Sony Assassin's Creed Mirage

[Jon]

So, I got my GameFly copy of Assassin's Creed mirage yesterday and started playing in between the craziness that is the wolf game.

So far, a couple hours in, I am getting vibes of the original from 2007. Between the gameplay and the backdrop, I am enjoying it for the nostalgia. But I have my doubts on whether it should be what they go back to. A lot of the things I originally didn't like about the series (clunky combat, awful eavesdropping and tailing quests, odd movement gibs through the environment) came back to the forefront. It's almost as if they took the original and made a game off those assets instead of using a lot of the things that became good later.

Anyone else play it and have an opinion? No spoilers if possible though.

 

[Raine]

Haven't even looked at the game, honestly. Will probably get around to finishing off the series in the next couple of years, and do this one at the tail end.

I would never say OG AC had good combat, but as like a pre-Batman Arkham thing it wasn't the worst. Just way too reliant on counters and instant kills to not become an extraordinary slog. But if this is an homage to the original game - did they bring back the Hitman-esque infiltrations and assassinations? 'Cause that was sorely lacking the longer in the tooth the series got.

The internet at large has led me to believe Mirage was supposed to be a DLC for Valhalla before getting the Revelations glow-up treatment, and has all the warts associated with that.

 

[Jon]

But if this is an homage to the original game - did they bring back the Hitman-esque infiltrations and assassinations?

Ish... There is definitely more of that than the last 3 games. But they force you into combat a lot and this is by far the worst the combat has ever felt in and AC game. There is unparriable red attacks and parriable yellow. The problem is the window to recognize and time the parry are INSANELY small and getting hit by a red attack hits you for a third of your life.

The internet at large has led me to believe Mirage was supposed to be a DLC for Valhalla before getting the Revelations glow-up treatment, and has all the warts associated with that.

It was, and made more sense staying there. If you played AC Valhalla, you know who Basim is, and he's not and intriguing character.

 

[Raine]

Ish... There is definitely more of that than the last 3 games. But they force you into combat a lot and this is by far the worst the combat has ever felt in and AC game. There is unparriable red attacks and parriable yellow. The problem is the window to recognize and time the parry are INSANELY small and getting hit by a red attack hits you for a third of your life.

That sounds goddamn horrible. I think... Unity, maybe, had something like that? With powerful, unblockable attacks. Was super off-putting there, would imagine it's even worse with some weird hodgepodge of AC1 and Valhalla in the mix.

"Boring" and "safe" are fine options, Ubisoft. You don't gotta keep one-upping yourselves on making things worse.

It was, and made more sense staying there. If you played AC Valhalla, you know who Basim is, and he's not and intriguing character.

Oof. So also kind of like if Freedom Cry from AC4 became a $50 standalone thing, minus Adewale having potential as a character.

 

[Jon]

would imagine it's even worse with some weird hodgepodge of AC1 and Valhalla in the mix.

Precisely what it is. AC1 didn't have the big unblockables, so once you got the parry timing you were fine. In Mirage, you have THAT issue (with a CRAZY tight window) AND about a tenth of a second to react if it's red or yellow. And if you misreact, you're staggered. So fighting more than one person is almost suicide.

You don't gotta keep one-upping yourselves on making things worse.

This. 100% this. They went all in on the stealth, which I LOVE. And am happy it's back. But you cannot avoid conflict all the time (especially with those clunky AC1 jumps and parkour back), so at least open up the timing windows a bit!

Oof. So also kind of like if Freedom Cry from AC4 became a $50 standalone thing, minus Adewale having potential as a character.

Exactly what this is. And that is a great comparison.

 

[TD]

If you played AC Valhalla, you know who Basim is, and he's not and intriguing character.

This game is based off Basim!?

Big fucking oof.