Picking up from the (depending on who you ask) disaster that was Valhalla, the bar was pretty low for Assassin’s Creed Mirage to impress. While Ubisoft has taken a lot of feedback into consideration while crafting AC Mirage, it seems most of the criticisms have been taken at face value and the changes have been in a manner that doesn't feel fully fleshed out.

As per the developers’ words, AC Mirage was meant to be a return to the franchise’s roots, and to a degree, they delivered. The world is significantly smaller, and most of the RPG elements from recent entries have been gutted, but what’s left behind is a rather hollow take on what made the original Assassin’s Creed titles great. Here’s a spoiler-free review of Ubisoft’s latest attempt at salvaging what’s left of the Assassin’s Creed franchise after a decade and a half of evolution.

Also read: Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty Review: Righting The Wrongs Of The Past

Assassin’s Creed Mirage: Why a Formula isn’t Guaranteed Success

Preface on in-game mechanics and AC Mirage’s design philosophy

Before delving into specifics, it’s important to go over what AC Mirage represents as a whole. Splitting from the blueprint of unreasonably large maps and collectible hunting, Ubisoft has clearly made an attempt to create a smaller, more intricate world with space that serves a purpose, rather than force exploration. 

This scaling down of everything applies to the protagonist, Basim, as well. Gone are the ludicrously large skill trees of AC Valhalla and in its stead is a humble progression tree that many players who aren’t willing to put 100+ hours into a game will appreciate. While this is certainly welcome, the way this is implemented in the game leaves a lot to be desired. While upgrading skills and items can be worthwhile, one can simply ignore progression and complete the game without any issues by just blazing through it.

Additionally, Ubisoft has done away with a number-based XP and ranking system. Instead of certain Assassinations, or combat moves awarding XP to rank up and gain skill points, progression is now tied to Basim’s journey. While other smaller activities and side missions do provide some skill points, players must simply get through the story to unlock the majority of skill points available.

Basim now has a set of tools that he can use to his advantage. Of these, the throwing knife is the most essential, allowing players to get into inaccessible areas by destroying bars that block them. The game encourages players to use all the other tools like the blowdart, smoke bomb, trap, and noisemaker, and each of these tools can be upgraded, offering more functionality based on your playstyle. Unfortunately, the Assassin’s Rush ability more or less nullifies the need for any tools whatsoever. Allowing you to chain kills by teleporting to targets, this ability almost singlehandedly breaks all the effort put into emphasizing stealth. More on this later in the review.

Story and Characters

Players returning from AC Valhalla will already be familiar with Basim and his cryptic motivations as a Hidden One. Set a fair few years before the events of AC Valhalla, players will start their journey as a young Basim, a thief on the streets of Baghdad. Haunted by visions of a ghost or ‘jinni,’ Basim is always ill at ease, looking for a way to be free of what haunts him. 

As part of his exploits as a thief, he is regularly contracted by the Hidden Ones to procure items for them but is never told why. Eventually, overcome with the need for answers and a better way of life, Basim undertakes a job for Roshan, the Master Assassin. After begging to be inducted into the guild and being subsequently rejected, Basim tries to prove his worth by stealing an artifact in secret. 

In typical Assassin’s Creed fashion, things go sideways fairly quickly, and spectacularly. The fallout results in his thieves guild being brutally slain because of his actions and Roshan ultimately saving his life. Now taken under Roshan’s wing, Basim trains to be an Assassin, a journey that he eventually does complete despite his visions and nightmares. After completing his initiation, Basim returns to Baghdad where his journey as an Assassin continues.

Here, Basim needs to work through the web of the Order, meeting allies, and snakes in the grass while doing so. Through his journey, Basim’s relationship with his closest friend, Nehal, his mentor, Roshan, and his fellow guild members evolves in a way that’s believable and interesting. However, the way the antagonists are set up leaves a lot to be desired, something that will be discussed in a later section of this review.

Gameplay

During Basim’s training phase, players are familiarized with the revised combat system in AC Mirage. While still fairly simplistic, the combat system disincentivizes full-blown combat, punishing players for rambo-esque brawls in large groups. The rudimentary stamina bar, parry, dodge, light strike, and heavy strike remain unchanged, making it easy to pick up for both new and returning players. 

