Well, some of it anyway

An Assassin's Creed Mirage Analysis.
Assassin's Creed Mirage was marketed as a veritable return to form for the series, but did it really accomplish this goal? It targets the three core pillars of the classic Assassin's Creed formula, those being parkour, combat, and stealth. Overall this is a stride in the right direction for bringing back the soul of the classic AC games, but not everything is executed perfectly (and some things are done downright poorly).
Hope you enjoy! :)
Sources used:
insider-gaming.com/assassins-...
www.eurogamer.net/ubisoft-exp...
www.eurogamer.net/assassins-c...
www.eurogamer.net/saints-row-...
www.eurogamer.net/embattled-p...
www.eurogamer.net/embracer-sh...
Footage used from (in order of appearance): Assassin's Creed Unity, Assassin's Creed Syndicate, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Assassin's Creed Mirage, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Horizon Forbidden West, The Walking Dead (Season 1), Assassin's Creed 3, Assassin's Creed 2, Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, EA SPORTS FIFA 23, Shadow of War.
0:00 Introduction
2:39 Part 1 - The Pillars of Assassin's Creed
21:00 Part 1.5 - The Assassin Fantasy
31:41 Part 2 - Story and Characters
47:48 Part 3 - The Dilution of an Identity
1:00:00 Conclusion
A deep dive analysis and critique of Assassin's Creed Mirage. I guess you could call it a video game video essay.

[@SomasAcademy]

~41:49-42:20 [SPOILERS] Correction, Basim doesn't merge with the Jinni, when it turns to dust at his touch that represents him overcoming his fear of the Jinni, which is an embodiment of trauma from his past life as Loki. It reflects him starting to understand the cause of his nightmares, and thus being able to overcome them. Nehal is the embodiment of Loki himself, and she's the one who Basim merges with upon embracing his repressed Loki personality, hence why we see them both turn to dust and swirl together, in contrast to the Jinni blowing away.

[@Pixel_Whip]

This is a really good point, so obvious now that you mention it, thanks for the correction. My main point still stands in that the ending is far more concerned with explaining the history and lore behind Basim's connection to Loki, rather than more true character introspection. But understanding the separation between the Jinni as his Trauma as Loki in the past vs Nehal being the actual representation of Loki makes it much clearer what the ending is trying to say in terms of *how* Basim consolidated his dormant Loki persona.

[@kevingreim2961]

I liked mirage since it was my first ac game, I did find the parkour lack luster, but that’s the same with ac 2 and brotherhood, I loved the soundtrack of mirage to

[@jakel2837]

"Live service hub" sure is a wierd way to say "Mirage was the last AC game ever made"

[@xBINARYGODx]

lol yup

[@Jay-SNAR_REAL]

nope we still have AC NEXUS its not the last and never will be lol

[@skxlter5747]

We still have Project Red and Project Hex coming up so no it's not the last bruh

[@zbeatza9910]

​@@skxlter5747pay attention bruh, ac infinity is a hub not a game, you play ac red, hexe and others to come using infinity

[@buccaneercat]

I just wish we were more clear with the problems we had with AC Syndicate. They assumed we ALL wanted something *entirely different* than what they’d been giving us. So they abandoned the idea of playing as a sleek and stealthy assassin, and relied on the button mashing hack and slash rpg model with bold brutes as the protagonists. It worked for Bayek because he was SUPPOSED to be one of the first Assassins (hidden ones), and his skill wouldn’t be nearly as defined as the other Assassins we know and love. Origins had a strong story, and a beautiful setting. That’s why it’s remembered so fondly (despite the RPG elements). Odyssey and Valhalla were just fantastical Spartan/Viking simulators. Charging into battles, with godly superpowers/weapons/mounts… They would have been accepted more if they were completely separate spinoffs about Greek, and Scandinavian culture/mythology. If they want to lose themselves in the mythology of various cultures, they should dedicate a brand new game franchise to that cause. Leave the Assassins and the Templars with Assassins Creed. Where it loosely ties into grounded historical scenario’s with grounded historical figures, and the goal is protecting various artifacts that grant mysterious unfathomable power to the wielder, as both Assassins and Templars philosophically struggle for the future of mankind. I say Mirage was a great step in the right direction, but the franchise won’t ever recover completely (at least to me) if it’s constantly relying on cheap RPG mechanics.

[@xBINARYGODx]

sorry, but brand!!!! Anyway, they could do a sub brand - it worked so well for Forza that now FH is one of the best-selling franchises/games in history - FH5 sold/"sold" like gangbusters. Not ever sub-branding will work, but me thinks having dual AC types would be great for their business and their fans.

[@MrRaxicorniopholus]

Mirage was such a breath of fresh air. Played it 6 times and still not bored ❤

[@jerrylord8225]

“It never felt like Assassin’s Creed reached it’s potential. It’s potential in expressive and deep parkour, in social stealth black box assassination missions or ultimately in delivering a believable cohesive assassin fantasy” Man, this. Every thought I had about the franchise was exactly summarized by your conclusion. I don’t remember myself playing AC without having some major complaint about a core aspect of the game, and I actually love these games. It’s like Ubi has the intention of creating an unforgettable experience, but as the project unfolds, it becomes a mess of missed opportunities, loss of soul/innovation, bugs, and in-game purchases. As you pointed out every aspect of the game, it’s pretty frustrating to me that Mirage misses the mark on a lot of stuff. As you said, Mirage seems like a homage to the originals, rather than a return. I’m disappointed that the blackbox missions and investigations were not designed with a more creative approach, and it’s kinda sad that AC1 had more meaningful clues from the investigations so you could use them to your advantage in the templar missions (specific routes, enemies on location etc). They have captured the stealthy approach at least, but I didn’t know that the growth element fails once more, to the point you become op. This game proves once more that stealth in AC is a hit or miss. Sometimes the AI will work and probably be too easy and others, it will spot you from 25 meters. Sometimes it will be included as a viable way to approach, sometimes there will not even be a 1-hit stealth kill (ahem, Odyssey). Also, including a combat system that was clearly made to be avoided and looks really rushed, isn’t the right motivation for one to use stealth, neither is the assassin focus for one to make it more effective. For a 2023 game, cutscenes are objectively bad, and voice acting makes it worse. After the RPG formula, The franchise has really swarmed with cutscenes without soul, compared to the earlier games, even in the Ezio trilogy. It’s really disappointing that they sacrifice the storytelling part of the game for the sake of content, to the point of content losing it’s purpose in the first place. I’m so glad you showed comparisons, because the quality is really deteriorating and probably will stay like this. Man, this godamn parkour. Unity was really a gift and a curse. In an alternate world, if they didn’t rush Unity and actually stick with this system for future titles, we could have had the best parkour system ever created in a game. As you pointed out, the phrase “contextual execution” is the biggest problem in Unity, and I’m disappointed the same occurs in Mirage. Don’t get me wrong, Baghad is dense and looks amazing and for once they actually cared about building a world to free run instead of an RPG-climb-a-smooth-mountain, but come on, there is no way modders can fix your shit by adding ejects. This was done back in 2007. I guess when I say that I need a parkour system with the freedom of the Ezio trilogy, the consistency of the Kenway Saga and the animations of Unity, I’m asking too much. For me, traversal is the most important of the 3 pillars. You literally spend at least 60% of your time running in game. I’m happy we received at least something of a parkour, but I don’t have high hopes for anything better than that and I don’t understand how or why they don’t advance on this mechanic. Again, a hit or miss pillar. Nevertheless, Bordeaux was the only studio that listened to the fanbase and actually implemented some stuff (ejects, permadeath) and despite the above and being a small studio, showed love for the franchise. But, why this game had to be a DLC and then a main title worked by a small studio? Why this type of AC is considered something of a side content and why didn’t they invest more resources into it? The thing is, Ubi doesn’t seem to have plans on releasing a pure authentic AC experience. It’s pretty clear that effective combat, stealth and parkour, combined with interesting world design and compelling characters and storytelling are the key to a perfect AC game, so why do we only experience a percentage of this on every release? And on top of that, why is that percentage constantly being reduced by a live service function and a business model for the sake of profit? The escapist fantasy is there, but come on, there is no way the majority of the fanbase actually wants cosmetics, purchasable dlc’s and battle-pass, instead of a full story driven game. Either the case, whatever they have plans on, it keeps working, whether because it attracts a bigger audience (I suppose?) or because it’s a long-time loved franchise, strongly based on nostalgia. This video really motivated me to express my thoughts as well on this, and I’m so glad people like you are able to form a 1-hour AC review. I kind of repeated some things you mentioned of course, because you are really on point with this review and it totally differs from a couple Mirage videos I have seen. Also, it didn't even feel like 1 hour, your work is very well written. I’m not keeping in touch with the fanbase or what they really like in an AC game, but you definitely know what a good game is and especially an AC game, which they defined in the first place. Such a strong analysis, well done! Sorry for the essay, don’t bother responding the same way, you did more than enough in your video. ;) P.S I can't believe they still managed to add microtransactions and cosmetics in a 20hr game, fuck this, I'm really going to wait for a discount xD

