Mirage Didn't Save Assassin's Creed

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Assassin’s Creed Mirage was an important release for the series. It claimed that the series would go back to its roots, that the game would harken back to what made the series special. Hidden blades, hoods, and social stealth were coming back, baby! And you know what, that was relatively true. The game in many ways felt like the old Assassin’s Creed, and colour me foolish for thinking that it would be enough to please the old-school fans; because ho boy did it feel like no one cared about this game. I guess talking about a solid entry in the series isn’t as interesting as demonising one of the RPG games or reminiscing about the good old days. But still, reactions were a mix of people saying it saved the series, and people saying it's another nail in a coffin that is one step away from being encased in concrete. Most simply called it mediocre. The struggle seemed not in the iconography, references, or the feeling of Assassin’s Creed, but rather the design itself. Ironic how one could accurately say it was a bad game, but not a bad Assassins Creed game.
In the few months since the game's release there have been some large updates, most notably to movement, that justify a deeper look at the game. Since I know many of you saw my smaller review of the game I feel inclined to mention that this video will be fundamentally different in that my reviews are made with the objective of determining if a product is, in my opinion worth the money, where as the larger critiques or whatever you want to call them are more about looking at the game as a piece of art, disconnected from its price. I want to see, down to the little details, what mirage did right, what it did wrong, and in this case, if and how my thoughts have changed since release. If you remember my review, then you remember that I liked the game, and generally recommended it. That hasn’t changed here, in fact, if it has, it’s more so in the games favour, mostly due to a post launch update that we will unpack later. So let’s not delay.
Leading up to the release of Mirage, I’d argue that I was less sceptical of its claims and more in pure disbelief. The last time I heard Ubisoft say they were heading back to their roots was with Valhalla, and it was the furthest I had ever seen the series stray from what made it special. Still, I enjoyed Valhalla to an extent and I enjoyed what it went for, but was still convinced that Ubisfot was ironically done trying to go back to the past in a series all about it. When Mirage released, in many ways I had felt like we returned to the series roots, despite my pessimism going into it. Now, months out from this release, I’m left with a feeling that this game desperately needed to save the series, and unfortunately, I don’t think it’s enough. I’m sorry Mirage, but you weren’t enough to save this series, but I still have hope that the spark you ignited is enough to rekindle this series nearly suffocated in the ashes of its former success.
Assassins Creed is a series that lives in its former glory, and Assassins Creed Mirage was an attempt to usher in a new golden age. But, Mirage didn't save Assassin's Creed. This is a companion piece to my Assassins Creed Mirage review, and this Assassins Creed Mirage critique, Assassins Creed Mirage analysis and Assassins Creed Mirage retrospective will be the last mainline game in my Assassins Creed series retrospective. The next video will answer what the best Assasins Creed game is, but for now, this video will cover the Assassins Creed Mirage story explained, Assassins Creed Mirage gameplay, and place a heavy focus on the Assassins Creed Mirage parkour. AC Mirage is a good game, my AC Mirage review is a testament to that. But in this AC Mirage critique and AC Mirage analysis, we will see that perhaps it still isn't enough.

[@AyanS]

8:25 "In the early games, you controlled your position. Now, you control your animations." Big statement right there.

[@michaelcondron1304]

Followed by "that's not freedom, just a longer leash..." Very well said.

[@aaronwillis2375]

It’s some uncharted type exploration. Almost linear

[@imo098765]

if you jumped off the wrong way, you jumped off the wrong way

[@ImHughJass]

r/im14andthisisdeep

[@SergieOP]

Mirage really proved, that the RPG engine is just not cut out for a classic AC game.

[@lilautistico1635]

Yeah I don’t know why they tried making a primarily stealth game with the rpg engine thats notorious for bad stealth. This game was so clunky and unplayable for me

[@ReikiMaulana]

@@lilautistico1635 truee, the movement feels really weird on the new AC engine, it just doesn't feel as smooth as ACU

[@lilautistico1635]

@@ReikiMaulana The parkour was a little rough but fine for me. I’m talking about walking assassinations into walls. Awkwardly standing behind a wall for a cover assassination with no cover system resulting in you getting spotted passed walls and through thresholds. Walking assassinations rarely functioned meaning you’d get the really slow throw over assassination animation which would get you spotted because the guard rotations were basically faster then the assassination animation. This slow animation would also trigger in double assassinations which would just get you killed because the second guard would hit you and scream alerting all the other guards and they’d show up to hit you by the time you finally chained the second guard’s assassination. Stealth was actually so awful.

[@mrhunter2154]

Disagree I liked it gave us elements of classic gameplay and the newer games was a good mix, I wouldn’t want it to be exactly like ac1-unity

[@bignoseandrew]

@@lilautistico1635 Because Mirage was initially supposed to be a DLC to Valhalla, and was still gonna use the RPG formula. They didn't have the time or the resources to make a new engine on the fly, so they had to adapt and use the Valhalla one but slightly modified

[@rezo3666]

It wasn't enough to save it, but it was definitely enough to show that it could be saved

[@fernosbonos5394]

that is a reassuring feeling but we have to witness the rest

[@bindogaming791]

Yes ofc

[@TheJoker-gg8hc]

@rezo3666 "it was definitely enough to show that it could be saved". This must be the first and only Assassins Creed game you've ever played. If it isn't, you deserve to be lobotomized and thrown in an asylum. Mirage was horrible, basim was horrible, the combat was horrible, the "parkour" was horrible, and the story was woke... like, Rebecca, Roshan, etc... 😂 being shown as leading class women and warriors in BAGHDAD of all places. Just stop. The game was awful, and you're a horrible person too for promoting dogshit.

[@lilautistico1635]

Yeah it shows Ubisoft will never save it.

[@astoraan6071]

This line fills me with hope but that hope is fading fast.

[@astronot1578]

0:35 Ac Odyssey is a "good game but a bad AC game" as everyone used to say and now I hear that Mirage is a "bad game but a good AC game". Lmao I love AC

[@blakemcmillan5680]

Shrödinger’s Creed

[@DarrenOrson]

Unpopular opinion but I loved Odyssey. I don't view it as an Assassin's Creed game, just a game that takes place in the AC universe.

