Assassin’s Creed Mirage Launches to a Mixed Reception
Launching yesterday, Assassin’s Creed Mirage was set to be the return to the roots of the franchise that a lot of fans had craved. The past three games in the franchise have been massive, sprawling open world RPGs and, while received quite well, they were not what most fans wanted from the series. With Mirage, it seems Ubisoft are testing the waters with a more traditional entry into the series to see how its received (and, more importantly, how it sells) in a more modern market. So, what do critics think of the latest entry in the 15-year old series?
Image by Ubisoft
While mostly positive, it seems that Assassin’s Creed Mirage has unfortunately missed the mark in more ways than one for a lot of players. Although the smaller scope, better level design and move away from RPG mechanics have been praised, every positive seems to have its own negative associated with it. Critics are calling the story lacklustre, the recycled animations disappointing and, unfortunately, most agree that Mirage just isn’t able to recreate the magic of the original games from the late 2000s. The worst part about this is that it may lead Ubisoft to completely abandon this style of Assassin’s Creed game all together- which is a shame considering how much potential it has- especially when looking at how fantastic entries like Assassins Creed 2 and Brotherhood were.
Image by Ubisoft
With a 77 rating on Metacritic, the scores aren’t all bad- but this does run the risk of being forgotten in a year of so many 9s and 10/10s (which was unfortunately the case for Immortals of Aveum, which launched in August). Push Square had the following to say about the game in their 7/10 review:
“Assassin's Creed Mirage sets off in search of its roots, and it finds them — both for better and worse. Undeniably basic in its approach to stealth and combat, it feels oddly dated in terms of design, but it's also a refreshing reminder of the series' original strengths. Ultimately, it's a solid sandbox title”
Similarly, Video Gamer recognized that Ubisoft may have played the formula a little too safe here- potentially disappointing a lot of fans in the process but still hitting a lot of beats expected from the fanbase. They said the following in their 7/10 review:
“Despite its faults and playing it very safe, Assassin's Creed Mirage is a step in the right direction for Ubisoft, an exercise in concision and a solid attempt to rekindle what made early AC games memorable.”
Image by Ubisoft
Overall, the consensus seems to be that Assassins Creed Mirage is not a bad game, but it also does little to stand out and innovate in the franchise. While its true that fans were clamouring for a return to the more traditional AC games of old, this has course corrected too much and has relied on being safe rather than innovating the formula. Fans of the franchise will likely enjoy this entry- potentially even more than the recent open world releases- but it doesn’t do enough to really spring the series forward into a new generation. Unfortunately, it seems that Assassins Creed Mirage’s biggest flaw is that it takes no risks and, while serviceable, that makes this one of the most unmemorable entries yet.
