I am so extremely hopeful that Ubisoft takes some lessons from what Mirage has delivered, which is about 20 hours of quality content, and a relatively successful call back to its roots.

Context first. I’ve played nearly every AC over the years, including the Origins/Odyssey/Valhalla phase. AC2 and Black Flag still rank highest for me, though for different reasons. AC2 due to the depth of the story, the characters, and the setting. Black Flag due to risks it took by adding the water elements. The O/O/V phase is remarkable for other reasons, mostly the full RPG/stats behemoth, the general lack of any assassins, as well as the sheer size of the games, clocking in at over 50 hours each. The phase also exemplified the Ubisoft mini-map icon curse, where there are hundreds of absolutely meaningless collectibles where it was simply easier to barge in with weapons than put any thought.

Mirage instead applies focus.

• There are no levels.
• You have a much refined skill tree, with impactful effects
• Combat is challenging due to the parry/lock mechanic, which reinforces the need for stealth
• There are puzzles that require some thought and attention
• There are only 5 types of collectibles
  • Dervis’ junk. Provides material for upgrades that you can get through regular gameplay.
  • Shards. 10 total, unlocks some gear that I found no use for.
  • Books. 7 total. Unlocks a cosmetic. Can’t complete this until the penultimate quest.
  • Enigmas. Puzzle indicators that lead to cosmetic talismans. Some are very obtuse.
  • Chests. Unlocks gear/schematics that allow upgrades. More on this.
• The main storyline has multiple branches that are about a half dozen steps each, and all come back together near the end.
• You can assassinate anyone except the final staged battled. It is ridiculously rewarding to stealth your way to a head of the order and fly in from above.
• The story is contained, the city is small, and the opportunity to explore is limited.
• There are optional side quests that add story as well as a bonus reward if certain conditions are met. e.g. don’t get detected.

The gear upgrade part needs some expansion. Where O/O/V was primarily focused on numbers, Mirage is focused on effects. You’re extremely unlikely to use any armor or sword aside from the starting ones, as they provide incredible effects – less detection on assassinations and increased damage on parries. It makes this function seem important, but in reality it’s as optional as everything else.

The Ubisoft question often goes back to “why collect things” and the answer was often “because it’s there”. Getting that icon off the map was often more a reward than the actual item, and the developers can apply so much creativity when there are 400 icons. Mirage cuts those icons down to a very small amount, and in almost all cases (junk/shards aside), applies a meaningful challenge to them, like having to collect a key a few blocks down in order to unlock a door. It’s far from perfect, but it’s a marked improvement on the pace of the game.

Where Mirage stumbles is in the main storyline. Basim is not an interesting character. The Order is the same as in the past games. And because this is a prequel of sorts, the ending is already known. Baghdad as a city is more interesting (and the historical codex entries too). Mirage also has the traditional “jank” of parkour where you want it to do something, but it does something else.

Finally, and I think this is the true merit of note, is that this entire game was built by a smaller Ubisoft team with existing assets, and a decent level of quality as a result. Ubisoft does NOT need to throw the kitchen sink and pad every aspect of the game, which is frankly money/time wasted.

AC Mirage as a result is a refined experience, a throwback to the more classical AC games, and frankly respects YOUR time as a gamer as a result.