[@blakemcmillan5680]

@@DarrenOrson I think most people will agree with you, Odyssey isn’t a good AC game… but it is a good game. Albeit with some hiccups here and there in the story/game direction parts

[@thefreshvince879]

if odyssey had hand crafted areas and a lot more love given to it (let us use a damn shield in a greek game) itd be the best. the biggest issue is its so big and beautiful but everything is so copy paste

[@DV-ou1yu]

​@thefreshvince879 Have you ever traveled, life is copy and paste when you break it down lol

[@8comentarios8]

You described so well why parkour seems strange; I never could put it into words, but the jumping aspect is so simple and revealing. Despite that, I still like it a lot. I always play Mirage when I want to feel like an assassin-half an hour jumping on rooftops, stealthily killing guards, and I'm satisfied.

[@pascalfernandes6957]

It was build off of Valhalla. Shadows will build ontop of what mirage archived

[@slxxpyhollow]

AC1 is my favorite bc I felt most like an Assassin...do you think I'd like AC Mirage? People say it's bad but it looks so good to me.

[@8comentarios8]

@@slxxpyhollow You will definitely like it. Don't go in with very high expectations. Mirage tries hard to be like the old games to the point where it feels forced, since it was made from a Valhalla DLC. But the best thing about the game is using your tools in the wisest way possible and never being seen.

[@blakemcmillan5680]

@@8comentarios8I haven’t played mirage yet, but is the story similar to Valhalla and Odyssey where if you already know the main plot of it, it’s not that great and is a bit bland? Like the small stuff isn’t as interesting and relies on the big action?

[@8comentarios8]

@@blakemcmillan5680 The story isn't a strong point in my opinion; I found Basim weak as a protagonist, and the plot is a generic AC storyline. On the other hand, unlike Valhalla or Odyssey, it's a much shorter game, which makes the missions more interesting.

[@Knight1029]

One of the biggest things I appreciate about this channel is that you can talk about the issues of the game without having to make it sound like you hate it. I love the passion you have for Assassin's Creed and all the games you cover.

[@Agent_3141]

It definitely isn't one of the best games, but it was a step in the right direction. Now that the team behind it are allowed to make an actual mainline title with more resources, I know they will be able to make an amazing AC game.

[@Dinosaur656]

I sort of think that they made it just as a quick cash grab and then felt very forgettable to me.

[@Agent_3141]

@@Dinosaur656 It was originally a DLC for Valhalla, but the team insisted on making it an actual game. They had more they wanted to do but were given barely any resources or time to finish it. But with its success, they are allowed to work on their own game which I trust will be better

[@lilterror1236]

Nah Ubisoft been making these games to long to have this many failures compared to previous titles now

[@Cxncubine]

Y’all AC fans have been coping for nearly a decade lmao

[@bearpoop720]

Ubisoft fans coping at its finest. They've tricked you multiple times yet you keep falling for their schemes.

[@ir6734]

The Loki twist and the "did no one see Basim talk to himself" is answered the same way as Fight Club or Mr. Robot.

[@RecluseBootsy]

What do you mean? He was revealed to be Loki in Valhalla. Everyone should already be aware that he's Loki... Fight Club would have nowhere near the same effect it did if Tyler was revealed to be imaginary before the film even starts.

[@ir6734]

@@RecluseBootsy Yeah, but he complains about Basim seemingly talking to himself in the middle of the street. This is easily explained. Also, Loki reveal happened in Valhalla, this game can be played as standalone AND this game supposedly is supposed to explain how Loki awakened in Basim. So it still works

[@KyrsiLucia]

​@@RecluseBootsyhe was revealed in the beginning of the film

[@odd-eyes6363]

I'm sorry Aqua but the first second of this video completely stole my attention I mean, just imagine how sweaty Basim would be wearing all black in the desert sun while doing parkour and fighting. Bro would be a walking sweat sponge, the stinkiest, smelliest man in Bagdad But yeah good video bro

[@ThatBoyAqua]

Hard to be stealthy when the templars smell you from a mile away

[@marko8699]

Was that dye a mod or one you can get in game? Just started a NG+ run and was hoping to find it right away if it's available!

[@steffeneggers9785]

Despite popular believe, the color of the clothing doesnt make that much of a difference in temperature. Its more about airflow and prividing shade from the sun. Women in Bagdad usually wear black burkas etc.

[@CoolManCoolMan123]

​@@steffeneggers9785black burkhas as if they were ever other than that color back then. Also, you do know that they are forced to wear it huh?

[@Channel-ml4qv]

@@steffeneggers9785 Most women in Baghdad wear western clothes, not burkas lmao

[@kotrljajucaharinga9622]

24:21 Roshan knows Basim is some sort of "sage" very early on. After the murder of the Caliph and Basim's escape the next cutscene has Roshan next to Basim as he wakes up and she holds the memory seal. She realizes when she talks to Basim that the seal was activated when Basim touched it which means he has a high concentration of isu dna. From that point on, you could see Roshan carefully trying to "police" Basim and turn him away from being lured in by the isu, all the way until the end of the game.

[@ThatBoyAqua]

Ah that makes a lot of sense, shame I missed that. Thanks for pointing it out!

[@TheJoker-gg8hc]

​@@ThatBoyAquayou're a verified youtuber trying to make a paycheck. Obviously you're not gonna "notice things". "Noticing things" is for people that actually care about a good job. Ubisoft destroyed the AC franchise, and you're a loser simp.

[@scarfaceReaper]

Well it's easy to spot that she was cautious around Basim so I don't see how anyone would miss it

[@suburbantimewaster9620]

So the game didn’t live up to the hype.

[@darthmalgus232]

⁠@@bullylowenthal2683It did not live up to the hype. And some people do know what they want, and have valid criticisms (which gets mistaken for complaining by people who get irrationally mad at any kind of criticism), but they just get ignored.

[@JoaoVictor-rg5ix]

No way. 😂😂😂😂

[@TheSynysterGamer]

I would've gotten Mirage if it was on Steam. I thought maybe eventually it would but it's been long enough I don't even want to play it anymore 🤷‍♂️

[@MegaMaurice2001]

​​​@@bullylowenthal2683We know what we want. You're clearly not a AC fan. We want a story like the ezio saga. We want parkour like unity. We want combat like unity where weapons actually feel heavy. This in a rich detailed world with cities or have the map be the city like in unity. Boom perfect AC, will sell like hotcakes and bring some faith back into ubisoft EDIT: And be an actual assassin from the brotherhood ofcourse.