[@Pixel_Whip]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I think it's clear from my video I agree with just about everything you've mentioned, but I feel humbled that my video inspired you to consider and articulate your perspective on the series, I enjoyed reading your comment.

[@jerrylord8225]

@@Pixel_Whip The pleasure is all mine mate, looking forward to the next one!

[@guilhermelisboa1857]

The only thing i disagre with your comment is about the detection system, mirage is really similar to the ezio games in this regard, in my 35 hours of playtrought i never had a bullshit detection like ac3, unity and valhalla, is really consistent, even if the IA is a bit stupid but unfortunately thats a mark of this series.

[@dexfrancolini4734]

I agree with all of your points but people glaze Unity far too much. Syndicate parkour is far superior because it’s basically like Unity’s but it fixes all the issues and bugs. I hated in Unity when you’d go to climb up a building hoping to stop midway so you can enter a window and suddenly even if you let go of the buttons you’re still scaling the entire building. I’ve never shouted: “STOP FUCKING CLIMBING” at an assassins creed game all my life than Unity. To get the smooth parkour it claims to have, Unity had to rely on automatic climbing. So in exchange for implementing strong descents and smooth animation, they got rid of the option to full control the speed in which you climb. And this often ruined the experience for me. Syndicate however, added extra weight on your character, ascending was a slower pace, allowing you to time and control your movements, while descending was quickened. You can easily change your mind at any point on a climb and it would smoothly transition. It’s basically the same but those slight tweaks and changes made all the difference. In my opinion it’s far superior to Unity’s parkour, but because of Unity’s failure Syndicate wasn’t the best purchased game and not a lot of people experienced the improved version of Unity’s parkour.

[@michaelamadheo6754]

For me, Mirage is missing one thing , the “real” animated cutscenes of previous games pre Odyssey.

[@jcaaata7338]

This was very well put together, it was nice to sit back and listen to someone sharing a care for this series analyze it mostly unbiased

[@Pixel_Whip]

Thanks!

[@RG-xl7ql]

For me, Mirage was a passion project that was held back by being more than a DLC, but less than a full game. I still enjoy Mirage - as this is the most assassin fantasy we've had since Unity - but Valhalla's skeleton leaves it feeling like an incomplete vision. Given the financial success of Mirage, Ubisoft will likely give Bordeaux the green light to make more traditional AC games. I think Bordeaux will be able to fully realize that assassin fantasy with more time and resources to build a proper full game from scratch. As for where the series stands, "identity dilution" is definitely the better way to describe it. As of the 15th anniversary, Ubisoft's current strategy is to make each game have a specific target audience, but for the larger series to be for every audience. On one hand, I like this because each game will be focused, in intent and audience. I felt baited by Valhalla when it advertised a return to form, and I would much prefer for a game to make its intentions clear like Odyssey or Mirage. On the other, I dislike this because it'll make the series even more diluted. Overall, I can live with this choice as while I have preferences, I don't *hate* any style of AC. Still a bit sad to see another IP lose itself to corporate greed, but this is ultimately a business. You can either make the most of it, walk away, or complain into the abyss for all time... Edit: I really enjoyed how deep and impartial this video was. This is the first I've seen of your channel, but it definitely won't be the last. Keep it up!

[@DonaMarocaxx]

Unity is the perfect AC game. It's a shame that the poor launch destroyed the game's reputation. After almost 10 years, the game stood the test of time.

[@BallyBoy95]

I loved this video essay, how has it only got 2.5k views? Keep up the good work + consistency buddy, you're a v. entertaining narrator and script-writer.

[@Pixel_Whip]

Thanks! That's really nice to hear!

[@bLEACHeye]

"Or is it all just a m... illusion"😂

[@tozkal96]

im waiting for the indie or AA devs to create the spiritual successor of AC that actually lives up to the potential of the genre.

[@myyoutubeaccount4167]

Found myself thinking about this a few days ago as well

[@toddsmith5301]

lately I have unsubscribed to a lot of channels that were dishonest and falsely talk negative towards games and thats why finding channels like this puts a smile on my face when I find it and I subscribed today. its okay to have criticism if you do it in a positive way like this channel. great job friend keep up the great work.

[@Pixel_Whip]

That's exactly why I started this channel, thanks heaps for mentioning that!

[@1God1Christ]

Mirage was such a breath of fresh air. Was the first AC game since Syndicate that I bought and played. I think Ubisoft Bordeaux is actually working on another AC game so hopefully it’ll be like Mirage but with more development time and a larger budget.

[@SC-dm1ct]

I adored syndicate.

[@ETheeb]

As heart breaking as it is, it is almost certainly the last real AC game we'll ever get. As time goes by, this fact make syndicate all the more precious

[@neildepressedtyson540]

@@ETheeb L take

[@Luger0312]

for the lack of new challenges once you're rewarded with an increasing power fantasy: That's kinda what AC has always done. To me, esp. in the late game it becomes a challenge of executing things clean and in certain style. Which, as about a thousand KZbin videos show, this game lets you do very well.

[@Stealthful_]

Great video. Here's a interesting fact for you: you can horizontally wall-run in Unity, but it's contextual. Unity's and Mirage's contextual actions are consistent after constant practice from my experience.

[@tuiwing]

this is a really well put together video!!! just subbed!!

[@Pixel_Whip]

Thanks heaps!

[@hassankhan-re1ff]

Great vid for such a small channel. Subbed

[@SomasAcademy]

Great video, one of the best analyses I've seen so far of what this game really represents for the series. It's tragic how few views this channel has, subscribed and looking forward to seeing what videos you create in the future.