Now trained in the ways of the Creed, Basim must help each bureau in Baghdad weed out Order members belonging to their borough. Purpose-built to allow smooth parkour and quick getaways, the streets of Baghdad feel natural and a lot more fun to traverse than its inspiration, the first Assassin’s Creed. The world itself is divided into the Wilderness, the Round City, and its three surrounding districts, each representing different aspects of society like industrialism, trade, and arts. While the latter three areas are incredibly dense, the rest of the world is an empty expanse barring a couple of settlements dotting the map. These settlements do serve a purpose in the story, which makes them fun to explore as part of the narrative but give little to no rewards when out exploring of your own volition.

Gameplay is fairly open-ended with most Assassination missions dropping players into a sandbox with multiple ways to tackle a problem. Weeding out a target feels rewarding and the path you choose feels unique enough to make you proud of your decisions. However, the non-assassination missions all fall short. Players WILL have to go through a few dull missions that simply task them with either tailing someone, stealing something, or breaking in somewhere.

To open up more gameplay opportunities, players will more often than not have to use a new form of currency called 'tokens.' These tokens are Merchant Tokens (can be used for discounts/opening certain chests), Scholar Tokens (used to distract guards by paying musicians or getting maps from the Cartographer), and Power Tokens (used to bribe your way out of notoriety or pay mercenaries to fight guards). These tokens can be gained via pickpocketing in the open world, completing contracts, and finding loot chests. These tokens can help reduce the running around Basim is meant to do in certain missions by bribing people for information. This is a strange design choice as this ultimately reduces active gameplay.

Outfits, weapons, and gear are much like AC Valhalla with limited sets being available. Each set is unique and provides buffs of a certain kind that can be upgraded later on. Overall, a prudent decision as opposed to AC Odyssey where players would hoard loot and swap swords every two fights because some NPC dropped a better one.

The Good, The Bad, and The Disappointing

What’s evident about AC Mirage is that it’s a turning point in the Assassin’s Creed franchise much like AC Origins. The developers have acknowledged that things went too far with Valhalla, and it was time to dial things down in terms of scale. This feedback, however, has been taken a little too literally. Instead of delivering a smaller, richer world with more detail and care, we get a smaller city, a less rewarding progression structure, and a story without the aspects that make it interesting. 

As compared to AC Unity with its faithful recreation of the Notre-Dame, or AC Brotherhood with The Colosseum, Baghdad feels strangely characterless, a space for a ton of NPCs to be crammed in just to make it feel alive. The way the narrative is delivered in this space doesn’t help matters. Unlike older games where players come face to face with their enemies (think Elpenor from AC Odyssey) and truly despise them for who they are, your targets are mostly unknown, only being revealed via the clues left behind in the main story, giving the player zero investment when it comes to dealing with them, dehumanizing them, and ultimately making them feel like NPCs.

Digging deeper, here lies my main gripe with AC Mirage: Basim feels like a pinball. To get your target, you get bounced around from NPC to NPC, either being told to retrieve something or take a smaller target out. In this pursuit, the hand-rubbing anticipation of taking down someone you hate from the bottom of your soul (like Cesare Borgia) is simply absent because you never even knew who your enemy was just five minutes before stabbing them in the throat. All of this makes the middle portion of the game incredibly tedious, (which in some ways is like the original Assassin’s Creed, so kudos to Ubisoft, I guess?) prompting you to just speedrun the missions. 

The main assassination missions are well thought out with limited entry points, and a few intelligent opportunities to work around barging your way through. Whether this is via bribing someone, distracting a group of guards by hiring mercenaries, or finding your own way through, the possibilities feel endless. Disguises can also be applied to get closer to your target with well-constructed scenarios and believable exchanges between characters.

However, this brings us back to the Assassin’s Rush ability that completely undoes all of the effort the developers put into making a tricky level. Just upgrade your ability, rock up to a group of guards, mark five of them, and slice through them in a second. This is especially overpowered in the earlier parts of the game where most enemies don’t stand around closely, filtering out individually or in groups of two. Enemy AI is generally poor and its response to dead bodies is laughable as it just puts them in a low detection state, aware of a presence, but not aware enough to raise an alarm. 

