Summary
Assassin’s Creed: Mirageproved that there’s still life in stealth-focusedAssassin’s Creedgames. While a standalone entry for now, the stealth-centric brand ofAssassin’s Creedhas been receiving strong reviews from fans, and decent reviews from critics.Mirageis the first stealth entry in theAssassin’s Creedseries since 2015’sAssassin’s Creed: Syndicate, but did it pay off? All of this is to say, where does the stealth focus ofAssassin’s Creed: Mirageline up with the RPG styles of games such asAssassin’s Creed: Valhalla?
The real question is whether the modern interpretation of stealthAssassin’s Creedcan match up to the RPG editions. This article will mainly focus on howMiragematches, and occasionally surpasses, the three priorAssassin’s Creedgames. Here are ten things stealthAssassin’s Creeddoes better than the RPG games.
10A Smaller, More Manageable Map
The RPGAssassin’s Creedgames areknown for their gargantuan maps, with huge gameplay odysseys spread out over 60 hours or more. The stealth editions ofAssassin’s Creedare far more manageable, with maps that generally revolve around a single city, or a couple of smaller cities. This cuts down game time and makes exploration a more concise experience.
Assassin’s Creed: Mirageis a love letter to the olderAssassin’s Creedgames, with a tighter map that consists of far less bloat and more individuality. Baghdad feels alive and bustling, unlike many of the locations featured in largerAssassin’s Creedgames, due to sheer size and asset copying.
9Stealth Gameplay
The “Stealth” Trilogies Are Called That For A Reason
AllAssassin’s Creedgamesfeature stealth in some capacity,but the larger RPG games are largely based around combat, rather thanthe traditional sneaky gameplayof theAssassin’s Creedgames of old. Due to stealth being an afterthought, it can often feel tacked on in more recent entries in the series.
It’s truly refreshing to sneak around in Baghdad, asMiragefirmly plants the player in the shoes of an Assassin. Assassination, gadgets, tailing, and eavesdropping are back, and it’s never felt as good as this to be back in the shoes of a Hidden One.
8A Condensed Skill Tree
An Overabundance Of Skills Can Make Many Of Them Meaningless
To add a progression system to a game the size ofAssassin’s Creed: Valhalla, thereneeded to be a skill treethat included some additions that felt superfluous at best. Filled with skill points to add fairly meaningless stats to Eivor,Valhalla’s skill tree was bloated, to say the least.
Assassin’s Creed: Mirage’s smaller skill tree is far less focused on statistics and levels, and more so on abilities. It returns to how the skill tree felt inAssassin’s Creed: Odyssey, with far less bloat, and far more meaningful and useful abilities available after every character level-up.
7Consistent Characters
The Narrative Takes Center Stage When There Are Fewer Distractions
One of the benefits of having an entire game take place in a single city is that it allows the developers to tell a continuous story throughout.Mirageincludes several characters whose stories aretold to the player consistentlyall the way through.
Games such asOrigins,Odyssey, orValhallahad many, many characters, but very few of them had the level of character development seen in the smallerAssassin’s Creedgames.Valhalla, especially, had a habit of showing and dropping many characters after sometimes only a couple of hours.
6Tactical Gameplay
The Consequences Of Combat Are Front And Center
WithMiragereturning the series to its roots with a slower and more methodical stealth approach to combat, tactical gameplay has never been more important. Planning targets, marking enemies, and a stealthy approach was what made smallerAssassin’s Creedgames more immersive and made the player feel like they were truly in the shoes of an Assassin.
With the emphasis now returning to stealth and tactics,Assassin’s Creed: Miragetakes the series' focus from enemy-based difficulty and back to approach-based difficulty. It adds up to make Basim feel far more lethal and professional than Eivor, Alexios/Kassandra,or Bayek ever were.
5Combat Immersion
Combat Intensity Was Sorely Missing In The RPG Trilogy
Speaking of immersion,Assassin’s Creed: Mirageprovides immersion in combat that returns the player firmly into the boots of an Assassin. Basim is quick, light on his feet, and deadly. He also dies extremely quickly. This lack of bulk behind his movements really adds to the sense of immersionMirageprovides the player with.
The combat feels less designed for facing multiple enemies at once, and more like a last resort, with Basim being far better adapted to sneaking and fighting in quick bursts before disappearing into the shadows. A group of enemies often feels like a guaranteed death inMirage,and the game is all the better for it.
4Shorter Story
Brevity Is The Soul Of Wit, And Storytelling In General
Seeing out the player completion rates in a game such asAssassin’s Creed: Odysseyis an unsurprisingly painful task for players who are long-time fans. With very low story completion rates, many players never got to experience thegreat ending toOdyssey’s story,partly due to its length.
Assassin’s Creed: Miragereturns the games to a more manageable 20 or 25-hour runtime, which is a far more realistic number for players to commit to. A shorter story also means fewer characters to keep up with, making the story far easier to follow.
3Gadgets
The Tools Of A Hidden One Are A Joy To Experiment With
The gadgets featured in older stealth-basedAssassin’s Creedgames were part of what made the series special. Think of games such asAssassin’s Creed 2with the hidden gun or the glider, orAssassin’s Creed: Revelationswith the hookblade. These unique mechanics made the games stand out in what was a crowded stealth game market.
Miragefinallybrings gadgets backtoAssassin’s Creed,and they’ve never felt better. Smoke bombs, noisemakers, and blow darts all make a triumphant return, and it’s easy to forget how much they helped makeAssassin’s Creedfeel likeAssassin’s Creed. Well, they’re back, and more effective than ever.
2Less Grinding
Sometimes It’s Nice To Just Hop From Mission To Mission
Many players will remember the huge forced grind that took place in games such asOdysseyandValhalla. At around the halfway point of the story, players are forced to take part in open-world activities for around 15 hours. It was a huge stopping point for many, as the amount of repeated content simply got too much for some players.
Stealth-basedAssassin’s Creedgames drop the mandatory grind and are subsequently much better for it. The completion rates for older games alone can attest to this. Forced grinding in a story-based experience is the best way to kill the momentum of that story.
1Living The Assassin Fantasy
The Game Makes PlayersFeelLike Batman…erm, Basim
WithAssassin’s Creed: Mirage, players finally return to the boots of a true Assassin. The last three RPG entries in the series have focused on a pre-Assassin, a Mercenary, and a Viking respectively, and players have finally come full circle to play a true Hidden One.
The lore of the Assassin Order and the main character learning the ways of an Assassin were what made the first few games in the series great. Seeing someone learn about the Order and finally don the hood and Hidden Blade as a member was what made them so intriguing. Ultimately, it’s this reason that truly makes the stealth games better than the newer RPG releases.
