This was never going to be just like Assassin's Creed 2. That was one of my first thoughts upon completing Assassin's Creed Mirage, the series' long-touted return to form that edifies why those early Creed titles are some of the best stealth games ever. In it, I had a blast hiding in roof shacks again, ripping down wanted posters, and celebrating the return of my favorite assassin tool in what can only be deemed a beautifully nostalgic offering from Ubisoft. But as the story started wrapping up, I found I had no issue in saying goodbye – both to Basim, and to how things used to be.
Mirage did something unexpected. Instead of intensifying a yearning for the days of Ezio and Altair, I felt satisfied. Mirage is a reminder of how far Ubisoft has brought the series in these 16 years, a reminder that it has not forgotten where it began. Perhaps this is what the publisher needed to reassure us before looking ahead to its future. Whether or not that future is RPG-shaped in part or in total, I've made my peace with the fact that I'll never get to move Ezio's fat little baby fists for the first time again, and it's time to stop chasing that dragon.
So long and goodnight
Here's how we rank the best Assassin's Creed games from 2007 to present.
Parkouring through Baghdad is the farewell to old-school AC that I needed. Equal measures fan service and a much needed blast from the past, Assassin's Creed Mirage succeeds in bringing back all the things you might have missed in the last few games. At the same time, it drives home the sobering truth that we will never have a game like any of the classic Creeds again. Not really, anyway, because both Ubisoft and its player base have evolved since then.
And rightly so. Distilled down to the simple mechanics of it – free running, parkour, social stealth, and black box missions – Mirage would stand out proudly alongside series favorites. It does a brilliant job of giving players exactly what they've been asking for since the series underwent an RPG shift with Origins: smaller maps, a tighter focus on stealth, and to be an actual assassin again. It checks off all these things, but there's something missing from it, and that something is, quite simply, innovation.
Mirage is a welcome break from the overwhelming RPG sprawl of Assassin's Creed Valhalla, though the fact that it was first intended as a Valhalla DLC isn't lost on me. That's because as Mirage rehashes the classic AC loop, there are small signifiers throughout that times have already changed. Mirage's familiar UI and mission HUD is borrowed directly from its predecessor, not a bad thing at all, but a reminder of the time and place that I am playing Mirage in.
Mirage is a reminder of how far Ubisoft has brought the series in these 16 years, a reminder that it has not forgotten where it began.
Eivor's adventures through Viking Europe are still fresh on my mind, even triggering a slight wince every now and then when I accidentally forget that running works differently in this DLC-turned-mainline title. Basim can shovel down berries for health, send his eagle to scout for enemies and secrets, and we're still working with a compass rather than a minimap.
The conflation of AC's classic and more modern game mechanics has a curious effect on me, presenting the publisher's past alongside its present and showing the stark differences. Mirage is a clean and clear demonstration that Ubisoft certainly has it in itself to create more games like Assassin's Creed 1 or 2; it's just kind of passed that point, and maybe we all are.
To me, Mirage is the heartfelt goodbye to the old that I needed to restore my faith in Ubisoft. As we look ahead to the likes of Assassin's Creed Codename Red and Assassin's Creed Codename Hexe, with the former being a confirmed RPG entry, Ubisoft seems well-placed to continue its journey in good faith. The RPG Creed games might be bigger and not necessarily better for it, but they show how Ubisoft is constantly innovating its own formula, and that it didn't stop doing stealth-centric games to spite us. Mirage gives us a moment to take stock of that, of how far the publisher has come, how far is still yet to go. Now that we've had our nostalgia fix, perhaps it can get back on course.
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