As recent renditions of the Assassin's Creed titles such as Valhalla have maintained more of a mixed reception in comparison to the older entries, Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Mirage has the opportunity to win fans over once again. From criticisms within combat, open world overload, lack of parkour, and assassin-related activities, fans have been awaiting a new Assassin's Creed title that could scratch the itch.
With Assassin's Creed Mirage already said to be returning to the franchise's original roots, with a shorter and more reasonable runtime, and a heavier focus on parkour, Ubisoft could very well take the franchise toward its potential as something much greater.
5 Polished & Realistic Animations
One of the biggest issues for recent Assassin's Creed titles especially after the releases of Unity and Origins, was the change in combat animations and the manner in which characters would pull off their attacks. Within Unity, animations during combat appear to be given a great focus to simulate realistic movements and intricate attacks. Later down the line with titles such as Odyssey and Valhalla, it is far less polished, feeling very floaty and janky mostly in the midst of basic attacks and dodges.
If Ubisoft intends to bring the franchise back into the limelight, this is one of if not the most important aspects that must be addressed in Assassin's Creed Mirage, and revisiting combat in the older entries whilst doubling down on them will most certainly suffice for players.
4 Focus On Stealth/Assassinations
The core aspects of every title within the franchise is around stealth and assassinating targets, but with the latest entries, it appears as though Ubisoft has heavily shifted away from the genuine stealth approach and more of a gung-ho and aggressive approach. This has been a complaint from many fans, considering the franchise's title name and many acknowledging that a focus on stealth should be a prerequisite in each title.
With the recent titles growing in the aspect of their focus on RPG elements with multiple gear sets, damage capabilities, and a plethora of loot boxes to find to level up the character, it has encouraged players to hop right into combat to take down enemies. While stealth is still definitely possible, combat with enemies can tend to feel a lot more satisfying than quick assassinations. As Mirage is said to be returning to the aspects that fans of the franchise know and love, it is important that developers recover the essence of stealth from older titles, whilst ensuring the focus on polishing combat and RPG elements are not sacrificed.
3 Parkour
Despite the modern day Assassin's Creed titles having very little content within this region, fans will be aware that the original titles were mostly known for the satisfying parkour. Jumping from building to building, while operating as a true assassin and maneuvering around enemies without leaving a trace, gave many players a reason to look forward to the next title in line.
Since Assassin's Creed Mirage is now focused on Basim who is present in the latest Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Ubisoft has the opportunity to truly highlight and hone in on his origin story and his capabilities, and looking back on parkour in titles such as Assassin's Creed Unity should be a priority.
2 Variety Of Finishers With Each Weapon
With the plethora of weapons that Ubisoft has made available to players within Assassin's Creed Origins and Odyssey, this was packed with multiple different finishers and executions that can be pulled off by players. Each of these also came with multiple levels in rarity like many of the other RPG games, and this adds to the fun factor in the long hours spent in their main campaigns.
Given the aforementioned goal by Ubisoft to return to the first games' roots, it would be interesting to see how developers can implement new weapons, maintain those RPG elements with various finishers, and meanwhile ensure that the content available is synonymous with the game's shortened runtime.
1 Intelligent AI
Speaking of Origins, when playing on a harder difficulty, unlike Valhalla, the AI is often very overwhelming to come up against circling around players once they are caught, and using their own weapons to the best of their ability. If players are not correctly leveled or equipped, it could very quickly result in death as many of them are often on horseback and can take Bayek out with just a few arrows.
If Mirage, can emulate this and double down on the AI taking an aggressive and unrelenting approach to players in combat, it will make for a challenging experience. Valhalla had a big issue with enemies not doing anything significant to throw players off and would often take turns in their attacks rather than head in with full force. Avoiding this should be a must for Ubisoft, as incompetent AI could spoil the experience in its entirety. Considering the lack of reveals aside from the first CGI trailer, fans are eagerly awaiting any updates in regard to gameplay and story in the lead up to its release.
Assassin's Creed Mirage is set to release in 2023 on PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.
