Previously seen in Assassin's Creed Valhalla now an occultist, Bbasim Ibn Is'haq is back, this time as the protagonist of Assassin's Creed MirageThis is the one we're going to talk about in today's review.
First of all, I would like to thank Ubisoft Brazil for giving in to Save State an early review key for the game.
Observations: It's worth noting that we won't be addressing narrative aspects of AC Mirage during this text. However, some of the features presented in the screenshots may give slight spoilers as to what your journey may hold. ASSASSIN'S CREED VALHALLA DETAILS WILL BE HIGHLIGHTED!
Basim's first appearance in the franchise
As previously mentioned, Basim Ibn Is'haq has already appeared in the franchise, specifically in Assassin's Creed Valhalla.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla, released in 2020, told the story of Eivor and Sigurd, two Viking warriors who decided to leave Norway for England in search of a place for their clan.
Basim ended up meeting Sigurd in around 870, while he was carrying out a mission for the Hidden Ones in Constantinople, together with his young apprentice Hytham.
Basim and Sigurd then traveled through countless kingdoms, investigating the mysteries of an ancient civilization, until Basim discovered the truth about Sigurd and Eivor.
As we discovered in Assassin's Creed ValhallaSigurd is the reincarnation of Tyr, and Eivor of Odin, the Father of All. Last but not least, Basim is the Isu reincarnation of Loki, the God of Lies.
A new approach to the world of Assassin's Creed
While the Origins, Odyssey e Valhalla of Assassin's Creed has expanded its worlds to something on a scale never seen before, full of optional content to be made, the approach of Assassin's Creed Mirage is to return to the essence of the past.
The approach taken here is something aimed at nostalgia for what the older games in the franchise brought, mainly targeting the original release of the franchise, Assassin's Creedor the beloved Ezio trilogy. For this, the Ubisoft built the world as follows:
Tales from Baghdad
Similar to the World Events of AC: ValhallaTales from Baghdad features short quests where you'll need to help other people in the cities.
Although the Tales of Baghdad don't appear permanently on the map, they aren't randomly generated. They are tales with different characters, each containing a story and even though they are secondary, they are necessary for you to make 100% in each region of the map.
Contracts
The Contracts function as some optional activities that there were in Assassin's Creed Odysseywhere you entered a base or hideout, eliminated the enemies, rescued someone or something and left.
These are very small quests which, in addition to a main objective, also have other optional ones which, if completed, will give you a slightly bigger reward at the end.
Through the Contracts, you'll get some skill points and Favor Tokens, which we'll explain below.
The Lost Books
In Assassin's Creed Mirage there are seven lost books that you will find throughout Baghdad, most of which require you to solve some puzzles.
These books need to be returned to Al-Jahiz, a famous Arab scholar and writer who is located in the House of Wisdom. The rewards will be a costume, some dirhams and Favor Tokens.
Mysterious Fragments
The Mysterious Fragments make up the story of the Isu, and although there's nothing related to them in this quest, you'll get a full set of Isu equipment.
The history of Baghdad
Based on the Codex of the first games in the franchise Assassin's Creed, Mirage has 66 sites where you can learn more about Baghdad's people, culture, historical events and much more.
Despite being something that focuses on bringing knowledge to the player, a costume, this time without attributes, will also be given to the player.
A gameplay makeover
It wasn't just the world of Assassin's Creed Mirage which was "renewed" in comparison to previous releases, but also the gameplay itself.
In fact, many assets from previous games have been used here, which is a shame. But they've used most of it to revamp the gameplay.
There are some great gameplay highlights, which we'll mention below:
Theft system
The stealth system is back, allowing you to use Basim's rogue skills to steal from civilians and soldiers.
By stealing from enemies, you'll get important items such as keys to open doors and chests, quest items, dirhams, materials, favor tokens and the mysterious fragments.
Notoriety system
Something that was present in the Ezio franchise games has finally returned, and in its best form. If you are caught committing an illegal act such as murder, stealing items from chests or robbing people, the civilians will call the guards, or the enemies will go after Basim.
As a result, wanted posters with Basim's face on them will be put up all over Baghdad, and you can pay Munadi to clear your name with favor tokens, or tear off up to three posters to get away with it.
Notoriety levels are classified as follows:
First level
Civilians will recognize Basim from the streets and will call the guards, indicating his current location.
Second Level
The guards will be more vigilant on the streets. Some archers will start patrolling the rooftops, and civilians will report you more often.
There will also be even more wanted posters around the cities, so it will be easier to spot you.
Third Level
The third level is undoubtedly the most difficult of all. While you're on this level, the Elite Guard 'Shakiriyya' will be looking for Basim. He is an enemy who uses two blades, attacks with high speed and has a high resistance rate, even not dying by assassination.
Of course, many more posters will be put up around Baghdad, and civilians will be warned even more.
The Favor Cards
The Favor Cards that were added in Assassin's Creed Mirage works as a kind of currency that can be earned by stealing from civilians or completing contracts for Baghdad.
They will allow you to use them on a Munadi to reduce the level of notoriety, use them on a musician to attract the guards, ask mercenaries to attack the nearest guards or a group of people to walk with you so you can stay in the shadows.
It will also be useful for persuading characters to seek information for missions, and even opening some chests with extra resources.
The murder opportunities are back!
Rescuing what was left behind in Assassin's Creed Unity e Syndicatewith the new entry in the franchise, Mirage.
Although the game is more story-driven than RPG, you'll have access to locations in different ways. From different doors and windows, entering from below, from above, with inside information and much more.