[@Pixel_Whip]

Thanks, very kind words! Looking forward to putting out more videos too!

[@TheSevenje]

I've been developing videos on a few Ubisoft games and stumbling across your video has boosted some inspiration

[@Pixel_Whip]

Glad the video could help!

[@ultimateopportunist5861]

You are beautifully articulate. It's super satisfying to hear someone as verbally competent as you talk about video games . Keep it up, I have no doubt you'll make it big 🫡

[@Pixel_Whip]

That's a big compliment, thank you for your comment!

[@thorautreg9238]

As someone who has played all the AC games except Valhalla, and likes both the old games and the RPG ones, but hasn't got any nostalgia for them due to how recently I got into the series, Mirage almost felt like a demo/beta version of the game I've really wanted in the series. I really like that most of the game is based inside the city, but I found myself longing for exploration more akin to Origins or Odyssey, with fortresses, caves and such to explore due to how empty the world felt at times, especially outside the city. Baghdad was super fun to be in though, and the decision to create a city that was made for parkour was a very welcome shift from the cites in Origins and Odyssey. The parkour was better than the RPG ones, and while I understand that the team was quite limited, I still wish there was a bit more depth and style to it, and the same goes for the combat. I found myself getting bored in basically every fight I got into, but I still enjoyed parkouring and exploring the city despite the pretty shallow system. Stealth was a major step up compared to the RPG games. Having all the different tools to play with made it much more fun to approach the missions. My biggest gripe with the stealth is that the game doesn't really present many scenarios where using the tools is the most "natural" way to get through missions. Benches and similar hiding spots weren't really worth using most of the time, and I only really used the knives and other stuff when I went and made challenges for myself. That stuff is fun of course, but I wish the game pressed the player more to be creative about how they approach the missions. I also wish there was more innovation with the stealth mechanics. Something I've wanted for a long time is the ability to stand in shadows as a means of stealth where enemies can't see you if it's too dark. I do however think they did a good job at encouraging the use of stealth over open combat, even though I wish there was more punishment for failing stealth and being discovered. The story, like with most AC games in my opinion, was a let down. In Mirage I think the biggest problem for me is that the game is so short, and the game is told so non-linearly that none of the story elements are really developed that well. I don't really care for most of the characters because I didn't get to spend time with them and develop my relationship with them in a natural way. The villains were pretty forgetable, mainly because we don't learn much about them until the mission where we assassinate them. I wish there was more of a sense of "building your way up" towards hunting and killing Templars, where you have to start at the street level and incrementally assassinate your way up the ladder while you get to interact and learn more about the villain so by the time you kill them, you have a good understanding of why this person should be assassinated and you feel a bigger sense of accomplishment for the work you put in. I also wish they would lean heavier into "black box" missions. They are super fun when well made, and they give more chances to use all the tools at your disposal. I really hope Ubisoft allows their devs to keep building on the formula of Mirage and bring together aspects of both the old games and the RPG games. If they manage to do that with a bigger budget and they start taking the story more seriously, then I think the best games in the franchise could still be in front of us.

[@Pixel_Whip]

Yes, I think it's good to be optimistic about the series, great to hear your perspective as a relatively recent player of the AC games!

[@GBuaccc]

Valhalla is beautiful. No other way to put it. Especially on next gen.

[@dejureclaims8214]

Channel is gonna blow up I tell you

[@skxlter5747]

Mirage scaled down on the massive quantity of content ubisoft has been flooding its AC games for the past 5 years, which is good! I still haven't finished Valhallas' main story and content dlc because of the large influx of content. I don't have the time to finish it all. Mirage was sort of a breath of fresh air on focusing on story instead of massive maps or content in which I hope they continue this formula.

[@TheJazzGuy75]

How do you only have 300+ subs man? Beautiful editing and sound quality. Your video sums up a lot of what old players like you and myself feel. I enjoyed Mirage but still haven’t forgiven AC. It was a step in the right direction but it needs to continue in order for me to care. The more I hear about AC Red and Infinity don’t give me much hope. The series is a long way from where it used to be.

[@Pixel_Whip]

Thanks for the comment. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@AAAAA-jm3xn]

whoah, i was so shocked when i saw the sub count of your channel. i listened to this at work so i can’t comment on the editing, but the audio is great and the script was written really well. I got the platinum trophy for Mirage and it was a good time, but it’s not lost on me that my enjoyment of this game was almost entirely due to nostalgia for my childhood, renting AC1 from blockbuster. There’s good bones, and i have moderately tame expectations for the next title. Keep up the good work, hour long video essays are what get me through 10 hour shifts and i’ll be looking forward to your next uploads!

[@Pixel_Whip]

Thanks! Really glad the video could help make your shift a bit easier to get through :)

[@Average_Internet_User101]

I loved Odyssey, the build diversity and focus building was through the roof making games like Destiny 2 blush!

[@parkwaydrivebeast18]

Subbed, awesome video. Would love to see some videos on other AC games! Although you may have made them as I haven't looked yet but will be doing. Keep it up brother

[@Pixel_Whip]

Don't have any others at the moment, but if enough people want it, I've got a few more things to say.

[@justingabriel1765]

Okay, keep in mind that I personally haven’t been so critical of the RPG games, I actively defend those games from the really wild accusations and lies people tell like they are the most horrible thing to exsist. But Mirage is the first one that I’ve played and honestly was like… that’s it? That’s all that we get? I mean to the people that love mirage, I need you to explain why, or we’ll I’d like you too. I was excited because of the setting and was interested in how it could progress the story forward, but ut didn’t do any of that, it had no present day which I didn’t even know until I played. The setting is great, but the Free Running is still only a slightly improved system that they have been using, so all in all it’s not that much different then if you just gave Bayek some post to jump on. It’s still better don’t get me wrong but to see so many people talk about how much they love this game, and seeing the criticisms that people have had of the RPGs, I’m confused on what specifically gameplay wise this game improves? It doesn’t improve stealth it just heavily suggests it because combat itself is pretty bad in comparison of the rest of the series, you don’t feel like the rest of the protags as a trained fighter, you feel like a guy who picked up a sword and just starter swinging. So that was something I was really disappointed in. The other thing was the pacing, the game I understand wasn’t given the budget and time as a mainline game usually gets, I understand it was a repurposed Valhalla DLC, and for what it’s worth yeah it’s impressive the good things about this game, but to me for every good thing it does there’s also a thing I didn’t like. I hated the pacing, because right when I felt like we were getting somewhere it then didn’t give me any information. It essentially plays the same scene what 3 times with the Dijin? I think that’s what they call it I haven’t played it since I beat it. They could have easily made it to where each time we see it we get more and more info or it’s slightly different and does a little more each time but no it’s not till the end of the game till we get really any information about Basim. The twist was definitely cool and my favorite part but the game is so short that I still didn’t feel satisfied with it. the ending felt like some big payoff but because the games only 30 something hours I felt like we didn’t do anything for most of that time and only really got 5-6 hours of fun and interesting stuff. Idk I guess it’s just me and I’m sure I’ll get attacked for criticizing the “savior” of the franchise as some have dubbed it. Its okay, but if I had to be honest this was the first one that i felt this polarizing on. To me it’s on the lower end of all of them, like a 6/10 and the story is honestly 90% of the grade, the story is the best part of the game I think but even that has issues. I know this is really negative and that was cause I just wanted to voice my opinions to the people who liked the game and maybe they can tell me something I missed it say why they didn’t feel that way about stuff, but I just want it also said there was things I loved about this game, the tool customization was cool I really liked that I could choose what I wanted my tools to do, and a lot of others, but I don’t want this comment to be even longer then it already is.

