Ubisoft has finally shown real gameplay of Assassin’s Creed Mirage. Our expert says: This could be really good if the developers address three construction sites
You can tell from the first gameplay trailer what Assassin’s Creed Mirage wants to be: an anniversary of the very first Assassin’s Creed, a technical swan song for the Odyssey, Origins and Valhalla era before Ubisoft opens the next big chapter of its most successful franchise in the next few years with Codename Red and Witch.
No wonder that it was rumoured in advance that Mirage was actually conceived as a Valhalla add-on, in which you control the side character Basim instead of the main character Eivor. But who cares about yesterday’s gossip, Mirage will be released as a stand-alone game in October 2023: as the assassin Basim, I explore early medieval Baghdad and assassinate my way through rows of people who have definitely earned their rough fate.
And even as someone who loved the role-playing-heavy Odyssey, I have to say: this return to old AC virtues is really something to behold so far. But it’s precisely because of this big back to the roots announcement that I hope Ubisoft pulls off the following three stunts.
1. Let the acrobatics not just be for show
In the gameplay trailer, Basim presents himself as a mobile prodigy, jumping over urban canyons like in the old days, diving over obstacles, swinging along crossbeams. But if you pay close attention in the video: Ubisoft doesn’t show any real parkour, but just a few tricks that even the acrobatic sandbags Eivor, Bayek, Alexios and Kassandra had up their sleeves for the most part:
And that’s important because parkour explicitly took a back seat in Odyssey, Valhalla and Origins, Ubisoft even confirmed to me in an interview at the time that parkour just didn’t matter in such expansive landscapes. So it’s no wonder that acrobatics fans like me found the manoeuvres in the last Assassin’s Creed simply lame – at least compared to before: AC parkour always offered either fabulous control like in the very first parts or buttery smooth animations like in Unity.
Valhalla and co. had none of that. Or to illustrate it figuratively:
I’m hopeful but also sceptical that Assassin’s Creed Mirage will really break better ground here, precisely because the thing won’t technically be a leap but rather a step away from Valhalla. This new pole vault animation at minute 00:30 in the trailer looks sexy, but it’s not enough clear evidence for me that parkour in Mirage is really fun again. But hope dies last.
2. the stealth system is the chance!
As much as fans like me always gloss over the first Assassin’s Creeds, the bitter truth hurts: as a stealth game, Assassin’s Creed was for the feet for years. So much for the feet that only the eighth (!) part of the series even got its own sneak button!
In addition, the battles were so undemandingly simple that stealth was only worth it for style reasons – and difficulty levels have only been available since Assassin’s Creed Origins (2017). Mirage could be the chance to offer a really gripping stealth experience, especially because Ubisoft doesn’t want to offer a role-playing game here, so it doesn’t have to fool me with a build variety between Rambo and Ninja.
Of course Mirage is welcome to offer story modes for all those who just want to run through casually. But please, please give me a crunchy difficulty level and a real need to be quiet sometimes too The fact that I can bribe guards or camouflage myself on benches is all well and good, but who cares if Basim, like Eivor in Valhalla, flatten hordes of enemies single-handedly?
The last game that really took risks here was Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. And even that only in rudimentary form. But hope dies last.
3. Finds its way back to old story greatness
In cynical moments I’m convinced that Ubisoft has long since scared away all the good story writers and the remaining ensemble is somewhere between embarrassing hipster quest à la Far Cry 6 and the worst circle of story hell: the lore department of Rainbow Six: Siege. But I know that’s not true.
I know there are always really well-written touches in every Ubisoft game that harken back to the glory old days when Ubi studios could tell really good stories in Far Cry, Assassin’s Creed, Prince of Persia, and the like.
And as a tribute to the past, Mirage would be a chance to revive that! With Basim, the devs have already grabbed the one character from Valhalla who had more than the depth of character of a bag of soup. On the other hand, he was also a complicated trickster there, so I’m unsure how he’s supposed to function as a sympathetic main character.
But that’s exactly the kind of tension that offers room for exciting storytelling! Ubisoft could once again tell a really good, focused story that doesn’t get tangled up in a huge open world. And after all, hope dies last.
