HHW Gaming Preview: ‘Assassin’s Creed Mirage’ Is Leap of Faith Back To What Made The Franchise Great

The Assassin’s Creed video game franchise has undergone many changes since its 2007 debut, some for the better, some for the worse. Fans have grown dissatisfied with what their favorite game has become, but Ubisoft Bordeaux is hopping into their Animus, bringing back what made AC great will help restore the feeling.

Over the years, Assassin’s Creed games ditched the open-world, action-adventure, stealth model for a more RPG-like feel, which was first welcomed in 2017’s Assassin’s Creed Origins, carrying over to 2018’s exceptionally well-received Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and finally in 2020’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.

Valhalla would be met with a mixed reaction mainly because players felt it was too bloated, and it was loaded with fluff, too many quests, and a lot of DLC to go with it. So, the game’s story became too much to digest and confusing for some. We enjoyed our time with the main story, calling it another solid entry into the Assassin’s Creed franchise. 

The folks at Ubisoft began pondering how to save Assassin’s Creed, ultimately deciding to bring the franchise back to its roots.

Ubisoft Bordeaux, the studio behind the Wrath of the Druids expansion for Valhalla, was tasked with turning Assassin’s Creed Mirage, which was also ironically DLC for Valhalla, into a more traditional mainline AC game.

HHW Gaming got to experience four hours of hands-on gameplay with AC: Mirage across three sections of the upcoming game, and it gave us the feeling of booting up an Assassin’s Creed game on our PS3 and Xbox 360.

A Brief Introduction To Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s Hero

During the introduction, you’re again introduced to the parkour mechanics, which now genuinely feel like an Assassin’s Creed title, thanks mainly to the game’s setting.

Our demo begins with a brief prologue that re-introduces us to Basim (we met him in AC: Vahalla). We meet Basim, voiced by Lee Madjoub for the VO, and Eyad Nassar for the Arabic version, which is such a brilliant touch. We see him during his time as a regular thief carrying out tasks for coins for the Hidden Ones, aka the Assassins, before he joins their ranks. 

During the introduction, you’re again introduced to the parkour mechanics, which now genuinely feel like an Assassin’s Creed title, thanks mainly to the game’s setting.

The next segment we got to try out was a lengthy training segment that finally gives players a glimpse into the Hidden One’s order training. Once Basim completes his training, which even sees him hilariously learning how to do a Leap of Faith, you witness the moment when Basim receives his Hidden Blade, a true symbol of becoming a Hidden One, while taking in the wisdom from his mentor, Master Roshan, voiced by the incredible Shohreh Aghdashloo.

A Familiar Look & Feel

Gone are those lifeless open areas in Vahalla, and back are the bustling detailed regions, full of people and buildings for you to parkour through while evading pursuers.

After earning your place in the Hidden Order, it was time to free-roam Mirage’s open world. The section opens up with Basim perched on top of a building.

Mirage takes place in ninth-century Baghdad, still sometime before the events of Altair’s adventure in the first Assassin’s Creed game. Immediately, you will notice that gone are the bevy of icons that usually greet you when you open up the map, which can be pretty overwhelming.

Baghdad looks beautiful, and while exploring, it truly felt like the AC experience we initially came to love during the first game and Assassin’s Creed II. Gone are those lifeless open areas in Vahalla, and back are the bustling detailed regions, full of people and buildings for you to parkour through while evading pursuers.

We were quite impressed with the work Ubisoft Bordeaux put into one of the most beautiful and detailed worlds since AC: Unity.

Other features we were happy to see come back were small ones, like the ability to take down wanted posters to reduce your notoriety level.

Pickpocketing returns to Assassin’s Creed Mirage, and while it’s not a new feature, it serves as a more important tool in aiding Basim’s missions. It now includes a mini-game that requires precise timing to successfully steal items you can use to bribe individuals to gain important information on your would-be targets.

The Hidden Blade Isn’t Just A Weapon

In Mirage, there is no one way to carry out these missions, giving players the freedom to go in headstrong or carefully and methodically.

One of Valhalla’s most significant flaws is how it reduced the iconic Hidden Blade to being just one of Eivor’s many weapons. It is once again essential to helping Basim become one of the most remarkable members of the Hidden Ones.

In the final section of our preview, we partook in a black-box format type mission, similar to those in Assassin’s Creed: Unity. During the mission, you must gather information about your next target before embarking on the mission to take them out. In Mirage, there is no one way to carry out these missions, giving players the freedom to go in headstrong or carefully and methodically.

Before going in for the kill, we had to infiltrate an enemy camp to gather information on the target. The mission required stealth and showed the Mirage’s new enemy AI, showcasing how the enemies will adjust to your actions if they discover a body or quickly glimpse you sneaking around.

You can also scout ahead and plan your moves with the help of your trusty eagle sidekick, Enkidu. Again, there is no one way to approach situations in Mirage, but stealth should always be at the top of your list.

Once you gather all the necessary information, it’s time to take out your target. This mission required Basim to move around one of Baghdad’s busiest areas while avoiding guards before leaping in for the fatal kill.

It took us back to that first assassination attempt with Altair in 2007’s Assassin’s Creed, and it was satisfying once again to use the hidden blade and get away without even being seen by a guard.

Restoring The Feeling

Ubisoft Bordeaux has one mission with Assassin’s Creed Mirage: to bring back the feeling of playing an excellent AC game.

Based on what we experienced during our hands-on preview, they are on the right path because this homage to the good old days of Assassin’s Creed video games feels like the games we fell in love with when characters like Altair and Ezio Auditore were front and center on players flat screens.

Narrowing down the scope of the game to just 30 hours, focusing on the core mechanics and packaging that all up in a game with a AAA feel with a $50 price tag is a bold move on Ubisoft’s part.

While it may feel like the video game publisher is selling its own studio short with that price tag, in the end, it might be the right move to help bring it back in the good graces of Assassin’s Creed fans who have been down on the franchise for many years.

This game feels right, and we are looking forward to experiencing Basim’s full adventure when AC Mirage arrives on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on October 5.

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Photo: Ubisoft Bordeaux / Assassin’s Creed Mirage