A few people have already had the chance to play Assassin's Creed Mirage during an exclusive Preview. And we collected some of their thoughts about the next installment!
Ubisoft has been talking a lot about going back to the roots with Assassin's Creed Mirage and trying to change the formula other AC games like Odyssey and Valhalla used. But since the games hasn't come out yet, it's hard to say if this is true.
The latest Hands-On Previews look quite promising though, and they strongly suggest Mirage is going to deliver on the promises it's made. But see for yourself!
Assassin's Creed Mirage: The First Hands-On Previews Are In
At the time of writing (September 14) the overall Previews are all very positive. Highlighting the lovingly-crafted Baghdad, the complex characters and the impressive work of protagonist Basim.
Here are some thoughts of our colleagues from different gaming websites:
Nick Maillet from IGN was very happy how AC Mirage turned out:
To put it bluntly, Assassin’s Creed Mirage seems set to bring the series back to its roots in the best way possible. The story and gameplay feel more like what made AC so popular in the first place, and its new setting and social stealth-heavy gameplay mechanics feel like the series has finally realized what was promised back in 2007. While some may not be too happy with the scaled-back RPG elements, Mirage’s focused setting, intuitive controls and fun stealth gameplay has me excited to dive back into the franchise.
Joshua Duckworth from Game Rant praised the stealth gameplay, characters and especially the detailed construction of Baghdad:
At the end of the day, it's clear that Assassin's Creed Mirage's return to roots approach specifically means the earliest games in the franchise, triumphs, technical elements, and all. There are some things that later action-adventure titles did better before the open-world RPGs that are missing here, but the story glimpses we saw, the excellent core stealth gameplay, the various characters we met, and the detailed construction of Baghdad all eliminated our smallest woes. For any AC fan, Assassin's Creed Mirage is a love letter well worth reading..
Jakob Hansen from Gamereactor wouldn't be surprised if AC Mirage jumped out and assassinate the competition in October:
My roughly three hours with Assassin's Creed Mirage were extremely positive. Beforehand, I had feared that it would be a simple return to the classic formula already felt old back in 2015 when Syndicate released. But Mirage is much more than that. Ubisoft Bordeaux seems to have carefully selected the exact elements across the series' 16-year history that best bring the past to life. With an intense October filled with big titles, Assassin's Creed has for once been relegated to the shadows, but I wouldn't be surprised if the game jumped out and assassinated the competition.
Well, look at that! With so much doubt in the past and mistrust in the Assassin's Creed franchise as a whole, things might have changed for the better this time around? With a return-to-the-roots ethos, and Basim at its center, Assassin's Creed Mirage is looking better than most will expect, and could do well even in the packed month of October!