Highlights
Assassin's Creed Mirage is focused on bringing back stealth gameplay and emphasizes its stealth mechanics throughout the game.
The assassination missions in Assassin's Creed Mirage are exceptional and should set the standard for future installments in the series.
Players are given complete freedom in their approach and execution of their targets, resulting in distinct outcomes and evoking a sense of empowerment as assassins.
Assassin's Creed made its mark in 2007 with its unique emphasis on stealth-based gameplay, setting it apart from other AAA titles. However, recent additions to the franchise have lost touch with this core aspect. Fortunately, Assassin's Creed Mirage is here to revive the essence of stealth.
Almost every aspect of Assassin's Creed Mirage revolves around its stealth mechanics. Combat requires skill and encourages players to avoid unnecessary confrontations, while the environments are designed to accommodate stealth approaches. The game's assassination missions are especially notable, showcasing the true essence of the game and a feature that should be continued in future Assassin's Creed installments.
Assassin's Creed Mirage's Assassination Missions Should Set the Blueprint
Assassination missions used to be the key highlights of the initial set of Assassin's Creed games, serving as the significant set pieces that players aimed to accomplish. After tracking informants, stealing important documents, and conducting reconnaissance, players would undertake the climactic assassination mission. In this mission, they were entrusted with silently approaching their target, eliminating them, and making a seamless escape, ideally without arousing any suspicion. In hindsight, this gameplay loop may not have been the most thrilling, but at the time, these assassination missions felt extremely rewarding.
Towards the conclusion of the original Assassin's Creed series formula, Ubisoft endeavored to expand and enhance these assassination missions. Starting with Assassin's Creed Unity and continuing through Syndicate, players were presented with numerous approaches to execute an assassination mission. They had the option of pursuing multiple objectives, various methods of infiltrating a location, and a range of strategies to eliminate their target without detection. However, when the series underwent a revamp in 2017 with Assassin's Creed Origins, the focus shifted away from these assassination missions. The spotlight turned towards RPG elements, relegating assassination missions to a secondary role.
Designed as a homage to the series' origins, Assassin's Creed Mirage reembraces stealth and reintroduces large-scale assassination missions. These missions, which occur at the end of each chapter, provide a satisfying payoff. The primary objective of these assassination missions in Mirage involves players sneaking into a location, locating their target, luring them out, eliminating them, and successfully escaping the crime scene. Similar to previous titles like Unity and Syndicate, players are given various methods to accomplish these objectives.
Assassin's Creed Mirage's assassination missions offer players a considerable amount of freedom in how they approach eliminating their targets. Most missions provide multiple ways to infiltrate the location, lure out the target, and execute them. Players can mix and match different options to achieve unique and personalized results. As an example, the initial assassination mission in the game tasks players with enticing an Order of the Ancients merchant out of a crowded and heavily restricted bazaar.
Players have the ability to incite chaos by instigating a small-scale merchant uprising or strategizing a covert infiltration into the office of a member of the Order. Once exposed, they are granted the freedom to decide how they eliminate their target. While there are boundaries to these options, they greatly contribute to instilling a sense of being an omnipotent master assassin. This overarching framework should serve as a guiding principle for future installments in the series.
Assassin's Creed Mirage can be played on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.