As a huge Assassins creed fan I knew I was going to have to pick up Mirage as soon as it came out. As much as I like the newer RPG games in the series like Origins and Valhalla, hearing that Mirage would be a shorter game that returned the series to its roots sounded like it would be both fun and nostalgic.
Story: 7/10
It's nice to see a background of not only Basim, since he is now incorporated with the modern day story, but seeing the Assassin brotherhood as well. Since some of the newer games have moved a bit away from the typical assassins, it's nice to see that return to form. However Basim’s story is not something that is wildly exciting or thrilling. While it does have some moments, the story just plays out with few twists and turns.
Score: 7/10
The music fits its setting but doesn't wow in many ways. There are only a few notably good songs but the classic Ezio’s Family is always fun to hear.
Characters/Character Development:7/10
The game has a small set of characters which plays to its advantage. The main characters of the brotherhood are there enough so you can remember them even when they have been gone for a while and villains provide enough to feel villainous for the short time they are relevant. I would have liked to see more out of Basim though but maybe later installments will allow us to tap more into his depth.
Graphics: 9/10
Everything from the city to the desert has a great sense of depth to it. Populated areas are living and booming while more open desert areas feel vast and mysterious.
Gameplay: 6/10
Gameplay here is where Mirage starts to get itself in trouble. I feel as though the game is meant to feel like a remake of the original Assassin's creed and be an installment of the series returning to its roots, but that also comes with its own issues. Killing an enemy while being seen can raise your notoriety to the point where you are going to have to find a way to lower it and feels like more of a speed bump in your gameplay. This game now feels now like stealth is less optional as getting scene in a restricted area can turn into a shit show pretty quickly if your spotted by guards.
Difficulty: 7/10 (0 being the easiest, 10 being the hardest).
Sneaking through restricted areas feels much more difficult than past installments which can get annoying after multiple attempts and there isn't many options you have to try different ways to change your strategy.
Fun: 6/10
Assassins creed will also have fun moments and cool combat but Mirage doesn't seem to add much in terms of innovation or making it stand out. The game seems to serve as another installment for those that enjoy the Altair/Ezio era of assassin's creed.
Recommended for-
- Fans of early Assassin's Creed games