The one thing I loved about the very first Assassin's Creed game was the challenge to sneakily assassinate just the evil bad guy from above in each chapter and then escape with minimal carnage. The original bad guys in AC1 were legitimately evil.
I feel like that was the classic games' worst aspect, story wise. It's supposed to be a gray conflict, each side with their ideologies and flaws, but the Templars from AC1 up to Ezio's Trilogy are legit like cartoon villains. Thankfully in some future games they gave the Templars more nuance and understanding rather than just being cliché le evil bad guys
@@GabryyLG Not really tbh. They justify their cruelty as a sacrifice/means to achieve world order, and thus peace, similar to how the brotherhood did through Altair.
The sluggish movement was something i immediately noticed in the first gameplay trailer. I think it’s his run cycle, Basim looks like he’s perpetually going on his morning jog.
@@Pedro_Le_Chef Do you mean the game engin Unity or the game engine they used for Assassin's Creed Unity? If you meant the engine Unity that's not true. If you meant the engine they used for Unity, it doesn't explain why the parkour felt so much more fluid and satisfying in AC Unity. They actually went backwards in that regard.
The AC Unity stealth kills were honestly peak. They were well animated and FELT precise. Like Arno knew exactly the weak spots to target, as an assassin should. Definitely wish they brought back that variety of both running kills and stealth kills and different animations for each. Also you gotta be able to manually engage and retract the blade. That's just a staple of any assassins creed game imo. Combat in the older games was simple but it worked for what it was at the time. I think they nailed it in Unity if only they offered more variety in enemies and smoothed out the gameplay and animations for combat. Overall Ubisoft should have stuck with the Unity systems and built off of them to make them smoother.
Unity was great in that the first few hours Arno was a mess, i couldn't control his parkour and his combat was atrocious, but over time he got better and better and by the end of the game his parkour & combat skills were second to none. i felt the same way with Mirage, though the animations were more clunky than in Unity, but at first Basim was getting bodied by 1 or 2 guards, by the end, and by utliziing all his skills in combat, he was wiping the floor with entire squads.
I personally loved Unity and played it a lot… I do agree with the stealth kills… so much satisfaction came from doing it just right and not being caught
Unity flopped because it had a disastrous launch technically and because the story was incredibly boring. AC3 felt epic because they interwove it with American Revolution and Conor was integral to that struggle. For some baffling reason with Unity they set it against the backdrop of the French Revolution and then....... ignored it completely to tell a pound store version of Romeo and Juliet. BUT in terms of the parkour and the assassinations it was probably best in class.
@@PaulWatchorn-uz2eq totally agree. The French revolution felt like a vague conflict compared to previous games and they did an awful job of interweaving it with the assassin story. I played through the story twice and couldn't even tell you what happened in general.
Yeah I played 15 minutes of Valhalla and it was a little too much. I went back to black flag it's still just the right amount of everything and holds up
Valhalla was empty too, odyssey/origins despite being huge felt so lived in and had a lot to explore, but it makes sense why Valhalla feels kind of empty, It's how it was meant to be due to the Anglo-saxon time period.
It's wild to think they haven't innovated on environmental gameplay. The crowd options in AC2 made you feel so stealthy and they just forgot how to try on the stealth options. Last time they tried was Unity with more interiors to navigate and the disguise option. Even AC1 had the prayer hands. Imagine if they'd thrown all those stealth options into this game, with some environmental discretion options to interact with the world which causes a distraction or obfuscates or gives you access to something else.
Let's just be glad they brought those features from the old days back for now. I have no doubt at all your exact point is something people will make when it comes to time to talk about the next one.
You can hide in crowds mate and you can hire merchants to use like the priests in AC1. You can hide in benches, enemies actually search and look for you relentlessly (something which hasnt happened in years. And i meand decades. Even before Unity).
A little help for anyone that feels parkour is weird. I personally switched controller configs around to be closer to AC4 / UNITY. In the config menu you can also determine if a button has to be held or tapped for an input. I now hold circle to decent, hold x to parkour and my R2 to sprint while doing it just like the classics. It feels like butter now 🥂
Oh really? That’s cool. I like the idea of r2 to sprint. Are X and O configured to be pressed for each action rather than automatic when holding? Did you also change assassinate to square?
I think they should bring back Unity’s systems. That was the perfect evolution of the formula just needed to get the story part and glitches out the way
I loved the older Assassin's Creed games. AC2 was so well done and simple. Ezio is still the most memorable character in any of them to me. I still have to look up the character names of all the "modern" AC games and I've completed all of them.
To be fair, we did spend like 4 games with Ezio, so he his by far the most fleshed out character in the AC universe, but I haven't played an AC game since Syndicate 😬
@@AdanteWatts that's a great point but you have to believe we spent so many games with him due to fan demand. But then again by the 4th game, sales dropped so that's a very solid argument.
Anyone that has played AC from the beginning fell in love with this series because it was different. I love how they weave their story into history that we know or can lookup. I don't mind the newer games there are parts that are great. But a mix between the old and new game styles would be a welcome sight I think
The novelty wore off FAST for me. Their adherence to history or geography is practically a joke. They've even given up the pretense in recent releases. On top of that there is the lame scifi plot which means you are *never* playing an assassin. Instead you're playing some dork called Desmond or whatever from the future playing the assassin. It's a completely needless and jarring disconnect from the game proper. They should reboot this series and dump all the scifi shit entirely. Just have some mysteries around the place, like you might find in RDR2 and leave it at that.
@drxym The parts with Desmond are part of the game itself and the story is really good with an underlying narrative. There doesn't need to be an adherence to actual history because this is still a Sci-Fi story, it's not our world and it never was. Even AC1 had Sci-Fi elements and if you disagree with it being that way then it means you were never a fan of the series and should be looking for a History Simulator of some sort because that's not Assassin's Creed.
Totally agree about the hidden blade kills. Half the time, Basim does the stupid “swipe” animation where they phase their whole hand through an enemy, and there’s still the age-old problem of guards seemingly stopping in their tracks just to get stabbed. And you’d think sliding before assassinating someone would trigger a slide-stab animation (something that they’ve animated and can just recycle), but nope, Basim just snaps into the regular standing stab animation. Ubisoft games feel AA
I've always wanted something really simple: some kind of controller input where you can choose the type of hidden blade animation, like for example holding down X and up, or holding down X and down, etc, you get different kinds of animations. It's really simple and they can do it easily.
I've played for about 7 hours already and I have to say I love it. The characters can be a bit extra, and I think Jake hit the nail right on the head when he said the assassinations didn't feel right. That's exactly my biggest problem in the game. Assassinations never felt locked to an animation. Like in the older games if you walked up to a guard you could nonchalantly stab him in the neck and keep walking away and it felt seemless. I know they could fix this and make it better if we let them know these problems with the games. They listened to what we wanted from a new assassins creed, we should see how much they'll listen to actual fans of the franchise. Ac1 and 2 were before me but I've been playing since three and even played the remake of the ezio trilogy. I'm excited to see what ubi does with it, even if they ruin it
Not exciting to see a game get ruined in any regard... This franchise is so old and it'd be a real tragedy to see it get ruined. The games were always a success regardless... Going back to roots is fine but I hope they make bigger games like their last titles too, which I personally enjoyed more. I don't want to pay $70 for less content really... That's what people are essentially cheering for. Pay more for less. It's kinda weird, not gonna lie
Black Flag had a great story with interesting characters and excellent voice acting. I absolutely loved that game. I enjoyed Odyssey and Origins but the writing just didn't pull me in. The quality of the story & narrative makes a huge difference.
@@mtnman8783someone runs a sword at you, you typically die but no just keep tanking hits and heal with some plant lmao. Don't try to apply realistic logic to a game my guy
@@v9730Dawg there needs to be a balance. Honestly to me unity had the best combat. It was easy, satisfying, and smooth. The game needs to be realistic but arcadey enough to be fun ya kno.
9:40 I think it's mainly because most of the time Basim goes for the stomach or chest while assassinating someone and after that he throws them to the ground as everyone looks while Ezio mostly went for the neck with a quick stab and by the time the target slowly fell to the ground, Ezio could go into hiding in the crowd again. It's obvious what's more satisfying here and who's the best Assassini of all time.
The best Assassini of all time was Altair. Ezio was the most popular one (deservingly so)…but if you compare every aspect of what makes one an Assassini and the legacy they left behind….Altair is second to none…even Ezio was always giving respect to Altair.
Yeah love the move where you could could stab a guard and would just keep walking past like nothing happened. Everything looks so clunky to me in this game.
I'm torn between the newer and older AC games. I like both of them in different ways. I absolutely love the overarching story of AC games, since the RPG trilogy were longer there was more of that, rather than the ~15 hours Mirage lasted for me. I hope they continue to make both RPG and old school versions.
I remember when assassin creed was dropping in its prime i played ac 1 to now the day they dropped im 24 so I have a chunk of years to back this up at least but people used to beg Ubisoft when I was a kid and teenager to make action rpgs exactly like Valhalla and now that it’s hear the og fans are back pedaling what we asked for for a decade I’m not being hostile at all btw I know how social media be
Gotta say the price definitely helps. $49.99 for a lean assassin creed game is great. I agree this is a step in the right direction. Once they focus and actually make a game that’s not based on DLC from the newer games i can see this becoming a great genre again
Just purchased from the game collection and they have a deal with 4.3k point back (£10) so I can use the points in the future for final fantasy or something
The problem with the parkour feeling off is big. It's just hold A/X and move. If it had right trigger and A/X to sprint, it would feel a little more like you're actively controlling the speed and made the other games feel so much better than the simplified nature of the newer games. Old control scheme worked so much better for me. Kinda wish they'd gone that route and went even more like the old AC games
I've 99 percent completed every Assassin's Creed. I've learned to wait a year or even 2 for all bugs to be worked out and DLC to be finished. Then I buy the complete edition for $20. I do this because of Unity. It's also a mainly single player game so no big deal about waiting. Thanks for the video!
My dream AC game would be Origins for actual combat, Unity for parkour and open worldness (not really open world but also not linear), AC3 for assassinations, and AC2 for story. I think combining all those aspects into one game would make for a great seller.
Something I miss a lot for brotherhood and revelations is getting assassins to join your guild and training them up to be these assets you can call on at all times during the game
Thanks, as always, Jake, for your fair and balanced reviews. I am not convinced to or dissuaded from buying this game, at least not yet, but you've given me a decent amount to consider for if and when I might wanna get it.
“A Valhalla DLC that got spun into its own game”. I hate when companies pull this crap. Nope hard pass until it drops to $10 or goes on gamepass. If it was meant to be a dlc, then charge dlc price. Don’t charge full price for a half baked game
If you are having problems with Basims momentum while running. One great tip to solve this is to go into your control settings and tinker with them. By default the sprint on controller is binded to the left analogue stick and is set to toggle to sprint but you can change this very easily. It has the option to hold to sprint instead of toggle this way you always know that when you are holding the button down you are sprinting. For me as well I binded sprint to the right trigger which made the whole experience of running through the city feel far more satisfying. There are lots of settings you can change to make things feel more like the older games. Plus one bonus fact which I have appreciated is the amount of animations both combat finishers and assassination animations that are taken directly from AC unity since most people forget that these games are made using the Anvil Engine. Overall loved this game I agree it is a middle ground between the different genres of games in the series
While this game does go back to its roots, I was hoping that they would do more with the mechanics and give us more ways to really flesh the mechanics out. But this is a good direction, I hope Ubisoft is convinced that this is the kind of games some of us really want and I hope they invest more into games like this alongside whatever RPG thing they're doing
They didn't have the time or budget for that. With what they were given, they completely changed the gameplay style and added so many old features and made it actually about assassins. I think they did a pretty good job.
They had to back step from the RPG stuff first. They need to actually continue the series in this direction if we’re ever going to see meaningful additions to the core AC gameplay.
I enjoy all the games way back to the first, but I liked the direction they went in the last three games. The problem with this game is they are trying to satisfy all the fans instead of committing to one direction all the way which they should have
@@snakedoctor145yeah i wish they didn't cater to the old fans that are blinded by nostalgia and won't accept change. i've been playing since the beginning and those games got stale after 3. i tried to go back and replay them but it was rough. definitely didn't get the same enjoyment from them like i did originally. the last 3 games were definitely a breath of fresh air for this franchise.
