Johnnysworld

Hello everyone!

As always, I hope you’re all doing well, staying hydrated, and aren’t drowning in an incredible backlog of video games like I am. It’s that time of the month when I come back to use my blog, but luckily, there will be more of this as I’m working on covering Cyberpunk 2077 again (Spoiler: I still love it) and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (I really love it).

Outside of this space, I’ve landed a full-time gig working at Dexerto (selfish plug, I’M SORRY). I’ll be covering video games, news, guides, and hopefully more. I can’t describe how excited I am, and I want to take a special moment to shout out to the readers and the homies; ya’ll drove me to strive for more.

Selfish moment aside, let’s get down to the big business.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage.

The last trilogy of Assassin’s Creed burned me out, as the switch to “bigger and better” nearly gutted everything out of the series. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve tried all the games. Hell, I even beat Assassin’s Creed Origins. Once I saw that was the formula moving forward, I was over it.

Yet I decided to give Mirage a chance, as each piece of gameplay footage got my hopium up. Mirage looked like it could be a glorious return to form, with a smaller scope and a 15-20 hour total playtime, and a return to what made the series big. Ultimately, I took the leap of faith, played through it and here we are 20 hours later. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to capture my thoughts, but I don’t really know how to express how I feel about this one.

I rode the high of the beginning hours, but Mirage’s appeal quickly wore me out as I was ready to be done with it a few hours after. The stealth is good, and the setting of Baghdad is marvelous, which will appeal to OG fans of the series. But, outside of those two factors, Mirage’s luster wears off as the combat left me very disappointed, the in-game upgrading mechanics felt like mere afterthoughts, and the story is poorly told through the new Investigation system.

I think this is an okay experience, but Ubisoft could’ve done more with this one to make it a certified hood classic.

What’s it About?

You assume the role of a younger Basim Ibn Ishaq in Baghdad, an important character from Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and you learn how he became a member of the Hidden Ones and his backstory as a higher being (I don’t know what they call them anymore). The beginning beats go by quickly, as an unfortunate chain of events practically thrusts him into the role of becoming an Assassin. Basim gets shipped off to train with them, and after a few months, he travels back to Baghdad to free it from the same evil that led him to become an Assassin.

Quick refresher: I didn’t beat Valhalla. Mirage is a prequel to the previously mentioned title, and it explores how Basim came to play an integral role in that game. I can’t tell you what you may have missed, so keep that in mind if you’re like me and are picking this up for reasons other than the story.

The “B” in Baghdad Stands for Beautiful

Preface: I played this on PS5, with “High Framerate” enabled for higher refresh rate gaming.

Diving right in, from a graphical perspective, this is probably the best work Ubisoft has ever put out. 

If memory recalls, I think Valhalla looked pretty good. The setting was beautiful, and it felt real as you travel across England.

However, I think Mirage just looks so much better.

It’s hard to describe, but I think it’s because the world is way smaller this time, it’s easier to notice all the finer details. Ninth-century Baghdad is beautifully recreated in Mirage, often making me stop to admire it. Lush vegetation grows in troves in the northern parts of the map, making the city look like a society hidden away in a jungle. It’s wildly breathtaking, and I loved every second of it as I scurried across rooftops and performed my Assassin duties.

That said, I do have two important criticisms to raise.

• Some of the in-game cinematic cutscenes run at like 2 frames-per-second.

These aren’t as frequent as they sound, but when they do show up, it’s jarring. It almost reminds me of PS2 era cutscenes a la God of War. That’s not a dig at GoW, a game that came out almost 20 years ago; this is me questioning how Ubisoft let this make it to the full game.

• Some character faces look horrendous. Sometimes this point and the previous point go hand-in-hand, and it’s awful.

As soon as you start the game, it’s so painfully noticeable as Basim and his friend, Nehal, are missing definitive textures. Basim’s model improves as he grows a beard, but Nehal’s doesn’t, and other characters suffer this same fate. Again, this and the previous point go hand-in-hand as some cutscenes show ugly character models, on top of running at 2 FPS.

Criticisms aside, this is a solid outing from Ubisoft. I found myself pleasantly surprised, and I can’t wait to see what they do with the future entries, which a lot are coming.

Here’s a couple extra shots, courtesy of the Photo Mode.

The Business of the Brotherhood

Your goal in Baghdad is simple; free the city from the Order, a secretive group of evil doers who’ve taken positions of power in the city, forcing it into a crippling depression. The Order is searching for ancient technology and are forcing the citizens to discover these artifacts through enslavement and extortion. How you free Baghdad is a little different than what previous entries have done, which I have mixed feelings about.

Mirage introduces a new system called Investigations, which adds a detective element to the game. There are five Order members you must kill, but you don’t know who they are. To discover their identities, you take on a smaller set of missions which then reveals who they are. For example, the Treasurer is an Order member using their power to tax the citizens of Baghdad and use that money to fund Order operations.

To take the Treasurer down, you start by talking to an old friend, who reveals the plot surrounding the Treasurer involves smaller goons making the lives of small merchants miserable through blockades and extortion.

In theory, it’s a cool concept. You’re a detective, and when you’re not murdering, you’re trying to piece together clues for the big reveal. Yet, I can’t help but feel it leaves room for improvement, primarily because the scenarios play out the same for every single one of the Order members.

