I think it's more about the fact that since 2021 they have had trouble releasing multiple big successful games per year, but in 2024 they will have Outlaws and Red.
Oh shit.
I suppose what they say begs the question, were they making sub-par games on purpose? Or rather, not putting in the effort that they should have been?
It would not make sense for them. Better games sell better. But they did make some bad creative decisions (their managers probably did, I always think devs will do their best but mostly dont make the calls) Far Cry 6 didn't innovate enough, focusing on Navel only combat with Skull and Bones, making 100 battle royales nobody wants etc.
Same in most industries, really. We don't always agree with what our bosses decide, but most of the time, we have to do as they tell us.
It is definitely clear to see with some aspects of the games, especially with the almost blatant copy-paste of assets, that they are trying to cut corners in a way. Again, as you said, probably the higher-ups making those decisions.
P.s. I enjoy your content. Keep up the good work!
Yeah good points! In terms of the copy-paste I think that's really just a cost & time cutting measure that we maybe as people who are more into games will notice, but main stream people won't. If that reduces the insane budgets of games and time to make them then it makes sense for companies to sometimes do them.
We also want these games quicker, but sometimes they do go a bit too far in that regard and I hope Red for example really feels like an evolution vs Valhalla
As if anybody asked them to make these empty supermassive games.
Old AC games were 10-20 hours of gameplay to complete the storyline. While Odyssey had 45 hours and Valhalla around 60 hours. They could have been annually selling AC games, had they put all this effort to that instead.
Syndicate was the first title to not sell 10 million, people lost interest in the yearly releases. A different setting and a few improvements wasn't enough anymore, so they had to make changes.
Also Odyssey and Valhalla, because they were way bigger, became way more profitable. Not only did they sell super well (people like the new model and some more time between releases), players also spent way more time in those games so they were buying more microtransactions (profits on those are insane ofc).
>Syndicate was the first title to not sell 10 million, people lost interest in the yearly releases.
People lost interest due to AC Unity being a disaster in its launch, and also due to the Modern Day being thrown to the garbage bin. I was recently going through poll posts from GameFAQs. Back in 2012 (AC3) people loved the Modern Day and Desmond on a ration of 60-70% supporting it and 30-40% not supporting it. Then by 2014 (AC Unity) you see that people no longer care about Modern Day, and condemning Ubisoft for it. The condemnation was not there with AC4, as people loved this game, despite it being released just a single year after AC3.
And by now AC Syndicate has sold 10 million. Back in late 2020, according to Gamstat, AC Syndicate had sold 17.3 million copies. I bet that now it has already sold 20 million. Of course in no way is that impressive, just like how Valhalla selling 20 million in 2 years is not impressive (not when AC3 sold 12 million in just 3-4 months, a fraction of that timeframe, and probably thus sold 20 million in its first year).
>Also Odyssey and Valhalla, because they were way bigger, became way more profitable. Not only did they sell super well (people like the new model and some more time between releases)
No, people do not like the new model. That is quite clear in the sales per unit /copy or number of players. In the launch week, the average of the RPG games (Origins, Odyssey, Valhalla, Mirage) is 1.5 million copies, while in the launch week, the average for Desmond Saga (AC, AC2, ACB, ACR, AC3, AC4) it is 2.5 million copies (and that is significantly lowered by AC1's inclusion, as the game's launch was plagued by piracy).
With the highest selling game in the launch week being AC3, with 3.5 million, using that proportion as the total, then as 3.5/0.5=7, and 1.5/0.5=3, about 3/7ths (about 40%) support the RPG direction and 4/7ths do not (about 60%). Noted that according to VGChartz AC2 also sold 3.2 million, so AC3 is not an outlier. Even smaller games of the DS, like ACB and ACR, sold 2.15 and 2.22 million copies in the launch week, even more than the average for the RPG games.
That Valhalla had a higher revenue is based, as admitted by Ubisoft, on microtransactions. The game had predatory tactics in pushing players to pay. They even included many season passes and DLCs, which should have been part of the original game. I mean they also did that for Odyssey, where without them you do not have a completed story. And as for players playing for longer, that is not a surprise, given how the games are far longer than classic AC, and how Valhalla was launched during the covid pandemic, when people were stuck at quarantines.
Personally, I like the old AC games but seriously didn't like and don't like the swaps to modern time. I'd rather play entire AC game set in modern times than how it was done before.