I'm with you on AC going back to its roots. The 1st one was tedious and repetitive but I thought it was cool and interesting how they tied in historical events and figures into the game, especially so in the AC2 games. I tried playing the newer open world one and they were just a bit overwhelming for me. The exploration is interesting but can be burdensome. This is definitely a welcome change to AC fans like us.
The first time I saw Damascus in the first Assassin's Creed is forever burned into my memory. One of my core gaming memories. I would love to see the series go back to its roots.
I believe for an Assassin’s Creed game to be great, we need to really be put in the protagonists shoes in the setting they’re in & the atmosphere has to be realistic. For me, the previous games that have amazed me were in simple connections that the games do because of how well put together the entire world was. Example: AC2 as Ezio you would get random mini games to hug or handshake someone mid cutscene creating more immersion with the player & character, AC3 when you would do a viewpoint music would start playing as you moved up to the final moment when you synch, Or Ac4 as you get off the boat to a new island the camera kinda moves off center to show you the island & all the objectives you can complete on it! As a old fan, those are minor experiences I recall gave me much enjoyment to the assassin’s creed franchise instead of a mindless open world, or repetitive side quests that seem like homework rather than adventure 😅.
For me, it's how much focus they apply to the depicted era. And if that means taking a bit of focus away from the Assassin story itself, that actually makes it better for me. What I loved about Black Flag was that it basically didn't even care about telling a story about the assassins, instead it wanted to tell you a story about the golden age of piracy reaching its end.
They’re all great in their own way. Very profitable and beloved by the people they were made for. Every game was amazing in its own way to me… and millions of others😊
The music that plays as you approach a viewpoint is easily one of my favorite little things from AC3. It evokes such a strange feeling. I can't put it into words. Those long, drawn-out notes feel suspenseful, which is fitting when you hear it in the early stages of the game as the war is building up. Those notes also have a courageous sound, and even a sort of depressing sound, all of which are fitting for both the American Revolution and for Connor's story. I get chills every time it plays.
I’m with you. I loved AC1 and 2s (the ezio ones really). Rather than smacking one guy 12 times with a crazy big sword, timing 7 parries to installing a huge group of guards was awesome, especially when down to just a hit left of your own health
Yeah I fucking hate these health bars bullshit, this is not what I expected when I heard AC is coming back to it's roots, this is nothing like the old games
I’m really enjoying it 😂 it’s much harder than previous AC games you can’t just fight everyone if you get seen - bad habits I picked up from the last 3 games!
i loved Mirage. it wasn't perfect, but it was most of the things i loved about AC before it kept growing and growing until it was almost not even about the Assassins anymore. visually and musically it was beautiful as well. i hope for smaller entries in the series like this in future in between the massive ones and the mobile/VR ones.
I loved Brotherhood. I loved that Ezio could recruit potential new assassins, train them, and send them on missions. And once they've reached their max level; you perform the Assassin ceremony. I also loved everything about Black Flag. I wouldn't mind a Black Flag 2
Dont know about a Black Flag 2 but i heard rumours that Ubisoft is working on a Black Flag remaster... fingers crossed, i just recently played Black Flag for like the 4 or 5th time but i'd definetly play the remaster again when it comes out.
I love the original Assassin's Creed games, and I love the newer Assassin's Creed games it's true both styles had their strength's and weaknesses, seeing how Mirage is trying to mix the two for a new style is refreshing if there is one way I would love to see return it's Unity and Syndicate, with storytelling like Rogue. Those are still my three favorite games of the series
I was a huge fan of the old AC games, this one looks like it could be a cool throwback but definitely not good enough to play full price for. Also from what was shown, I would have given a pretty similar review as you.
what do you mean not pay full price, its 50 euros brother. I havent played any AC game since syndicate cause i saw that these were not AC game. Mirage feels like the old good games. I am currently 1h into the game and I fully recomend it.
Complaining for no reason, wow have some gamers become so self entitled, it's not full price, as others have said, it has around 43 main missions, if you want to talk about full price, try the new Spider-Man 2 game, which costs here between $105-$120, and it's said to be around similar length in its story compare to assassins creed mirage
I actually agree with you Jake, I loved the combat of AC and ACII. Glad to see they returned to it. I'll definitely be picking up this game as soon as I can :)
4hrs in being released early in Australia, so far so good, and one big thing I’ve noticed is the epic “larger-than-life” scope with the chilling AC1 style of music and sound design. I know it’s an overly used term with filmmakers but this feels “cinematic”.
Even if the story’s a little lacklustre, I’m a sucker for the addictive pure assassin gameplay itself so this one feels worth a try, especially in the desert setting which is a nice shake up from the older games that this gameplay style references (I say references not uses entirely).
I like Unity best when it comes to those quick hidden blade kills, you can toss a smoke bomb and just go to work on four guys then disappears, though I never thought it was realistic to just one-tap someone like that. Here it looks like Basim is putting a lot of force behind his strikes which gives more killing power. It also seems he takes a moment to consider how and where to strike which might speak to his inexperience being an assassin. Plus this is AC1-era hidden blade which I think has to be engaged before you use them. Overall that gives a little bit of a lag which breaks the momentum. I've been looking forward to this one, might gives it a whirl and see.
@@dragomegaman3711Every game before Unity had better parkour and Ac brotherhood had better stealth than unity. Now Mirage also has better stealth than Unity.
I really do like what they did with this game. As a massive fan of the series and liking both newer and older games, this game was great. Took what I loved from the older games with what I loved from the newer games (mostly Origins since that game was amazing compared to Odyssey and Valhalla) and made something great.
Except the combat system is absolute shit. It doesn't give you enough time to recognise whether you have to parry or dodge. By the time you've seen the colour indicator, you've already been hit, and the parry mechanic in general is unforgiving. I get that we want a challenge, but it's flawed. Completely sapped the fun out of the game for me. When on a mission to liberate Ali or whatever his name is, I was doing great until one guard saw me. Just a regular guard kicked my arse for the reasons I stated above. I had to turn it off. Unity had the best combat by far. It was challenging when surrounded, but one guard isn't going to beat you, and so he shouldn't. The parrying also felt good. Playing this after finishing Spider-Man 2 really showed how bad Ubisoft are. I want a refund!
Assassin's Creed 1 and 2 had such a satisfying feeling when running around and using the hidden blade! So sad to see they haven't fully committed to going back to their roots with this one, hate seeing healthbars above enemies etc.
They had health bars too. removed in some but added back in others. In Valhalla you can turn off the rpg stuff so it plays more like the older games one shot assassination and no levels
@@UserNot_KnownThey're basically the MCU of video games, pumping out mediocre products left and right. I have never seen Ubisoft make a GOTY worthy game yet.
Great review Jake! As a fan of the entire franchise, I’m saddened to say I may not give this a shot. Maybe on a deal. The thing that made the originals sooooo good was the in depth story and gameplay. I loved the new ones but it was definitely too much lol if the story isn’t captivating in Mirage, I’m not sure it will draw me in enough, but I guess only time will tell when I try it out. Thanks again for the before you buy! Amazing as always.
I played all assassins creed from the start, but I like both sorts, so I think a mix of them is perfect. Can't wait to play this game and see if it turns out to be how I expect it, a mix!
Initially started this series with AC2 and absolutely fell in love. Somewhere in between Brotherhood and Revelations I played AC1 and thats when I trully became enveloped into this series as a whole. Very much like yourself, I feel the same way on your key notes. Getting to play Origins with Bayek was fun and nice to see the key roots of where the Assassins come from, but I feel like that game (for all its glory) pushed us in the wrong direction with this series. I feel a turn in the tide with Mirage. I’m going in with very little expectations but from what i’ve seen, I’m actually already enjoying it. People say Basim is slow but really I think he works somewhat better than Altair and Ezio. What made their movements look more appealing and fluid is when we learned to break the movement by using side and back ejects properly. I remember the first time seeing what AC2 parkour was actually capable of and it was so cool because it made it look like there was a learning curve to movement and really distinguish how you play. Basim has flashier moves but not having those side and back ejects are what limit him. Overall, I love this series but ever since Unity its been all over the place with what was good and bad and honestly I just hope this “return to roots” is what gets us back to the games we love
Nah, strong disagree. Origins is a masterpiece. The one that screwed things up was Odyssey and even that game wasn't so bad. Take us back to the games we love? Lol Origins was peak Assassins Creed.
While I do agree with you, I actually liked the RPGs. I think it would be better if Ubisoft had two franchises, one for the RPGs, and one for the originals
I love basically every AC game, and I actually like that gameplay varies throughout the series. My favorite one is hands down Origins, mainly due to the setting, ancient Egypt, and how lived in it feels. AC is the closest thing to a time machine IMHO, so I'll buy them regardless😂
Odyssey is probably my fave, but thats just because they expanded on everything introduced in Origins (which I agree was a fantastic game in its own right)
Origins and Odyssey were great. It’s just people don’t realize the old AC formula was dead after Black Flag. It was literally getting repetitive and stale. They HAD to change it to rpg to, as you guessed, make more money. And the community cries about why did they change the formula? Why did the community start bitching about AC going stale then? Make up your goddamn mind you toxic idiotic fanbase!
I'm with ya, hard to hate any of the mainline games. I'm tore between odyssey and 3 being my favorite. But the 4 was so good too. Favorite story is Ezio though.
Would be good if they had their own nemesis system like the Shadow games. Having enemies that could drop a smoke bomb and do their best to run away and you can track them down before they leave but if they do, they return stronger etc but actually have names etc would make the concept of murdering pointless enemies a little more focused and interesting. Challenge I have with AC is the repetition of killing enemies without any great satisfaction feels counterintuitive for an Assassination based game…
I’m one of the people who enjoyed Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla a lot. I was a bit reluctant when I saw that they were going back to the old system but after buying it, I think it’s a great game.
I miss having 2 hidden blades and being able to equip them as a weapon and also holding down square or x to make the blades come out while not in combat. Also all tho origins was amazing it took along time to level all the way up and by the time you did you already did most the stuff in the game and with all the games after I feel like I’m playing the same game with different designs and skill trees. I was expecting the graphics and physics to be a little bit better but mostly my problem is that ever since odyssey, dialogue and some quests have taken more of a goofy or not serious tone while origins was the last game to have a dark and serious tone to it.
Agreed. For me the biggest downgrade is the massive lack of gear/weapons/itemization compared to recent titles. This game certainly is like a remaster of AC1 and I am not of fan of the dumbing down.
Yeah I personally love odyssey, I just wish they added actual consequences for breaking stealth and made combat more lethal and something to be avoided. I know it gets alot of hate cause it's not what a core AC game should feel like (I agree with that) but it's still fun (the basis for what a video game should be) and would be perfect if the things I mentioned were in the game
Jake you usually find great things to say about every game which is why i love this channel. Thats also why you're one of the best for telling me when a game is bad because you really struggle to find nice things to say 😂.
I've been a fan of Assassin's Creed since the first game. It was a huge part of my childhood and I've played every single main line game. Mirage brought back memories of those first games, so that's a plus. It has a nice setting and historical ambience. I hope Ubisoft finds a way to either: combine old and rpg Assassin's creed to satisfy both sides or that they can alternate between them.
IMHO teu nailed it on Unity. It's a shame the game was rushed on release and most people never played it again after the fixes... Something similar-ish to cyberpunk, but the latter had its chance of redemption.
The plan is to alternate between both styles. I don't know if they're are going to alternate between both every year though. I do know that the next game in feudal Japan will be the RPG type.
Thanks Jake, as another long time fan, I totally get what you mean with the overall feel of just sprinting around, the parkour weight and level design, using the hidden blade in low profile, etc. Like yeah while Mirage is bringing back these classic elements, it's still made in the newer games' engine, which is what's giving it that 'off' feel you're describing. Even looking at this small clip of the parkour at 10:08, you can just see the way Basim is snapping to the next object, and without playing I can already tell it just looks wonky lol
I'm fan of both the old and new and I just wanted to say that the next AC game if they decide to please those that only enjoy the old then it's the it might get use a different engine and framework since Mirage was meant to be a Valhalla DLC, it might feel right then. To be honest I've stopped caring, there's too much conflict between fans of the old and the new.
Based on your review, I would say I'm probably also a weirdo. I love the old games for how they felt, not how they played. The assassination/parkour animations, camera angles, cinematics, etc. what were what the older games did really well. I think that's what those games were really about and they got lost in RPG land. I really liked origins and odyssey, but they were very different games and I never had the time to beat them.
