How many of you reading this feel exhausted at the thought of another gargantuan open-world Assassin’s Creed epic? It’s a series that barely resembles the games that made the brand a household name in the PS3 era, having transformed into fully-fledged RPG time sinks, with some people still plundering their way through Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and its seemingly never ending content. But just like how vinyl and mullets have come back into fashion, old becomes new again, and Ubisoft has decided that a shift back to the classic Assassin’s Creed formula with Assassin’s Creed Mirage is the perfect panacea before the open-world RPG fatigue really kicks in.
Recently, I was able to go hands-on with over three hours of Mirage at various points, getting a taste of how Ubisoft Bordeaux is channelling the Assassin’s Creeds of yore to deliver a contained experience that is more character and story-driven.
Mirage is set in ninth-century Baghdad and stars Basim Ibn Ishaq (of Valhalla fame) as he rises from street thief to Hidden Ones operative (the initial form of the Assassins). It’s billed as a coming of age story, with Basim keen on being more than just a thief and wanting a better life for the people suffering around him. Instantly, it’s hard not to take to Basim. He’s jovial, likeable and an underdog – a perfect trinity of traits for a protagonist you’re about to spend a decent amount of time with.
Basim – the man, the myth, the Assassin
My hands-on began with Basim and his friend Nehal, traversing the city as they make their way to their employer of sorts, and just like riding a bike, I was parkouring across rooftops and buildings like it was Victorian London.
Ubisoft Bordeaux’s version of Baghdad is a thriving sandy metropolis, and as you’d expect, there’s a great sense of verticality, which means Basim can run, jump and climb on almost anything. It’s great to see cities like Baghdad getting more representation in video games. It has such a rich history to offer and it’s a great fit for a game like Assassin’s Creed. It also looks stunning. I know it was running on a rig that wouldn’t look out of place on Love Island, but Ubisoft Bordeaux has utilised its game engine to create some gorgeous landscapes.
Given his penchant for taking things that aren’t his, Basim can pickpocket others if he’s looking for some extra coin, which is done by nailing the timing of a QTE. Failure will result in the target alerting those around them to your shenanigans, and you’ll be remembered for wronging anyone for quite some time. Wanted posters will go up around Baghdad, and it’s in Basim’s best interests to remove them.
I am very, very sneaky
As a thief-for-hire, Basim will take on all sorts of jobs to put food on the table. My first mission tasked Basim with retrieving some shipping intel from a local stronghold, and through some solid stealth work, I was able to complete my objective with relative ease. It’s standard Assassin’s Creed – use your Eagle Eye vision, identify your target, neutralise any guards in your way, acquire what you came for and vacate without a trace.
Not all gigs will be as simple though, and Basim will need to be ready to get his sword dirty whenever things get a bit rowdy. Combat is a mix of old and new mechanics. It’s not as robust as Valhalla or Odyssey, but it’s more fluid and less rigid than pre-RPG Assassin’s Creed games such as Syndicate and Black Flag thanks to the utilisation of the controller bumper buttons over the action buttons. With his sword, Basim can perform both light and heavy attacks, as well as parry enemy strikes to break their guard and restore stamina.
However, some attacks cannot be parried and must be dodged, and if there’s one thing I truly detested, it was the mapping of dodge to the controller’s square button. For as long as I can remember, dodge has always been a circle button mechanic in similar games (in Mirage it’s crouch), and I was frequently pushing the wrong button in combat.
It’s the Assassin’s Creed gameplay experience that many players grew up with, and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t missed it a little bit
While Basim can certainly hold his own when it comes to a donnybrook, being agile and slipping in and out unnoticed is more to his strengths. One new addition is the Investigation board that can be used to track various missions and the clues you’ve uncovered. One of the missions required infiltrating a fortress where I needed to find information about an assassination target. There were multiple ways to approach this mission – I first tried coming in from above, although this wasn’t fruitful. Eventually I found success by slipping in through a hole in a wall and sneaking my way through undetected, taking out anyone who threatened to blow my cover.
The preview’s last mission had me attending an auction at the local bazaar under the guise of a merchant. My goal was to discover intel about a potential buyer – known as The Treasurer – and then take them out. It required keeping a low profile, asking the locals some questions, following and eavesdropping on others, and using the tools of the trade to ensure the job was completed with minimal fuss. It’s the Assassin’s Creed gameplay experience that many players grew up with, and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t missed it a little bit.
When you’re not engaged in missions, you’ll be spending a large amount of time out in the streets of Baghdad. While the scope of the world has been scaled back, Baghdad is still teeming with life and things to do and loot to be found. In one quick side mission, a young boy found himself stuck high above the ground in a tower after being dared by his mates. I joined him and offered a few words of encouragement, giving him the belief to take his own leap of faith.
And yes, you can kill innocent civilians. However, doing so won’t do your reputation any favours.
How Bazaar
Although Mirage has dropped the RPG systems, there’s still plenty of tinkering to be done within the menus. Basim will acquire skill points that can be used, with Phantom, Trickster and Predator the separate trees that you can utilise (thank the heavens there’s a kick skill included), and you can play around with Basim’s loadout so that it suits your style.
I dabbled with Assassin’s Creed Unity after my time with Mirage to get a feel for what has changed and just how much, and let me tell you, Unity has not aged well. However, Ubisoft Bordeaux isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel with Mirage. Instead, it’s more of a refinement of systems and ideas that have evolved over the course of the Assassin’s Creed’s games.
In some ways, Ubisoft has taken a leap of faith by going against what has arguably made the series more popular in recent years and reverting to a more contained experience. If you’ve been hankering for Assassin’s Creed to return to its roots with some of the modern trimmings, Mirage is going to be the game you’ve been yearning for.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage launches on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC on October 5.