[@MegaMaurice2001]

@@bullylowenthal2683Nah i'm just saying i know what the community wants. Because i've been a part since AC2. Unity was a good game. Just very badly optimized at launch. If you play it now it's awesome.

[@That1CrappyGuy]

Permadeath mode was the first time in a long time that I actually felt like an Assassin. Really had me utilizing all my tools and techniques for a stealth playthrough because of how vulnerable I’d be in open combat. Would love to see it implemented in future AC games (tho I’d prefer if the rewards carried to all saves)

[@Noctuam734]

I feel the same, unfortunately i accidentaly hit a oil jar when killing a guard 8 hours into permadeath. I won't be back for a while.

[@TheHagenator06]

Permadeath made me give the game a good pat on the back 👊😌

[@Steveo0547]

Yep I feel down I in a glitched hole and died so I uninstalled the games worthless once you beat it 3 times the story is unbearable I had to stop playing it 😂 can’t believe I spent 50 bucks on a dlc 😂😂😂😂

[@mrhunter2154]

@@Noctuam734lmao same thing happened to me

[@assassinscreedfan3830]

One thing i noticed in AC Valhalla is that when the wolf bites eivor in her childhood, it triggered the isu memories to resurface. And throughout her life she unconsciously started mumbling odin's quotes (you can hear those during the cairn activities) and in time she somehow suppressed those memories but they resurfaced again after she found her father's axe and remembered the betrayal kjotve did with her father(same how loki betrayed odin) They could've used this idea of how basim started getting those nightmares. We know his father was betrayed by his close friend which lead to his death. This could lead to the djinn's first appearance and also him starting to see nehal. And i wish we could see more nehal's interaction the same way odin's interaction with eivor after her assassinations like during every assassination basim finds nehal lurking nearby and making him question his morals and the creed.

[@lordrichardson4447]

Good thought.. however.. I think they were trying to distance themselves from Valhalla with Mirage... I love the Valhalla and Odyssey style game, but I also love this Mirage, BLack Flag, Unity style... they are both incredible to many but many many people hate Valhalla, so I think they wanted to get away from that for this game.... Fortunately, it looks like we are going to have both styles of games from here on out.

[@SilentGamer20248]

​xecly the isea was to make it stand alone and a introsuction to basim.

[@toncek9981]

As someone who really liked old AC games, glowing weapons and "teleportation" was enough to make me not care about the game... Like, the teleportation alone basically changed the "return to the roots" into mockery.

[@EldritchCaptain]

I remember getting hyped hearing "Return to the roots" and then being so confused when they showed the shadow magic warlock teleportation

[@RecluseBootsy]

It's all the new problems put into old packaging. 😂

[@scottjones845]

I said the same exact thing when it was revealed. I was hyped (tapered) until it was revealed that it was a feature and immediately had the "...ohh...no." reaction. Sure we could just not use it but the fact it's there...bothers me as petty as that may seem idk lol. Could've made it an easy mode feature and I'd brush it off as an entry level player thing.

[@EvilParagon4]

I was also hyped and immediately checked out all my interest as soon as it appeared in that trailer.

[@SilentGamer20248]

​@@EldritchCaptain uts a Animus abiluty to show basim is do fast the simulation couldnt handle it. And zher tuned it based on feed back. Ther wantet something fun in it becaus its a Video game. You just reealed xou hate assasins creed beei g a scy fy history series

[@kas1680]

The biggest proglem with Mirage is that it's NOT A FULL RELEASE. It's just a standalone DLC to Valhalla that still suffers from its creative and technical decisions.

[@lemmingtonofficial]

It’s an 18 hour game with modified mechanics and a completely different (and pretty big) map, larger than the old Assassins Creed games. If you call this a DLC than surely you must consider AC4 (which was also suppose to be DLC) or the other Ezio games to also be just a standalone DLC to 3 and 2.

[@nekowatt5945]

But it did start out as Valhalla DLC. It originally had Eivor themself go to the Middle East to help out Basin for some reason. The devs then realized just how weird it really was and saw it had potential to be more hence why we now have this seemingly new but short game.

[@skyhunter996]

​@@nekowatt5945why should we care? It's marketed as a full release and when we are buying why should we care about their internal stuff?

[@LikeVapor65]

The segment on parkour was beautifully said. Since origins its been function over form, when I think it should be a balance of the two with skill ceilings/floors

[@RGisOnline]

I can't wait for the day where a indie team comes out of the nowhere and is a real competitor to Assassin's Creed, imagine if Ubisoft could develop an Assassin's Creed game, with the Unity Parkour system and graphics and just as a good of a story as AC 2, Brotherhood and Revelations. They would almost have the perfect game, but of course not, its Ubisoft. I pray one day an indie developer studio designs a game similar to AC (obviously without copying the story of it since Ubisoft would get a bit angry) and it has such a great parkour system for a very detailed open world game for AC

[@HahahMamaman]

Why would you want unity graphics?

[@singular-f3c]

I hate when people act like indie studios are superior or AAAs lol First the survivor bias. You don't see shit Indie games because they don't take off. All Indie studio makes are metroidvania rogue like bullshit for the 1004874829th time. Assassin's Creed is a blockbuster series that is impossible for any Indie studio to replicate. You'll never see an Indie game with that level of graphics and mechanics ever in your life.

[@AbOveandBeOnd1]

Assassin's creed does have real competition now. It's called Ghost of Tsushima.

[@sheepfly]

​@@singular-f3c😂😂😂😂😂 so much bullshit in one comment, good job

[@TheHagenator06]

​@@sheepflyWell he kinda has a point, bad indie games do not take off, so there's good reason to praise those who succeed, but you can't just think every indie dev is gonna make art

[@in4ktoo89]

I was so disappointed by the training sequence, ngl, because what was the point of showing that Basim couldn't do the Leap of Faith correctly, just for him to have the skill in a time skip. It could've been a very nice part of his character development, showing how it's hard for him to have faith in something due to his upbringing or sum.

[@Jonathan-os5eo]

Yes this. Also the fact that it was in Alamut, but the castle and the lore behind it doesnt come into play at all. Maybe they already did that in AC1, but still i would have liked some references to the Alamut novel again.

[@dawninn]

I just hate the engine

[@kierraellis6570]

It's insane how post-content support is a lot of features that used to be in the game when released. Now we praise them like they're doing a good job.

