Some are even blocked by the occasional puzzle.
Not only is parkour about climbing walls, but also racing around the city feels very satisfying, fun and exciting, especially in chases. And it is that The game looks like an amusement park designed perfectly to explore, from one side to the other, with our protagonist.
The truth is that architecture of this level was missed, which allows you to run across the roofs, or sneak through the alleys to leave the guards behind.
What role does Mirage play in the saga?
Assassin's Creed Mirage is not that reboot of the saga that many expected. It is rather a tribute to the principles of him, in which they recover some mechanics, setting and other ideas. Its spin-off nature is notable in terms of how similar its gameplay is to other previous installments of the saga.
In general, the game leaves a good taste. It has a very fun story to play, and an exquisite setting. Also, a touch of nostalgia for the most veterans of the saga. This is capable of masking how repetitive its secondary missions are, as well as its stealth and combat system.
Its durability, although a little short, is almost perfect, something that previous Assassin's Creed games have struggled with, due to their tendency to lengthen their games. In this case, in addition to the main plot, it provides the enough side content to be a super fun game to play.
And that's all, let me know in the comments what you thought of this new installment.