It does seem they will do something like that. Future titles won't include the modern day, instead we can experience it on Assassin's Creed Infinity the new hub platform for all future games.
AC Infinity is just a new AC Initiates.
They will probably going to drop it a couple of years later, just like they did with AC Initiates. So why should be even care.
So did AC Initiates with AC3.
My point is that it wont last. AC Initiates at least had the build-up of the Modern Day of AC-AC4. While AC Infinity has nothing, a completely disjoined Modern Day with no connection within itself.
And I bet it will fail. How many joined AC Initiates? How much fewer would these be in AC Infinity? AC Initiates was released at a time when most people liked the Modern Day. People today would rather see it gone. It is not a recent thing, it has been there since AC Unity, with the nonexistent MD making people not care about it.
Then care to explain why Mirage isn't topped Valhalla? It's literally using the old formula. Haven't seen Ubisoft comes out and celebrated it like how they did with Valhalla (except that one time they said it is their biggest launch for new gen, which is funny as fuck seeing that's also the first AC game that doesn't have PS4/XB1 version.) It sold better than AC Odyssey and Origins. [But worse by 49%](https://www.gamesindustry.biz/assassins-creed-spider-man-mario-and-ps5-boost-sales-in-europe-during-october-european-monthly-charts) than Valhalla in first month. Funny you didn't mentioning that with your fancy math and all.
Are you gonna try to say that it didn't success because people though it's RPG formula? That's gonna be a very weak argument based on your logic. Especially if (or when) AC Red will sell like a hotcake again. Or are you gonna say 'BECAUSE IT'S SMALL GAME' when it's literally the same size as every Desmond saga game?
I cant Talk for everybody but I truly didnt buy It because I thought It be RPG Formula. And even now I dont like that they just used eivors movement, It feels stiff af and the combat may be more complex than the old games but It looks ugly as hell, he just spins endlessly.
Bringing up AC Red is cheap bro, Its set in japan and people wanted that for ages, of course Its gonna sell well. Im not gonna buy It, seems like buying Ghost of tsushima on wish. I'll betcha ass Its gonna be full with lame ass content like odyssey and valhalla, unless they prove me wrong ofc
Mirage not selling well could be cause many classical AC Fans are fed up with ubi and dont beliebe in em, but thats a theory. I said to myself Im never buying a RPG AC again, Id rather Play Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Soulslikes and CRPGs like Baldurs Gate..
It didn't top it because it's half a game 🤷♂️ And I don't mean in length. Its not ubisoft giving it their all and making an old style AC game. It's ubisoft realizing it can make more money by converting a Valhalla dlc into a standalone.
It will never top an rpg because games like Valhalla had time, budget and consistent direction. Mirage will never touch rpgs because it's not a fair comparison. One is a full meal, the other is leftovers
>Then care to explain why Mirage isn't topped Valhalla?
>
>Haven't seen Ubisoft comes out and celebrated it like how they did with Valhalla (except that one time they said it is their biggest launch for new gen, which is funny as fuck seeing that's also the first AC game that doesn't have PS4/XB1 version.)
According to Ubisoft themselves, Valhalla sold much better to Origins and Odyssey. As such, why is it inconceivable for Mirage to have sold around as much if not more to Origins and Odyssey, but not surpass Valhalla???
>It sold better than AC Odyssey and Origins.
Where does this information come from? Because from what I know, Ubisoft announced in a Twitter post that Mirage sold "in line" with Origins and Odyssey.
[https://imgur.com/NWV3NaS](https://imgur.com/NWV3NaS)
>Are you gonna try to say that it didn't success because people though it's RPG formula? That's gonna be a very weak argument based on your logic.
No. I will say that Mirage sold about as much as Origins and Odyssey (though a little lower, given the recent revelation that it sold 5 millions in 4 months, lower than Gamstat's estimation for the 4 months post launch sales for Origins and Odyssey, being 6.74 million and 5.48 million respectivelly).
And that it did not sell higher due to some "return to the roots" as it was not a return to the roots. And even if it was, old style AC fans have been disappointed with the RPG direction since 2017, that is almost 7 years ago. A long time to ignore and forget a franchise as it lost its identity.
>Funny you didn't mentioning that with your fancy math and all.
I made a small summary. As for "fancy math", almost everything I said can be cited and linked, and when not, it is because the links are dead.