I agree 💯 I loved all the games except Syndicate and Odyssey and I have yet to play Valhalla. I like the way they added more side missions and stuff but the rpg aspect isnt working at least ubisofts rpg mechanics compared to the likes of Bethesda. I just don’t get why they can’t make a story as meaningful as Ezio’s and the combat mechanics of Conor with the parkour system of Arno just fully fixed this time and the side quests/map size of the new games. Imagine a game like that! That’s all we’re asking for but yet these companies don’t listen. Ill give this a shot but wait for black friday sale or something not full price as I yet to play Valhalla.
I loved the games up until Ezio died...I liked the parallel between ezio & Desmond...the story was amazing & they had simple things such as picking up the enemy weapon is u fill them & being able to use it that was fun
@@aaradhyanagar2097 Son of a bee-hole, I thought there was going to be an AC game called AC: Empress... -_- I Googled that shit and imagine my disappointment!
I’ve played about 10 hours now, and I’d say your assessment is spot on. Hope the future AC games are like this but better, a little closer to the feel of the older ones.
I’m replaying the whole series again, on AC3 at the moment. I absolutely will buy this game because I dedicated and I’ve found something to love about every game. I’m sure I will enjoy this game. I hope it’s only further refined eventually giving us some classic AC. Of course, I definitely want to keep the newer, big open world, RPG-style games, too. Thanks for the info, Jake!
So true. They all have something unique and fun. And some stuff that amazes you. All the people complaining about minor things are pretty silly. I loved the old games, I loved the RPG games too. They always manage to bring something new even though they’re all familiar and evolving.
Oh yeah I beat every single game plus the dlcs on all of them even the new ones. Im super hyped for mirage just for a kinda return to the roots but mixed with the new stuff.
These comments sound like those fake ones people use to advertise their business. "I saved 2000 saving using her method!" "did you really save that much? I heard good things about her. Im calling her right now!"
Aye thanks for this I’ve been pretty iffy on buying it or not. Been playing AC since day one! I’m definitely hoping AC goes back to the old ways, this new age AC just feels all sorts of weird and not well thought out.
I think the developers mentioned somewhere that the running and jumping or general parkouring was purposely made to be slow and chunky and improves as you progress as an assassin.
I'm enjoying it. I played it for 4 hours last night and looking forward to playing it again tonight. I do like the bigger versions of AC but, I like having a smaller version as well it's fine to enjoy both.
I’ve enjoyed all of the AC games. You knew that once they killed off Desmond that things would have to change. A large part of the enjoyment of those older ones was the connection between the modern character with the historical one. I enjoy the RPG ones and I’m enjoying Mirage. Yes, Basim feels a little slow but he’s not a warrior like the last characters. And Altair wasn’t exactly fast either. Ezio and Connor were only a little better. I honestly think expectations were to recreate what we all felt with the first game when it launched and you just can’t recreate that. Mirage is a solid edition by a smaller studio under Ubisoft. Their recreation of Baghdad and nods to the OG AC is a nice trip down memory lane
I HATED the modern day parts of AC 1 through Rogue.. The new ones weren't so bad! But the original 6? Ugh!!! I'm older now, ans appreciate the story aspect way more in the modern stuff.. But I personally never met anyone who said it was part of what made it great, all my friends said they should remove the animus ans just follow the assassin in the time they lived! Also I feel like until maybe unity? (I barely played it) they really didnt change they just added ships instead of horses!!! Lol
I would have felt more of a connection if I was playing the assassin, not some scfi dork called Desmond who was playing the assassin. I've never seen why they did this since it was an unnecessary disconnect and completely redundant.
@@savannahpaige3670 exactly! It sucked. It would be like playing Red Dead Redemption 2 but you're not playing Arthur Morgan, instead you're playing some weakling nerd who is playing Arthur Morgan. Can't think of a better way to ruin the immersion.
The whole animus thing & playing as Desmond or somebody pretending to be the assassin always sucked. I never understood why they just couldn’t tell the stories from the single point of view of the assassins in their timeline. Bringing this overly complicated modern mess into the Frey just seemed over done.
I bought the game because I appreciate when a company listens to the feedback , I am aware that Ubisoft lost track of its products quality in the last years but I am glad they are making changes and starting to reconnect with its audience, I am super optimist with y this franchise future , Mario rabbids, the upcoming avatar and Star Wars games.
A cool thing I recognizd was that the Assassin Bereaus are the same as the ones in Assassin's Creed 1. You can find this detail at the first one you go to once the game opens up.
This is about what I expected after I saw the walkthroughs recently. I really want to see AC hit a new level. For old times sake. I used to love Ubisoft as a company back in the late 2000’s/early 2010’s because of AC and Far Cry 3. They haven’t been quite the same since and I haven’t played an Ubisoft game since Odyssey. I’m waiting for them to release something truly good.
@djstarzlightNo I liked them as well. They were a new direction that personally felt was needed. Don’t get me wrong I loved the og games but the combat system needed some change. However I wish the fans would actually pay attention I’m tired of seeing people say odyssey Valhalla and Origins was not ac games when they were. The series has always been about the assassins templars and the Isu. Origins was meant to show the start of the assassins, Odyssey was meant to show the start of the Templars while Valhalla was meant to give us more on Isu. It all tied in the story so well for me and that’s what the series has always been for me is the story.
@@wolfpern9831well thats just you. most people fall in love with the gameplay and stealth. you’re not more of a fan just because you like story over gameplay.
They dropped Immortals Fenyx Rising a few years ago and that was truly good. But ppl like you didn't support it which is why the sequel for the game got cancelled
I did enjoy when they made somewhat historical accurate location's, I hope that they continue to do that along with making larger maps. This one looks fun!
Disappointed by the NPC count. Baghdad, at that time, had almost twice the population of Paris in the revolution (AC Unity), yet, the streets appear empty in comparison.
To me, I treated this as AC Origins 2. I knew what I was getting into when I was buying this game. They simply modified their current formula to feel the void of the true AC experience the other rpg games were lacking. They were never a trilogy, this is simply the 4th game. Since Odyssey and Valhalla are in my book a spin-off set of games capturing a combat focused experience, while Mirage is a step back in the right direction following Origins path, built from the current Valhalla system, but building on it where it lacked the “Assassin’s Creed”
Meh, still getting it. I don’t trust skillup review at all. The things some folks are complaining about are what makes AC AC.. the original AC games were “repetitive” and simple. Like AC II was rinse and repeat throughout the game. Everyone wanted to go back to that style of game and leave the RPG style and now they’re still complaining. I’ve had every AC and I’m sure I’ll find it fun and sell well. The history aspect has always been my and many others fave part of AC. Copping Ubisoft+ for this and the crew. Very excited Just compare the replies here to r/assassinscreed it’s clear this is what hardcore fans want and who ubi are appealing to here. It’s not going to create new fans who already disliked the series, but for those of us who have been playing this series for 16 years it’s a great entry.
It looks like an actual Assassin's Creed game. I've always been under the camp that the last three are not AC games. While Origins could "technically" get a pass because it's the birth of the creed, the other two are solely using the brand name to sell you more open world content. You could literally name one "Odyssey: the Voyage of Mithos" and "Valhalla: Eivor's Legacy", and they would have the same impact. It's good to see an Assassin's Creed game that is once again about Assassins.
I've played all of the Assassin's Creed games over the years and I've enjoyed them all for different reasons. Ezio's games are by far my favourite--just because of the vibe, the setting, and the gameplay. But I also enjoyed Odyssey, even though it didn't feel like a classic Assassin's Creed game and at times the sheer size of it was overwhelming (I'm a Greek mythology nerd, so that probably had something to do with it). Ultimately, I'm in favor of AC going back to basics. The older games are classics for a reason and I'd love to see characters like Ezio come back again.
@@wolfsznI’m taking mirage stealth and combat over odyssey honestly. I prefer having a 100% guarantee of killing an enemy through impaling them with a blade, whether with my hidden blade or sword
@@joeisungu7902the combat is the same animations. Hidden blade kills are the same as unity. It’s all recycled animations from games before Egypt. This game was to satisfy and test to see who really wants the old games back.
I guess I was in the minority, but I loved every second of the last three games. Really enjoyed the huge sprawling maps. I've been a fan of this series since it debuted in 2007. But I think they would be better off with dropping those between smaller/tighter releases. Ubisoft has this problem where when they release a game with mechanics that work, they just copy + paste that formula for the next few games in any franchise. Until inevitably the community gets burned out. So space those things out more, Ubi!
I miss the days of AC I to Unity so, so much, 12 year old me was obsessed with this franchise so I was excited about this game because "back to basics" is something I wanted ever since I stopped playing Origins halfway through, and yet, it still feels off... I don't recognize this franchise anymore
I agree fully with you. But those games are always there, available to play whenever you want. Especially Unity. Peak AC for me! Mirage looks, at the very least, a step in the right direction. A step backwards- in a good way though!
Unity might be my favorite. I didn't like Origins but thought Odyssey was decent. While I'm glad they went back to smaller maps. The chosen location of this one is meh. Idk I think the desert makes a terrible stealth environment. It feels like they just wanted to reuse assets from origins and Odyssey.
@@videodeposu8741 that's it! Those are the words as to why it feels off I can't believe Unity looks, feels and plays more modern and polished than this
I’m in two minds about this game but will still probably try it out. Odyssey being my first AC game and thoroughly loved the game, story, setting and characters. And the Greek mythology was amazing. Went on to play origins but felt a bit disappointed so didn’t finish and then bought Valhalla and fix about 70 percent but the game became a bit tedious. Set in England was not as attractive than Ancient Greece. As I haven’t played the older games a cannot compare readily but I do like a good story and good setting I just hope Baghdad is as interesting as Greece was !!
Chances are u prob aren't going to like this as much.. Ive been playing since the original! Everyone says "back to stealth" I stealth everyone in every AC except Valhalla.. As its not an option! But Odyssey? I assassinated everyone! But the original AC 1? Is NOTHING like Odyssey..
Although this is true? I just played it again a week ago.. I yelled many times over how clunky and glitches the controls are on the ps4 version! But if ur going yo play 4? U should play 3 first, and rogue after they are all the same storyline across a 60 ye period with the same characters..
If it were me id use the $60 to buy all of the old ones and play through! All of them up to black flag were something special. The story lines do not compare anymore. They used to do a great job at tying the story into historical events.
@@-Lancelotto- amazing I will give it a go. I did buy mirage and I think I’m quarter of the way in. Tbh I think it’s missing a lot of side quests and NCp characters that you can talk to. It’s massively dialled down compared to odyssey and Valhalla. I feel it’s gonna be over before I know it without any epic events happening.
My first AC game was III. I didn't understand it very much and I finished the story with no upgrades. An AC fan friend saw me playing and explained I was doing it wrong. He explained the mechanics of the game and what I needed to upgrade based on what I was doing. I decided to start again from scratch, and the game completely turned around for me. Understanding all the stuff my friend explained helped me enjoy the game as if it was the first time playing it. I then bought Origins, but the controller layout was completely different from III, so I kinda left it since I was having a hard time getting used to the new layout. At the time I was also playing Kena, and after a few weeks of playing Kena, I realized the layout was similar, so I hopped on Origins, but Valhalla Ultimate was on sale for around $40, so I decided to buy it and started on that one instead. I'm really used to the new AC style, so looking at your gameplay, and knowing you're avoiding spoilers, it seems like you say, a "watered down" version. I'll keep an eye on it for a sale since I'm still on Valhalla and apparently nowhere near finishing it since I'm always getting sidetracked with all the side quests and missions I keep finding on my way to trying to finish the story.
i wish i could enjoy games like that. for me games seem similar in way too many ways, i recognise certain type of missions instantly and get demotivated to keep playing them. luckily the gaming gods blessed us with baldur's gate 3 this year. i'm finally having fun like i did when i started out gaming :D
@@luierdaneenpamper3877 Same here... on the plus side, I spend way less money on games now! 90% of them I look at and realize "oh it's one of those _____ games... I don't need to play that." But yeah, BG3 deserves every bit of the praise it's getting. I played about 60 hours in early access and knew it would be good, but had no idea it would blow up like this. Glad to see it though!
my first ac was syndicate and i loved it despite its flaws, ended up playing it multiple times. Because setting was actually properly developed and the assassination stuff was also good
oof starting with Syndicate. That's the game when I had to put my hands up and give up on the franchise because it derailed so hard from 1-4. Uniqueness and realism was fully traded in for ESG scores at that point.
i played all AC games since i was a kid and ac first came out. trust me on this one, syndicate is the worst one in the series. many say AC2 is the best one but to me AC4 black flag takes the top. its just how well they designed the naval combat and side games in that game made me wanna keep sailing the seas forever
Very unpopular opinion but odyssey and vahalla are much more entertaining because you can play how you want to play I hate when games hold my hand to much and there seems to be nothing but story here
I lot of of what I've read and seen shows a sort of middle-of-the -road blend of the RPG games and the older stealth-based games where Ubisoft didn't really commit one way or the other as to not alienate either side of the fanbase which I guess kinda makes sense. Going forward, I would hope Ubisoft sort of alternates between the two with every iteration where maybe Red goes full RPG, Hexe goes full stealth, and so on.