[@salmankhan2739]

Mirage is definitely not for everyone, if you haven't played/finished Valhalla and don't know much about Basim from that game, you will be confused as hell on Mirage's depiction of him, cause the game entirely revolves around his character/identity/journey. It wasn't meant to progress the AC story forward but was meant to fill in the gaps of the story of Basim we didn't know and see how Basim came to be how he is now. This was all made clear by the Devs in marketing. Many fans agree Basim is a great character so having more of him is always a plus. Now we gotta understand this team didn't have the time or budget as other AC games, they had to cut some corners. Not a justification but you gotta take this into account. Parkour may not be as good as the old games but its definitely improved for sure, def better than Bayek's too. Yes parkour being more complex is a good thing, but honestly, the level design and parkour pathing makes up for the lack of complexity. Its just so fun running around rooftops. Combat heavily encourages stealth. Basim is a Glass cannon, he can deliver huge hits but can also take huge hits compared to others like Connor who is a tank. Being an assassin is all about stealth and you can literally finish Mirage entirely with stealth outside of a few forced combat sections. It was intentional, I'm sure the Devs would have removed combat entirely if it was upto them lol. Pacing I can get cause it gets non-linear in the middle of the game and cutscenes also feel downgraded. Time and budget constraints probably. I was perfectly happy with the payoff we got after 25-30 hrs. Again this was a Basim story and you might not be following the story closely cause one the main themes is all bout freedom and being able to do what you want to do. Basim doesn't need to have a personal connection to the order of the ancients, he just needs to kill them cause its his job. It ties into the whole context of 'do whatever Roshan tells you to do/serve without question' thing that Nehal and Ali keep bringing up. Basim dismisses them cause he's doing it for the greater good. Its only at the end when he meets Qabiha and starts questioning things, he realises the creed has been hiding stuff from him. This leads him to go against the beliefs of the creed and paves way for Loki. The villains were the plot device and Basim was the real hero/villain all along. The whole twist was also insane. Loved it. It all ties into the story of Valhalla and Loki. This is an Assassin's Creed Story to its Core. No action set-pieces, No huge badass moments, No huge war/battle scenes, No tyrants. Just a story focusing on Basim and the actual creed, pondering over the core themes like freedom and what does it mean to be free. etc., THIS is why people love this game.

[@justingabriel1765]

@@salmankhan2739 that’s all fair and even points I made myself for why I get a lot of the things happening. I think I disconnect with it because personally I’m not essentially happy that Basim is here. I wasn’t interested in him through most of Valhalla, he was okay, but we don’t learn about the creed through him it’s Trough Hytham, we get that nice talk by the fire with Basim but other then that, obviously because he’s an assassin, he’s a big mystery that is just there. I didn’t trust him because even from the first time we meet him I felt like something was off, we have had assassins who have likeable personalities but Basim felt like he was faking the moment we meet him. Then the fact that he tries to kill Eivor and Sigurd simply because they are the reincarnated versions of Tyr and Odin felt so wild to me. He was with them the whole time, Eivor isn’t aware of what they are, Sigurd learns from Basim because he mistook him to be Odin (I think? I could have swore that was said or implied). So at that point Basim actively goes out of his way to Kill Eivor. To me that made him seem unstable and crazy, that he acted upon impulse and executed a whole plan just to kill them. Then we see that he’s now in the present day with Rebecca and Shawn and William, and that is concerning to me, because this isn’t Mirage Basim who I actually really liked, this is complete Loki, and because Loki is who we all know he is, I’m actively worried about what his goals and ambitions are. I see him as an antagonist, and that is what I don’t think alot of people see him as. Like I said I did enjoy the story I had some issues with the choices in some things but overall it was good, I just didn’t feel like it really meant anything, and to be Fair, it’s exactly how I feel about the First AC too, I think it’s actually not that great in hindsight to what the series did from then on, I can’t remember any characters names from the first one an Mirage except for characters that actually mattered to the plot. Nehal, Roshan, Ali, and Basim. And to me that’s a negative because if there’s one thing assassins creed has done well, it’s make likeable side characters that you can remember and have affection for. Mary Reed, Blackbeard, Leo, Bartameleo, Achilles, Yusuf, and probably others that you could love. But in this game everyone else seemed to be a means to an end, Roshan not being the main mentor seemed odd to me, and the black robed mentor wasn’t all that interesting. There was too many characters that just seemed that they existed to fill the void instead of being there to serve a purpose. This game also doesn’t have any real or memorable Antagonists either, not until they essentially turn Roshan into one, so that’s why to me the best parts of the game are Basim dealing with his internal struggles, but alot of that is sidelined for him doing his duty that isn’t really interesting. If Both plot points were good and the back and forth resembled that of like Edwards, where his internal conflict with what he truly wants in life, complemented his life choices as a pirate, and the characters made impact to the story other then just being killed to be killed, I felt like then I would have been more interested. I do appreciate and love the point of the game, the background on Basim and showing how he became the man we see, but so much of it didn’t even matter to that story. That’s me I guess like I see what it wanted to do and what it did do but I don’t find it all that interesting in the bigger picture of what He as a character now represents. He’s fake now, and even if our friends find out about him through the animus what choice do they have? They have a reincarnated Isu seemingly on their side, they really have no choice but to reluctantly trust him. And who knows what he’s planning. Idk I guess I was hoping that this game would have given us a bigger insight into Loki, but it ends with Loki taking over, and now I’m just left with questions and and unsatisfied feeling. And I guess let me rephrased I like that Basim is a character and what he provides for the future, I’m saying unlike other characters in the series he by far is the one that doesn’t interest me the most, it’s his plan, it’s like having a evil mastermind who is completely forgettable but it was his plan that was what you cared about. Idk I just don’t care for him, and so now that we had a game all about him and I’m still on the fence if I even like Loki or not is something that’s disappointing to me. Sorry that it’s so long again, you make great points and so I guess it’s just me, I’m the reason that the plot points and what happens really don’t hit with me

[@salmankhan2739]

