Finished AC Mirage for the first time. Here are my thoughts as an AC fan of 12+ years.

Since 2014, I’ve been waiting for a decent AC game with a cohesive storyline focused on assassins — not Vikings, Greek demigods with magical spears, or ancient Egyptian police. This game does tell a story about assassins, but unfortunately, I cannot call it a decent one. It’s disappointingly mediocre.

The plot has little value. It adds almost nothing to the overarching storyline. There are no witty dialogues, interesting discussions, or charismatic characters — nothing! Mirage’s story feels like a very cheap piece of bubblegum: good at first, but tasteless and tedious for the remaining 20 hours.

Another «Order of the Ancients» tree just kills me. No interesting villains with deep philosophy or strong character—just another bunch of no-name pricks with one or two lines before they die.

Baghdad is gorgeous! Sultry, stunning, spectacular! It looks and feels alive thanks to Ubisoft’s artists, and finally, it feels like a big real city. Unfortunately, this is a one-time event. AC Shadows will likely go back to being as flat and uninspired as the last seven years of «cities» in AC Games.

The level design of the city is decent, with plenty of parkour routes. But the gameplay mechanics can’t match the quality of the level design. The movement system is the best of the «mythic» games, but still lacking. The quality of animations is poor, too. Almost all of them are abrupt and look pathetic, nowhere near Unity’s standards.

We asked them to boil down AC games: reduce the garbage content and focus on the core experience. Ubisoft did reduce the game’s size but didn’t improve the content quality. There are no interesting or unique gameplay situations.

The stealth is pretty good! It’s far more interesting and intricate than the battle system. However, it lacks balance: your tools are overpowered. With all tools fully upgraded, Basim turns into a berserker with no chance of dying. You feel OPAF, but at least it’s better than dull, uninspired stealth.

The OST is catchy and really fills the game with the right Arabian vibe.

Honestly, I’m tired. This game is just OK. Mediocre. You won’t miss much if you skip it and play something else.
I really miss the days when AC games were great, outstanding and unique. They were at the pinnacle of the industry, pushing boundaries and influencing game design standards. It’s sad that now we’re left with mediocre games lacking any real value.