It's a busy day for big reviews! Assassin's Creed Mirage joins Forza Motorsport as the second game we've given an 8/10 to here at Pure Xbox today, and there have been many other reviews for Ubisoft's new adventure across the web.
We'll throw our own Assassin's Creed Mirage review down below, along with a few other examples:
Pure Xbox (8/10)
"Assassin's Creed Mirage is a successfully stripped back return to the roots of this long-running franchise that ditches the bloat and enormous scale of Odyssey and Valhalla in favour of a very manageable romp that doesn't waste any of your time. Baghdad makes for a fantastic setting, Basim is a likeable protagonist, and the pure stealth gameplay has been tweaked and refined to provide the slickest sneaking experience this series has seen to date.
There are a few niggling issues regarding repetition and some sticky parkour controls, but overall this is a fine adventure that more or less gives us the game we'd hoped for when we took our first leap of faith back in 2007."
The Loadout (9/10)
"Ubisoft delivers a truly excellent experience with Assassin’s Creed Mirage, wonderfully blending this series’ past and present to provide players with a compact, engaging story driven by captivating characters and secrets worth seeking. It’s everything you could want from an Assassin’s Creed game and a welcome sign of things to come after a divisive few years."
GamesRadar (8/10)
"From the more classic costuming to the focus on stealth and streamlined parkour, this is a beautiful return to the classic games. And oh boy does it look good doing it."
IGN (8/10)
"I’d recommend Mirage to anyone who’s lapsed on Assassin’s Creed, as its back-to-basics approach is a successful first step in returning the feeling that the earlier industry-defining games gave me so long ago."
Destructoid (7.5/10)
"When Assassin’s Creed Mirage is at its best, it’s an entertaining experience. But in between those moments, the repetitiveness really starts to weigh it down. The middle part of the game is a bit hard to get through just because of how boring it gets."
Push Square (7/10)
"Assassin's Creed Mirage sets off in search of its roots, and it finds them — both for better and worse. Undeniably basic in its approach to stealth and combat, it feels oddly dated in terms of design, but it's also a refreshing reminder of series' original strengths.
Ultimately, it's a solid sandbox title, and it successfully scratches the hidden blade itch that was so clearly absent in Odyssey and Valhalla."
GameSpot (6/10)
"Mirage does get back to the basics that first defined the series by refocusing on social stealth and making it fun to learn about a city's history, but a weak cast of characters keeps it from reaching the same heights as some of its earliest predecessors."
Looking at the Metacritic score for Assassin's Creed Mirage, it's actually a bit lower than we'd expected - 77 for PC and PlayStation 5, and 76 for Xbox Series X. That's still a positive score without a doubt, and we've definitely enjoyed our time with the game here at Pure Xbox, but it's perhaps a surprise that it didn't end up in the '80s overall.
Assassin's Creed Mirage launches this Thursday (October 5th) on Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, and it appears the Deluxe Edition will also be available with Ubisoft Plus if you want to try before you buy.
What do you make of these reviews? Let us know down in the comments section below.
Comments 8
The strange thing is that some sites are saying completely opposite things about certain aspects. Some very positive about one thing and then another site being completely negative about that same thing. Guess you can't please everyone.
I'm sure I'll enjoy it a lot, considering many of the reviews are very positive. I personally love the big open style games but it will definitely be fun trying something a bit different. Can't wait to play it tomorrow!
I kind of figured when Ubisoft went with the budget price for a new title in their flagship IP that it probably wasn't going to be amazing. It's curious that repetitive is a common complaint when everyone was hoping the return to stealth would solve the repetitiveness of the Valhalla formula.
I don't see myself buying this one for awhile. Maybe it will hit $20 early next year. I will continue my replay of the series from the beginning in the meantime (currently on revelations).
@BacklogBrad I think the budget price is because it is a much smaller game than normal. Most of the reviews are great so I wouldn't say it has anything to do with quality.
@Lightning720 does Ubisoft strick you as the publisher to say this Assassins Creed game isn't worth full price? Its comparible in length to all the old AC games that were considered full length AAA games. Its comparable in length to many other new releases around the industry. The should be free-to-play Skull and Bones is available to pre order for $60. They released The Settlers New Allies recently for $60.
Their usual move is full price on the most formula based games out there then aggressive sales pricing shortly after launch. For them to say it's not worth full price and many reviews saying it is repetitive even at 15 hours, it makes me think they knew they were stretching this pretty far.
I'm not chastising them for not going full price I'm just saying it set my expectations really low when Ubisoft of all people realized they couldn't charge full price for it.
@BacklogBrad Whilst I will agree that old games often were a much shorter length, they also cost less than they do today and that was the 'norm' back then.
Its that bigger, better, more than the predecessor and the 'expectation' of gamers today.Yes this maybe a lot more focused, but asking £70 for a short game is a harder sell when people expect so much more for that price.
I can see their point of view - They haven't had to make anywhere near as much 'content' - whether you consider it 'filler' and arguably, this is AC: Valhalla DLC that ended up being 'expanded' to a stand-alone release. Therefore it wouldn't look good charging full AAA Pricing.
That's my take on it. It was originally planned as DLC for AC: Valhalla and grew a bit too big so it ended up being sold as stand-alone - but smaller Package, therefore charge less - like Saints Row 4: Gat out of Hell for example or Uncharted: The Lost Legacy.
@BAMozzy is not sure development costs directly correlate to shelf price, Just Dance is still $60 every year.
I'm just saying, I saw the price as a red flag and set my expectations accordingly.
@BacklogBrad Fair enough, each to their own etc. I would see them trying to charge 'Full' price as somewhat a money grab for what was intended to be DLC for AC Valhalla. Its being sold as a Stand-alone smaller game like Uncharted: the Lost Legacy for example which also wasn't sold at the 'typical' price of a AAA new release (Like Uncharted 4, AC: Valhalla etc).
I expected a lower price, a 'AA' price point for what they were planning - a DLC expansion to AC: Valhalla that grew into something a 'bit' bigger so then gets released as a stand-alone, but ultimately not what people expect from a Full AAA release.
@BAMozzy that's kind of point I'm making though, everything ubisoft does usually has a little bit of a money grab feel to it. I wouldnt have thought twice about them believing a 20 hour Assassins Creed game is full price. (I am a fan of Ubisoft by the way, I'm not trying to dump on them this much. They are usually very predictable though so I was surprised by this.)
I recently joined a beta for Skull and bones and even though I thought it was okay, I think they are nuts to charge $60 for it.
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