@@justingabriel1765 you make some good points and I can definitely see your point of view, to me, Basim always felt like an anti-hero than a full on evil villain. He went after Odin's reincarnation cause in Valhalla, Odin imprisoned and tortured Loki's son Fenrir all so he could prevent some prophecy but ended up causing it anyway. So, Loki wants revenge for this, but he was later imprisoned too as revealed in Mirage. His intentions are understandable as he wasn't wanting to rule the world or anything, just wants revenge, this makes him more interesting as an antagonist cause from his pov, Odin is the bad guy, so he goes after Sigurd and Eivor. It wasn't just cause they were reincarnations, it was all for revenge. Now that was over with, he's in the present day, he definitely has his own agenda but also cares for the assassins. Basim isn't full Loki but is a mix of the two. He is still the Basim we know and love from Mirage, he is just made aware of his past life as Loki. His new chapter post Valhalla is very interesting now cause we really don't know what he's upto. He definitely wants to take down the templars but will for sure have his own little scheme going on. This is what a lot of fans see him as, an anti-hero, he's not another Desmond or Layla but really important to both the Assassins and Templars now cause of his sage status. Another aspect of Mirage and Basim a lot of people liked was him discovering his sage status. The Jinni was a representation of his trauma and pain from his past life. Basim had to overcome this trauma to unlock Loki's memories. Nehal was constantly pushing him to overcome it too. Using the discs from AC Revelations as a tool to discover some of these memories to overcome the trauma was a great reference too. It was like, Loki recorded these memories for his reincarnation Basim to see so it can allow Basim to overcome the Jinni cause Loki knows the trauma would stop his memories from resurfacing. Genius plan. I also agree with what you said about not having memorable characters. The game definitely wants to focus on Basim and his journey more. The villains were also not memorable but again, they were the plot device for Basim to learn about himself and go against the hidden ones beliefs. Basim was the real hero/villain of the whole game all along. I can see why you were left unsatisfied at the end, you wanted to learn more insight on Loki but this game focused on the internal conflicts of Basim more. Maybe a future Ac game will dive deeper into this aspect now that Basim is the new modern day protagonist. Walshie's lore video on Mirage is highly recommend. He expertly breaks down Mirage's biggest plotlines and themes, who knows, perhaps this video will make you like Basim more. I definitely did! It was great talking to you mate!

[@justingabriel1765]

@@salmankhan2739 yeah! I see the anti-hero look, I guess I saw him as a bad guy because in my mind Eivor is also going through a subconscious internal conflict, because Odin is trying to get in but Eivor isn’t seeing what’s really going on until they reject Odin in the end. And so because of that I felt as if Basim was attempting to kill 2 “innocent” people, Eivor doesn’t know that they were Odin, they just know the story, so you’d think with his training and new knowledge that he’s gained that Basim could tell not only is Eivor completely unaware that they were the ones to wrong Loki, but Eivor also isn’t like Odin, and could have been reasoned with. I’ll have to go watch that I know he makes pretty good videos, so maybe that will help me, it was good talking to you too! Thank you for explaining your view on it it definitely helped me understand my own issues with the game a little more, I appreciate you taking the time!

[@MrMightyZ]

Syndicate was a unique failure in that neither Xbox nor PlayStation had provided final specs for their next gen consoles after stating in discussions with Ubisoft, among other devs, that the CPUs would be a lot more powerful than they ended up being. So Ubisoft’s mistake was that they went ahead and designed a gamed with record amounts of amounts NPCs in anticipation of the CPUs they’d been told to expect. They were far enough through development by the time they learned that both new consoles were going to ship with CPUs less than half as powerful as they’d previously planned that it was apparently way too late to restart development so they felt they had no choice but to release what they’d built. This is why Syndicate bombed. It wasn’t rushed any more than any of their amazing open worlds. It was just made to a specification they committed to to soon and that that didn’t eventuate. Not rushed except in so much as they started development too soon. They were surprisingly quiet about this unintentional bait-and-switch from Sony and Microsoft but have since revealed all in interviews with Digital Foundry and a couple of others and were quite mature in taking the total blame for believing and committing too soon to console specs that were not finalised and never made that specific mistake again. Syndicate, though not otherwise completely bug-free, was a great piece of work. But it was designed for machines with specific specifications that didn’t end up existing until a generation and a half later.

[@rizalabdilah2844]

very well put analysis, mate. you got yourself a new subscriber

[@Pixel_Whip]

Thanks!

[@unicorntomboy9736]

The more i hear about AC Infinity, the more revulsion and disgust i feel. It makes want to eventually forshake this series altogether for good On a side note, i think AC Odyssey should never have been a AC game and instead was made into a separate spin-off series that had its own identity. It was a missed opportunity to make a brand new franchise

[@scottgallagher3886]

lmfao dont people ever get tired of making the same regurgitated points over and over and overagain this entire franchise is just a neckbeard echochamber

[@unicorntomboy9736]

@@scottgallagher3886 What did I say that you disagree with

[@rand0mGT]

Talking the talk but never walking the walk 🤣🤣

[@unicorntomboy9736]

@@rand0mGT How so

[@rand0mGT]

@@unicorntomboy9736 you keep talking how the shit disgust you and how you won’t buy anymore but no doubt you’ll buy the next shit game from the franchise. Just like how people say they’ll never play and buy cod games but every year they buy the new cod game All talk no substance. Talking the talk but never doing it 🤣🤣🤣 hilarious

[@limeisgaming]

If you visit karkh before even accepting the mission you can infact enter the targets quarters and unlock the backdoor, which will be open once you get to do the mission (thats probably a bug that might get patched), that allowed me to bypass the whole order of the lotus pa rt of the mission.

[@brorrust4761]

The fact that you’ve only got 400 subs is crazy. What a well made analysis. Good shit

[@Pixel_Whip]

Thanks!

[@sinkoprvi3477]

I just found your channel, and I'm completely shocked that you have as few subscribers as you do. I feel like I've stumbled onto a future hit channel. Amazing video!

[@Pixel_Whip]

Welcome! And thanks :)

[@lamania32]

Very well said that's 1st assay on KZbin which has positive constrictive criticism. Personally I blocked KZbin suggestions to many channels where ppl bashing only. The Assassin’s Creed series is well-known for its detailed and accurate recreations of historical settings. The developers at Ubisoft put a lot of effort into researching and accurately depicting the architecture, city layouts, landscapes, and even the daily life scenes of the time periods they portray along with the terrain. Saying that that's the main reason AC Valhalla open world looks and feels to vast for some, in those days the small settlements where far a part in the old "England" a few roads to connect one settlement to an other if any at all, game developers trying to make it as accurate as possible (Ubisoft as is). If you overlay the AC Valhalla Map on the today's modern map you will see the game-map is so close to reality, my guess they did dig up and old map and implemented it into the game. AC Revelation introduced today's Istanbul (Constantinople) 9th century so close to reality when I played the game it really felt like I'm in there, (I spent lots of time in Istanbul visited all of the historical buildings many times) all the main historical building Topkapi, Hagia Sophia, Grand Bazaar etc are very accurate (re scaled to fit the game parkour of course). Back to Mirage the parkour is not as a good as it should be, you stall quite often its seems like the game engine is trying to figure out what you wanna do which way you wanna go. Voice acting is straight out bad, Alibaba and the 40 Thiefs are a joke, but overall imo 4.5 stars despite the few negative aspects of the game and that is varies by point of view, some like it hot some like it sweet and sour. I cant say anything about the City accuracy I never been in Baghdad old town but its looks cool and also imo the developers are live up to the reputation to accuracy; maybe I'm wrong here but never the less I like Mirage, 4 installments are close to me AC II, Revelations , Valhalla and Mirage. but that's me I never finished any other AC games I just stopped playing it at one point expect that 4 I mentioned. The combat in Valhalla was better imo stealth and assassinations are better in Mirage, not mentioning the older Ac games bc of the game engines so much advanced today compared to 4-5 years ago not apple to apple. But over all AC Valhalla was the biggest bang for the buck in AC history buck /play time. Anyway you got an other subscriber. Keep up the good work and thank you for sharing your thoughts.