Go here, talk to a Hidden One, they brief you, you do smaller tasks, eventually reveal the bad guy, you kill them. Rinse and repeat for about 15-16 hours. The best way I can describe it is it works nearly identical to Mafia III, as the formula there tasked Lincoln Clay with sabotaging operations before he could kill the people who wronged him. Is it fun? Sure, but it gets a bit repetitive after a few hours as the structure never changes, which left me bummed.

A huge issue with this system is it’s how the story is told and how you’re supposed to learn about Basim. Yet, each Investigation plays out the same, and Basim seemingly learns nothing after murdering an Order member so it’s quite an awful way to tell a story. The story does get good, but only in the last few hours, after you complete your task.

Tools of the Trade

To free Baghdad, you’ll need to use whatever you can. Thankfully, Basim is given a Hidden Blade, a sword, a dagger, and a bunch of tools that’ll aid your goal of freeing his homeland.

Starting with the tools, you’ll gain access to a good amount to help you out. I started with the throwing knife, but by the end, you’ll have a blowdart, smoke bombs, and other knickknacks. Each of these is customizable with different tiers of effects, with some of the effects altering how the tools work, such as throwing knives melting bodies or the blowdart causing targets to go feral. 

My favorite of the “new” additions is Assassin’s Focus. It works similarly to the Fear Takedown from Batman Arkham Knight; build up enough focus, and you can chain together takedowns in a flashy sequence. You can also perform standard chain takedowns without it, making assassinating a bit easier. However, pulling off a standard chain takedown is janky, as it will instalock to a nearby foe, nearly breaking your camera. Other times, it just wouldn’t trigger the opportunity.

You’ll find yourself relying on these tools and techniques quite a bit if you want to remain stealthy. Thankfully, if you break stealth, Basim is proficient with a sword.

Basim carries a sword and a dagger, which he can use to deflect attacks. Parry an attack on time, and you can finish off foes in a swift move. It’s a bit of a tug-of-war, as some enemies have stamina bars that need to be drained before you can KO them. Enemies will attack in two forms, an attack that can be blocked or an unblockable one, which will screw you over if the latter connects.

Honestly, combat is meh, and that’s me putting it nicely. I tried to avoid it as much as possible because it was more of a hassle than fun, as it borders being very clunky but with cool finishers. It reminds me a lot of Valhalla, and if you didn’t like that, you definitely shouldn’t have high hopes here. Not to mention, enemy fights boil down to the AI charging you one at a time, or if they all charge you at the same time, you’re dead. Also, there’s a stamina bar in combat, but there’s only two types of enemies… so like why did we need a stamina bar?

As you take care of business, you’ll earn skill points which are invested into a skill tree, which will boost your stealth, your eagle Enkidu or your tool efficiency. You’ll also gain materials to upgrade your gear (outfit, sword, dagger), but I forgot this was an option during my playthrough. For good reason though, as a lot of the upgrades provided such negligible benefits.

Silly me.

Mirage also features a revamped economy system, where tokens are how you pay for services that aid you. Earn a specific token to hire mercenaries, while another type lets you hire musicians or public speakers to wipe your notoriety. It’s very John Wick-like, and it’s cool to use when/if you remember you have them.

I forgot I had them until like halfway through, but it did pay off when I was at the end of the game, spamming coins for assistance.

Just a Mirage or a Successful Leap of Faith?

By now, you’re probably tired of reading and are wondering where I stand with this title. Honestly, Mirage doesn’t know what it wants to be, so I’m not sure how to express how I feel.

The opening hours of this game were really good. I felt invested in Basim’s story because it felt like an ode to the older AC games, and the greater emphasis on stealth had me hooked. It helps the tools felt cool to use, and the upgrades you can invest in are pretty meaningful. It’s all wrapped up in a beautiful bow, as Baghdad is stunning, probably the best showcase in the series’ history. I can’t get over it, and I give Ubisoft immense kudos. It also helps Baghdad feels alive, with the Notoriety system creating a world that reacts to you.

Before I hit you with the “conversely,” keep in mind, Mirage started as a DLC for Valhalla, but Ubisoft converted it into a full title as it needed a “filler” before the next big game. Rumors leading up to Mirage indicated this would be a “return to form”; the return to form part meant this would be a smaller title, focusing on stealth and ditching the RPG bloat.

The more I played it, the more it started to show its origin of formerly being an expansion to Valhalla. The combat is not good at all (I know the point is to avoid it, but damn, they don’t even flinch when you hit them), outside of the tools, upgrading Basim’s clothes and weaponry was borderline pointless as all the boosts were nearly pointless or similar in nature. There’s also my complete disappointment with the Investigation system because while it gives you immense freedom, it becomes very repetitive, and there are very few memorable moments. Not to mention, it’s the main method used to tell Basim’s story, yet it’s done pretty poorly albeit the last hour of the game.

I went into Mirage with an open mind, and I’m left somewhere between “ehhh” and “mehhh.” I know this review is probably all over the place, but honestly, I wish they’d give this formula one more try with more effort. Literally, here’s my advice (Take notes Ubisoft):

• Create an engaging stealth system like what they did in Unity
• Take what they’ve learned from world-building in Baghdad and expand upon it
• For the love of everything, drop the sci-fi BS
  • This last point won’t ever happen, but I figured I’d try

But that’s Assassin’s’ Creed Mirage: a messy “return” to the roots that grew this tree. I’ll be honest though, this makes me want Prince of Persia to come back.