I really love the oldschool ac games. Especially brotherhood. That game lived up to an actual assasin creed. It highlighted the growth and expansion of the assasins and i wish they add back in the apprentice assasins. Focus more on big battle missions. Templers vs assasins all out war!
I’ve been playing AC since day 1 and I have played every single AC game. To me I appreciate what they bring and it seems as if the fan base just finds a way to trash the franchise. Just like you said, better things are to come! In all honesty, I wish they would fully remaster all the original AC games. I would pay 50$ any day to play these games on the systems we have today!
As a classic AC fanboy, and a person who doesn't have much time; I appreciate the attempt to return to the roots to the simple. Spending 100+ hrs on a game, I just dont have the time with life being the way things are and have been. I have Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla; played Origins for about 2 hrs and never picked it back up
Me too. I have 3 kids so I dont have that much time to play. Valhalla is just as trash but have you tried odyssey? Ive sunken almost 200 hours into that game because its just that good(including the atlantis dlc). If you havent I suggest you do. Hardcore AC fan here and Odyssey made me forget all of the disappointments that Ubisoft has dished out all these years since the OGs
Agreed. After Syndicate i lost interest so its nice to see a return. Assassin's didn't need to have the over complex gameplay as what drove the series was the story. Nice that they're returning and after skipping Valhalla and its predecessor I think i'll give this one a shot
the combat is pretty sad, they could do a hybrid between the old style of AC and the new style of AC combat. Just my opinion spaming left click and some time to time the parry is not that good.
Thanks for the review Jake :) As someone who has always enjoyed the pre-massive-trilogy games of AC... i am actually very happy with this release and am hoping to get to it sooner rather than later... Origins, odyssey and valhalla were great games but not what i was looking for in a AC game... i finished all 3 but left so much unfinished because there was just too much filler... I truly hope this will bring me back into the old school vibes of the original AC games.... especially the time we spent with Ezio :)
@@I_enjoy_some_things honestly... I went through the introduction with the Isu from the staff (can't remember her name) but kinda stopped not long after getting back into the animus... so never completed it.. Is it worth it? I'll have to take a loot at it and go back to it!
I really miss the old apprentice system from ac brotherhood and revelations! I really wish they implement something like that in games moving forward. I also agree with the animations and parkour being jenky, I really liked the unity animations, it felt really well done and I hope someday we can get something like that again. I am enjoying everything else about mirage so far though. The story may be a bit lacking in characters, they just don't feel as interesting to me, maybe because I didn't play valhalla, but maybe with time. I also like the hitman-ish style of the big assassination missions.
This being originally a spin-off dlc of valhalla makes a lot of sense because I thought they had the parkour system figured out in syndicate the same with the smoothness if the assassination animations. I kinda wish they fully committed, but I'm happy to see it at all.
syndicate itself is actually worse on the parkour front than Unity, where it gets all its mechanics. unity introduced the free run up and free run down buttons and had so much more animations than syndicate.
@@quinnmarchese6313yep, I’ve recently been playing unity, and the parkour is probably the best in any assassins creed game, wish they stuck to those mechanics everything just seemed more fluid.
@@tasmanianscallop435 unity is the only one i play just to like run around and explore a little, although black flag is the other that i always boot up to just have some fun in for a bit. 2 is still my favorite and i replay it every few years. most of the others just kinda suck imo, i have no interest in mirage aside from the fact its in Baghdad.
A big problem I have with the new AC trilogy is the accelerated sense of progression. You're constantly changing weapons and stealth is so tedious that you're essentially encouraged to go in balls-to-the-wall. It also seems like they were trying to go in a souls-like direction for AC with the lock ons and massive i-frames dodges gave you, but that's just not what AC is. It seems the studio just doesn't want to make conventional AC games anymore but they're forced to do so by Ubisoft. I'd be happy if they did 1 more truely conventional game with an amazing story and left the series alone to move onto another IP, maybe even to fully realize the souls-like gameplay they clearly want to replicate
I like the game overall and just ignore the bird for the most part to give me the old version more. The assassination and swordplay is a bit clunky like you said and for the heavy guys, all you can do is dodge their blow and hit their backs. Would be nice to just make them beefier to hits as an option. Overall loving the experience and call back memories so far! I'd give it a 4 out of 5
I really like this game& hope they continue in this direction. It feels so much like ac1 in that it has great bones to build off of if they continue this path like from ac1 to ac2. Like others have said it feels a lot better when you edit controls.
I could be wrong here but i think there gonna alternate between old school and new. Because the Japan game is gonna be another RPG. So hopefully Hexe will be another game like Mirage.
All HUD off right away- just like every Ubisoft game. Props to them for always giving us so many HUD options. Also it’s nice to play as an actual ASSASSIN in an AC game… only took years!
@@irecordwithaphone1856 maybe eventually. But Bayek was a medjay not an assassin. He helps form the brotherhood yes. Last thing I felt like in Origins was an assassin though
I like both the new and old games tbh. I absolutely fell in love with Valhalla but I also have a deep passion for AC 3. I think the franchise actually does well to appeal to both sides and mixing it up every other game or so I think is a good option. Just my opinion tho.
The one thing I loved about the very first Assassin's Creed game was the challenge to sneakily assassinate just the evil bad guy from above in each chapter and then escape with minimal carnage. The original bad guys in AC1 were legitimately evil.
Evil with the desire to control to varying degrees of depth.
Well they added that back to mirage
I feel like that was the classic games' worst aspect, story wise.
It's supposed to be a gray conflict, each side with their ideologies and flaws, but the Templars from AC1 up to Ezio's Trilogy are legit like cartoon villains. Thankfully in some future games they gave the Templars more nuance and understanding rather than just being cliché le evil bad guys
@@GabryyLG Not really tbh. They justify their cruelty as a sacrifice/means to achieve world order, and thus peace, similar to how the brotherhood did through Altair.
almost all the bad guys in AC games are cartoonishly evil. Never felt any nuance since ezio and kenway trilogy
The sluggish movement was something i immediately noticed in the first gameplay trailer. I think it’s his run cycle, Basim looks like he’s perpetually going on his morning jog.
I think the team who worked on watchdogs are doing the walk/combat/parkour stuff on all ac games after syndicate hence the downfall.
It just looks like AC Valhalla movement tbh
@@oldtimer666it's all made in Unity's engine which is why everything feels so sluggish and clunky.
@@Pedro_Le_Chef They haven't change the fucking AnvilNext 2.0 yet? Even Unity looks more appealing than the last 4 games lmao
@@Pedro_Le_Chef Do you mean the game engin Unity or the game engine they used for Assassin's Creed Unity? If you meant the engine Unity that's not true. If you meant the engine they used for Unity, it doesn't explain why the parkour felt so much more fluid and satisfying in AC Unity. They actually went backwards in that regard.
Great review Jake!
Good
Nice 🎉🎉
👍
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Good
The AC Unity stealth kills were honestly peak. They were well animated and FELT precise. Like Arno knew exactly the weak spots to target, as an assassin should. Definitely wish they brought back that variety of both running kills and stealth kills and different animations for each. Also you gotta be able to manually engage and retract the blade. That's just a staple of any assassins creed game imo. Combat in the older games was simple but it worked for what it was at the time. I think they nailed it in Unity if only they offered more variety in enemies and smoothed out the gameplay and animations for combat. Overall Ubisoft should have stuck with the Unity systems and built off of them to make them smoother.
Unity was beyond underrated. Been replaying the sequences and it still holds up incredibly, the amount of customization that game provided was peak
Unity was great in that the first few hours Arno was a mess, i couldn't control his parkour and his combat was atrocious, but over time he got better and better and by the end of the game his parkour & combat skills were second to none. i felt the same way with Mirage, though the animations were more clunky than in Unity, but at first Basim was getting bodied by 1 or 2 guards, by the end, and by utliziing all his skills in combat, he was wiping the floor with entire squads.
I personally loved Unity and played it a lot… I do agree with the stealth kills… so much satisfaction came from doing it just right and not being caught
Unity flopped because it had a disastrous launch technically and because the story was incredibly boring. AC3 felt epic because they interwove it with American Revolution and Conor was integral to that struggle. For some baffling reason with Unity they set it against the backdrop of the French Revolution and then....... ignored it completely to tell a pound store version of Romeo and Juliet.
BUT in terms of the parkour and the assassinations it was probably best in class.
@@PaulWatchorn-uz2eq totally agree. The French revolution felt like a vague conflict compared to previous games and they did an awful job of interweaving it with the assassin story. I played through the story twice and couldn't even tell you what happened in general.
I’m glad the map is smaller Valhalla was kind of overwhelming with the size
definitely a positive here
It was wayy too big for me 😂
Yeah I played 15 minutes of Valhalla and it was a little too much. I went back to black flag it's still just the right amount of everything and holds up
Valhalla was empty too, odyssey/origins despite being huge felt so lived in and had a lot to explore, but it makes sense why Valhalla feels kind of empty, It's how it was meant to be due to the Anglo-saxon time period.
Valhalla map size was fine, and representative of the sparseness of the period the game was set in.
It's wild to think they haven't innovated on environmental gameplay. The crowd options in AC2 made you feel so stealthy and they just forgot how to try on the stealth options. Last time they tried was Unity with more interiors to navigate and the disguise option. Even AC1 had the prayer hands. Imagine if they'd thrown all those stealth options into this game, with some environmental discretion options to interact with the world which causes a distraction or obfuscates or gives you access to something else.
Let's just be glad they brought those features from the old days back for now. I have no doubt at all your exact point is something people will make when it comes to time to talk about the next one.
I’d say they left the praying option out because Bazim is Muslim most likely 🤷🏼♂️ Christianity is not present. It’s authentic
You can hide in crowds mate and you can hire merchants to use like the priests in AC1. You can hide in benches, enemies actually search and look for you relentlessly (something which hasnt happened in years. And i meand decades. Even before Unity).
the problem with AC Mirage is that they didn't even go back to original AC style... they literally just made a smaller scale AC Odyssey type game lol
@@Ed_Assyrianexactly!! The graphics look the exact same too😂😂😂
A little help for anyone that feels parkour is weird. I personally switched controller configs around to be closer to AC4 / UNITY. In the config menu you can also determine if a button has to be held or tapped for an input. I now hold circle to decent, hold x to parkour and my R2 to sprint while doing it just like the classics. It feels like butter now 🥂
I literally did the same thing so much better
Oh really? That’s cool. I like the idea of r2 to sprint. Are X and O configured to be pressed for each action rather than automatic when holding? Did you also change assassinate to square?
Dope gonna check that out
I think they should bring back Unity’s systems. That was the perfect evolution of the formula just needed to get the story part and glitches out the way
@@BuddyChy I kept assassinate as R1. Withe the button you can press or hold
I missed how they had Desmond and the story of him learning from his ancestors and how they both had a story. I loved it and they dropped the ball.
AC died for me when they killed off desmond all that potential down the drain, but hey, it's ubisoft afterall 😔😢
@@bluemajiic1979yea that was weird bro
@@bluemajiic1979if you continue playing Assassin's Creed games Desmond is not dead he just became a being of energy
Love the games, started playing way back when and the first game and the twist was nice but after that the present day segments were so boring lol
It's unfinished they should give him a proper goodbye
I loved the older Assassin's Creed games. AC2 was so well done and simple. Ezio is still the most memorable character in any of them to me. I still have to look up the character names of all the "modern" AC games and I've completed all of them.
To be fair, we did spend like 4 games with Ezio, so he his by far the most fleshed out character in the AC universe, but I haven't played an AC game since Syndicate 😬
@@AdanteWatts that's a great point but you have to believe we spent so many games with him due to fan demand. But then again by the 4th game, sales dropped so that's a very solid argument.