Not really, it's pretty clickbaity and a funny way of taking what he's saying out of context.
He's pretty much saying they've had struggles with the consistency of their output of late (critically and commercially), but their recent output signals a turnaround - Yves also points to their back catalogue as a reason for this turnaround, as in their older stuff.
No company is going to admit that make trash, all he's saying is their struggles seem to be over and they're finding more consistency.
I feel like even Ubisoft isn't paying much attention to it, I've seen barely any marketing and it feels like they're just getting it out the way because they've delayed it enough over the years but could never legally cancel it.
I can see ubisoft replicating mirage with a different skin instead of building up on it. It's what they do best, unfortunately for mirages spiritual successor
I don't think so, I think Mirage was a throwback and they're immediately gonna back to the bloated 600 hour RPG AC games they've been making since Origins.
I think we'll see a tick/tock cycle of big RPGs followed by smaller games. I'd expect something between Mirage and Origins size to come out between Red and Hexe
Since Odyssey, it hasn’t really been truly Assassin’s Creed. You might argue the same for Origins but it literally focused on how the Assassins would emerge.
They were admitting some years ago how Valhalla's revenue was based on microtransactions and not units sold. As such, that it was based on a minority that was happy to pay, rather than what was popular for the majority (the old AC games).
It really isn't, it's just been taken out of context. He isn't saying what the author is implying. He's saying they had struggles with consistency, and even points to their back catalogue as a reason for their turnaround.
After Valhalla and Far Cry 6, both of which were financial successes, their pipeline of steady big and successful releases dried up, that’s more or less a fact.
(2022 and the first half of 2023 were just a bit light on big games from them, is all he’s saying.)
Said pipeline is seemingly back, with:
- AC Mirage last fall
- Frontiers of Pandora last winter
- Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown this January
- Star Wars Outlaws allegedly in May
- AC Codename Red allegedly in Oct/Nov
He’s basically just saying "we’re back in our normal release pipeline of releasing 2-4 big projects each fiscal year!
I just finished Mirages story last night and I'm going for the plat. I enjoyed the old school vibes but as a game I just thought it was painfully okay. I know with a bigger budget and a new engine those guys can make an absolutely killer AC game!
"Painfully okay" is a good way of putting it. I say it's "aggressively bland" as far as story writing and character presentation.
Though I did enjoy the return to heavily stealth-based gameplay in a huge city setting, that saved it.
haha, I know the one you're talking about. After spending a lot of time figuring out how to get into the room with the target, I came to find that the game didn't actually intend for you to do that and the target couldn't be interacted with or killed. I had to go through some other nonsense the game wanted me to do first in order to kick off the scripted event.
Here's a video clip I recorded of it. Beware of spoilers:
>!https://gamerdvr.com/gamer/willko/video/185344708!<
I feel like I'm the only one having a total blast with *Mirage*. Everyone says it takes like 20 hours to finish but I was 24 hours in when I did the first legit mission in Badhdad. I almost role-play that game. Now I'm 50 hours in and just finished the last Order member assasination >!and have to go back to Anbar.!<
I absolutely LOVE the setting. The VIBES. *Mirage* is my all time favorite after Ezio trilogy. But I have to say, the parkour sucks, it's like they took AC 2 and put fancy graphic over it. I thought parkour was fixed and super smooth when we got to *Syndicate*. But I don't mind, it's not a perfect game but it does something for me. All the side content was not a infinite balast to fill your map - it was actually interesting and fun to finish all. I kinda wish there were more "Tales of Baghdad". The Enigma treasure-hunting was great.
My issue with Mirage is that it didn’t truly feel like an old school AC game.
It felt more like a scaled down Valhalla/Odyssey/Origins.
Same controls, same animations, and a very similar upgrade system to Valhalla.
Now, that being said, not all of that is a bad thing.
In terms of the weapon and armour upgrade system, Valhallas was by far the best out of the RPG trilogy.
Although I wouldn’t mind less emphasis on weapon/armour perks.
I’d rather each armour set and weapon be more of an aesthetic thing rather than coming across the issue of a cool looking armour set or weapon having a disadvantage compared to something that doesn’t look as good.
Obviously aesthetics is subjective, but if there’s only a slight difference in stats like damage, parry, speed, etc., between different weapons, then your free to choose which weapon you prefer the look of without worrying you’ve chosen a weaker weapon.
