10 Assassin's Creed Features That RETURN In Mirage
10 Assassin’s Creed Features that RETURN in Mirage
10 Assassin's Creed Features That NEED To Make A Comeback
Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re looking at 10 classic “Assassin’s Creed” features set to make a grand return in “Mirage”.
Tailing Missions
Hated by gamers everywhere, tailing missions were once an extremely common part of the medium, with “Assassin’s Creed” leading the charge. “Black Flag” may be universally beloved, but few would disagree that it’s got too many of these tedious missions. Well, “Mirage” is bringing tailing missions back, albeit not in large numbers. There are, thankfully, very few of them, but we’ve been following people around since those interrogations in the very first game, so it wouldn’t really feel like a classic “AC” title if they weren’t here in some form. And keep an eye out for that OTHER infamous mission type: paper chasing. There’s one paper chase hidden out there in Baghdad.
One-Hit Assassinations
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“Valhalla” brought back the hidden blade, gifted to Eivor by “Mirage’s” protagonist, Basim. But by default, the hidden blade wasn’t a one-hit-kill assassination, just like in “Origins” and “Odyssey” but in stark contrast to every other game before them. You could, however, toggle the option for one-hit kills in the menu. “Mirage” goes back to basics, giving you one-hit assassinations regardless of the level of the enemy, which makes more sense. Just because someone is seven feet tall and carrying an ax, doesn’t mean they’d miraculously be able to survive getting stabbed in the head. Fans will love this return to form.
Factions
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They were a key part of the Ezio Trilogy, but you haven’t been able to use in-game factions to your advantages really since the transition to PS4 and Xbox One – and that was a long time ago now! Not being able to send in thieves, mercenaries, or courtesans to distract enemies definitely limited the stealth opportunities in the games that dropped them, but factions now return in “Mirage”. You’ll need to get various tokens – merchant tokens, scholar tokens, and power tokens – by completing optional contracts, and then you can use those tokens, as opposed to currency, to unlock distraction or blending opportunities in certain missions.
Blending
Yes, another big feature that’s been sorely missing from the last few games is social stealth. They tried to bring it back in “Valhalla”, but it didn’t really work; you could blend with the scenery in restricted towns, but you couldn’t blend with groups of people, making it an almost useless feature. Social stealth has returned to “Mirage”, with Basim able to easily blend with groups of people to avoid the detection of guards – as well as still sitting on benches. Arguably, the lack of social stealth in recent games makes those worlds feel more lifeless; there are NPCs, sure, but you can’t engage with them, and with social stealth, the NPCs become invaluable tools for Basim.
Eavesdropping
Not every game made use of the eavesdropping mechanic that appeared in “Assassin’s Creed 1”. As well as that first one, eavesdrops were a key part of “III” and “Black Flag”, especially when they were combined with a tailing mission. Eavesdropping is back in “Mirage”, but no, you won’t have to complete tailing missions that desynchronize you for getting too far away at the same time. You’ll find some NPCs having an important conversation and sit on a nearby bench or lurk in a hiding spot, blending into your surroundings and listening to them to unlock stealth opportunities in missions. And the big eavesdrop radius is back, too.
Investigations
The first game is designed around Altaïr getting the name of a target and then having to conduct investigations in whichever city he’s been sent to, to unlock the assassination mission. In later games, investigating targets was all part of narrative-heavy missions, but in “Mirage”, the freer structure of going to a place and being told to uncover what you can is back. It’s definitely more engaging and narrative-heavy than it was in the first one, but this is the core way the story unfolds. You have an investigation menu to look at your targets, key allies, and places of interest, and you’ll go and explore each of them to unlock the main target for that area of Baghdad.
Eagle Vision
“Assassin’s Creed Origins” massively changed Eagle Vision by tying it to Senu, Bayek’s actual pet eagle that can explore environments, find treasure, and tag enemies. By “Valhalla”, some form of Eagle Vision, now known as “Odin’s Sight”, had returned, but Eivor still had their trusty raven, Sýnin. “Mirage” really has the best of both worlds. Basim’s got another eagle, Ekindu, but he’s also got true Eagle Vision again, revealing enemies, chests, and mission items, highlighting them all in different colours. And you can keep it turned on for as long as you need it, just like in the older games, though Basim won’t be able to run while it’s active.
Assassination Missions
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Big, sandboxy assassination missions reached their apex in “Unity” and “Syndicate”. You had various, scripted opportunities for distractions, infiltrations, and always an interesting, unique kill, but you could also ignore all that and tackle the mission in your own way. But there was a general absence of big, open-ended assassination missions in “Odyssey” and “Valhalla”. You’ll be pleased to hear that this isn’t the case with “Mirage”, and all of Basim’s major targets are in stealth arenas like this where he has many, varied opportunities and ways to reach his target, some more interesting than others. It’s up to you to explore and find out how YOU want to approach the mission.
Instant-Kill Counters
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Many will say that the instant-kill counter attacks from the older games are unbalanced, but you can’t deny that they’ve always been a lot of fun to exploit. They also return in “Mirage”, provided you make use of the parrying. When Basim parries a normal enemy, he’ll get the option to one-hit kill them. This doesn’t work on all enemies, like the pikemen or brutes, who still need to be dodged and blocked, but it does work on the majority. Considering Basim is significantly weaker in combat than Eivor, Kassandra, or Bayek, getting this option back keeps the combat fun and makes you think more strategically during encounters.
Notoriety
The notoriety system was key in the Ezio Trilogy and “Assassin’s Creed III”. You’d have different levels of notoriety depending on what actions you’d been witnessed doing, which would make guards more immediately hostile to you. It’s now been about ten years since the notoriety system left the series, but in “Mirage”, it’s back! Not only do you become notorious after carrying out big assassinations, just like in the first game, but you’ll regularly be bribing heralds and tearing down posters to lower Basim’s wanted level. It’s always been an interesting system that adds depth to the world by changing the way NPCs react to you. Let us know in the comments whether you think “Mirage” is a true return to form for the series.