Not really Evior , Kassandra , unity or rogue is memorable too
@@AdanteWattsyou should try Odyssey n Valhalla trust me
Same besides Edward Kenway, hard to forget that guy lol
Anyone that has played AC from the beginning fell in love with this series because it was different. I love how they weave their story into history that we know or can lookup. I don't mind the newer games there are parts that are great. But a mix between the old and new game styles would be a welcome sight I think
The novelty wore off FAST for me. Their adherence to history or geography is practically a joke. They've even given up the pretense in recent releases. On top of that there is the lame scifi plot which means you are *never* playing an assassin. Instead you're playing some dork called Desmond or whatever from the future playing the assassin. It's a completely needless and jarring disconnect from the game proper. They should reboot this series and dump all the scifi shit entirely. Just have some mysteries around the place, like you might find in RDR2 and leave it at that.
I enjoyed every Assassin's Creed games, but can't ignore the fact of the downgrade after syndicate
@@mohammedwissam3064 honestly the downgrade started with syndicate
Go play assassins creed syndicate : Jack the Ripper tbh
@drxym The parts with Desmond are part of the game itself and the story is really good with an underlying narrative. There doesn't need to be an adherence to actual history because this is still a Sci-Fi story, it's not our world and it never was. Even AC1 had Sci-Fi elements and if you disagree with it being that way then it means you were never a fan of the series and should be looking for a History Simulator of some sort because that's not Assassin's Creed.
Totally agree about the hidden blade kills. Half the time, Basim does the stupid “swipe” animation where they phase their whole hand through an enemy, and there’s still the age-old problem of guards seemingly stopping in their tracks just to get stabbed.
And you’d think sliding before assassinating someone would trigger a slide-stab animation (something that they’ve animated and can just recycle), but nope, Basim just snaps into the regular standing stab animation. Ubisoft games feel AA
I've always wanted something really simple: some kind of controller input where you can choose the type of hidden blade animation, like for example holding down X and up, or holding down X and down, etc, you get different kinds of animations. It's really simple and they can do it easily.
They’re not even AA lol
here cause "they" contemporary fairies smh 😂😂
@@drexgaming7194 keyword: feel
Did you just use "they" when talking about basim lol 😂
I've played for about 7 hours already and I have to say I love it. The characters can be a bit extra, and I think Jake hit the nail right on the head when he said the assassinations didn't feel right. That's exactly my biggest problem in the game. Assassinations never felt locked to an animation. Like in the older games if you walked up to a guard you could nonchalantly stab him in the neck and keep walking away and it felt seemless. I know they could fix this and make it better if we let them know these problems with the games. They listened to what we wanted from a new assassins creed, we should see how much they'll listen to actual fans of the franchise. Ac1 and 2 were before me but I've been playing since three and even played the remake of the ezio trilogy. I'm excited to see what ubi does with it, even if they ruin it
Not exciting to see a game get ruined in any regard... This franchise is so old and it'd be a real tragedy to see it get ruined. The games were always a success regardless... Going back to roots is fine but I hope they make bigger games like their last titles too, which I personally enjoyed more. I don't want to pay $70 for less content really... That's what people are essentially cheering for. Pay more for less. It's kinda weird, not gonna lie
its all Basims fault!
Black Flag had a great story with interesting characters and excellent voice acting. I absolutely loved that game. I enjoyed Odyssey and Origins but the writing just didn't pull me in. The quality of the story & narrative makes a huge difference.
Black flag was on another level
Hated Origins combat system...and a chore to battle multiple enemies
Black flag is still my favourite AC
Black Flag ship battles was epic too.
Very true. AC4 had the Best Story in any AC games
I agree with you as far as liking the first AC combat. Yes it was technically too “easy” but I loved the one hit kills
You run a sword through someone they typically die. I despise the bullet sponges of them later games
@@mtnman8783absolutely agree
@@mtnman8783someone runs a sword at you, you typically die but no just keep tanking hits and heal with some plant lmao. Don't try to apply realistic logic to a game my guy
@@v9730Dawg there needs to be a balance. Honestly to me unity had the best combat. It was easy, satisfying, and smooth. The game needs to be realistic but arcadey enough to be fun ya kno.
@@lewisholland4925 unities combat was slick as heck. Loved that game and honestly consider it to be last real.assassins Creed game
9:40 I think it's mainly because most of the time Basim goes for the stomach or chest while assassinating someone and after that he throws them to the ground as everyone looks while Ezio mostly went for the neck with a quick stab and by the time the target slowly fell to the ground, Ezio could go into hiding in the crowd again. It's obvious what's more satisfying here and who's the best Assassini of all time.
I really enjoyed the way you explained that. Thank you
Well they tended to combine it with a pretty forceful sort of push movement or a quick spinny slash. There was a real sense of weight behind it.
The best Assassini of all time was Altair. Ezio was the most popular one (deservingly so)…but if you compare every aspect of what makes one an Assassini and the legacy they left behind….Altair is second to none…even Ezio was always giving respect to Altair.
totally agree
it's the same with Arno in ac unity, he is just so damn clean with the assassinations
Yeah love the move where you could could stab a guard and would just keep walking past like nothing happened. Everything looks so clunky to me in this game.
I'm torn between the newer and older AC games. I like both of them in different ways. I absolutely love the overarching story of AC games, since the RPG trilogy were longer there was more of that, rather than the ~15 hours Mirage lasted for me. I hope they continue to make both RPG and old school versions.
I hope they do bylut not call it assassin's Creed
I remember when assassin creed was dropping in its prime i played ac 1 to now the day they dropped im 24 so I have a chunk of years to back this up at least but people used to beg Ubisoft when I was a kid and teenager to make action rpgs exactly like Valhalla and now that it’s hear the og fans are back pedaling what we asked for for a decade I’m not being hostile at all btw I know how social media be
same I really like the RPG AC games but also like the classic short story assassin AC games, both genres have their own strengths and weaknesses alike
I loved ac Valhalla, but also loved the Ezio games, think its okay to love both. @@Lewiss248
ok
Gotta say the price definitely helps. $49.99 for a lean assassin creed game is great. I agree this is a step in the right direction. Once they focus and actually make a game that’s not based on DLC from the newer games i can see this becoming a great genre again
Plus it's available at release on their $15 subscription
i thought it was $50?
Its $49.99 for the Standard version, $59.99 for Deluxe. Not sure where you got $40.
Just purchased from the game collection and they have a deal with 4.3k point back (£10) so I can use the points in the future for final fantasy or something
@@FrigidHeights *uses Jedi mind trick* why of course that’s what I said
The problem with the parkour feeling off is big. It's just hold A/X and move. If it had right trigger and A/X to sprint, it would feel a little more like you're actively controlling the speed and made the other games feel so much better than the simplified nature of the newer games. Old control scheme worked so much better for me. Kinda wish they'd gone that route and went even more like the old AC games
Change the controller settings. I hold RT and A (xbox) to sprint/parkour.
Thats literally the original control scheme for the OG AC games, press A, run towards a wall and then parkour
@@jsrocker248Right I’m thinking what’s the complaint comparison to here. It’s literally started as this
The climbing, even the running, feels so dull. It's not fun. The game is ass
The only gripe with this game I have is the fact that sprint is on toggle and you can't change it
I've 99 percent completed every Assassin's Creed. I've learned to wait a year or even 2 for all bugs to be worked out and DLC to be finished. Then I buy the complete edition for $20. I do this because of Unity. It's also a mainly single player game so no big deal about waiting. Thanks for the video!
My dream AC game would be Origins for actual combat, Unity for parkour and open worldness (not really open world but also not linear), AC3 for assassinations, and AC2 for story. I think combining all those aspects into one game would make for a great seller.
Leaning more towards odyssey combat or Valhalla but the rest..definitely
Ac3 and Syndicate style side missions too
Imagine an Assasins creed game with the quality of Rockstar/Gta.😅
My favourite was actually Assasin's Creed 3. I loved the game play, setting, story and especially the momentum with the smaller axes.
3 was my favorite one too. I loved the myth side quests (headless horseman, lochness monster, etc.)
I loved the parkour and combat
same. also the crafting and homestead elements kept me busy.
Yes yes yes. I think it was the best one
i hated 3, it was worse than syndicate and unity for me
Something I miss a lot for brotherhood and revelations is getting assassins to join your guild and training them up to be these assets you can call on at all times during the game
Thanks, as always, Jake, for your fair and balanced reviews. I am not convinced to or dissuaded from buying this game, at least not yet, but you've given me a decent amount to consider for if and when I might wanna get it.
Sounds like a title that would be great to wait for a sale. It is only 50$ new and not 70$
Wait a second, that's some ass creed origins combat. I thought this was back to basics
same, thanks for my neighbor gamer review! I know exactly how he fell. ( old time gamer here )
“A Valhalla DLC that got spun into its own game”. I hate when companies pull this crap. Nope hard pass until it drops to $10 or goes on gamepass. If it was meant to be a dlc, then charge dlc price. Don’t charge full price for a half baked game
I’m sure the Assassin’s Creed subreddit is perfectly happy and no one is arguing about the reviews of this game!
(lol)
If you are having problems with Basims momentum while running. One great tip to solve this is to go into your control settings and tinker with them. By default the sprint on controller is binded to the left analogue stick and is set to toggle to sprint but you can change this very easily. It has the option to hold to sprint instead of toggle this way you always know that when you are holding the button down you are sprinting. For me as well I binded sprint to the right trigger which made the whole experience of running through the city feel far more satisfying. There are lots of settings you can change to make things feel more like the older games. Plus one bonus fact which I have appreciated is the amount of animations both combat finishers and assassination animations that are taken directly from AC unity since most people forget that these games are made using the Anvil Engine. Overall loved this game I agree it is a middle ground between the different genres of games in the series
While this game does go back to its roots, I was hoping that they would do more with the mechanics and give us more ways to really flesh the mechanics out. But this is a good direction, I hope Ubisoft is convinced that this is the kind of games some of us really want and I hope they invest more into games like this alongside whatever RPG thing they're doing
this was meant to be a dlc
They didn't have the time or budget for that. With what they were given, they completely changed the gameplay style and added so many old features and made it actually about assassins. I think they did a pretty good job.
They had to back step from the RPG stuff first.
They need to actually continue the series in this direction if we’re ever going to see meaningful additions to the core AC gameplay.
this aint roots
Why couldn't they just build Upon Unity
@@NO0Kn0OK budget and time
I really enjoyed Origins, Odyssey, and some of Valhalla. But I feel like this is a refreshing throwback that a lot of us AC fans will enjoy.
Odyssey was really good imo except the corny dialogues.
@@Wpeoplee lmao agreed, odyssey was my favorite from the three
I enjoy all the games way back to the first, but I liked the direction they went in the last three games. The problem with this game is they are trying to satisfy all the fans instead of committing to one direction all the way which they should have
@@snakedoctor145yeah i wish they didn't cater to the old fans that are blinded by nostalgia and won't accept change. i've been playing since the beginning and those games got stale after 3. i tried to go back and replay them but it was rough. definitely didn't get the same enjoyment from them like i did originally. the last 3 games were definitely a breath of fresh air for this franchise.
yet lack of features. i shall pirate these games till i die or they fix and add achv
I'm with you on AC going back to its roots. The 1st one was tedious and repetitive but I thought it was cool and interesting how they tied in historical events and figures into the game, especially so in the AC2 games. I tried playing the newer open world one and they were just a bit overwhelming for me. The exploration is interesting but can be burdensome. This is definitely a welcome change to AC fans like us.
What do you mean the first one was tedious? Maybe if you played the game years later, but it was super innovative for its time
@@omgfackdehellit was the same missions over and over. not really innovative at all. everything else was tho ig
Super
ok
Said the 10 yo who bought and played all of them in a month
The first time I saw Damascus in the first Assassin's Creed is forever burned into my memory. One of my core gaming memories. I would love to see the series go back to its roots.
I swear to god
I believe for an Assassin’s Creed game to be great, we need to really be put in the protagonists shoes in the setting they’re in & the atmosphere has to be realistic. For me, the previous games that have amazed me were in simple connections that the games do because of how well put together the entire world was. Example: AC2 as Ezio you would get random mini games to hug or handshake someone mid cutscene creating more immersion with the player & character, AC3 when you would do a viewpoint music would start playing as you moved up to the final moment when you synch, Or Ac4 as you get off the boat to a new island the camera kinda moves off center to show you the island & all the objectives you can complete on it! As a old fan, those are minor experiences I recall gave me much enjoyment to the assassin’s creed franchise instead of a mindless open world, or repetitive side quests that seem like homework rather than adventure 😅.