[@Pixel_Whip]

Thanks!

[@kingslaphappy1533]

Excellent presentation, narration,script and video capture. 💫💫💫💫💫

[@Pixel_Whip]

Thanks so much!

[@aronzin6145]

Amazing analysis, very interesting ideas and conclusion, which I agree with. I'm still hyped with Red thou, no matter what they do I'll have a lot of fun probably, it will be a good experience as long as we enjoy the game for what it will be and not complain for what it doesn't have, and I mean that if the story isn't great, I will enjoy exploring, if the stealh is meh, I will focuse on combat or vice versa.

[@swstealth]

Very underrated channel. At this point Assassins Creed its like THE topic to discover beautiful channel which analyse games. Thats how I found whitelight which I love, and this is also how I found you lol.

[@Pixel_Whip]

Appreciate it, thanks heaps!

[@zachfeiler7014]

It sucks because I thought Ubisoft said that they knew how Assassin's Creed would end but now we'll never get that ending

[@xnightwraithx4098]

The claim that ac4 wasn’t an assassins creed game is utter nonsense, it was the last and one of the best ASSASSINS CREED games of all. It tells an assassins creed story so beautifully

[@TheJazzGuy75]

I see someone else has watched the 5 hour retrospective 🤣

[@fernandopacheco1795]

It wasn't an ac game bro. As much fun as it was. It was a pirate game with a hidden blade.

[@dylannichols3577]

@@fernandopacheco1795 literally about a pirate changing his ways to be an assassin

[@Bloodcola769]

@@dylannichols3577 did he though? To me it always felt like Edward was more like cooperating with the assassins on his own terms just to reach his goals and not to be part of the brotherhood.

[@dylannichols3577]

@@Bloodcola769 you’re correct but his character arc is him changing to adopt the values of the creed.

[@Kimkong2]

That's the thing with UBI progression in most of their open world games. Progression is reduced to mechanics that feel more like mods and hacks rather than mastery. "Reach level 20 and you no longer take damage from any height". It's like they are so concerned that peolpe will realize that all there is to their open worlds is scale and beauty so they give you 'skills' that basically make you skip gameplay to cover that fact. Another thing is they barely ground your character in their worlds, it always feels like i exist on the game world instead of in it. Once you beat the tutorial part of any UBI game, you've basically seen most if not all of what the gameplay has to offer. The rest is just convenience mechanics and new locations with all the same content. They are masters at ocean wide, puddle deep gameplay mechanics. Their games have every mechanic in theory but it's all half assed, just enough for marketting to suck you in. If they could deliver on just half of their gameplay mechanics, all their open world games would be near perfect.

[@richhaaaaard]

They copied the Hitman black box design, but the key difference is that in that game, following the games markers is only the first step. Once you have tried the unique kills, you might use that knowledge for a different reason, like changing the targets patrol path or getting access to a better escape route, or simply unlocking new things. In AC the missions are not for replaying and their complexity is too low to really use this design to their advantage.

[@azmihakam]

I agree about the fantasy aspect. Assassin’s Creed is known for its immersion, the feeling of becoming an assassin, and its world-building. It was never primarily about the gameplay. While I hope the gameplay improves (the peak was with Assassin’s Creed Unity), the feeling of being a badass assassin on complex stealth missions was perfect for me. It felt like playing Hitman during the French Revolution. I appreciate the RPG elements in the newer Assassin’s Creed games, but the core feeling of being an assassin has been lost. Ubisoft should create a spin-off within the Assassin’s Creed universe that captures that essence. Personally, I love Assassin’s Creed: Mirage, although it claims to go back to its roots, it’s still held back by Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s mechanics

[@Pixel_Whip]

I like that description of Unity feeling like Hitman during the French revolution.

[@MikeXHawkXLong]

Does anyone else miss the easy animation based combat where you felt as dangerous as an assassin should be

[@honkabonka3548]

really great video man

[@Pixel_Whip]

Thank you!!

[@ogPunkcln]

A superb video. AC Mirage is largely a response to a pretty sizable and upset part of the community. I've spoken to people who have enjoyed Assassin's Creed games and their reception of Mirage are all mixed. I personally like it because it's been a while since I'd played a stealth game that isn't Hitman. But the whole package doesn't warrant the price it's at or the time for otherwise busy gamer-dads to properly play stealth and finish the story. Ubisoft during 2014-2016 created games like Rainbow Six Siege, For Honor, and AC Unity that have long-lasting impressions, or even unique to the industry. The density of crowds in AC Unity, the detailed destruction of the maps in Siege, and the simplified but complex PVP melee fighting mechanic of For Honor are still impressive to this day. With the soon-to-arrive AC Red I hope that we could see a glimpse of 2014-2016 Ubi again. The version that took risks in realizing a concept that nobody (or not a lot of studios) is willing to do. For AC Red itself I want only one thing: for it to know what it wants to play like and stick with it. One thing I really like about Odyssey is how tenacious it is of being an action-rpg that focuses on loot, and was willing to sacrifice a lot of things to make it play like said action-rpg genre. Valhalla tried to half-ass the gear system in and resulted in 80% of the mechanics in the game having zero impact on actual gameplay. Red needs to realize of it wants to be a regular action game with good stealth systems or an rpg that make character stats matter. That way, I know how to approach and appreciate it unlike Valhalla.

[@Pixel_Whip]

My personal copium is that Ubisoft will eventually hit that innovative part of their decade-long cycle soon.

[@royallyplayed2565]

30:30 "When I look into the seams of AC Mirage, I see the skeleton of Valhalla staring back." THIS. That's exactly what bothered me too. This game has some great moments, but when it's BAD.... Edit: After watching the whole thing, I have to say that you really hit the nail on the head. Great video!

[@Pixel_Whip]

Thanks!

[@khareraye2279]

Mirage brings out something bittersweet, like you said, however I have personally come to the conclusion that I'll forever chase the feeling I had as a kid playing these games. Were they good? By todays standard... no. But did it bring me joy? That's what mattered, and that's what I felt mattered to Ubisoft. However, I think the days of player happiness aren't necessarily 'over', but just not considered. It more or less feels like my card information is the most important aspect of these games, on top of a triple A price... it does seem dehumanizing. Will I stop giving them money? Maybe, but for now I think trying to ignite the fire I had as a child is a hope I still hold on to. The Ezio Trilogy, The Kenway Anthology, are games that still hold up well in my opinion, even if I am old enough to see its faults and criticize them amply lol. But do I blame Ubisoft for heading in this direction? I think any successful series will always have their moments when cash is inevitably 'king'. I do have hope, but the bar has been lowered significantly, and I'm not sure if that will ever be remedied. But all-in-all this video did leave me thinking about the state of the series and how to look at it going forward, albeit in a hopeful way. Amazing video, concise and clear but also fun. Keep it up!

[@Pixel_Whip]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, this is a great comment! I think there are some AC games which still hold up well, but they all definitely feel like they're from their era. The modern games are more contemporary, and they do plenty of things really well in their own right, but they do also lack the focus the older games had, even those which haven't aged as well.