There have been missions where I simply went in attacking everyone, others where I bribed some characters in exchange for information that would be useful to me, or just sent a group of mercenaries to attack so that I could sneak in.
All this made the magic that was no longer in Assassin's Creed came back, even more so with the classic feather scene, which is also available in each elimination of one of the leaders of the elders.
Is the fight still like Valhalla?
A big wish of the community was for combat similar to what the original games delivered, and honestly? I don't think that happened.
There have indeed been some changes, but I don't see it going back to its roots in any way. Combat is still built around tactics, where you can aim at enemies, attack lightly, attack hard, roll/dodge or parry the enemy.
Of course, without a doubt, stealth is much more favored in Mirage. Not only because it's so easy to eliminate enemies with just one hit, but also because the whole scenario is built around this mechanic.
But as I said earlier, there's still an AC RPG feel here. You can still unlock new equipment, swords and daggers, improve statuses by using resources and each one has its own attributes.
If this isn't exactly like the RPG trilogy already does, I think I've forgotten what the origin of Assassin's Creed.
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The progression of Assassin's Creed Mirage is organic
Trying to recapture the essence of the franchise's original games Assassin's Creed, Mirage takes some of the approaches of older games, as well as current ones, and tries to build a more organic progression.
The game's progression is no longer based on an XP loop, but is instead storydriven. There is still some sort of difficulty for each region, but they are defined by your current assassin rank, which classifies Basim's current power.
This rank is raised automatically as you reach specific milestones in the game's main campaign, also giving the player some skill points so that you can unlock new gameplay features for Basim.
With the exception of the Tales of Baghdad, which end up having to be discovered via the map, all the narrative content will be displayed on the investigation board, where you'll see what your next steps are for each quest. So, no more endless tabs of quests and objectives popping up on your screen.
However, it's worth noting that the game ended up taking on board public feedback and made the adventure a little less intuitive, removing the vast majority of points from the map to make exploration more organic. So, most of the time, you'll need to search for information in order to find the path you need to follow.
Well, taking into account that the majority liked it in Elden Ring e Zelda: TOTKit is to be assumed that the same will happen with Miragewhere what used to be optional in Origins e Odysseyis now enabled by default in Mirage. I particularly like the ubi-like way of being.
Basim's skills are those of a born killer
If there's one thing Assassin's Creed needed to be rescued, and he did it with Miragewere the skills of an assassin.
Basim carries with him five stealth tools that can be upgraded in three levels, possessing a skill (which can be chosen from three) in each of these levels. These tools are the throwing knives, smoke bomb, trap, blowgun and the "noise maker".
These skills are crucial to its gameplay which, as I said earlier, despite having combat very similar to the RPG trilogy, is now pushing the player to use stealth much more.
Assassin's Creed has returned to its roots, but the roots haven't returned to Assassin's Creed
In particular, I expected a lot more from Assassin's Creed Mirage. As a good fan of the franchise, I imagined seeing combat even closer to what the Ezio trilogy was.
I was hoping to see good cinematography as it was in Unity e Syndicateespecially when it comes to historical names like Napoleon, a map that was leaner and focused on the city itself, and that's not what I feel with Assassin's Creed Mirage.
Mirage managed to distance himself from ValhallaBut I don't think he managed to get close to the origin of the franchise. It didn't know whether it was an open-world game with RPG elements, or a leaner world with a strong focus on cities.
A brief reminder of the beginning of the RPG era
All the time in Mirage I remembered what it was Assassin's Creed OriginsI was riding on a camel through the desert in search of the "?" I needed to complete to get to my 100%. That didn't change much in MirageAlthough there aren't as many signs on the map, I feel it lacks refinement.
The combat remained mediocre in terms of what would be a souls-like combat in marriage with the origin of the franchise; an exploration that tries to grasp what Elden Ring did with the industry, but showing that this is not useful for Assassin's CreedAnd of course, a big emphasis on the lack of budget and an attempt to impose a game from the franchise in the fiscal year with the premise of a "return to the origins" to get more sales for the franchise.
If I say I didn't like MirageI'd be lying. The game has an interesting lore, which is something that the Ubisoft never fails. But this is delivered in a poor way to the player, only through dialog without the depth that the cinematics of the past imposed. I really miss how all this was approached in Syndicate backwards, just as exploration and combat were.
Despite loving Assassin's CreedI'm sorry for those who were excited about this supposed return to the origins, while the main project, entitled "Project Red" is due to come out next year, with a real focus on large-scale RPGs.
Is Assassin's Creed Mirage worth playing?
I loved every minute of exploring Baghdad, but that doesn't detract from the problems the game had. There are problems with audio mixing, cinematic direction, combat animations, lipsync, dubbing and, of course, facial expressions.
Like a new Assassin's Creed focused on stealth, it's great. As a great new game in the franchise, it's terrible. And as a return to its origins, it's awful.
I would definitely like anyone who is a fan of the franchise to play Mirage. It's an excellent game in the way it was developed. But I don't think it embraces its origins, much less the RPG.
As I said, it falls somewhere in between. It's almost a new take on the franchise (which, if well developed, could work very well).
As this is a launch with a lower price tag, in the range of R$ 249.90, I wouldn't rule out the purchase of Assassin's Creed Mirage. But hold your breath, he's far from achieving all his promises.
Assassin's Creed Mirage arrives on October 5 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. This review was carried out using a key provided by Ubisoft Brazil!
Buy Assassin's Creed Mirage by clicking here!
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