For me, it's how much focus they apply to the depicted era. And if that means taking a bit of focus away from the Assassin story itself, that actually makes it better for me.
What I loved about Black Flag was that it basically didn't even care about telling a story about the assassins, instead it wanted to tell you a story about the golden age of piracy reaching its end.
Ah yes finally someone mentions the music kicking in just before reaching the top of a viewpoint. I loved that.
They’re all great in their own way. Very profitable and beloved by the people they were made for. Every game was amazing in its own way to me… and millions of others😊
The music that plays as you approach a viewpoint is easily one of my favorite little things from AC3. It evokes such a strange feeling. I can't put it into words. Those long, drawn-out notes feel suspenseful, which is fitting when you hear it in the early stages of the game as the war is building up. Those notes also have a courageous sound, and even a sort of depressing sound, all of which are fitting for both the American Revolution and for Connor's story. I get chills every time it plays.
I’m with you. I loved AC1 and 2s (the ezio ones really). Rather than smacking one guy 12 times with a crazy big sword, timing 7 parries to installing a huge group of guards was awesome, especially when down to just a hit left of your own health
Yeah I fucking hate these health bars bullshit, this is not what I expected when I heard AC is coming back to it's roots, this is nothing like the old games
you can still play like that lol.
@@Mart-E12Should've watched the video first
I did and it's nothing like the old games. The only upsides are graphics and cool outfits
@@Mart-E12 He literally said in the video multiple times that it was not like the old games
I’m really enjoying it 😂 it’s much harder than previous AC games you can’t just fight everyone if you get seen - bad habits I picked up from the last 3 games!
Noooooo I used to do that to 😭😭
@@captainnaruto1500why don’t you just shut up and kiss me already!!
It's literally easier than ever before... how bad are you?
I haven’t played it yet
@@Somtric lol 😂
i loved Mirage. it wasn't perfect, but it was most of the things i loved about AC before it kept growing and growing until it was almost not even about the Assassins anymore. visually and musically it was beautiful as well. i hope for smaller entries in the series like this in future in between the massive ones and the mobile/VR ones.
I loved Brotherhood. I loved that Ezio could recruit potential new assassins, train them, and send them on missions. And once they've reached their max level; you perform the Assassin ceremony. I also loved everything about Black Flag. I wouldn't mind a Black Flag 2
Brotherhood may possibly be my favorite AC game, soo good!! Also how could one not love Ezio, he was such a perfect character for the series
Brotherhood with unity combat and parkour
Brotherhood had one good thing: multiplayer lol. It was so damn fun xD
And when they died you’d close their eyes 😢
Dont know about a Black Flag 2 but i heard rumours that Ubisoft is working on a Black Flag remaster... fingers crossed, i just recently played Black Flag for like the 4 or 5th time but i'd definetly play the remaster again when it comes out.
I love the original Assassin's Creed games, and I love the newer Assassin's Creed games it's true both styles had their strength's and weaknesses, seeing how Mirage is trying to mix the two for a new style is refreshing if there is one way I would love to see return it's Unity and Syndicate, with storytelling like Rogue.
Those are still my three favorite games of the series
Loved Rogue and Syndicate.
Rogue was amazing ,the first ever ac I played and completed fully,got me into the series actually
I was a huge fan of the old AC games, this one looks like it could be a cool throwback but definitely not good enough to play full price for. Also from what was shown, I would have given a pretty similar review as you.
what do you mean not pay full price, its 50 euros brother. I havent played any AC game since syndicate cause i saw that these were not AC game. Mirage feels like the old good games. I am currently 1h into the game and I fully recomend it.
it isn't full price. it's 49.99
It's not full price.
I don’t know if you know but it isn’t full price lol
Complaining for no reason, wow have some gamers become so self entitled, it's not full price, as others have said, it has around 43 main missions, if you want to talk about full price, try the new Spider-Man 2 game, which costs here between $105-$120, and it's said to be around similar length in its story compare to assassins creed mirage
I actually agree with you Jake, I loved the combat of AC and ACII. Glad to see they returned to it. I'll definitely be picking up this game as soon as I can :)
4hrs in being released early in Australia, so far so good, and one big thing I’ve noticed is the epic “larger-than-life” scope with the chilling AC1 style of music and sound design. I know it’s an overly used term with filmmakers but this feels “cinematic”.
Even if the story’s a little lacklustre, I’m a sucker for the addictive pure assassin gameplay itself so this one feels worth a try, especially in the desert setting which is a nice shake up from the older games that this gameplay style references (I say references not uses entirely).
I feel like the old games were good because they were different. There's much better games out there now of that style
@@Awesome30034could you name some?
Seconded
I like Unity best when it comes to those quick hidden blade kills, you can toss a smoke bomb and just go to work on four guys then disappears, though I never thought it was realistic to just one-tap someone like that. Here it looks like Basim is putting a lot of force behind his strikes which gives more killing power. It also seems he takes a moment to consider how and where to strike which might speak to his inexperience being an assassin. Plus this is AC1-era hidden blade which I think has to be engaged before you use them. Overall that gives a little bit of a lag which breaks the momentum. I've been looking forward to this one, might gives it a whirl and see.
I LOVE unity's stealth and parkour and I wanted mirage to be like unity
But I guess they are taking baby steps with it (ubisoft).
Unity has the best stealth and parkour in Assassin Creed franchise
No game will ever top that
The game brings back the Unity hidden blade assassinations with some new ones on top.
@@dragomegaman3711Every game before Unity had better parkour and Ac brotherhood had better stealth than unity.
Now Mirage also has better stealth than Unity.
@@Pedro_Le_Chef with stealth not being best, I agree. but It definitely was the smoothest and best parkour in all of AC series.
I really do like what they did with this game. As a massive fan of the series and liking both newer and older games, this game was great. Took what I loved from the older games with what I loved from the newer games (mostly Origins since that game was amazing compared to Odyssey and Valhalla) and made something great.
Except the combat system is absolute shit. It doesn't give you enough time to recognise whether you have to parry or dodge. By the time you've seen the colour indicator, you've already been hit, and the parry mechanic in general is unforgiving. I get that we want a challenge, but it's flawed. Completely sapped the fun out of the game for me. When on a mission to liberate Ali or whatever his name is, I was doing great until one guard saw me. Just a regular guard kicked my arse for the reasons I stated above. I had to turn it off. Unity had the best combat by far. It was challenging when surrounded, but one guard isn't going to beat you, and so he shouldn't. The parrying also felt good. Playing this after finishing Spider-Man 2 really showed how bad Ubisoft are. I want a refund!
@@craig8304it sounds like you just suck
Assassin's Creed 1 and 2 had such a satisfying feeling when running around and using the hidden blade! So sad to see they haven't fully committed to going back to their roots with this one, hate seeing healthbars above enemies etc.
You can dissable all hud stuff to your liking
Yeah but have you gone back to AC1 recently? It aged badly.
Ac 2 also had health bars above the enemies heads
bro ac2 has healthbars😂
They had health bars too. removed in some but added back in others. In Valhalla you can turn off the rpg stuff so it plays more like the older games one shot assassination and no levels
They never disappoint us in making a 7/10 AC game.
7/10 is good tbf
@@UserNot_Known you mean average?
@@UserNot_Knownmore like 6/10 for fumbling core elements like movement, assassinations and combat
ubisoft games not good and not bad. i give 5 or 6 for ubisoft games.
@@UserNot_KnownThey're basically the MCU of video games, pumping out mediocre products left and right.
I have never seen Ubisoft make a GOTY worthy game yet.
Great review Jake! As a fan of the entire franchise, I’m saddened to say I may not give this a shot. Maybe on a deal. The thing that made the originals sooooo good was the in depth story and gameplay. I loved the new ones but it was definitely too much lol if the story isn’t captivating in Mirage, I’m not sure it will draw me in enough, but I guess only time will tell when I try it out. Thanks again for the before you buy! Amazing as always.
Completely agree
🤓
@@scotto9857🤓
they just need to add ac valhalla brutal finisher mechanic and this will be perfect
They should have made this in unity- syndicate engine. I enjoyed the newer games, but only finished origins. I will wait for sale before buying this.
I played all assassins creed from the start, but I like both sorts, so I think a mix of them is perfect. Can't wait to play this game and see if it turns out to be how I expect it, a mix!
How did you like it?
Initially started this series with AC2 and absolutely fell in love. Somewhere in between Brotherhood and Revelations I played AC1 and thats when I trully became enveloped into this series as a whole. Very much like yourself, I feel the same way on your key notes. Getting to play Origins with Bayek was fun and nice to see the key roots of where the Assassins come from, but I feel like that game (for all its glory) pushed us in the wrong direction with this series. I feel a turn in the tide with Mirage. I’m going in with very little expectations but from what i’ve seen, I’m actually already enjoying it. People say Basim is slow but really I think he works somewhat better than Altair and Ezio. What made their movements look more appealing and fluid is when we learned to break the movement by using side and back ejects properly. I remember the first time seeing what AC2 parkour was actually capable of and it was so cool because it made it look like there was a learning curve to movement and really distinguish how you play. Basim has flashier moves but not having those side and back ejects are what limit him. Overall, I love this series but ever since Unity its been all over the place with what was good and bad and honestly I just hope this “return to roots” is what gets us back to the games we love
Nah, strong disagree.
Origins is a masterpiece.
The one that screwed things up was Odyssey and even that game wasn't so bad.
Take us back to the games we love? Lol
Origins was peak Assassins Creed.
@@MeGustanLosTacos1013you’re smoking crack
While I do agree with you, I actually liked the RPGs. I think it would be better if Ubisoft had two franchises, one for the RPGs, and one for the originals
No one’s reading allat buddy. Ur not him
I love basically every AC game, and I actually like that gameplay varies throughout the series. My favorite one is hands down Origins, mainly due to the setting, ancient Egypt, and how lived in it feels.
AC is the closest thing to a time machine IMHO, so I'll buy them regardless😂
Odyssey is probably my fave, but thats just because they expanded on everything introduced in Origins (which I agree was a fantastic game in its own right)
Origins and Odyssey were great. It’s just people don’t realize the old AC formula was dead after Black Flag. It was literally getting repetitive and stale. They HAD to change it to rpg to, as you guessed, make more money. And the community cries about why did they change the formula? Why did the community start bitching about AC going stale then? Make up your goddamn mind you toxic idiotic fanbase!
I'm with ya, hard to hate any of the mainline games. I'm tore between odyssey and 3 being my favorite. But the 4 was so good too. Favorite story is Ezio though.
Would be good if they had their own nemesis system like the Shadow games. Having enemies that could drop a smoke bomb and do their best to run away and you can track them down before they leave but if they do, they return stronger etc but actually have names etc would make the concept of murdering pointless enemies a little more focused and interesting. Challenge I have with AC is the repetition of killing enemies without any great satisfaction feels counterintuitive for an Assassination based game…
It’s a shame that the nemesis system is copyrighted so nobody can use it except Warner Brothers
It is a patented system. I wonder how they can replicate a similar system. How does it work?
That sounds like a damn good idea 👌
@@theclaytusand the worst part is they havent used it since shadow of war, they could have used it in gotham knights atleast
@@ezioassassainit was conceptually easy to patented but VERY hard to programmed. I don't even think Monolith will do one for their Wonder Woman game.
I’m one of the people who enjoyed Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla a lot. I was a bit reluctant when I saw that they were going back to the old system but after buying it, I think it’s a great game.
I miss having 2 hidden blades and being able to equip them as a weapon and also holding down square or x to make the blades come out while not in combat. Also all tho origins was amazing it took along time to level all the way up and by the time you did you already did most the stuff in the game and with all the games after I feel like I’m playing the same game with different designs and skill trees. I was expecting the graphics and physics to be a little bit better but mostly my problem is that ever since odyssey, dialogue and some quests have taken more of a goofy or not serious tone while origins was the last game to have a dark and serious tone to it.
Agreed. For me the biggest downgrade is the massive lack of gear/weapons/itemization compared to recent titles. This game certainly is like a remaster of AC1 and I am not of fan of the dumbing down.
They should have cranked it way up instead. This game doesn't look appealing to me at all and I finished Odyssey and Valhalla.@@dantauche7917
Odyssey was great in introducing super bosses. Also the tough mercenaries hunting you. Loved that as the flight Ng is v répétitive
The only thing I love about Odyssey is the exploration and world building. It's just crazy we can explore whole ancient Greece.
it also introduced pool noodle combat.