[@deepflare1028]

Because they did.

[@amoghshet4489]

someone's butt hurt.

[@stur3366]

​@@deepflare1028 They add something that should have been in the game since launch. Where exactly did they do a good job?

[@sande9182]

New game + was never a feature at launch in any of the games. And perma death is a new feature for the series entirely. So you just lying

[@deepflare1028]

@@stur3366 And you'd prefer that they didn't do that like most Ubi games? Imagine getting butthurt over *free* post launch content

[@LyranVega]

My main gripe with Mirage was that the developers never came out with a DLC for it to utilize all that open space in the surrounding areas..

[@TheNorthlander]

This game was made with a lot of limitations, yet was able to be a really fun experience with a really good setting and immersive time period. To me, that's a success.

[@lilautistico1635]

For you. That’s your opinion. I did not have fun at all. No cover system and extremely slow assassination animations make the stealth miserable.

[@Tripolizz770]

@@lilautistico1635 if you thought mirage had slow animations what did u think of valhalla?

[@TheNorthlander]

@@lilautistico1635 Fair enough!

[@doomer9728]

@@Tripolizz770 Valhalla didn't prioritize stealth like Mirage did. It's kind of pathetic that a game that tries to force you into stealth has awful assassinations. at least Valhalla had fun combat, which is more that can be said for this game.

[@wildnugget1675]

@@lilautistico1635 Honestly, you sound low IQ af.

[@AgentN-s5u]

Im so glad you said the positives without trashing on it like crazy

[@zonatedspore97acamas]

So only allowed to talk positive stuff but ignore bad stuff. The game was mediocre.

[@lordnix82nd]

I'm also glad he fed my confirmation bias

[@RiFeX2703]

@@zonatedspore97acamas No, everyone is allowed to voice their opinion obviously, the problem is that the minority that hate AC now is louder than the rest and while they are allowed to share their opinions; they actively try to ruin AC for the other fans of the franchise.

[@AgentN-s5u]

@@RiFeX2703 thank you

[@zonatedspore97acamas]

@@RiFeX2703 it's not a minority and Ubisoft is garbage.

[@agents5307]

We need more AC games in the original gameplay style, have a mix of RPG and original style

[@yourbarber6732]

That’s what Shadows is supposed to be and hidden blade combat was confirmed to be making a return

[@TheHagenator06]

​@@yourbarber6732Yeah I figured that'd be the case given the pivot blade, I don't hate the way the RPG's play, but I want it to be at the least some kind of flow, Mirage's combat is very clunky as a way to punish you

[@yourbarber6732]

@@TheHagenator06 I definitely think the combat is going to look a lot different considering this is a new implementation of the anvil pipeline on next gen only hardware. They were saying a lot of combat/parkour animations are going to be different but I doubt they’ll make a new control scheme for parkour and might keep it in the rpg style of parkour up/down

[@TheHagenator06]

@@yourbarber6732 It'd be relatively impossible given the mapping they have for the controls, like how RT allowed for the free running option but is not the heavy attack button, it's a sad reality but with tweaking to how parkour flows they can still at least have some expression left in there

[@peteo8314]

Combat definitely needs to go back to the original

[@SuperTugaman]

For me it was the best AC game since the Ezio Trilogy, and as a person that’s been with this series since the older games, it was so good playing a game that actually resembles Assassin’s Creed, and Mirage is one of my favorites alongside AC1, the Ezio trilogy, AC3, AC Rogue, AC Unity, AC Syndicate and AC Origins

[@benjaminkessack-morrison5744]

I haven't played this game yet but the teleportation really put me off from a gameplay perspective right from the get go. I have played from AC2 - Origins then clocked out due to the RPG nature which I didn't like much. You are the first reviewer I have watched (of which there has been a few) to link this gameplay mechanic to the lore and make it make sense to me. If it can be explained in the lore like you've done here, then I'm happy to accept that mechanic.

[@chrysalism69]

it is a very necessary stepping stone to transition the series back into a more old-school style when the last 3 or so entries are just the witcher 4-6 with climbing (kinda)

[@CarlCarlson-jq3xr]

Idk I feel the RPG style should have been a HUGE step up. If they go back to the old style instead of actually making a promising rpg version, I will completely give up on the franchise and its trash community that made up its own meaning for the old games.

[@LukeFromNY]

Might not have been enough but it was exactly 100% what I was craving feeling like AC 1 and 2. I love this game.

[@StardustAura]

Love that you upload this the day after I buy Mirage... Now I gotta finish the game so that I can watch your video! lol

[@RG-xl7ql]

Best take I've seen of this game tbh. It was a step in the right direction, but only a step. I think Bordeaux was held back by the lack of time and resources given, and that they can take a full leap in the right direction if they get the time and resources to build something from scratch; rather than off the back of another game...

[@samf.s.7731]

I think, personally, this was a situation where the limitations were to its benefit. It helped it be contained, focused, and condensed. It was "smaller but more satisfying".

[@RG-xl7ql]

@@samf.s.7731Oh in terms of scale I 100% agree. What I meant by “lack of resources” was that Mirage was made with the scraps of Valhalla, an engine not really designed for this style of AC. Bordeaux clearly understood what makes a traditional AC game. What they needed was the resources to start completely from scratch. This would’ve allowed them to fully realize their vision

[@AgentN-s5u]

Bordeaux loves the franchise and iPad this game was their idea. So obviously it is a little rough because of Valhalla’s engine

[@Altair_ibn_La-Ahad1191]

16:48 the black box missions can be done in various ways just the special cut scene is one. You can kill your target directly by running towards them, Using throwing knives, using blowdart on them or the other enemies around them or just go straight up in combat with your target. Don't go for the cut scene, make it in your own style.

[@thawm1536]

I very much feel like the whole "return to roots" mentality behind this game ended up hurting it somewhat. While I'm happy we got a game revolving around assassins in an urban setting, the game really lacks the sense of progress/ambition of the classics like AC2 and Black Flag. The game almost feels like an attempt at reinvisioning AC1 but for the RPG engine and the game feels a bit lacking as a result imo. But the support from Bordeaux post launch has made me very happy and praying they get a chance to create a game that leans into the strenghts of the old games while also creating new paths for the series

[@Flareono]

It’s a fun game, it was nice to play a more focused stealth AC game again.