To illustrate why this is an issue, here's an instance I faced during my playthrough. During a mission, there were multiple sections where I couldn’t break up a horde of guards. I simply killed one, barely in view of the others, prompting them to come investigate the body one at a time. Standing in the exact same spot, executing more soldiers invited more to investigate the spot until there was no one left. This completely broke the illusion of the world and a challenge, prompting me to take the easiest route out every time.

While the developers have done a good job incentivizing stealth, it is still completely possible to take on a hoard of enemies and survive. By stocking up on heals, you can survive almost any encounter regardless of enemy type. Light enemies can be parry-killed instantly like in AC 3 while heavier enemies are armored, only taking damage via the legs or the back. What is laudable is the removal of enemy levels which means that a stealth assassination is a guaranteed kill. To me, this is an extremely welcome move. After all a blade to the temple is a blade to the temple, no one should come back from that no matter how high their “rank” is.

Final thoughts - Assassin's Creed Mirage is a sign of better things to come

While playing through the game it was evident that Ubisoft was caught between safety in their Assassin's Creed formula and delivering something truly unique. Instead of blending the best parts of the old and new Assassin’s Creed philosophies, what we get is a mish-mash of dull ideas that are ultimately less than the sum of their parts. Comparing AC Mirage to the peaks of the franchise, Parkour isn’t as fluid as AC Unity, Basim isn’t nearly as interesting as other protagonists like Ezio or even Kassandra, and the world design is at par with something like AC Syndicate’s London, but nowhere as enthralling as Paris. 

But, what AC Mirage does deliver on, is being an improvement from AC Valhalla. Unlike the last few entries, AC Mirage does bring the Creed back to Assassin’s Creed. We come face to face with the brotherhood, learn its principles, grow with Basim, learn that not everything is black and white, and learn that there could be a purpose higher than oneself. This is something AC Mirage has to be commended for, daring to break the mould of the last three games that made the player feel like a God, bringing them back to Earth as a mortal. 

As for the modern component, it straight up doesn’t exist. Those looking for more exposition on the modern-day story will have to wait for another installment. While this isn’t a deal breaker, it failed to ground the stakes of the story in the real world, other than the game states that we NEED to care about Basim. 

All in all, AC Mirage is a mixed bag with a few strong points, but many more flaws. While no part of the game is egregiously poor, there’s nothing spectacular about it either, and depending on who you ask, that makes the “return to roots” claim, void. For anyone picking up this game, it's important to temper expectations and go in expecting nothing but an interesting story with rudimentary Assassin’s Creed gameplay that is somewhat reminiscent of older titles. Expecting an AC 2-esque game would simply be folly. 

PC Port Report

AC Mirage is a phenomenal PC port. Light on VRAM usage, high on fidelity, and easy to run, the port is a breath of fresh air considering the spate of disgusting PC ports in 2023. Players on weaker hardware can comfortably churn 45+ FPS with maxed-out textures and adjusted settings that lean towards medium. All upscalers work fairly well with even Intel XeSS providing an acceptable experience. 

Through my 20-ish hour playthrough I faced 0 crashes, soft locks, or game-breaking glitches. Those worried about performance on older hardware like the GTX 1650 can rest assured that they can push 40+ frames a second at 1080p medium/high with FSR 2 on. Maxed out, the game looks brilliant. Lighting is masterfully done, streaming through the lattices of structures, softly illuminating indoor areas. The world emanates a warmth that you’d expect from a region like Baghdad, perfectly highlighting the Ubisoft design team’s excellence. 

Review key for Assassin's Creed Mirage provided by Ubisoft and reviewed on PC. 

GTA Online players have waited for a long time for two things particularly: some zombies to take down and an official return to GTA 5’s starting area. Now since both promises have been fulfilled in the new Ludendorff Cemetery Survival mode, which was released on October 10, hundreds of thousands of players can’t wait to play it.

Rockstar Games announced the new mode recently, confirming that players would finally be able to return to North Yankton, which users might remember as the snow-covered town from the game’s opening where Trevor and Michael are involved in a failed robbery attempt, ruining their relationship for years.