[@kemzal]

Amazing video, I loved all of your points and opinions. Honestly for me Assassin's Creed is fast food gaming. I used to play every game religiously, but after Valhalla I branched out to other games such as Horizon Zero Dawn and Ghost of Tsushima. I prefer exploring open worlds, I've heard it being described as Virtual tourism. I find that do enjoy the historical over the "Assassin" fantasy. I liked Mirage as a game based on the history of Assassins more than it trying to be a love letter to the classic games. I am very weary of the future of the franchise and I'll give it a go if it good but for me there are other games that I'll enjoy instead.

[@user-ex6dd2fv6q]

Glad this channel finally got picked up by the KZbin algorithm. Getting the attention you deserve

[@Pixel_Whip]

Thanks!

[@jacobhackman8861]

Really cool video

[@Pixel_Whip]

Thank you!

[@id104335409]

I just played Mirage and it bugged me how it plays and feels. Had to uninstall it to keep my sanity. I think it was horrible. Like a 1000 little things that are just backwards and worse than any older game you can find. If you look at it - it looks great, but when you try to get into it - it just holds you back at every step. Very frustrating and not at all the same good experience many people describe to have with it. Like this video.

[@ragnarth_781]

great analysis

[@maximegrosso5911]

I am ahlfway the videos, what strikes me is the obvious : of course the valhalla feel is still there. Because it was meant to be a valhala DLC, built on top of valhalla engine, with the valhalla mechanics etc. I find this opus doing a wonderfull job with the limitation of being on top on valhalla. The parkour is clunky but was in valhalla so it was to be expected, the price is half the price of a full game. I feel that treating this game as a stand alone is the wrong direction for the analysis, making some aof the criticism a bit harsm. But the day Ubi finally decides to coming back for its root wit ha dedicated engine/mecanics etc, all of these criticisim are still valid and need to be adressed.

[@maximegrosso5911]

Preicsion : i stopped because of "'major spoiler territory" since i have not finished the game yet. Maybe this is adressed later in the vid

[@SeFu2006]

15:00 was the worst thing about old stealth games

[@exodusPrime13]

Hopefully ubisoft bordeaux can improve upon the mirage mechanics and maybe get a opportunity to create a great ac1 remake

[@WideOldDan]

I've always been detected when trying to infiltrate the secret back entrance

[@justfitz08]

Have to wonder how much this had to do with the fact that Miage was originally intended to be dlc for Valhalla.

[@closelaugh185]

Great vid man

[@Pixel_Whip]

Thanks :)

[@BXD_X_BXDDEEZZ]

AC 1 to Revelations used almost the same Parkour system to the Prince of Persia games and AC3 used an entire new system or path finding for the parkour and its kinda the same for the combat too also I just wish they forgot about the modern day story and just stick to main game story instead of A and B plot for the story they should just use an A plot to focus on instead of switching between past and present which spoils the story sometimes

[@d88787]

Watched in one sitting. Excellent video. AC is a tragic series that was doomed from the start by being in Ubisoft’s hands

[@osco6852]

Subscribed, great video essay. Let’s feed the algorithm people

[@Pixel_Whip]

Thanks! 😊

[@vishalvenkat6]

As good as Mirage has been received by the fans, I knew from the beginning that the game was just going to be a momentary sidetrack and not the beacon for the future of AC games. And I was proven correctly based on ubisoft's roadmap for future games. I also personally believe that most of the people who are content with the game settled for the game because of the recent history of bad AC games and not because mirage is a genuinely good classic game. Multiple aspects of the game paid tribute to the idea of classic AC and not actually delivering classic AC. I'm glad I stepped away and started playing other games because it made me realize how creatively unimaginative Ubisoft has become. It's become clear that Ubisoft has prioritized monetizing a game before building the game itself and not focusing on making a good game to begin with.

[@HikingHalfdead]

Unity’s parkour is almost perfect if you know what your doing.

[@Pixel_Whip]

I really do love Unity's parkour.

[@salvadortorres7449]

Which assassin's creed games have you played?

[@HikingHalfdead]

@@salvadortorres7449 all of them and I’ve been gaming since Atari pong to Nintendo to Super Nintendo to pc to ps1 ps2 ps3 ps4 and have watched the devolution of it into a dumbed down boring pathetic state.

[@alephnole7009]

It's such a shame the condition of it at launch. It's telling that despite the bugs I enjoyed untiy but not Syndicate. And I'm a massive sucker for Victorian London aesthetics.

[@birboartt6598]

For me I feel that ac started to lose its focus when they debanded of the middle eastern creepy cult trope from ac1, but as you said, it wouldn’t be as profitable to have a cohesive franchise than to tackle as much historical tropes as possible. Either way, so cool to see some new talented people on KZbin! Loved your writing, and the quality of the video is top notch. Best of luck with the channel friend!

[@Pixel_Whip]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@crypto40]

We just need the parkour controls of the ezio games with the speed and motion from black flag and ac3 and an actual good character and fans will return

[@Jopzip]

"AC games have never tried to be high brow" is a wild thing to say

[@lukemccord8685]

Im surprised no one is talking about how mirage is just a reboot of the first ac game, main character is ostracized, then you have nine templars/members of the order of ancients to kill, then you have a battle with your mentor over ancient artifacts. It feels lazy to me ngl

[@Sue20022010]

Well done, you. Subscribed

[@Pixel_Whip]

Thanks!

[@kurhanchyk]

i think all your critique of the narrative is valid but it is not at all unrelatable to me. as someone struggling with mental illness basim's description of jinni as something sent to haunt and hollow him until it consumed his waking life was 😬😬😬. seeing him overcoming it is a damn relief. but then i don't need him to be relatable even. the concept of another being reborn into a pre-modern human in context of such radically clashing cultures is sooo compelling to me. i agree with you that ac doesn't have good stories, i'm okay with that. but basim himself is a fascinating character to me

[@Pixel_Whip]

Thanks for your comment, you make a good point. I think the narrative has a lot of interesting ideas, but just doesn't go into any of them in significant detail. But I can see how the themes still resonant strongly in your case.

[@TheAltair716]

Very good video. On parkour, please check out Whitelight's video on it. I think you're the only 2 KZbinrs that don't praise Unity's parkour to high heavens. Sure, it looks flashy but it's completely unreliable.

[@Jay-SNAR_REAL]

wow this channel only has 337 subs but feels like a super professional channel huh my brain not working

[@MrProdigy810]

I get that filling out multiple other fantasies thing. I just don’t understand why they couldn’t keep assassin’s creed as the assassin fantasy and make other IPs..? It’s not like they didn’t have a name for themselves at that point

[@gringobronx7670]

Man, I love ac mirage

[@tucan9111]

AC the first game was very much high brow in its concepts, but altair is very much a doofus

[@powder_artist7438]

53:00 is that a haystack you can’t jump in😂

[@abhinavayancha1346]

I personally disagree on the points of the commercialization of a history fiction game for leading to the downfall of assassins creed. As well as it being a generalized concept. There are many games that do the same thing as AC (every souls like game for instance) and are both well liked by the community and commercially successful (Elden Ring). It is true that there is identity dilution, but this is not due to a specific change to identity or expansion into a more generalized identity but rather mediation of gameplay to the lowest factor. It’s what makes the shareholders happier, especially considering Ubisoft is not owned as its own company any more due to the massive amount of loans taken by the companies. In this case blame should rather be put on Ubisoft as a company for deflating their own value through company wide mismanagement and commercial failures.