[@kix2702]

4:42 bro is giving ubisoft credit for adding things that came out with the game in a ‘free update’ and were in the pre-release marketing for the game.

[@Dinosaur656]

I think the issue I had with Mirage, was it didn't feel special and once I completed it I forgot almost everything about it. Where was the modern day part? I know people complain about it but Mirage felt incomplete without it and created the question of, who's in the animus?

[@MyNamesRhine]

It was William Miles.

[@Dinosaur656]

@@MyNamesRhine Was it, well they didn't make that clear, but then then created the question of why was he exploring Basim's memories, they could've just asked him

[@salmankhan2739]

@@Dinosaur656 its explained at the end of valhalla's last chapter, William and the creed don't trust Basim cause they know he's cunning, so they explore his memories to find out more about him.

[@Dinosaur656]

@@salmankhan2739 Thanks for filling me in, shame the games themselves obviously didn't make it clear enough

[@GodOfWar05100]

I couldn't give af about modern time tbh, but I get what you are saying, they just cut it out because they probably didn't have time to do it.

[@user-ms3do7tf3d]

The permadeath was good addition. In my opinion if Ubisoft ever make a classic assassins creed games again, i hope the permadeath can be activated (not a difficulty) from the start and without needing to complete the story first.

[@davemk9]

Origins is my favourite AC game, and I've played a lot of AC games. Unfortunately, I didn't even want to buy this game considering how small and short it is compared to the price. I got a time trial for Mirage and I felt like it was enough for me to try it out and never look back at it again.

[@zooomthesquirrel3707]

I regret buying it even on sale. Waste of 34 dollars. Struggled to play for 2 hours

[@TheD404]

I feel like a problem I have with modern ac is that the game always reminds you it's a game. The enemy level icons, the health bars, and like it was mentioned, the fact that the game is more about the assassins rather than an intriguing story and world that makes you care more.

[@LevisH21]

I have no idea what you are talking about. Origins and Odyssey barely had anything to do with the assassins. in Origins everything was about revenge and with Odyssey everything was about being a mercenary and reuniting with your lost family. I think AC games have run their course. the franchise should die or release a new great game every 4 years or so. just like how Hitman series, Resident Evil or GTA games do. quality over quantity.

[@actually_yali]

I feel like that's an issue with pretty much every Ubisoft game. They clutter your UI with icons, numbers and bars. A perfect example are the hideous driving controls in Far Cry games every time you get in a car.

[@kaidanalenko5222]

Another shameful case of nostalgiatitis 🙎🏻‍♂️

[@copyninja8756]

​@@kaidanalenko5222nah just facts. Sorry you have no taste 🙃

[@stur3366]

​@@kaidanalenko5222I'm sorry for loving a game series and that I'm mad at the changes. I shall go to church and ask God sky daddy Santa for forgiveness.

[@TheBatman39]

Brand damage is real and AC Mirage is the proof that some franchises can't be salvaged after all the garbage piling up.

[@phelixmadden7294]

ubisoft bordeaux needs to make a Thomas de Carneillon game

[@eleinaedelweiss6215]

The best time i have with assassin's creed isnt just about the story its the mystery surrounding it and the side stories. For example the best mission for me in ac2 is the tomb missions and his romance, revelation altair diary missions, ac3 homestead missions and etc. the story and the characters is indeed important but the side dish is also important.

[@justlogan6979]

I must have only seen the positive reviews of Mirage because the intro is the first I’ve heard that old school fans weren’t happy

[@Megatron209]

Going back to the desert literally made me not want it

[@Aravind-ace]

Its how set your expectations it's what exactly. A throwback to the original ac formula not a revultionary one but a necessary one . an Classic Assassin's creed experience made within the constraints of the Valhalla engine. The Map design the structure of the game all intrivatly crafted .Also the Story of Basim was something not seen in Assassin's creed before. The Parkour was way better than Valhalla and The Stealth is so fun. I loved the love and dedication of Ubisoft Bordeaux looking forward to what they can do with a original and bigger flagship budget for an classic Assassin's Creed .

[@salmankhan2739]

Couldn't have said it better! Exactly what Bordeaux set out to do, Mirage wasn't meant to push the needle forward or take AC to the next level, it was a love letter from Bordeaux to old school ac fans saying 'hey guys, we love and cherish the older games, this is for you' and honestly, thats what we needed. A game that focuses on the journey and identity of one character. Bordeaux can do great things with more time and resources.

[@natchu96]

While I definitely do have grievances over the fact that we haven't had a jump button in a franchise once known for parkour for like...basically a decade, now, the Valhalla-Mirage situation does definitely help demonstrate that the problem isn't entirely with the dumbed down parkour mechanics but the fact that they kept making environments that had nothing worth the effort for you to jump on to begin with.

[@mjay6245]

​@salmankhan2739 You couldn't have said it better? "It's how set your expectations it's what exactly" You couldn't have said that better? You know, in a way that isn't complete garbled nonsense?

[@ReikiMaulana]

I think what people hate about the game is not that because the game is generally bad, it's the fact that almost everything in the game is done half-assed because the team behind the game did not have enough resources and time to make it into a masterpiece. I personally can see the potential this game has but just like AC Unity they failed to bring that potential to light. and since Ubisoft insists on keep making more RPGs this game is basically the last nail on the coffin for Assassin's Creed.

[@Slender_Man_186]

Why is it that AC Revelations was the last game where Wall Ejects didn't feel clunky and the last game that allowed us to aim our arms to grab ledges to our sides?

[@chaselowell4567]

Maybe you shouldn’t buy a single player game made in one year with a season pass by a company that’s relationship with its employees makes wifebeaters look tame

[@lilautistico1635]

😂

[@Optimus_Bull]

I have to correct you regarding the Altair outfit and Legacy filter. That was already in the game at launch and not added post launch in an update.

[@jaxonrobertl1494]

i never thought loki just straight took over basim mind its more of least a fusion of both personalizes

[@salmankhan2739]

you are right, Walshie has a great lore breakdown and explanation of Mirage's story and sage concepts

[@stimswwolf7867]

I don’t understand why they implicate mythology into assassin’s Creed. As a fan of Greek mythology, I still don’t see why it makes sense in assassin‘s Creed when assassin‘s Creed is more of historical events, not that level of fantasy

[@salmankhan2739]

@@stimswwolf7867 AC always had mythology from the beginning, the isu Minerva, Jupiter and Juno were roman gods, the RPG games delve more into the isu story with different kingdoms/factions but do so with a mythology filter since the human minds can't comprehend the isu memories. That way the isu technology is still kept mysterious to us the player.