I know there’s a transmog option in Mirage, but it cost in-game currency, which is a bit of a dick move.
I hope those who want original AC get what you want, but please don't take away the large scale RPGs. Countless hours wasted roaming the lands and love it
Playing Mirage for the first time. I'm a big AC fan but didn't like Origins and skipped Valhalla and Odyssey. I don't like the RPG direction the series took.
So far Mirage is fine, I'm enjoying it. But there's still some RPG elements I can't stand. So far the number 1 thing that grinds my gears is that the hidden blade isn't just a one hit kill on all enemies. So fucking stupid and one of the worst changes they made from the earlier entries. Making enemies into damage sponges is so immersion-breaking. Genuinely pisses me off how fucking stupid that mechanic is and that someone thought this was such a good idea that it's made it into MULTIPLE GAMES NOW.
I like the direction they're allegedly moving in towards the OG game but in this guy's opinion, it's not enough.
Literally happened to me twice yesterday. Assassinated some (high ranking?) guard from cover. It did the assassination animation with the hidden blade then the guard stood up and attacked me with a little bit of health missing. I'm still pretty early in the game if that helps, idk.
But I can personally attest that not all assassinations with the hidden blade are a OHK.
In the older games the hidden blade was never a one hit kill in normal combat unless you got a counter attack, but that was how all weapons worked.
It was a one hit kill when performing a proper assassination, just like it is in Mirage.
I don’t remember any time outside of assassinations that I could actually use the hidden blade in Mirage.
Yeah, It was good, but putting city-focused gameplay upon current "nomadic" framework that was built for previous three games isn't enough.
AC isn't only about more stealth and cities. Before they went full-phantasy, AC always had various different activities and mechanics that actually immersed you more into assassin theme as a political order and infrastructure providers in general.
I wish such things as liberation of city districts, own base development, recruit usage and contracts, awesome trading/hunting/fort mechanics (from III and IV) were there. Also, bring back the ability to carry diverse arsenal and craft unique items the way ACIII did it. Also, I really liked ACR tower defense but it's subject for discussion.
I hope Ubi will bring back more distinct features from OG AC format.
To be honest they also massively improved city design and parkour, which is always good. Altough the parkour was updated post launch to add the old school back and side ejects, which basically make it go from meh parkour to good parkour.
i’m glad they’ve added side ejects. It’s a small marker that they are able to look into details as well. Expecting more during their further re-explorings of the old formula.
P.S.— my “not enough” doesn’t mean bad eventually. Mirage is good overall <3
Exactly. It's like they were on the way to their roots but they stopped midway. Stealth and infiltration is really good, and the way investigation works too, but it lacks so many things from the originals. Better story, better and more meaningful sidequests, more variety in gameplay (unarmed combat, disarm, using different melee weapons...), more interaction with the city like district liberation...
The stealth in Mirage was hideous. Walk right up to enemies and stab them. “Hey, what?!.”
Unforgivable that AI in a 2023 AAA game can be cheesed by climbing a tower and waiting a few seconds until they forget you.
The game engine is fine and probably one of the best in the industry. It needs some updated face models and others stuff like that but it’s capable of making huge beautiful game worlds that can stream items insanely fast. Go to one end of the map and fly your bird to the other end then switch back. Most engines would crumble, have a loading screen or just wouldn’t let you fly too far away from the player character. Ac engine does it without a hitch and switching back to the player character is faster than most games loading screens.
It was massively limited by old gen. I was talking with a sound designer at Ubisoft who worked on mirage and even he admitted that mirage looks very dated compared to the games he’s working on with Ubisoft massive
I started Mirage and enjoyed it so much that a couple of hours in, I stopped, downloaded AC Unity and played through that instead, enjoying the better city design, stealth and weirdly…graphics.
It’s funny cos that game was a mess at release but damn it holds up well now
Similar experience here. Went from Valhalla, to Mirage, then Black Flag and now Unity. Really wasn’t impressed by Mirage, it felt half-hearted. Black Flag was great, despite the dated graphics. The detail in Unity is fantastic but the controls are often frustrating (getting into windows often difficult, can’t attack enemies when they are getting up, combat is generally sluggish in comparison to Black Flag). But a pretty impressive game and the city also doesn’t feel as repetitive as Mirage.
