After a three-year hiatus, theAssassin’s Creedfranchise is lined up to come back in a big way this October withAssassin’s Creed: Mirage. Set in ancient Baghdad during the 9th century, this marks it as one of the earliest games in the chronologicaltimeline of theAssassin’s Creedseries. After the previous installmentAssassin’s Creed Valhalladived way too deep into mythology and magic, dividing fans with some feeling it was straying away from the series' roots,Mirageaims to get things back on track. The game so far promises a smaller-scale adventure, with much of its inspiration drawn from the 2007 original in a back-to-basics approach.
Of course, the trademark parkour mechanics of theAssassin’s Creedseries are back in full form, with dazzling acrobatics being shown off in trailers for the game. This has been a central component of every installment, andAssassin’s Creed Miragelooks to be no different. With Ubisoft hard at work on the game leading up to its launch, it’s worth examining the similarities and differences between the parkour inAssassin’s Creed Mirageand the most recent prior installment,Valhalla, in order to see how the gameplay has evolved.
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Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s More Realistic Parkour
It’s interesting to see the many changes and additions that theparkour inAssassin’s Creedhas undergone since its inception. The first few games created the basic foundations of the free-running, death-defying leaps of faith the series is recognized for. Later games likeAssassin’s Creed UnityandSyndicatespiced things up with more dynamic moves, like being able to seamlessly climb down the side of a building and use gear like grappling hooks to reach dizzying new heights. It’s been the selling point of the franchise since the beginning, and each game has had its own spin on making parkour across these ancient landscapes more appealing.
Assassin’s Creed Valhallaadded a new element to the parkour not present in past games: a sense of weight. Players control muscle-bound Vikings inValhalla, who prioritize brute force over the nimble agility seen in past protagonists like Bayek or Ezio. Ubisoft reflected this in the gameplay by makingValhalla’s main character Eivorfeel heavier and slower to control. Jumps are less graceful and even running isn’t quite at the same pace as seen in other games. Considering thatMiragebegan as DLC forValhallaand is built on the same engine, Basim clearly moves very similarly to Eivor, with a more realistic weighty feel than other installments.
Back To Basics in Assassin’s Creed Mirage
While a cool feature to have a more realistic feel for the main character, the downside is that the parkour couldn’t really live up to its potential through much ofValhalla’s environment.Assassin’s Creed Valhallafeatured the biggest world in the series, and a large portion of that was made up of wide open fields and flat terrain. Although an impressive feat in terms of scale, it doesn’t complement the parkour mechanics that the franchise prides itself on. It looks likeAssassin’s Creed Miragebeing set in Baghdadlooks to remedy this issue with its new environment.
Baghdad’s map size will be significantly smaller than what was seen inValhalla, instead being compared instead to themap size ofAssassin’s Creed Unityby developers. This more compact, urban-style location with buildings, alleyways, and streets packed with pedestrians feels more in line with what was seen in earlier games like the first installment and evenAssassin’s Creed 2’srecreation of Italy. Because of this,Valhalla’s slower, and more careful parkour style will actually fit more at home inMirage’s setting. The tighter space will encourage players to get a better feel for the platforming and will let the parkour animations shine even brighter.
Assassin’s Creed Mirageis set to release on October 12 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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