Mirage Didn't Save Assassin's Creed
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Published 2024-05-22
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Assassin’s Creed Mirage was an important release for the series. It claimed that the series would go back to its roots, that the game would harken back to what made the series special. Hidden blades, hoods, and social stealth were coming back, baby! And you know what, that was relatively true. The game in many ways felt like the old Assassin’s Creed, and colour me foolish for thinking that it would be enough to please the old-school fans; because ho boy did it feel like no one cared about this game. I guess talking about a solid entry in the series isn’t as interesting as demonising one of the RPG games or reminiscing about the good old days. But still, reactions were a mix of people saying it saved the series, and people saying it's another nail in a coffin that is one step away from being encased in concrete. Most simply called it mediocre. The struggle seemed not in the iconography, references, or the feeling of Assassin’s Creed, but rather the design itself. Ironic how one could accurately say it was a bad game, but not a bad Assassins Creed game.
In the few months since the game's release there have been some large updates, most notably to movement, that justify a deeper look at the game. Since I know many of you saw my smaller review of the game I feel inclined to mention that this video will be fundamentally different in that my reviews are made with the objective of determining if a product is, in my opinion worth the money, where as the larger critiques or whatever you want to call them are more about looking at the game as a piece of art, disconnected from its price. I want to see, down to the little details, what mirage did right, what it did wrong, and in this case, if and how my thoughts have changed since release. If you remember my review, then you remember that I liked the game, and generally recommended it. That hasn’t changed here, in fact, if it has, it’s more so in the games favour, mostly due to a post launch update that we will unpack later. So let’s not delay.
Leading up to the release of Mirage, I’d argue that I was less sceptical of its claims and more in pure disbelief. The last time I heard Ubisoft say they were heading back to their roots was with Valhalla, and it was the furthest I had ever seen the series stray from what made it special. Still, I enjoyed Valhalla to an extent and I enjoyed what it went for, but was still convinced that Ubisfot was ironically done trying to go back to the past in a series all about it. When Mirage released, in many ways I had felt like we returned to the series roots, despite my pessimism going into it. Now, months out from this release, I’m left with a feeling that this game desperately needed to save the series, and unfortunately, I don’t think it’s enough. I’m sorry Mirage, but you weren’t enough to save this series, but I still have hope that the spark you ignited is enough to rekindle this series nearly suffocated in the ashes of its former success.
Assassins Creed is a series that lives in its former glory, and Assassins Creed Mirage was an attempt to usher in a new golden age. But, Mirage didn't save Assassin's Creed. This is a companion piece to my Assassins Creed Mirage review, and this Assassins Creed Mirage critique, Assassins Creed Mirage analysis and Assassins Creed Mirage retrospective will be the last mainline game in my Assassins Creed series retrospective. The next video will answer what the best Assasins Creed game is, but for now, this video will cover the Assassins Creed Mirage story explained, Assassins Creed Mirage gameplay, and place a heavy focus on the Assassins Creed Mirage parkour. AC Mirage is a good game, my AC Mirage review is a testament to that. But in this AC Mirage critique and AC Mirage analysis, we will see that perhaps it still isn't enough.
All Comments (21)
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8:25 "In the early games, you controlled your position. Now, you control your animations." Big statement right there.
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Mirage really proved, that the RPG engine is just not cut out for a classic AC game.
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It wasn't enough to save it, but it was definitely enough to show that it could be saved
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It definitely isn't one of the best games, but it was a step in the right direction. Now that the team behind it are allowed to make an actual mainline title with more resources, I know they will be able to make an amazing AC game.
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You described so well why parkour seems strange; I never could put it into words, but the jumping aspect is so simple and revealing. Despite that, I still like it a lot. I always play Mirage when I want to feel like an assassin—half an hour jumping on rooftops, stealthily killing guards, and I'm satisfied.
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One of the biggest things I appreciate about this channel is that you can talk about the issues of the game without having to make it sound like you hate it. I love the passion you have for Assassin's Creed and all the games you cover.
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0:35 Ac Odyssey is a "good game but a bad AC game" as everyone used to say and now I hear that Mirage is a "bad game but a good AC game". Lmao I love AC
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So the game didn’t live up to the hype.
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I'm sorry Aqua but the first second of this video completely stole my attention I mean, just imagine how sweaty Basim would be wearing all black in the desert sun while doing parkour and fighting. Bro would be a walking sweat sponge, the stinkiest, smelliest man in Bagdad But yeah good video bro
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The Loki twist and the "did no one see Basim talk to himself" is answered the same way as Fight Club or Mr. Robot.
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One thing i noticed in AC Valhalla is that when the wolf bites eivor in her childhood, it triggered the isu memories to resurface. And throughout her life she unconsciously started mumbling odin's quotes (you can hear those during the cairn activities) and in time she somehow suppressed those memories but they resurfaced again after she found her father's axe and remembered the betrayal kjotve did with her father(same how loki betrayed odin) They could've used this idea of how basim started getting those nightmares. We know his father was betrayed by his close friend which lead to his death. This could lead to the djinn's first appearance and also him starting to see nehal. And i wish we could see more nehal's interaction the same way odin's interaction with eivor after her assassinations like during every assassination basim finds nehal lurking nearby and making him question his morals and the creed.
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Permadeath mode was the first time in a long time that I actually felt like an Assassin. Really had me utilizing all my tools and techniques for a stealth playthrough because of how vulnerable I’d be in open combat. Would love to see it implemented in future AC games (tho I’d prefer if the rewards carried to all saves)
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This game was made with a lot of limitations, yet was able to be a really fun experience with a really good setting and immersive time period. To me, that's a success.
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The segment on parkour was beautifully said. Since origins its been function over form, when I think it should be a balance of the two with skill ceilings/floors
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24:21 Roshan knows Basim is some sort of "sage" very early on. After the murder of the Caliph and Basim's escape the next cutscene has Roshan next to Basim as he wakes up and she holds the memory seal. She realizes when she talks to Basim that the seal was activated when Basim touched it which means he has a high concentration of isu dna. From that point on, you could see Roshan carefully trying to "police" Basim and turn him away from being lured in by the isu, all the way until the end of the game.
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I can't wait for the day where a indie team comes out of the nowhere and is a real competitor to Assassin's Creed, imagine if Ubisoft could develop an Assassin's Creed game, with the Unity Parkour system and graphics and just as a good of a story as AC 2, Brotherhood and Revelations. They would almost have the perfect game, but of course not, its Ubisoft. I pray one day an indie developer studio designs a game similar to AC (obviously without copying the story of it since Ubisoft would get a bit angry) and it has such a great parkour system for a very detailed open world game for AC
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We need more AC games in the original gameplay style, have a mix of RPG and original style
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It's insane how post-content support is a lot of features that used to be in the game when released. Now we praise them like they're doing a good job.
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I must have only seen the positive reviews of Mirage because the intro is the first I’ve heard that old school fans weren’t happy
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Im so glad you said the positives without trashing on it like crazy