Also Read: GTA 5 Story DLC Was Cut To Make Room For GTA Online

GTA Online Fans Get What They Wanted For A Long Time

GTA Online players weren’t actually able to explore the location without brute forcing their way in via glitches for several years, since it’s not connected to the open-world gamin’s main area, so this marks the first instance people were able to freely go to North Yankton without any workarounds. 

North Yankton plus zombies seem to have been a big enough deal to a attract 400,000 GTA Online players to quickly jump into the mode within its first 24 hours, as per GTAO Stats. That number seems to have passed the one million mark in the past few days.

Online rumors suggested that GTA 6 had already been internally delayed to 2026, but as per a former Rockstar Games lead, the studio doesn’t know whether the game will require more time in the oven until next summer.

Also Read: Red Dead Redemption 2 Mod Discreetly Unlocks Free Downloads

Rockstar Games Not Sure About GTA 6 Launch In 2025

Former Rockstar North technical director Obbe Vermeij has chimed in on the discourse to remind folks that "the decision to delay GTA 4 was made four months or so before the original release date. Any further and it's hard to make the call." The much-anticipated game has another year in prediction, so Vermeij says that Rockstar "is probably not in a position to determine whether they will hit 2025 until May-ish."

Vermeij continued explaining that a delay is certainly on the table, however. Hype for GTA 6 has been building for over a decade at this point - and everyone from industry analysts, Xbox executives, and Take-Two’s CEO reckon the game could be a hit unlike any other - so the studio will likely choose to delay it until it’s ready for launch, rather than rush toward an undercooked and doomed to-be-controversial launch.

"GTA 6 will sell for 10+ years and there is no competition to worry about," Vermeij continues. "They are not going to release the game until they're 100% happy with it. No matter what it said in the trailer. I have no inside info. Didn't talk to anyone."

Microsoft is planning to support the streaming of Xbox game libraries in November. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans told The Verge that the company is prepping to test the ability to stream games that users own that are not part of the existing Xbox Game Pass library.

As part of a long-running project called Project Lapland inside of Microsoft, the software giant has been readying its Xbox Cloud Gaming servers to be able to support streaming thousands of games.

The Xbox Cloud Gaming expansion comes in the same month Microsoft plans to allow game purchases in its Xbox mobile app for Android in the US. This became possible for Microsoft thanks to a court ruling earlier this week that forced Google to stop requiring Google Play Billing for apps in the Play Store.

Also Read: Microsoft Introduces Wave 2, Integrates AI Across All M365 Products

Users Can Buy Games On Android And Play On Xbox

Xbox president Sarah Bond revealed that “starting in November, players will be able to play and purchase Xbox games directly from the Xbox App on Android.” Once Microsoft’s work to allow a full game library on Xbox Cloud Gaming is complete, users will be able to purchase an Xbox game on Android and immediately stream it to their device.

Project xCloud was said to launch with game library streaming in 2020. Microsoft then announced it would support its game library on Xbox Cloud Gaming in 2022, but it never launched that year. While thousands of games will be available through Xbox Cloud Gaming, some publishers could hold certain games back due to licensing requirements.

Microsoft is also working on a browser-based Xbox mobile store that was originally planned to launch in July. The store will initially include in-game items but will grow to cover first-party games eventually. In August, Microsoft said that testing has kicked off on the web-based mobile store and that “work is progressing well and we will have more to share in the future.”

Also Read: Hackers Could Have Exploited Microsoft App To Spy On Mac Users

Microsoft Lays Off 650 Employees From Its Xbox Division

In a new wave of job cuts, Microsoft has announced the layoff of 650 employees from its Xbox division, marking the second major workforce reduction of the year within its gaming arm. The job cuts follow a previous workforce reduction of approximately 1900 positions in January this year.

As per the company, these layoffs are part of broader restructuring efforts aimed at streamlining its gaming operations, particularly after its takeover of Activision Blizzard. The news about the recent layoffs was brought to light for employees through an internal memo from Microsoft’s gaming chief, Phil Spencer.

