Assassin’s Creed Mirage feels like more of a throwback than it should

polygon.com:

Considering the massive worlds, endless side activities, and propulsive “numbers go up” progression systems of recent Assassin’s Creed games, it can be easy to forget that the series began as a detective game. Assassin’s Creed Mirage seems hell-bent on reminding us.

Touted as a return to the franchise’s roots in social stealth and investigation, Mirage also strikes me as a reset, maybe even an attempt at a course correction, before whatever comes next. I played two and a half hours of Ubisoft Bordeaux’s upcoming release, and while much of it served as a pleasant reminder of Assassin’s Creed’s past, just as much reminded me why the series evolved to begin with.

My time with the game was split between three non-consecutive chapters. In the first, I explored the streets of Baghdad as Basim Ibn Ishaq, who many players will remember as their mentor in Valhalla. Being a prequel to the Nordic adventure, Mirage casts Basim as a talented street thief — so talented, in fact, that he draws the attention of the Hidden Ones (who later evolve into the Assassins we all know and love). As Basim, I run a few errands, pick several pockets in bustling markets, and dart along the rooftops of a gorgeous, if a bit homogeneous, Baghdad.

Although Ubisoft asked me to avoid initiating any side quests during my preview of Mirage, I still took the time to interact with Basim’s neighbors, fellow thieves, and the city’s cats. (You can not only pet the cats, but also pick them up so they can rub their furry scent glands all over your face.) As someone who cites Origins as the best entry in the series, I couldn’t help but appreciate the local, intimate feel of these opening chapters. If I hadn’t been moving through the demo at such a brisk pace, I