[@enman009]

​@@stimswwolf7867From the very beginning Desmond is told to not rely on what history has taught you, since many have altered it to hide some facts. Modern Day since Brotherhood has included plenty of liberties in order for the story to work.

[@ethanbell6762]

Mirage was a DLC of an Assassin's Creed RPG game that got turned into a standalone, and it shows.

[@Kristyybug]

I saw the trailer and was like “well this looks just as mediocre as the last” and just moved on. lol I think it’s just time for them to wrap up the franchise. lol the story hasn’t moved anywhere.

[@Barakon]

3:08 It forgot that assassins are characters too…sounds like a certain issue a certain lovely amphibian might be dealing with.

[@bugg6597]

This game already came out? I heard absolutely zero fan fair, I thought it was still to come out figuring people would be talking about it when it came out. Just flew straight under the radar

[@CarlCarlson-jq3xr]

I had the complete opposite experience. It was EVERYWHERE when it came out

[@ibigfire]

A spoiler warning would have been nice. I didn't realize you were going to explain the major twists in thorough detail, and it's fine that you did, but a warning would have been super heckin' nice to have before that section.

[@ThatBoyAqua]

That’s totally my bad. Games not even a year old I should have given a spoiler warning. Genuinely very sorry about that

[@verdun16]

I personally think it did, I love it so much I played a 2nd play through with the AC1 color filter and Altaïr outfit on perma death and really enjoyed it. Altaïr is my favorite protagonist so it was nice

[@ThePassablePlayer]

When they said this game was going back to the series roots, of not having a gigantic open map with loads of empty space with nothing interesting and abandoning the character levels, I paid attention. Then I completely disconnected with it when the character marks the enemies and execute all of them in an instant like it was Splinter Cell Conviction.

[@zack_0psgaming150]

If you can’t freely jump in an AC game I won’t bother.

[@murky1608]

I stopped playing Odyssey when in a map clearing session I accidentally killed an order member who was crucial to the true ending. My last save was 3 hours prior.

[@ThatBoyAqua]

I’ve never heard of that happening. Who did you kill?

[@murky1608]

@@ThatBoyAqua Don't remember given it was years ago. Short story I believe was that the stepbrother(?) would be pissed if you killed a specific cultist and not be saveable after. I was following ending guides and my heart dropped when I saw my mistake.

[@ThatBoyAqua]

I didn’t know you could just kill him in the over world. He should only be killable during a story moment, and the true ending doesn’t change much anyways if it’s any consolation

[@thehumancarrot2944]

I just play the games and i love them, yes even odyssey and Valhalla... I'm a simple man.

[@PentagonFortress]

The filter for the first game was a launch item. I used it for a bit so idk why we saying it was in a patch

[@IcarusFallz]

This game wasnt supposed to save the franchise. It was originally priced at $50 base which indicated that they wanted this to be a smaller experience (by comparison), and they were taking steps to get the franchise back. AC shadows will be the game Ubisoft is banking on.

[@samf.s.7731]

I am actually surprised by the saving the franchise argument. I guess it exceeded expectations and gave OG fans some serious nostalgia b0ner that ... People started actually thinking the praise meant that it was supposed to be the "savior" of the franchise. It was never developed as such, but hey that's always a point in its favor that this discussion ended up taking place after it launched.

[@RayOfSunhine2012]

Without an integral modern day storyline its not truly returning to its roots. I get most people don't like modern day storylines, but I do. It feels nice to see what assassins in the modern day could be. Maybe one day we'd get a full modern day assassins game. Like watch dogs, using modern tech to the advantage of the assassins, but I want there to be a full assassins storyline with stealth and hidden blades and limbo sequences after a major kill. I want the templars back, Rebecca and Shawn as your handlers, full Parkour in major cities around the world, with syndicate grappling for those wide streets and insanely tall buildings. That would be super lovely

[@Evanz111]

Wow. I did a hard pass on Mirage at launch, figured I’d wait until it appears on a subscription service. I actually had no idea they’d given it any post launch support, yet alone movement updates. Most news about the game was doomsaying the franchise, so I missed any news about the updates. Seeing this video makes me feel more happy with my decision to wait. I’m sure I’d have enjoyed the game even at launch, but most Ubisoft games are substantially better at least a year after they launch.

[@0x_Enigma]

They need a new fucking engine. It's a shame that we're still complaining about the parkour system

[@undying_artv2]

I forgot this game existed

[@johnwolf8995]

Cant wait till he reviews shadows

[@Spankee99]

I completely forgot this game came out

[@ankuriboh]

You mentioned how the desert is baren and doesn't hold up to the bustling cities. There's also no missions out there. The map fills out as you walk around like in Ghost of Tsushima, and at the end of the game I looked at the map and the desert to the south west of the city was untouched. Makes me wonder what the point was of adding it to begin with if there's nothing out there.

[@ThatBoyAqua]

I think the point was just to act as context for the city so it doesn’t feel like Baghdad is an island

[@jmcgee39]

This review basically explains why I've always called this game a "filler" game.

[@SHREDDER915]

Love your videos brother, you inspire me with my own vids ❤

[@ThatBoyAqua]

I’m honoured ❤️

[@LoukaSOSKamelaris]

Man i love Mirage. It's not what I would have predicted AC would turn into after playing the original games, but it has the spirit and it definitely has the fun factor. I'm not sure why i love it and other ac veterans don't feel as in love with it. Maybe it's because i haven't played Valhalla or even origins, so they can see mirage through the lens of Valhalla's gameplay, where as all i see in Mirage is a game that has more interactivity than the originals, less control of parkour, but more emphasis on traditional stealth. Plus the world and atmosphere are beautiful and intricate. Mirage checked all the boxes for me and I had a lot of doubts after years of rpg after whatever syndicate was.