According to the memo, the latest wave of job cuts will predominantly affect corporate and support roles within the company’s gaming division. Spencer ensured that no games, devices, or experiences were being canceled, and no studios would be closed after the layoffs.

After years of wait, Rockstar Games has officially announced the arrival of Red Dead Redemption and Undead Nightmare DLC, for PC, as it is set to launch on October 29, 2024.

The PC version of the famous open-world title will arrive with many specific features, including native 4K resolution, Ultrawide and Super Ultrawide monitor support, and much more. Aside from that, PC gamers can also expect unlocked framerates for a much smoother experience in current-gen hardware.

Also Read: Red Dead Redemption Making PC Debut 14 Years After Launch

Red Dead Redemption and Undead Nightmare DLC Ready to Make its Way Into PC This Month

Released in 2010, Red Dead Redemption quickly became a classic title for gamers to enjoy on console. While the original game never saw a release on PC, the sequel received a Windows release two years after its launch in November 2019. However, fans kept asking for the original title's release on PC. After 14 years, Red Dead Redemption and Undead Nightmare DLC are finally arriving on PC with many features for gamers to enjoy. One can capture John Marston's beloved journey on PC, with stunning visuals filled with details. Moreover, the iconic zombie-horror companion story, Undead Nightmare will also be available on launch.

Rockstar Games has stated that the new version adds many PC-specific enhancements to the title, including 4k resolution at up to 144hz compatible hardware, monitor support for Ultrawide 21:9 and Super Ultrawide 32:9, HDR10 support, and full keyboard and mouse functionality. The title also comes with NVIDIA DLSS 3.7 and AMD FSR 3.0 upscaling technologies. One can use DLSS Frame Generation, adjustable draw distances, shadow quality settings, and many more features to tweak the game's experience up to their desire.

The PC version of Red Dead Redemption will undoubtedly deliver a massive visual upgrade over the console version from last to last gen. Moreover, the added features from Rockstar promise a much smoother, and optimized experience for PC users. The PC version of the title was leaked earlier this year, through leaked codes from the official Rockstar page, however, they did not mention any release window at the time. Fans were still expecting an announcement for their beloved title on PC. With Rockstar officially announcing a PC version, fans are excited to get their hands on Red Dead Redemption once again. 

Bullet Echo India is back with another event, which will give the players new skins. The Octoberfest event will give the players Legendary and Epic Hero Skins each day till October 13, 2024. This will help you gain skins for your heroes. After you have completed a few daily missions and collected a few resources each day, you will be able to get skins. 

Also Read: OpenAI Introduces New Canvas Interface For ChatGPT

All Bullet Echo India’s Oktoberfest Event Skins

The event has already started and each day skins will be given to the players. At the beginning of the month, Krafton had made Legendary Midnight Lynx, General Vi (Legendary), and Winter Leviathan (Epic), followed by Beast Dragoon (Legendary) and Smuggler Arnie (Epic) available to the players 

However, the skins that are most awaited are not available during the event. Here they are: 

• October 7: Yukata Angel (Epic)
• October 8: Minotaur Ramsay (Legendary)
• October 9: Stray Mirage (Epic)
• October 10: Infected Ghost (Epic)
• October 11: Maid Sparkle (Epic)
• October 12: Lava Cyclops (Epic)
• October 13: Orc Bastion (Epic)

If you have missed the skins by any chance, you will be able to get them from the shop by spending a few bucks. 

Bullet Echo India's Partnerships

Earlier in the year, Krafton partnered with a leading content creation group, S8UL, to promote the game. To acquaint the audience with the features of the game, S8UL content creators like Mortal, Scout, Regaltos, Snax, JokerKiHaveli, PayalGaming, KaashPlays, and others will be making content related to the game. Talking about the collaboration, Lokesh 'Goldy' Jain, Co-owner of S8UL said: 

We are delighted to partner with KRAFTON for the launch of Bullet Echo India, as this gives us another chance to bring new & enriching gaming experience to the community. With KRAFTON's expertise and our deep understanding of the Indian gaming community, we are confident that Bullet Echo India will excite players across the country. I also look forward to it opening new avenues for esports athletes trying to make a mark in the competitive landscape.

