Assassin’s Creed Mirage Review
Assassin’s Creed Mirage is a game that returns to its roots both in story and setting. On the one hand, we hide in the lands of Baghdad and figure things out, on the other hand, we fight against the Order of the Ancients, which threatens Baghdad with its dark ambitions.
After Assassin’s Creed Origins, which was set in Egypt and took us back to 49 BC and told us about the establishment of the Assassin organization, we return to the Middle East and the mother land of assassins. We embark on adventures in Baghdad, one of the most populous and largest cities of the Middle Ages.
From scientists to scholars, from merchants to travelers, we are ready to plunge our knife into the heart of Baghdad, the busiest place on the entire Silk Road, as the calendars show the year 861 AD. The glorious Baghdad of that time is experiencing a period known as Anarchy in Samarra. Set historically during a period of civil unrest during the Abbasid Caliphate, our story draws us into a similar turmoil.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage Story
I don’t want to talk too much about the story of the game and give “unintentional” SPOILERS, so I’ll talk about it briefly. When you play the game anyway, you will be introduced to an in-depth story.
The story takes place during the Abbasid Caliphate, when Baghdad was in its golden period, and we are greeted by a very crowded and lively city. We start the game with the story of Basim, who those who have played Assassin’s Creed Valhalla have met before, from the streets of Baghdad to becoming an assassin. Even the very beginning of the game reminded me of the Aladdin story. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla was set in 872 AD, and now we meet and play with Basim from 11 years ago.
There is Basim’s initiation ceremony in the game. I have no doubt that Assassin’s Creed fans will get goosebumps. It’s a very beautiful ceremony scene. It makes you wish it was a bit longer so we could experience this ceremony to the fullest.
In the streets of Baghdad and in the dialogues, it is sometimes pleasing to hear Arabic words. Indeed, they reflected the atmosphere of Baghdad of the period perfectly.
Gameplay
After 3 years, we came across a new Assassin’s Creed game. Historically, I was very happy to return to the roots of the cult. Apart from that, I liked the fact that there were innovations in the gameplay in terms of story.
They presented a gameplay that pushes us to learn and understand the story as we wander around Baghdad and its surroundings with Basim. In previous games, we were given a mission list. We would see our goals and what to do. In Assassin’s Creed Mirage, we see the Investigation Board. We find our target or mission with the clues we find around. We learn what we need to do a mission or what to pay attention to in the details of the mission by talking to different people. This provides an opportunity to wander around the city more and have an adventure and meet different characters.
Character Progression
Character progression is also linked to the story. Instead of killing everyone we encounter and gaining XP, we gain levels as we progress through the story and missions. As we complete missions, we earn Skill Points and thus experience the transformation from an initiated entry-level assassin to an Assassin.
For those who have played Assassin’s Creed Origins, we can fly our eagle in the skies over Baghdad and see the important points of the city again. Of course, flying with an eagle is not the only similarity. Since there are close geographies, it feels like we are playing the continuation of the Origins story.
Fights and Stealth
In combat mechanics, there are parry and dodge features. Some attacks need to be met with parry, while others need to be met with dodge. The training part of the game teaches us this. The fights are again dynamic and exciting as one of the basic mechanics of the game.
Stealth is of course the sine qua non of the game. The fact that there are plenty of places to hide in this game makes our job easier on the one hand and increases our chances of making strategic moves on the other.
Another innovation is the Notoriety System. When you are caught by the soldiers in the city, your reputation goes bad and they hang your WANTED posters in various parts of the city. As you move to a safe place and then mingle with the people again and tear these posters down, your notoriety decreases.
The only thing I don’t like about walking around the city is that I can’t get into the building to get the chest behind the wall. From the street, from the roof, from the window… no matter what I try, sometimes I can’t get in. How do the people living in this house get in. 🤭
The gameplay is very satisfying and fluid. The revamped gameplay that started with Assassin’s Creed Origins has been presented in a great way by adding a little more to it.
Graphics
Some images and videos were released from the alpha process for Assassin’s Creed Mirage. The dull stances of the characters scared me a bit, but when the game came out, I saw that they did a very good job. They did a great job especially in the streets and architecture of Baghdad, which is living the most glorious period of its history. It is a very nice experience to visit one of the most developed cities of its era street by street.
However, as in every Assassin’s Creed game, I couldn’t take my eyes off the highest point of the city and look at the city from top to bottom. They reflected the period very well with domed buildings and tented marketplaces. Assassin’s Creed is a game series that analyzes the period in which the game takes place very well. They pay attention to these details such as architecture, clothes, sociological structure, geographical features. And when they present these with advanced graphics, we find ourselves in a wonderful city of Baghdad.
Apart from the character modeling, the animations are also very nice. The most common thing we see in the game series is jumping animations. We see the animations that we are familiar with from previous games with beautiful graphics and lighting.
Sound and Music
One of the things I was most curious about was the sound and music. There is nothing better than the right music to reflect the oriental nature of the Middle Eastern lands. For this reason, I was very curious about this subject. Ubisoft has done its homework here as well. With Assassin’s Creed Origins, they had already presented the nearby geography to us in a beautiful way, with a little more Egyptian melodies. In Assassin’s Creed Mirage, you feel yourself in the Middle East with the music.
Also, sometimes you can pay musicians to play beautiful melodies as a distraction. Even this option shows how much value they put on music while making the game.
They’ve done a good job again with the voice acting. There are special voices for everyone we meet. Especially for the main characters, both the accents for Arabic words and the voices that suit the characters are well done. Nehal’s accent sounded like a borrowing from Spanish at first, but I liked the voices of the other characters very much. When they use Arabic words, they give the emphasis of the language coming from the throat very well.
The ambient sounds are also very good. When you enter the marketplace, you can say to yourself, “Give me 2 kilos of tomatoes,” as you hear people chatting around and voices coming from left and right. 😊
Conclusion
Assassin’s Creed Mirage is a fast-paced and dynamic game that will keep you on your toes. The city and the atmosphere it offers, combined with the great graphics, has created a Baghdad that you will want to explore every street and corner.
Growing up in Turkey, in a land blended with oriental culture, it was a very nice experience for me to see the ancestor of this culture in a game. Ubisoft has worked very well to make this experience come alive. They made a very beautiful game with its storyline and pace.
Even if you’re not an Assassin’s Creed fan, if you love stealth and action games, and you want to add the wonderful atmosphere of Baghdad, the most famous city of the time, you MUST play this game!