[@Pixel_Whip]

I don't disagree that homogenising and streamlining the gameplay, as well as becoming increasingly beholden to shareholders has certainly contributed to the state AC is in right now. But at the same time, if you read the 15th anniversary of Assassin's Creed interview book, Marc-Alexis Côté talks very explicitly about the intentional move to adapt the series to fit flexible archetypes instead of assassins, and he also talks about doing so specifically because it increases the interest and retention in the series. So ultimately, my perspective is that all of these aspects contribute to the final result.

[@abhinavayancha1346]

@@Pixel_Whip This only happened because of company wide mismanagement. Black flag was the first to not be an assassin type game, it was commercially successful in relation to AC3 because of franchise fatigue. Even the Ubisoft developers and company men knew this, that’s why instead they created a IP to satisfy this craving- Watch Dogs. Watch Dogs was heavily invested in but turned out to be a commercial failure. Meanwhile at the same time Unity was being made and also turned out to be a massive commercial failure. The problem isn’t that these highly specialized games are not coming out now but that in every case these games have failed when more generalized games have worked. Far Cry 2, 4, and primal, Unity, Ghost recon, and even more. Every single time it was on Ubisoft messing something up with marketing or company wide mismanagement. There’s not enough hits in the genres that we want to tell the company men that this is what we want.

[@abhinavayancha1346]

@@Pixel_Whip On the increasing retention and such, none of the arguments make sense as there are more people playing Unity today than Ac origins or odyssey or even Valhalla.

[@Pixel_Whip]

@@abhinavayancha1346 I'm only reporting what the director of the franchise has said himself.

[@eriksolfors]

AC kinda has the Star Wars treatment, before AC III, Rouge, Unity and Syndicate were all heavily criticised and some even hated by the fans. Now they are maybe not loved but respected and in many ways even missed. Same treatment as the prequels pro- and post-Disney Str Wars. Perhaps the RPG games will reach that too, if AC Initiate will be as bland, hollow and cosmetic as it’s starting to sound. By the end when you talked about how AC became popular because of the very emotional beat it could create, both gameplay and story. One felt enjoyment, interest and excitement when playing a AC game. The potential was huge and still is if time and will is invested. After finishing one game you could always look forward to the next one which would answer some questions and ask new ones in a linear order. Now it’s just so confusing, complex but yet simplified storytelling - it’s minimalistic input to a lore that was complex but easy to follow, which makes it unsatisfying. Still enjoy playing all classic AC games (haven’t played Syndicate due to only PS3) and can spend a whole weekend finishing up the game trying to do everything. Yet, it still can never really scratch the itch that arises in the end credits - “what happens next?”. Before a question which caused excitement, now a question that’s more a “will I ever see a satisfying end to the story?”.

[@mcw-lg2dm]

I think mirage would be a perfect blend of open world rpg while keeping the traditional assassin's creed style. Maybe a slightly bigger open world, more customization, weapons, a longer story and more side content with mirage's gameplay would be perfect

[@colinhoeg4728]

While I'm not a fan of the feedback in the system, I actually like the combat a lot. Significantly better than the rpg trilogy as a whole. My main gripe with it is far more petty tho than most ppl. Basims combat doesn't match his personality at all. Basim seems like he's always questioning everything he does, always unsure of everything, lack of confidence, and almost timid. His display of combat style almost matches altairs personality. Conviction couldn't be stronger, Confidence, No hesitation. Like hes Pure and precise in his decisions.

[@Nlwalker487]

Idk. People might be nostalgic for the older games (AC to Revelations) But they forget the jank. 3 and 4's mechanical upgrades were fantastic. I remember rage quitting syndicate because I couldn't side eject from a tree over a fence lol I thought those teams did magic. Especially with animations. Now, if they had Unity's climbing animations, that would be great. Where they fell off is story. I'd take a new rendition of 3 and 4's engine witha good story over a massive empty world everyday

[@devonjones1579]

It's always pissed me off that horizontal wall running wasn't part of the franchise since at least Origins onward. If you're going to give them superpowers, might as well honor where the series started which was Prince of Persia. Mirage's setting alone makes it close to an open world PoP game we never got (almost got with Two Thrones development). And if any assassin should have wall running it should be Basim given that he can actually teleport. Give the same studio some sequel money, give Basim all the abilities and fluid combat and just spin it off into a canonical new Prince of Persia series. I've said my piece

[@HeyItsTheWykydtron]

There's still so much to explore with the idea behind Assassin's Creed. Different era's and time periods, different gameplay mechanics and systems.. too bad the IP is stuck within the creative blackhole that is Ubisoft.

[@NoradNoxtus]

I can't belive you actually liked the sword combat in AC:M wow

[@alephnole7009]

In regards to Social strealth I'd also bring up tha fact that you dont actually blend in with tbe civilians like previous games. It's painfully obvious you're an assassin

[@jimmymurphy898]

If you put Unity and Mirage side by side someone unfamiliar with the series would think Mirage came out first...

[@drodrigues3451]

Subscribed

[@scottgallagher3886]

i also feel like the comparisons for the cutscene that you had used couldve been better really due to the fact that the scene with charles lee has major narative impact this is just basim getting his equipment it doesnt hold the same narative implication so the comparisions dont fit they arent goign to give oscar preformences for gear retrival

[@don__clemenza]

weird title, great video

[@Pixel_Whip]

Weird comment, great sentiment

[@nootnooty]

Man stung by bee 😂😂

[@Pixel_Whip]

People will write articles about anything these days

[@scottgallagher3886]

i highly recomend anyone struggling to enjoy the games preformances try the arabic voice dialouge with your native subtitles it is much better much more imersive and the voice acting sounds more believable and real

[@DanielSilva-cq6vz]

They actually make me a favor by being so mediocre and adding micro transations everywhere. I used to be a huge fan before the reboot but I was steered away from the franchise with AC Unity's microtransations (even though Black Flag did them first). The problem is people are buying into the microtransations instead of refusing to partake in the worst system for players ever. I remember battlefront 2 release and I thought maybe we still had a chance at reverting back to games with the goal of being actually good so they could sell more copies instead of games made to milk shit out of the player, but it seems that was just a mirage. I went from spending 100 bucks yearly on Assassin's Creed on waiting for the games to be under 15 bucks to buy them, if only everyone else had done the same we would be far better now, but as with any fight, the more organized side wins, and companies have the upper hand.

[@Aviciiz]

I was just watching AC1 gameplay and to be honest to combat of Mirage looks cartoonish compared to it

[@MeggaMann_theBlueLion]

I love Origins

[@actualivory]

dude that fucking hammer animation at the beginning of mirage made me sick to my stomach

[@alephnole7009]

23 hours of cutscenes is RIDICULOUS, Valhalla is a 60 hour game. You know what else is a 60 hour game? DEATH STRANDING, and that only has 6 hours of cutscenes. And everyone makes fun of Kojima for making "Movie games." hell even MGS4 only has 9 hours of cutscenes.

[@esesel7831]

good video thank you i will subscirbe

[@Pixel_Whip]

Thanks, appreciate it

[@ziplockbaggies8707]

AC odyssey and AC Valhalla are the best AC games ever. I hope Ubisoft never listens to the old fans cause they don’t know what they’re talking about out