Assassin’s Creed Mirage will serve as the next chapter of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, and it will apparently return to the classic gameplay sorely missed by many players. It will follow Basim before the events of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla in a story that seems deeply rooted in the core Assassin-Templar fantasy. Many players are excited to see the series return to its roots, but Ubisoft has a lot to prove Assassin’s Creed Mirage if it wants to pull back fans who have been put off by the recent trilogy.
The Assassin’s Creed franchise has gone through a bit of a growth phase as Ubisoft has been trying to figure out what the franchise should be like. Assassin’s Creed Origins started this experimental phase, and then Odyssey and Valhalla took it to the next level. These games have been criticized for taking away from what made Assassin’s Creed special, and has put off some players who have been with the series from the start. While Assassin’s Creed Mirage will apparently bring back that classic feel, it remains to be seen if Ubisoft can pull it off.
Assassin’s Creed has strayed from the franchise core
Before Assassin’s Creed OriginsUbisoft released a Assassin’s Creed title almost every year. These games took players through history and put them in the shoes of all kinds of different killers. They took control of Ezio during the Italian Renaissance, Connor during the American Revolution, the Frye twins during the Industrial Revolution in London, and it even dipped its toes into pirate life with Edward Kenway. While all the stories were different, they were all linked together by the fictional Assassin-Templar War that raged through history.
By the time of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, many people felt burned out by the franchise. The games all took place in different time periods, but they were all relatively the same experience with a different coat of paint. Ubisoft chose to solve the problem by taking the franchise in a whole new direction with Assassin’s Creed Origins. It brought the series back further than ever before and completely revamped the core gameplay of the series from an action-adventure to an open-world RPG.
This new direction turned out to be a huge success for Ubisoft and it chose to continue on this path. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Walhalla brought the series to new periods and expanded the RPG gameplay. The titles were big games that could take someone hundreds of hours to go through, and both were pretty well received. Walhalla in particular, became one of the fastest-selling Assassin’s Creed titles, and was the most successful launch of all Ubisoft PC games.
While these last two Assassin’s Creed titles offered a fair amount of fun, something was missing. In Ubisoft’s quest to revive the franchise, it chose to seemingly forego the main Assassin-Templar conflict that had fueled the series. odyssey put players in control of a Greek mercenary who had little interest in the Hidden Ones’ conflict, and Walhalla put players in control of a Viking fighting for a place in Britain, while the Hidden Ones embarked on their own journey. Both games made for a pretty fun historical RPG, but neither had much to do with it Assassin’s Creed.
Deviating from the core Assassin’s Creed story put some franchise fans off, but so did the gameplay. The original games were action-adventure titles with an emphasis on stealth. Many of the early games were based on the concept of sneaking through large cities to kill targets with hidden blades. These newer games focused more on traversing these large open worlds to work out levels in classic RPG fashion.
Stealth still played a part in the newer titles, but that was no longer the focus. Killings still existed, but players could no longer prowl the shadows to kill their target with a single stab of their iconic Assassin’s Creed hidden knife. Instead, players had to be aware of their target’s level and make sure their level was comparable if they were to stand a chance. This was a symptom of the new RPG route Ubisoft chose to go down, and it kept some players from falling in love with the series.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage faces an uphill battle
Assassin’s Creed Mirage is apparently going to be a return to the franchise, and that sounds like great news for fans. The game will see the return of action-adventure gameplay and a much greater emphasis on stealth. Players will also explore a unique city like the older games rather than a massive open world like the newer games, and it will also see the return of the Assassin-Templar conflict.
Ubisoft hasn’t shared any gameplay yet, but if it’s worth it, it could be the Assassin’s Creed title fans have been waiting for. However, the game has to swing out of the gate if it really wants to make an impact. The last few titles were fun, but they’ve also deviated greatly from what drew people to the series in the beginning. Assassin’s Creed Mirage should put a lot of emphasis on what is made Assassin’s Creed great, and it must be good.
The last time the Assassin conflict was central to the game’s plot was with Assassin’s Creed Origins. That title showcased the Brotherhood’s beginnings and their war with the Templars, but the titles since then have pushed that storyline more into the background. Assassin’s Creed Mirage will mark the return of the conflict to the fore, and Ubisoft must make sure it works out. If the story is in line with the great stories of Ezio or Edward then older fans can get in on it, but if it’s written like the newer games then those fans might just stay away.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage is Ubisoft’s chance to bring fans back to the series, and it must be careful not to screw this up. It should represent everything that made the series good in the first place, because it could just start a new era for this 15-year-old franchise.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage Coming in 2023 for Amazon Luna, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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