[@Big_Boss_Asenffy]

i prefer odyssey and valhalla over mirage, it kinda just felt like a reskin of AC origins IMO

[@ericdailey5607]

The reason I dropped mirage is because at the same time I started playing it, my wife started playing the Ezio series for the first time. So I played AC2 and Brotherhood some as well. But I ended up enjoying those games way more than the brand new one, to the point I 100% them both(again) and forgot about mirage. I started playing it again but while it felt like a step in the right direction, it also felt like everything good about it, was done way better all the way back in 2009. Parkour was worst, movement felt oddly slow, the combat felt like a worse version of unity’s, and I can’t even remember the story.

[@Vargles]

The second I heard about the magic teleporting assassination ability I never thought twice about buying this. I just don't care for that shit

[@NathanielSincissen]

Love your stuff Aqua

[@ThatBoyAqua]

Thank you 🙏

[@DoctorMorgenstein]

I see nothing but great things when I play Valhalla and it sold better than any other game in the series. Odyssey is my favourite comfort food game ever and Origins is beloved by the core fanbase. Why do we need a saviour? I want the games to have movements with more weight and better parkour like the older games, but what we have is still fantastic

[@d4mterro320]

1:34 the problem with valhalla was that mirage was supposed to be a DLC at the time when Ubisoft said that, and some investors made it be a scratch idea and made a whole new game instead.

[@Ghost_Lomein]

I think Mirage was exactly what Assassin's Creed needed. It felt like a reset for the series. Yes, it wasn't a full experience and was just an upgraded DLC, but it felt nice after 3 huge RPGs (which i loved personally) and enjoyed very much. We had stealth that actually worked after the Valhalla stealth fumble, Basim was a glass cannon with combat that felt rewarding once you had it down pat, especially on Master Assassin difficulty, and we had an actual assassin's pov of the Hidden Ones and the war they fought. I also just completed the Perma Death mode on Master Assassin difficulty on Mirage, which i think everyone should try. It's so good and really fleshes out the game. This is coming from a guy who's been playing since 2007 and has love for the whole series. I wouldn't mind a pallet cleanser game in between the larger games. All the drama surrounding Shadows doesn't affect me because I'll play it anyway.

[@tolathecreator]

Its so rare to find people like me who appreciate both the newer and older games and don’t incessantly moan for “the good days”

[@Ghost_Lomein]

@tolathecreator 100% agreed, It's like a war between OG and RPGs fans while I'm in the middle eating real good. Sometimes change is needed, and the same people who crap on the RPGs are the same people who said that the formula of AC needed to change. Not everyone but the loud minority.

[@stur3366]

​@@tolathecreatorWhat exactly have the rpg games done for this series besides tarnish its reputation and breaking lore (pyramids) multiple times?

[@tolathecreator]

@@stur3366 improve combat, diversify the player base, generate more revenue, improve customization and replayability, incentivize exploration and just being overall fun experiences They are not without their share of faults but demonizing them like theyve done nothing but bring shame to the franchise is an ignorant and asinine take

[@tolathecreator]

@@stur3366 also assassin’s creed lore has been broken way before the newer games lmao

[@29mbj62]

A few months later: Mirage is very underrated.

[@labcdel4384]

They need to release an AC game with DUAL HIDDEN BLADES. This is a KEY INDICATOR to all those old games that were good. ALL OF THEM HAD DUAL HIDDEN BLADES. THE PRIMARY WEAPON SHOULD BE THE TWO HIDDEN BLADES. Everything else should be an alternative method of fighting.

[@Johnspartan296]

AC 1 didnt have dual hidden blades

[@SwellestspiceVideos]

They Should Add Story Creator Mode to Mirage since it's a Smaller game!👍🏼"Game On"!👊🏼

[@ResoluteCS]

Mirage was such a breath of fresh air and even today I look at the game with fondness, Bordeaux need to make another mainline game because I'm not even a little excited for AC Shadows

[@mohsin90ish]

I completely agree about the assassination missions. It felt like the game was offering these varied hitman-esque missions with lots of options but then just got to a certain point and said okay funs over now follow the linear corridor to the end of the mission. Its also funny you mention accidently killing the low ranking order member because that's what happened to me in this game and it was the part I remember most. But I also found that freedom made the rest of the order system often feels like a checklist of people I have no real connection with.

[@Dead_Hitori]

Just no, the teleporting ability is the fucking dumbest thing.

[@doltBmB]

It's nothing like AC1. Literally, nothing like it in any way. It's exactly what we've known it to be for a while, a cheap Valhalla reskin.

[@jesustyronechrist2330]

The main issue I think AC faces nowadays: Almost NOBODY who worked on the first game is working on AC anymore. The reason AC Mirage feels like a weird copy of AC 1, because the devs had never worked on AC 1 and now had to struggle to figure out what made that game good and tick. And thus, they "rediscovered" what AC was, but ended up just making AC 1 again, with very similar shortcomings. It's fascinating how Ubisoft has ironically lost the DNA of AC and barely understand their ancestors. I bet 99% of the devs don't even remember AC is supposed to have bunch of esoteric conspiracy theories as a major theme. I bet many of them forget the MC has a hidden blade. I bet they have no idea what to do with the series anymore because they don't understand it. That's why AC is basically just going with the incredibly dull and predictable "Mythology = Isu". It's SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO uninspired and boring. Why? Because they're just modern retelling of myths with the aesthetics of Godfall. That's one massive part that sucks: Isu and Animus aesthetics suck. They are so generic and boring. I've never liked how the Isu looked with their stupid light lines and concrete, but sure... Gild everything even more in the next one... And the Animus... It has never felt like a simulation, like you're in a computer. The "glitches" are not real computer glitches. The sci-fi visuals just always take me out of the experience. So what should AC do? I think they should first and foremost make the Animus less sci-fi. They should make almost like an "analog" version of it. Some examples: - Instead of having vague walls of some glitchy lines at the edges of the map, have lines of bytecode. - Instead of "desync" just flying the camera up into the air, it should give out error messages and basically re-rerender the entire scene. Basically not hiding the actual re-loading of the game world, just making it looks bit more "fancy". - Any sci-fi magic will pop a small terminal window that quickly runs pseudo-code. It shows that the Animus powers are just manipulations of the simulation. That alone should put the devs on the right track again. But I dunno if they will let go of the "mythology = Isu" so easily, especially that they're probably salivating after God of War right now... So maybe they could still just do some research on any kind of wacky conspiaries that relate to these myths. Instead of doing boring retellings, they could actually do something new when incorporating these crazy "modern" myths.

