Assassin’s Creed Mirage is a thrilling throwback to the series’ heyday

videogameschronicle.com:

Assassin’s Creed Mirage is a strangely self-reflective game.

It’s seemingly an admission from Ubisoft that the Assassin’s Creed series, once the yearly breadwinner for the French giant, has become somewhat overstuffed.

Speak to players who’ve tried out the last few entries in the series and you’ll soon be met with stories about how massive the maps are, how seemingly endless the main quests are, and mixed emotions about the series’ sharp turn toward RPG.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s greatest strength is the willingness to cut all the fat and focus on delivering a game that feels in many ways like a remake of an Assassin’s Creed game from 2010. A singular focus on one extremely detailed city, several (but crucially not dozens) of linear missions, and water-tight mechanics make this a refreshing entry for those whom the series became a bit too bloated in recent years.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage takes place around 900 years after Assassin’s Creed Origins, and around 10 years before Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. The game stars Basim Ibn Is’Haq, who you may remember from Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s campaign. Mirage charts the start of Basim’s journey with The Hidden Ones, as he grows up on the streets of Baghdad.

Basim’s story is compelling and never loses momentum across Mirage’s brisk runtime. There’s an episodic quality to the game as Basim goes from target to target, getting older and gaining his stripes in the guild.

There are fun side stories littered around Baghdad, like when Basim finds a young boy being egged on by his friends to perform the famous “Leap of Faith,” from a huge pillar. These small good deeds make Basim feel like you’re a friendly neighborhood assassin, and they’re nice breathing room before the longer, more