Back in the day, Assassin’s Creed used to be one of my favorite franchises. From exploring the streets of Italy in Assassin’s Creed 2 to commanding a fleet of pirates and nomads in Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, I was on board for every step of the ride. That is until the game started to become a shell of itself, banking more on long storylines that threw what made the series unique out of the window. That’s why it was a shock to me to learn that the newest Assassin’s Creed title, Mirage, was apparently planned to be a DLC add-on to Valhalla.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage was revealed for the first time in 2022, and fans like myself were salivating to get back to the basics. Thanks to an exclusive feature by Game Informer and interviewer/Associate Editor Wesley LeBlanc, there was a good chance that this stand-alone adventure was originally going to be something else entirely.
Originally pitched as DLC for the most recent Assassin’s Creed title, the team at Ubisoft Bordeaux wanted to bring fans back to the original settings that started our love for the franchise as a way to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the franchise. However, after pulling the plug on the DLC idea, the start of Assassin’s Creed Mirage was born, bringing this more streamlined experience to the masses.
While it may have been interesting to see the team at Ubisoft figure out how they were going to incorporate the more Norse-themed hero Eivor into the Middle Eastern setting that Mirage has showcased, I’m glad that they pulled the idea out of the DLC machine and created a new world and hero to inhabit it. Alongside the new setting, Mirage is set to be more of a “back to basics” version for fans of the original franchise, with no tacked-on RPG elements and a storyline that can be completed in a normal space of time.
Personally, I cannot wait to get back to the roots that started it all, and I’m cautiously optimistic about Assassin’s Creed Mirage and what it has to offer. With the sheer number of massive RPGs coming out this year, from Baldur’s Gate 3 to Starfield, another title with that scope and scale could have been swept under the rug by its competition. However, the more bite-sized Mirage has slowly been working its way up my “Must Play” list as I prepare myself to enter into the world of stealth once more.
