Revolutionizing Combat: Unleashing the Power of Assassin's Creed Mirage

Highlights

Assassin's Creed Mirage aims to return to the stealthier roots of the original games while improving the combat mechanics.

In Mirage, combat emphasizes the art of skillful parrying and countering, elevating its difficulty and relying on player skill more so than the original Assassin's Creed. Adding to the exhilaration of combat encounters, Mirage introduces a crucial dodge roll mechanic, fostering stealthy gameplay and increasing the overall challenge.

Good combat is essential for the success of any action game, whether it is set in an open world, involves military warfare, or is a virtual reality experience with zombies. A satisfying combat system is a crucial aspect of quality action video games. Even games that primarily focus on stealth, like Assassin's Creed Mirage, still need to ensure that their combat encounters are enjoyable and fulfilling for players.

Though combat has always been a part of the Assassin's Creed franchise, it was not the main emphasis in the original games. In an attempt to recapture the essence of those early titles, Assassin's Creed Mirage adopts a similar approach by simplifying the combat mechanics found in the recent RPG entries of the series and refocusing on stealth and parkour. However, despite not being as mechanically intricate as its RPG predecessors in terms of combat, Assassin's Creed Mirage still manages to make significant improvements to the original combat formula of the Assassin's Creed series.

How Assassin's Creed Mirage Improves on the Original Series' Combat Formula

In the original 2007 Assassin's Creed game, combat was not a common occurrence. Although players were technically able to engage in open combat and have sword duels with guards, these mechanics did not feel satisfying. Additionally, the challenging enemy AI made combat feel like a punishment, discouraging players from seeking confrontations and instead emphasizing the use of stealth mechanics to evade enemies.

However, when Assassin's Creed 2 was released a few years later, combat underwent significant improvements. Encounters became more rewarding, while still maintaining a strong focus on stealth. With each subsequent installment of Assassin's Creed, the balance between stealth and combat would shift, eventually leading to combat becoming the primary component of the gameplay experience. This transition was solidified in 2017 with the introduction of the Assassin's Creed RPGs, starting with Origins. This game brought a host of new combat mechanics, such as parrying, dodge rolling, and a gear system, further emphasizing the importance of combat in the series.

Assassin's Creed Mirage aims to strike a balance between these two approaches, enhancing the original Assassin's Creed combat formula in multiple ways. Instead of completely discarding it, Mirage takes inspiration from RPG predecessors' combat systems and streamlines them to restore the series' stealthy essence. Combat in Mirage now heavily relies on skillful parries and counters, making it much more skill-based than in the original games. Players will no longer be able to simply hold down a button and press another to effortlessly eliminate guards; timing their parries and strikes effectively is now crucial.

Additionally, Mirage introduces the dodge roll mechanic, not found in the original Assassin's Creed games, as a vital aspect of combat, particularly when facing larger groups of enemies. This, combined with the parrying system, ensures that players feel truly challenged during combat encounters, subtly encouraging a more stealth-oriented playstyle. While Mirage's combat is less complex than that of its RPG predecessors, it surpasses the 2007 game and offers a more skill-based and satisfying experience compared to other original Assassin's Creed titles.

Assassin's Creed Mirage is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.