Assassin’s Creed Mirage Review: A Newcomer’s Perspective

As someone who’s never played an Assassin’s Creed game before, and doesn’t typically enjoy stealth-based gameplay, I didn’t know what to expect from Assassin’s Creed Mirage. The only reason I even gave it a try was that a friend of mine worked on the game. I had barely seen any trailers or images before diving in, and honestly, I wasn’t sure I would enjoy it.

However, to my surprise, the game quickly drew me in. After just the first hour, I found myself hooked. From the stunning visuals to the engaging narrative and smooth gameplay, I was ready to experience more. Here’s my review based on my experience as a complete newcomer.

Gameplay: Parkour, Assassinations, and Stealth

Assassin’s Creed Mirage focuses on running across the rooftops of Baghdad, pickpocketing NPCs, and using stealth to sneak into guarded locations. The game encourages exploration, rewarding you with gear and upgrades as you roam through the beautifully recreated city.

Key Gameplay Elements:

• Parkour: Basim’s acrobatic movements allow you to scale walls and leap between rooftops, which never gets old.

• Assassinations: You can stealthily eliminate enemies, often using tools like throwing knives or sleeping darts.

• Exploration: Revisiting familiar areas during missions speeds up progress, and exploring is highly rewarding.

• Loot: Gear upgrades, armor, and materials can be found throughout the world, enhancing your abilities.

Tools & Gear

While the variety of armor and weapons isn’t extensive, every item serves a purpose. You also have access to skins for your gear, which can be obtained by completing missions or purchased in the Ubisoft shop (though I recommend avoiding microtransactions for skins, as they seem overpriced).

Skill Tree & Progression

• Skill Tree: As you progress, you’ll unlock useful abilities to enhance your gameplay, like improved pickpocketing or tool upgrades.

• Dervi’s Artifacts: I invested in pickpocketing skills to collect these artifacts, which made the process much smoother and rewarding.

Combat

Combat isn’t the focus of Mirage, but it’s still an essential part of the experience.

• Single Enemy Fights: Simple to handle with dodging and parrying mechanics.

• Multiple Enemies: The complexity increases with more enemies, and combat can feel a bit shallow at times, especially since enemies don’t react to your hits unless you wait for visual cues.

Graphics and Visuals: Stunning but Flawed

The art direction in Assassin’s Creed Mirage is breathtaking. The streets of Baghdad are well-designed, making it perfect for parkour sequences. There are tons of NPCs, which helps the city feel alive.

However, there is a bit of an uncanny valley effect with some of the characters’ facial expressions. It’s not a huge issue, but it’s noticeable. On the plus side, the environment and overall visuals are highly immersive.

User Interface (UI)

• Intuitive Design: The menus are easy to navigate, and inventory management feels smooth.

• Intrusive Elements: Occasionally, the UI elements feel a bit too overwhelming while exploring. Thankfully, the game has accessibility options to adjust them.

Story and Narrative: Hooked from the Start

The opening hour of Assassin’s Creed Mirage grabbed my attention. The plot isn’t groundbreaking, but it’s compelling enough to keep you invested. The protagonist, Basim, evolves from a street thief to a Master Assassin, hunting down Order Members and uncovering secrets about his past.

• Characters: Basim is a well-written character, though the supporting cast could have been more developed. At times, the lack of strong secondary characters made the narrative feel a bit hollow.

• Ending: As a newcomer, the ending was a bit confusing, but it intrigued me enough to want to explore previous Assassin’s Creed titles to understand the full context.

Tales of Baghdad (Side Quests):

• These side quests offer some narrative depth, but most are forgettable. I did encounter one memorable quest, but overall, the side content felt lacking in comparison to the main story.

Replayability: Great for a Quick Playthrough

For someone like me, balancing work and life, Assassin’s Creed Mirage is the perfect length. I completed the game in about 30 hours, and I could see myself playing for a few more hours to finish all the side quests. However, once completed, there isn’t much else to do, unless you start a new game.

New Game+ Suggestion: I think a New Game+ mode would be an excellent addition, allowing players to start over with all their gear and upgrades.

Performance & Technical Aspects: A Few Bugs

While Assassin’s Creed Mirage is generally smooth, I encountered a couple of bugs during my playthrough:

• Stuck Character: A bug where my character would get stuck in the environment.

• Game Crashes: The game crashed a couple of times when I tried to equip gear multiple times.

While these bugs didn’t happen often, they did cause me to lose progress a few times. Hopefully, Ubisoft will address these issues in future updates.

Conclusion: A Solid Entry for Newcomers

Despite its technical hiccups, Assassin’s Creed Mirage offers an enjoyable experience for newcomers like me. The parkour system, stealth mechanics, and the chance to explore a detailed Baghdad city were highlights of my experience. While the combat can feel repetitive, and some narrative aspects fall short, it’s still a great game that introduces players to the world of Assassin’s Creed.

Ubisoft Bordeaux has delivered a game that appeals to long-time fans of the series and newcomers alike. I’ll always remember the thrill of parkouring across rooftops and strategizing my assassinations.

FAQs

1. Do I need to have played previous Assassin’s Creed games to enjoy Mirage? No, Mirage is a great entry point for newcomers. While there are references to previous games, it’s easy to follow without prior knowledge.

2. Is Assassin’s Creed Mirage more focused on stealth or combat? The game emphasizes stealth and parkour, with combat being a secondary aspect. You’ll spend most of your time sneaking around and avoiding direct confrontation.

3. Can I buy skins and upgrades in the Ubisoft store? Yes, the game offers skins and other cosmetic items in the Ubisoft store, but I recommend avoiding microtransactions as they are overpriced.

4. Are there any major bugs or technical issues in the game? There are some bugs, such as character stuttering or occasional crashes. While they’re not frequent, they can affect your experience at times. Hopefully, Ubisoft will address these in updates.

Click here to learn more