Mirage or Déjà vu?
In Assassin’s Creed Mirage, you are Basim, a cunning street thief with nightmarish visions seeking answers and justice. Join an ancient organisation and come to understand a new creed – one that will change Basim’s fate in ways he never could have imagined. Discover a narrative-driven action-adventure experience that follows the transformation of a defiant young man into a refined Master Assassin with a conflicted destiny. Meet an inspiring cast of characters who will shape Basim’s destiny and may be more than what they seem…
The Assassin’s Creed games changed their formula to a more refined open world experience with tighter controls and more complex combat since Origins and that new formula would continue with Odyssey and Valhalla. It was a welcome change to the original games so I was surprised to see the series go back to it’s roots here with the latest title, Assassin’s Creed Mirage.
That’s not to say I didn’t like the original games before Origins, I was just confused as why they would take the series back to this after the success of the new series direction. That being said, I have to admit after a while back in the old-style AC controls, I felt right at home…
Mirage tells the story of a street thief (or street rat, as he is called at least once as a homage to Aladdin) called Basim who finds himself on the run and joins the ranks of the Assassins. Newcomers and veterans will both feel welcome here as you don’t need a great deal of knowledge about past games to enjoy what the story provides. Gameplay is reminiscent of the older Assassin’s Creed games with it’s more simplistic approach to combat, but free-running and stealth is still just as fun as ever.
Some might consider Mirage a step back, but it feels more like a stop gap between entries. We know there are plenty of other AC games in development, so Mirage kind of feels like a homage to the older games, while the others are being worked on. That’s not a bad thing by any means, especially when Mirage happens to be the most refined version of the old formula to date.
I won’t spoil story elements but I was pleased with Basim’s story and it definitely did more than enough to make me play through to the end. It may not be the longest or most challenging game in the series, but it definitely made an impression that won’t be soon forgotten.
The visuals are impressive with superb detail to the environments, character models are well animated and the framerate never faltered. The soundtrack is decent and the voice-acting isn’t too bad either. I can’t recall seeing any particular glitches during my time either, so all in all, top performance all round.
The Verdict
Assassin’s Creed Mirage is a strange entry due to it’s return to the old fundamentals of the series. That being said, it’s the best entry to use the traditional formula and provides a decent story along with some truly memorable moments along the way. Definitely worth a go if you are new to the series or a long-term veteran.