[@thefreshvince879]

well the mythology actually works, depending on which game. In odyssey, the reasons for the mythological creatures are given being part of an isu project to create genetically modified animals with superpowers and its fine. they are complete side objectives and you only have to do them for the atlantis dlc. Since origins screwed up history completely, im over AC getting anything right anymore. damn look at the new game, they are finally going to fuck a real historical figure up

[@JFVideos960]

@@thefreshvince879Origins? How did it screw up history?

[@thefreshvince879]

@@JFVideos960 it literally made the romans to be evil and make julius caesar a bumbling idiot. Caesar was a man of the people and everyone loved him. He made life so much better for the common man and even slaves. Brutus was never a good guy, it makes no sense having a super right wing republican be an assassin just because he is the guy who did the killing wound to one of the most famous historical figures of all time. In real history, his most probably motive was that he was actually his father, who was never there for him(caesar's main hoe was brutus's mom, they were basically freinds with benfitis since they were teenagers and she had him when she was like 16) so he grew to resent him and it sealed his fate after he became a pompey supporter. After pompey died, Caesar himself was very angry. He was on the way to actually extend a branch of forgiveness to pompey and bring him back to Rome, thinking thier battle is over and they can go back to being friends. He did this still with all the leftover pompey supporters, as well as brutus. It's a shame Caesar didn't just end their lives, because he wouldn't of died that day if he did. Brutus dies like a bitch in the series, just like real life as well. They try to revive him with the shroud of eden, but it doesn't even work (thankfully).

[@thefreshvince879]

@@JFVideos960 we know SO much about roman history it's insane we don't have a true Roman empire game my dude

[@Jizzargo]

For being THE parkour game you’d think Ubisoft would make an effort to make it good for once

[@Christofion]

halfway through playing mirage I switched to replaying ghost of tsushima and havent switched back to mirage

[@lilautistico1635]

Yeah I didn’t wanna finish this game either

[@ReikiMaulana]

lmao same here

[@Tin_Le]

I played both and I like both for different reasons

[@ibigfire]

​@@Tin_LeThat's a very reasonable take. I don't expect it to get many upvotes. Divisive comments end up getting much more attention than ones about liking both things.

[@thothheartmaat2833]

im thinking the same thing after starting valhallah. the "fast travel points" are seriously in the middle of nowhere.. its cool to climb a mountain but then once you get up there theres nowhere to jump down to so you have to climb back down again.. i jump off from the top and die at the bottom and im like seriously what game am i playing right now? what a pain to fast travel to the top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere.. it ends up not mattering as thats not where the game really takes place but also thinking how many people missed everything in the nordic map by following the story quests.. i didnt get to fight the legendary polar bear and now id have to restart to do it.. ghost of tsushima you can fast travel to any location on the map and thats really nice..

[@haarisajmeri9811]

The fact that they add the prayer or call for namaz aka Azaan that was amazing for me And as a Muslim bagdad was relatable for me

[@Comicbroe405]

They always do put effort in those parts of the game.

[@KuningannaSansa]

My biggest gripe with Mirage was how empty the surrounding areas were. Brotherhood had way more for you to do outside of rome proper and that came out ages ago, a new game shouldn't be worse than an old one.

[@doomer9728]

Mirage was horrible. the combat feels like a 2015 mobile game. after about 24 hours there is nothing left in the game to do. this was pure nostalgia baiting.

[@acest2098]

Bad opinion

[@dillonsparks115]

​@@acest2098he's not entirely wrong in the aspect of the game outside of chasing cosmetic upgrades there isn't much else to do and combat does not feel good at all nor does the stealth like I got spotted so many times because the animation for assassination took years

[@vvitch-mist20]

If Ubisoft had released this particular version first I don't think people would be as upset, but it just shows that game companies don't care about gamers until AFTER they make a huge fuss.

[@shinndig1293]

Glad I’m playing Odyssey and Valhalla instead.

[@markwolfe947]

I enjoyed the freedom that was offered in Valhalla, Origins, and Odyssey as they offered the option for it to be linear akin to the older games or open world. Mirage took that away and well, I was not interested.

[@_Kakoosh]

Combat sucked, parkour was extremely disappointing, story wasn’t too bad but Basim/Roshan carried it. Something about the new engine Ubi uses feels like such a downgrade from even AC1. A game like Unity blows the graphics and cutscenes of newer games out of the water

[@lost8320]

Yea I absolutely hated the Parkour. Idk what it was but it just felt off. Between that and the combat I didn’t have it in me to finish it so I can’t say shit about the story

[@Sondisberg]

Combat sucks in every Ac game.

[@lost8320]

@@Sondisberg I think Odyssey was fun. It’s weird I enjoyed the combat in that game but didn’t enjoy Origins or Valhalla’s

[@_Kakoosh]

@@Sondisberg the originals had good combat because it was simple yet flashy and satisfying to pull off. Stuff felt weighty. Now in the RPG generation it feels like I’m slicing an elephant with a piece of toilet paper whenever I hit an enemy

[@Sondisberg]

@@_Kakoosh It was piss easy, incredibly barebones and required barely an input. The animations looked cool but it barely improved over the span of 6 games. Arkham, Spiderman and Shadow of Mordor are good examples of this type of combat fleshed out and done well.

[@schizomonika]

I gave it a try, a step in the right direction just not far enough. I didn't enjoy how Basim felt to control and the bad cutscenes + story didn't grip me.

[@6vitamin]

Hey man, at least they remembered to include Sweet Baby Inc in the next AssAssIn Screed

[@Johnspartan296]

"Wahhh, wahmen and minorities, wahhhh!" clown comment

[@kristoffer8609]

I'm sure they were included in Mirage as well, looking at all the characters.

[@Comicbroe405]

​@@kristoffer8609It's a game set in Baghdad, ofc it would have diverse characters man.

[@PentagonFortress]

Also the fact we are gonna say AC games haven’t done well the past few years. AC Odyssey being nominated for multiple games of the year and Valhalla being Ubisofts best selling game ever

[@MegaPT_]

Maybe the real Mirage was the friends we imagined along the way

[@VongolaXZax]

I see what you did there.

[@lisek0205]

I don't think this game was supposed to save or move the franchise forward. It was just an homage to the first game. They even included AC1 filter which is awful and completly doesn't fit the game

[@raisnhed]

Syndicate was the last true AC game.

[@aaronwillis2375]

Origins is fire