Yeah I personally love odyssey, I just wish they added actual consequences for breaking stealth and made combat more lethal and something to be avoided. I know it gets alot of hate cause it's not what a core AC game should feel like (I agree with that) but it's still fun (the basis for what a video game should be) and would be perfect if the things I mentioned were in the game
@@jessegarcia526 I agree with you. Odyssey was a good ancient Greece themed RPG game. It was just a poor assassins creed game.
Jake you usually find great things to say about every game which is why i love this channel. Thats also why you're one of the best for telling me when a game is bad because you really struggle to find nice things to say 😂.
I've been a fan of Assassin's Creed since the first game. It was a huge part of my childhood and I've played every single main line game. Mirage brought back memories of those first games, so that's a plus. It has a nice setting and historical ambience. I hope Ubisoft finds a way to either: combine old and rpg Assassin's creed to satisfy both sides or that they can alternate between them.
IMHO teu nailed it on Unity. It's a shame the game was rushed on release and most people never played it again after the fixes... Something similar-ish to cyberpunk, but the latter had its chance of redemption.
@@pedroh.m.8989 I had loads of fun with unity
The plan is to alternate between both styles. I don't know if they're are going to alternate between both every year though. I do know that the next game in feudal Japan will be the RPG type.
@@pedroh.m.8989yes dude. Unity was one of my favorites from the pre rpg days.
@@pedroh.m.8989once they fixed all the game breaking bugs and stuff, Unity was actually fire 🔥
Thanks Jake, as another long time fan, I totally get what you mean with the overall feel of just sprinting around, the parkour weight and level design, using the hidden blade in low profile, etc. Like yeah while Mirage is bringing back these classic elements, it's still made in the newer games' engine, which is what's giving it that 'off' feel you're describing. Even looking at this small clip of the parkour at 10:08, you can just see the way Basim is snapping to the next object, and without playing I can already tell it just looks wonky lol
I'm fan of both the old and new and I just wanted to say that the next AC game if they decide to please those that only enjoy the old then it's the it might get use a different engine and framework since Mirage was meant to be a Valhalla DLC, it might feel right then.
To be honest I've stopped caring, there's too much conflict between fans of the old and the new.
Based on your review, I would say I'm probably also a weirdo. I love the old games for how they felt, not how they played. The assassination/parkour animations, camera angles, cinematics, etc. what were what the older games did really well. I think that's what those games were really about and they got lost in RPG land. I really liked origins and odyssey, but they were very different games and I never had the time to beat them.
I agree 💯 I loved all the games except Syndicate and Odyssey and I have yet to play Valhalla. I like the way they added more side missions and stuff but the rpg aspect isnt working at least ubisofts rpg mechanics compared to the likes of Bethesda. I just don’t get why they can’t make a story as meaningful as Ezio’s and the combat mechanics of Conor with the parkour system of Arno just fully fixed this time and the side quests/map size of the new games. Imagine a game like that! That’s all we’re asking for but yet these companies don’t listen. Ill give this a shot but wait for black friday sale or something not full price as I yet to play Valhalla.
Origins is still in my top 3 AC games. Such a gem out of nowhere. I agree about Odyssey and Valhalla though. Been playing since AC 1
I loved the games up until Ezio died...I liked the parallel between ezio & Desmond...the story was amazing & they had simple things such as picking up the enemy weapon is u fill them & being able to use it that was fun
@@tnastytfv25 yea Idk even know where we are at in the modern day story tbh. Are we still on Layla or is she dead too?
@@dracorex280 who know...the modern day stuff doesn't even feel captivating anymore
Not planning on getting the game but Gameranx always puts out good videos, keep up the awesome work!!!
Wait for empress
@@aaradhyanagar2097when tho??
@@Aravind-aceI guess it will take a month,like it always does 🥲
@@aaradhyanagar2097 Son of a bee-hole, I thought there was going to be an AC game called AC: Empress... -_-
I Googled that shit and imagine my disappointment!
Wtf! The Whole Game Industry will collapse if you don't buy this game
I’ve played about 10 hours now, and I’d say your assessment is spot on. Hope the future AC games are like this but better, a little closer to the feel of the older ones.
Fortunately this is just an exception and the next couple of games will be full RPGs again
@@m.r4841lame. There’s already so many rpg games around. We should let Assassin creed be what got it popular
I’m replaying the whole series again, on AC3 at the moment. I absolutely will buy this game because I dedicated and I’ve found something to love about every game. I’m sure I will enjoy this game. I hope it’s only further refined eventually giving us some classic AC. Of course, I definitely want to keep the newer, big open world, RPG-style games, too. Thanks for the info, Jake!
So true. They all have something unique and fun. And some stuff that amazes you. All the people complaining about minor things are pretty silly. I loved the old games, I loved the RPG games too. They always manage to bring something new even though they’re all familiar and evolving.
Oh yeah I beat every single game plus the dlcs on all of them even the new ones. Im super hyped for mirage just for a kinda return to the roots but mixed with the new stuff.
These comments sound like those fake ones people use to advertise their business. "I saved 2000 saving using her method!" "did you really save that much? I heard good things about her. Im calling her right now!"
AC3 is my favorite game of the series
I was doing that too. Took a break at unity. Need to go back and finish it up
Aye thanks for this I’ve been pretty iffy on buying it or not. Been playing AC since day one! I’m definitely hoping AC goes back to the old ways, this new age AC just feels all sorts of weird and not well thought out.
I think the developers mentioned somewhere that the running and jumping or general parkouring was purposely made to be slow and chunky and improves as you progress as an assassin.
But that don’t make it good
Yeah it does. Progression is a huge thing.
That's a lie, developers never mentioned that
It doesn’t speed up over time it’s the same pace
@AarushKumar-sf1vk I’ve watched other reviews and talked to people who are currently playing it. There’s zero parkour progression that’s just cope
I really enjoyed Odyssey, I’d play a Star Wars game with that level of depth
I'm enjoying it. I played it for 4 hours last night and looking forward to playing it again tonight. I do like the bigger versions of AC but, I like having a smaller version as well it's fine to enjoy both.
I’ve enjoyed all of the AC games. You knew that once they killed off Desmond that things would have to change. A large part of the enjoyment of those older ones was the connection between the modern character with the historical one. I enjoy the RPG ones and I’m enjoying Mirage. Yes, Basim feels a little slow but he’s not a warrior like the last characters. And Altair wasn’t exactly fast either. Ezio and Connor were only a little better. I honestly think expectations were to recreate what we all felt with the first game when it launched and you just can’t recreate that. Mirage is a solid edition by a smaller studio under Ubisoft. Their recreation of Baghdad and nods to the OG AC is a nice trip down memory lane
I HATED the modern day parts of AC 1 through Rogue.. The new ones weren't so bad! But the original 6? Ugh!!! I'm older now, ans appreciate the story aspect way more in the modern stuff.. But I personally never met anyone who said it was part of what made it great, all my friends said they should remove the animus ans just follow the assassin in the time they lived!
Also I feel like until maybe unity? (I barely played it) they really didnt change they just added ships instead of horses!!! Lol
I would have felt more of a connection if I was playing the assassin, not some scfi dork called Desmond who was playing the assassin. I've never seen why they did this since it was an unnecessary disconnect and completely redundant.
@@savannahpaige3670 exactly! It sucked. It would be like playing Red Dead Redemption 2 but you're not playing Arthur Morgan, instead you're playing some weakling nerd who is playing Arthur Morgan. Can't think of a better way to ruin the immersion.
Lol nobody likes the animus gameplay. It really takes you out of the medieval experience.
The whole animus thing & playing as Desmond or somebody pretending to be the assassin always sucked. I never understood why they just couldn’t tell the stories from the single point of view of the assassins in their timeline. Bringing this overly complicated modern mess into the Frey just seemed over done.
Im so so relieved to see actual stealth and assassinations. Might still not be great but like you said a step in the right direction
I bought the game because I appreciate when a company listens to the feedback , I am aware that Ubisoft lost track of its products quality in the last years but I am glad they are making changes and starting to reconnect with its audience, I am super optimist with y this franchise future , Mario rabbids, the upcoming avatar and Star Wars games.
They did for this game, but their next big project is going back to open world format
A cool thing I recognizd was that the Assassin Bereaus are the same as the ones in Assassin's Creed 1. You can find this detail at the first one you go to once the game opens up.
This is about what I expected after I saw the walkthroughs recently. I really want to see AC hit a new level. For old times sake. I used to love Ubisoft as a company back in the late 2000’s/early 2010’s because of AC and Far Cry 3. They haven’t been quite the same since and I haven’t played an Ubisoft game since Odyssey. I’m waiting for them to release something truly good.
It’s because they traded out making cool things for implementing systems they can monetize.
@djstarzlightNo I liked them as well. They were a new direction that personally felt was needed. Don’t get me wrong I loved the og games but the combat system needed some change. However I wish the fans would actually pay attention I’m tired of seeing people say odyssey Valhalla and Origins was not ac games when they were. The series has always been about the assassins templars and the Isu. Origins was meant to show the start of the assassins, Odyssey was meant to show the start of the Templars while Valhalla was meant to give us more on Isu. It all tied in the story so well for me and that’s what the series has always been for me is the story.
@@wolfpern9831well thats just you. most people fall in love with the gameplay and stealth. you’re not more of a fan just because you like story over gameplay.
They dropped Immortals Fenyx Rising a few years ago and that was truly good. But ppl like you didn't support it which is why the sequel for the game got cancelled
@@wolfpern9831you absolutely right fam
I did enjoy when they made somewhat historical accurate location's, I hope that they continue to do that along with making larger maps. This one looks fun!
They’ve always done this
The locations have always been historically accurate for the most part.
Notre Dame in Unity was hilariously accurate
Disappointed by the NPC count. Baghdad, at that time, had almost twice the population of Paris in the revolution (AC Unity), yet, the streets appear empty in comparison.
To me, I treated this as AC Origins 2. I knew what I was getting into when I was buying this game. They simply modified their current formula to feel the void of the true AC experience the other rpg games were lacking. They were never a trilogy, this is simply the 4th game. Since Odyssey and Valhalla are in my book a spin-off set of games capturing a combat focused experience, while Mirage is a step back in the right direction following Origins path, built from the current Valhalla system, but building on it where it lacked the “Assassin’s Creed”
I completely agree, I still play the shit out of origins for this reason. Odyssey and valhalla just aren’t the same series to me
Meh, still getting it. I don’t trust skillup review at all. The things some folks are complaining about are what makes AC AC.. the original AC games were “repetitive” and simple. Like AC II was rinse and repeat throughout the game. Everyone wanted to go back to that style of game and leave the RPG style and now they’re still complaining.
I’ve had every AC and I’m sure I’ll find it fun and sell well. The history aspect has always been my and many others fave part of AC. Copping Ubisoft+ for this and the crew. Very excited
Just compare the replies here to r/assassinscreed it’s clear this is what hardcore fans want and who ubi are appealing to here. It’s not going to create new fans who already disliked the series, but for those of us who have been playing this series for 16 years it’s a great entry.
It looks like an actual Assassin's Creed game.
I've always been under the camp that the last three are not AC games. While Origins could "technically" get a pass because it's the birth of the creed, the other two are solely using the brand name to sell you more open world content.
You could literally name one "Odyssey: the Voyage of Mithos" and "Valhalla: Eivor's Legacy", and they would have the same impact.
It's good to see an Assassin's Creed game that is once again about Assassins.
I've played all of the Assassin's Creed games over the years and I've enjoyed them all for different reasons. Ezio's games are by far my favourite--just because of the vibe, the setting, and the gameplay. But I also enjoyed Odyssey, even though it didn't feel like a classic Assassin's Creed game and at times the sheer size of it was overwhelming (I'm a Greek mythology nerd, so that probably had something to do with it). Ultimately, I'm in favor of AC going back to basics. The older games are classics for a reason and I'd love to see characters like Ezio come back again.
I feel like Mirage as a a game is solid. Not groundbreaking not extremely good, but a precursor to better things
idk bro seems like a trashy version of oddysey
@@wolfsznI’m taking mirage stealth and combat over odyssey honestly. I prefer having a 100% guarantee of killing an enemy through impaling them with a blade, whether with my hidden blade or sword
@@joeisungu7902the combat is the same animations. Hidden blade kills are the same as unity. It’s all recycled animations from games before Egypt. This game was to satisfy and test to see who really wants the old games back.
