As the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Mirage returns to the series’ roots, newer fans of the franchise’s more recent entries may be in for something of a shock. Releasing on October 12, Assassin’s Creed Mirage represents yet another major shift in the Assassin’s Creed series’ gameplay, breaking from the expansive open worlds and more RPG-adjacent mechanics of entries like Odyssey and Valhalla to instead deliver an experience closer to the series’ older, more classic games.
While newer or more casual fans of Assassin’s Creed might see the open world RPG style of Odyssey and Valhalla as the default state of the franchise, they are in actuality a continuation of a major shift in the series’ gameplay that started with 2017’s Assassin’s Creed Origins, set in ancient Egypt. With Origins, the series shifted completely, introducing open-world maps, a trend that the series had previously explored in games like Black Flag; and drastically changed its gameplay as well, putting more of an emphasis on combat and RPG mechanics like leveling and stat-based gearing systems. As of Assassin’s Creed Mirage, however, the series is due for yet another major shift.
With Assassin’s Creed Mirage returning to the series’ roots, many of the systems that players may have grown used to in games like Odyssey or Valhalla won’t be returning for the series’ next major entry. Most of the RPG mechanics introduced by Origins, such as experience-based leveling and gear centered around stats, won’t be included in Mirage. Similarly, the open world and combat focus of the last three AC games won’t be featured, as Mirage takes after more classic entries with a more scaled-down, detailed setting, and combat that serves more of a supporting role to sneaking past enemies and finding clever ways to avoid detection.
In the absence of open-world exploration and RPG mechanics, however, Assassin’s Creed Mirage takes a more focused approach, being primarily set in the city of Baghdad, which, despite being split into four districts, is still a much smaller setting than Odyssey’s Greece or Valhalla’s England. Alongside the smaller map, the game will also reintroduce the series’ focus on stealth and parkour, with some of AC Mirage’s returning features including environmental hiding spots, tools like throwing knives and smoke bombs, and the ability to blend in with crowds. Additionally, Mirage’s combat takes cues from older AC games as well, centering more around countering and finding quick finishers than depleting enemy health bars.
While a return to the more classic style of Assassin’s Creed gameplay is sure to please some fans of older games, or players suffering from open-world fatigue, it remains to be seen whether Mirage’s more stripped-down, classic approach will truly pay off. In returning to a distinctly different style of gameplay, Assassin‘s Creed Mirage may exacerbate what is seemingly an ongoing identity crisis for the franchise, or solidify its gameplay as the series continues to move…
2023-06-18 08:30:04
Article from screenrant.com
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