Talking about the collaboration, Anuj Sahani, India Publishing Advisor and Head of KRAFTON India Incubator Programme said: 

We are excited to join forces with S8UL for our Bullet Echo India. S8UL's innovative approach has consistently set them apart, and their synergy is perfectly aligned with KRAFTON to deliver an unparalleled gaming experience that fans have been eagerly anticipating.

As someone who grew up playing games like Grim Fandango on repeat, Detective Doston looked exactly the sort of game I've been looking to play. Detective Doston's preview build scratched that little Lovo Motive-esque itch for me that very few games have been able to and while it feels a tiny bit similar to Loco Motive, it has enough character and creative flair to be its own thing. Masala Games' commitment to a solid, unique art style endemic to India, derived from the Patan Patola silk weaving technique, is what did it for me. The game's fantastic atmosphere, mood, and light-hearted jovialness are exactly the sort of palette cleanser you need from the deeply cynical AAA space we find ourselves in today.

The game, while a celebration of India and its vibrant cultures, is also extremely witty and sharp in its commentary - whether it be the deep-set political warfare of the neighbourhood kitty parties or the extreme pettiness of your neighbours to haunt you with high-precision bird strikes.

Detective Doston's attention to detail cannot be looked over as it weaves together crucial elements of Indian cityscapes with authentic storefronts, street signs, and of course, unruly litterers you can put in place by throwing their garbage back at them. The game is packed with excruciating attention to detail that faithfully recreates and enhances the summery vibes of Detective Doston. The game, while a celebration of India and its vibrant cultures, is also extremely witty and sharp in its commentary - whether it be the deep-set political warfare of the neighbourhood kitty parties or the extreme pettiness of your neighbours to haunt you with high-precision bird strikes. Detective Doston is one of my favourite games I've played from an Indian developer this year and I cannot wait for the full release. 

Also Read: Bollywood-Inspired Detective Dotson To Feature Co-Op Cases

Detective Doston: The Scourge of Littering Underworld

Detective Doston's gameplay is pretty straightforward and surprisingly non-linear with the way it uses simple and easy-to-grasp gameplay mechanics to let players explore the world at their own pace, pick up optional side quests and immerse themselves in the game world. Doston is a fairly mobile character, able to jump, sprint, and climb onto ledges as if he were a direct descendant of Ezio Auditore. The platforming, while basic, serves its purpose well and does enough to keep things mechanically interesting. The real game, however, is the actual 'detecting' you'll be doing. 

 Gathering clues, while not linear in this preview build, could be further expanded in the full release - giving players agency in the kind of detective they want Doston to be. 

This means gathering clues by either talking to NPCs, eavesdropping or finding clues in the environment and then placing those clues on your Evidence Board in a way that makes sense. Think Alan Wake II's Mind Palace Evidence Board but significantly more cheery and exponentially more Indian. Definitely more Indian. While this isn't exactly rocket science, it asks the players to pay attention to NPC dialog carefully and sus out their motivations. Gathering clues, while not linear in this preview build, could be further expanded in the full release - giving players agency in the kind of detective they want Doston to be. 

The real joy of the game, for me, came through the non-linear exploration which lets you talk to different NPCs and pick up side quests.

In the preview build, gathering clues usually means disguising yourself as another NPC, which will give you access to the area or certain NPC dialogue. The 'Disguise' mechanic is also quite dandy as each Disguise grants Doston with an additional ability. These abilities will help you in your clue-gathering endavors or simply make NPCs dance if you wish. I did. Several times. While the core gameplay loop was more than enough to sustain my interest in the game, its the meandering about the game world that made me come back to Detective Doston even after I had finished the 2 cases in the preview build (which took me about 30 minutes). 

The real joy of the game, for me, came through the non-linear exploration which lets you talk to different NPCs and pick up side quests. While these aren't super detailed, expansive, story-driven gameplay sections - they never failed to get a chuckle out of me. Overall, Detective Doston is a delightfully, authentically Indian game that knows exactly what it is and excels in immersing the player in the game world. I will be looking forward to the full release and throw litter back at unruly citizens, because that's just the kind of person I am.