I guess I was in the minority, but I loved every second of the last three games. Really enjoyed the huge sprawling maps. I've been a fan of this series since it debuted in 2007. But I think they would be better off with dropping those between smaller/tighter releases. Ubisoft has this problem where when they release a game with mechanics that work, they just copy + paste that formula for the next few games in any franchise. Until inevitably the community gets burned out. So space those things out more, Ubi!
I miss the days of AC I to Unity so, so much, 12 year old me was obsessed with this franchise so I was excited about this game because "back to basics" is something I wanted ever since I stopped playing Origins halfway through, and yet, it still feels off... I don't recognize this franchise anymore
I agree fully with you. But those games are always there, available to play whenever you want. Especially Unity. Peak AC for me! Mirage looks, at the very least, a step in the right direction. A step backwards- in a good way though!
Unity might be my favorite. I didn't like Origins but thought Odyssey was decent. While I'm glad they went back to smaller maps. The chosen location of this one is meh. Idk I think the desert makes a terrible stealth environment. It feels like they just wanted to reuse assets from origins and Odyssey.
it just looks like rpg ac with missing features branded as back to roots/ old ac kinda... Duh
@@videodeposu8741 that's it! Those are the words as to why it feels off
I can't believe Unity looks, feels and plays more modern and polished than this
why so draumatic?
Odyssey and Valhalla are my 2 favorite games.
I’m in two minds about this game but will still probably try it out. Odyssey being my first AC game and thoroughly loved the game, story, setting and characters. And the Greek mythology was amazing. Went on to play origins but felt a bit disappointed so didn’t finish and then bought Valhalla and fix about 70 percent but the game became a bit tedious. Set in England was not as attractive than Ancient Greece. As I haven’t played the older games a cannot compare readily but I do like a good story and good setting I just hope Baghdad is as interesting as Greece was !!
You need to play AC 4 black flag it’s like the best game of the whole series … if you liked odyssey you’ll like black flag
Chances are u prob aren't going to like this as much.. Ive been playing since the original! Everyone says "back to stealth" I stealth everyone in every AC except Valhalla.. As its not an option! But Odyssey? I assassinated everyone! But the original AC 1? Is NOTHING like Odyssey..
Although this is true? I just played it again a week ago.. I yelled many times over how clunky and glitches the controls are on the ps4 version! But if ur going yo play 4? U should play 3 first, and rogue after they are all the same storyline across a 60 ye period with the same characters..
If it were me id use the $60 to buy all of the old ones and play through! All of them up to black flag were something special. The story lines do not compare anymore. They used to do a great job at tying the story into historical events.
@@-Lancelotto- amazing I will give it a go. I did buy mirage and I think I’m quarter of the way in. Tbh I think it’s missing a lot of side quests and NCp characters that you can talk to. It’s massively dialled down compared to odyssey and Valhalla. I feel it’s gonna be over before I know it without any epic events happening.
My first AC game was III. I didn't understand it very much and I finished the story with no upgrades. An AC fan friend saw me playing and explained I was doing it wrong. He explained the mechanics of the game and what I needed to upgrade based on what I was doing. I decided to start again from scratch, and the game completely turned around for me. Understanding all the stuff my friend explained helped me enjoy the game as if it was the first time playing it. I then bought Origins, but the controller layout was completely different from III, so I kinda left it since I was having a hard time getting used to the new layout. At the time I was also playing Kena, and after a few weeks of playing Kena, I realized the layout was similar, so I hopped on Origins, but Valhalla Ultimate was on sale for around $40, so I decided to buy it and started on that one instead. I'm really used to the new AC style, so looking at your gameplay, and knowing you're avoiding spoilers, it seems like you say, a "watered down" version. I'll keep an eye on it for a sale since I'm still on Valhalla and apparently nowhere near finishing it since I'm always getting sidetracked with all the side quests and missions I keep finding on my way to trying to finish the story.
I believe origins to be the absolute best! The rich history, bringing back that civilization is just amazing!
i wish i could enjoy games like that. for me games seem similar in way too many ways, i recognise certain type of missions instantly and get demotivated to keep playing them. luckily the gaming gods blessed us with baldur's gate 3 this year. i'm finally having fun like i did when i started out gaming :D
@@luierdaneenpamper3877 Same here... on the plus side, I spend way less money on games now! 90% of them I look at and realize "oh it's one of those _____ games... I don't need to play that."
But yeah, BG3 deserves every bit of the praise it's getting. I played about 60 hours in early access and knew it would be good, but had no idea it would blow up like this. Glad to see it though!
@@MR._MIRRORare you saying ac origins is the best ac game?
@@LatinW321 for me. Yes!
my first ac was syndicate and i loved it despite its flaws, ended up playing it multiple times. Because setting was actually properly developed and the assassination stuff was also good
The best part about Syndicate was the 'Unique Assassinations' you could unlock🤌
oof starting with Syndicate. That's the game when I had to put my hands up and give up on the franchise because it derailed so hard from 1-4. Uniqueness and realism was fully traded in for ESG scores at that point.
@@YaksenPushMongoyou sound miserable
i played all AC games since i was a kid and ac first came out. trust me on this one, syndicate is the worst one in the series. many say AC2 is the best one but to me AC4 black flag takes the top. its just how well they designed the naval combat and side games in that game made me wanna keep sailing the seas forever
@wazzzombie05 what's bad about syndicate? It's a really good game
Very unpopular opinion but odyssey and vahalla are much more entertaining because you can play how you want to play I hate when games hold my hand to much and there seems to be nothing but story here
i agree 1000%
I lot of of what I've read and seen shows a sort of middle-of-the -road blend of the RPG games and the older stealth-based games where Ubisoft didn't really commit one way or the other as to not alienate either side of the fanbase which I guess kinda makes sense. Going forward, I would hope Ubisoft sort of alternates between the two with every iteration where maybe Red goes full RPG, Hexe goes full stealth, and so on.
@@jacobmarchlinski852 nobody cares
I really love the oldschool ac games. Especially brotherhood. That game lived up to an actual assasin creed. It highlighted the growth and expansion of the assasins and i wish they add back in the apprentice assasins. Focus more on big battle missions. Templers vs assasins all out war!
Brotherhood was my fav
I’ve been playing AC since day 1 and I have played every single AC game. To me I appreciate what they bring and it seems as if the fan base just finds a way to trash the franchise. Just like you said, better things are to come! In all honesty, I wish they would fully remaster all the original AC games. I would pay 50$ any day to play these games on the systems we have today!
As a classic AC fanboy, and a person who doesn't have much time; I appreciate the attempt to return to the roots to the simple. Spending 100+ hrs on a game, I just dont have the time with life being the way things are and have been. I have Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla; played Origins for about 2 hrs and never picked it back up
Me too. I have 3 kids so I dont have that much time to play. Valhalla is just as trash but have you tried odyssey? Ive sunken almost 200 hours into that game because its just that good(including the atlantis dlc). If you havent I suggest you do. Hardcore AC fan here and Odyssey made me forget all of the disappointments that Ubisoft has dished out all these years since the OGs
Agreed. After Syndicate i lost interest so its nice to see a return. Assassin's didn't need to have the over complex gameplay as what drove the series was the story. Nice that they're returning and after skipping Valhalla and its predecessor I think i'll give this one a shot
I love the old AC, and to see Ubisoft reverting back to its root and the height of AC is the right direction in my opinion
the combat is pretty sad, they could do a hybrid between the old style of AC and the new style of AC combat. Just my opinion spaming left click and some time to time the parry is not that good.
👍🏼
Thanks for the review Jake :)
As someone who has always enjoyed the pre-massive-trilogy games of AC... i am actually very happy with this release and am hoping to get to it sooner rather than later...
Origins, odyssey and valhalla were great games but not what i was looking for in a AC game... i finished all 3 but left so much unfinished because there was just too much filler...
I truly hope this will bring me back into the old school vibes of the original AC games.... especially the time we spent with Ezio :)
I hope you played Odyssey’s Atlantis DLC!
@@I_enjoy_some_things honestly... I went through the introduction with the Isu from the staff (can't remember her name) but kinda stopped not long after getting back into the animus... so never completed it..
Is it worth it? I'll have to take a loot at it and go back to it!
@@I_enjoy_some_things Odyssey is one of the greatest games ever
@@StationOutlookuhh... Well everyone is entitled to their own opinion
@@Mr3ppozznot worth it
I really miss the old apprentice system from ac brotherhood and revelations! I really wish they implement something like that in games moving forward. I also agree with the animations and parkour being jenky, I really liked the unity animations, it felt really well done and I hope someday we can get something like that again. I am enjoying everything else about mirage so far though. The story may be a bit lacking in characters, they just don't feel as interesting to me, maybe because I didn't play valhalla, but maybe with time. I also like the hitman-ish style of the big assassination missions.
This being originally a spin-off dlc of valhalla makes a lot of sense because I thought they had the parkour system figured out in syndicate the same with the smoothness if the assassination animations. I kinda wish they fully committed, but I'm happy to see it at all.
syndicate itself is actually worse on the parkour front than Unity, where it gets all its mechanics. unity introduced the free run up and free run down buttons and had so much more animations than syndicate.
@@quinnmarchese6313Honestly I completely forgot about Unity I should take a look at it
@@quinnmarchese6313yep, I’ve recently been playing unity, and the parkour is probably the best in any assassins creed game, wish they stuck to those mechanics everything just seemed more fluid.
@@tasmanianscallop435 unity is the only one i play just to like run around and explore a little, although black flag is the other that i always boot up to just have some fun in for a bit. 2 is still my favorite and i replay it every few years. most of the others just kinda suck imo, i have no interest in mirage aside from the fact its in Baghdad.
@@quinnmarchese6313 I got mirage and it’s horseshit bro, don’t bother with it, I refunded.
A big problem I have with the new AC trilogy is the accelerated sense of progression. You're constantly changing weapons and stealth is so tedious that you're essentially encouraged to go in balls-to-the-wall. It also seems like they were trying to go in a souls-like direction for AC with the lock ons and massive i-frames dodges gave you, but that's just not what AC is. It seems the studio just doesn't want to make conventional AC games anymore but they're forced to do so by Ubisoft. I'd be happy if they did 1 more truely conventional game with an amazing story and left the series alone to move onto another IP, maybe even to fully realize the souls-like gameplay they clearly want to replicate
I think this is the best we could have gotten with the RPG mechanics. Bordeaux did great with the tools they were given.
Man I've got really old playing Assassin's Creed. My back hurts now😅
I like the game overall and just ignore the bird for the most part to give me the old version more. The assassination and swordplay is a bit clunky like you said and for the heavy guys, all you can do is dodge their blow and hit their backs. Would be nice to just make them beefier to hits as an option. Overall loving the experience and call back memories so far! I'd give it a 4 out of 5
I really like this game& hope they continue in this direction. It feels so much like ac1 in that it has great bones to build off of if they continue this path like from ac1 to ac2. Like others have said it feels a lot better when you edit controls.
I could be wrong here but i think there gonna alternate between old school and new. Because the Japan game is gonna be another RPG.
So hopefully Hexe will be another game like Mirage.
Assasin's Creed Game with a Asaasin.. finally! I love the Arabic culture and the music
This is the first AC I’ve bought day one since Unity. And I am not disappointed the slightest. ❤
Knew you guys would come. The day can’t end until gameranx posts.
thanks for waiting!
no one will save you
All HUD off right away- just like every Ubisoft game. Props to them for always giving us so many HUD options. Also it’s nice to play as an actual ASSASSIN in an AC game… only took years!
You played as one in Origins
o many HUD options. ?
y need it eg ty: Puts a white glow around enemies, allowing you to see their outline through walls. Enemy Health and Level:
@@jamesh1761 What language is this?
@@irecordwithaphone1856 maybe eventually. But Bayek was a medjay not an assassin. He helps form the brotherhood yes. Last thing I felt like in Origins was an assassin though
I like both the new and old games tbh. I absolutely fell in love with Valhalla but I also have a deep passion for AC 3. I think the franchise actually does well to appeal to both sides and mixing it up every other game or so I think is a good option. Just my opinion tho.
Imo I really didn’t like AC3, my top two are AC2, and Odyssey.
3? The worst game with the worst protagonist? Gross dude bad taste. The best thing to come from that game was Haytham.
Sucks that some people talk so bad about the recent AC games… imo they are some of the best games out there!