From the first moment, you feel that the Assassin’s Creed Mirage is a continuation of Assassin’s Creed in 2007, it’s a fun and nostalgic experience that takes you back to the beginnings of the series and its old charm despite the drawbacks of limited gear available to our hero in this release, but it’s clear that the positives outweigh the negatives.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage takes us back further to the period before the original, but in one of the most exciting locations of all time in the Middle East, the starting point of the series and Al-Mu’tasim Castle, Mirage is the closest version to the first release of the series.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage shines in a distinctive time period, the Abbasid Caliphate with the beauty of its buildings, the splendor of its views, and its advanced civilization at that time in addition to the unique appearance of sand and desert that was famous for them in Origins. Baghdad is divided into several neighborhoods: Abbasid, the cultural center; Karakh, the market district; Harebeyah, the industrial district; and the circular city at its heart.
But players will spend most of their time on the rooftops of Baghdad, and while the changes between neighborhoods are slight, they are enough to keep players busy just exploring the city. And let’s not forget, Baghdad truly looks alive, where players will interact with crowds and various characters.
In Assassin’s Creed Mirage, players collect symbols (strength, merchant, and science) by pickpocketing non-player characters, completing contracts, and doing other things. Strength symbols can be used to hire mercenaries to fight guards, allowing players to enter quickly and stealthily. Merchant symbols can be used to bribe traders or get lower prices from them, while science symbols can be used to blend in with the crowd. There are more uses for each of these symbols, but the system itself encourages players to interact with the living world around them.
This doesn’t mean that the city of Baghdad is a fan of our protagonist’s name. AC Mirage reintroduces the reputation system that was previously present, and has three stages that determine how guards react when they see the protagonist. Ordinary citizens will also react based on reputation level, calling guards if they see the protagonist. It all depends on where players are, and it’s easy for players to be surrounded by guards in Baghdad streets, meaning the rooftops are always a safe haven for the protagonist.
The loading screen message in Assassin’s Creed Mirage advises players to avoid confronting more than four enemies, and this is very important advice. Indeed, as the number of attackers increases, and contrary to previous versions, the efficiency of weapons like the sword and dagger in dealing with attackers decreases! Players must use other tools like smoke bombs and distractions to escape from confrontations.
The game is built on the foundation of stealth and infiltration in executing its missions, with all the tools with the protagonist enhancing that, from throwing knives, noise-making weapons, smoke, and more. In addition, using the eagle Ankidu to reveal the location and movements of guards makes stealth easier.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage features two development systems similar to RPG role-playing games. Tools can be upgraded through three levels, enhancing their functionality, the amount of tools players can carry, the damage they can cause, and the type of resulting effects. There is also a very simple set of skill trees in Assassin’s Creed Mirage divided into three categories: Phantom, Trickster, and Predator. The Phantom category greatly focuses on improving the new killer focus ability, which is a fun addition that allows players to accumulate stealth kill charges for instant elimination (another feature that enhances stealth gameplay). The Trickster category focuses on unlocking tools and some general enhancements. The Predator category focuses on improving Ankidu and some options for stealth.
When it comes to missions involving assassinations, players are presented with a variety of ways. The game may suggest, for example, bribing traders for entry to a location, or they may overhear non-player characters talking about a hole in the wall that serves as a perfect entry point. But players can completely ignore these opportunities and find their own way. Indeed, the great freedom that players enjoy in Assassin’s Creed Mirage is what sets it apart significantly.
The story of Assassin’s Creed Mirage starts off strong, but ultimately gives players a few essential missions, part of the story structure is the role played by the Hidden Ones and the Ancients.
In recent years, there have been significant efforts in localizing games, and the most important of these efforts are those offered by Ubisoft, but these efforts have always been distinguished in terms of translating dialogues and menus, but the voice dubbing has always been modest. However, with Mirage, things were completely different with experienced actors who interacted wonderfully with the text and the situations, most notably Eyad Nassar. For the first time, it can be said that the Arabic voice performance far surpassed the English version, a big salute to the game’s localization and dubbing team for entertaining us with this exquisite performance.
True, the game Assassin’s Creed 1 is a game that involves concessions. It appears as a sequel to AC1 instead of a game from 2023, but this concession was acceptable, you will have a great time in the sands and the dazzling alleys of Baghdad.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage is essentially a message to fans of the classic first release of Assassin’s Creed.