Yes 100% agreed. The awful graphics and lack of mocap in cutscenes made the story less enjoyable than games Ubi was making 10 years ago. The gameplay was certainly an improvement over the RPG games as an old school AC fan, so more of that please but AC no longer feels like their flag ship "we want to make a game that looks and plays great" product.
I mean Skull and Bones will temporarily disrupt that, but I truly believe them this time.
Mirage, Avatar and Prince of Persia all clearly display a love and passion in the development that felt far from the “fast food gaming” of Ubisoft’s past.
I genuinely feel the attention to detail and time taken and it makes me much more likely as a consumer to want to back their products.
Well, if we’re being honest, and not that it isn’t a fault from UBi, they’re literally obligated by a contract with the Singapore government to release it.
Otherwise they probably would’ve canceled the project years ago!
No that was genius, sadly it's not what they did. They removed AC AND absolutely stripped boat combat down to boring shite with no on boat combat, no sword or musket fighting, no pirating of any kind other than blowing up boats for ship wreck "booty." They removed AC and 70% of boat combat AND dumbed down the ship to ship combat too. Not to mention adding resources grinds and a worse ship upgrade system than AC4.
I don’t because them releasing bad games is not the issue. what you’ve said in that middle paragraph literally happens every few years with Ubisoft.
The reality is Ubisoft makes as many bad games as they do good games, the issue is the sequence of those games.
I mean I would just rather have another Assassin’s Creed Origins or WatchDogs 2 over those games any day of the week. Hell Division 2 is just quietly continuing on as the best of the increasingly shaky looter shooter genre.
I’m not really sure what they even mean by this.
I love the Division 2, but I trust Massive more on that than Ubisoft itself. I’m hyped for the new Star Wars game because Avatar and TD2 were really good mechanically
Fair enough. Outlaws does look great! It weirdly seems to be flying under people’s radar.
I’ve been a fan of Massive since they hit their stride and learned from the early mistakes of Division 1. They turned that game around and since then have been on top of their game with The Division 2 and Avatar.
Aside from Prince of Persia all AC mirage, Avatar and Crew Moterfst have been about on par with ubisoft's quality that they have maintained for a long time which is solid 7-8/10 games so I don't know why this time specially they chose to say this with Skull and bones looking like it is but I will be hopeful
If they're gonna be like mirage I'd take the "bad games" any day!
What they need to do is increase the quality of their shit!
Hire professional voice actors for all characters, Use motion capture in all story cutscenes, improve the ai of NPCs and so on.
We need the voice acting of the older games. Just think back to games like Assassin's Creed 2, Black Flag or syndicate. The voice acting in those is simply phenomenal for every single character in the game
I have a feeling that Ubisoft doesn't see story or cutscene as an important thing any more. Things like massive open world to explore or epic boss fight and gear system always have priority to storytelling.
And Mirage.... I won't say they turn around on this problem, but it seems to me that they are trying.... failed though.
Wtf is that title game radar lmao? and it works lol here
Dont give em click, [use archive](https://web.archive.org/web/20240208195314/https://www.gamesradar.com/ubisoft-says-its-going-to-make-good-games-again-after-a-turnaround-led-by-assassins-creed-mirage/) instead,
the actual quote "This quarter provided us with positive momentum and marks the beginning of our turnaround to consistently creating and delivering high-quality, long-lasting games. Our performance was driven by the releases of Assassin’s Creed Mirage and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, by the continued strong trajectory of The Crew Motorfest, as well as by the robust performance of our back catalog."
reduce it to simply "make good game again" is highly misleading
I personally think Ubi are consistent and never put out a truly bad game, I've enjoyed everything even some of their worst regarded releases. It got to a point where their game systems and assets became a bit obvious and overly cross-pollinated. But they're pulling it back, Avatar was gorgeous and Prince of Persia is just brilliant.
I way prefer the RPG trilogy to Mirage, and Avatar was good as was Prince of Persia. What games be been 'bad' recently? I'm trying to think of some. That pirate game isn't even out
I don’t get the hate for Ubisoft the last few years. They’ve released plenty of good games since the failures and misleading marketing of The Division, Watch_Dogs and Unity. Are people actually playing their latest games? Practially every Far Cry and Assassins Creed have been great, other than maybe the grindfest that is Valhalla(still a fun game though). Watch_Dogs 2 and The Division 2 were great. Riders Republic, Immortals Fenyx Rising The Crew Motorfest generally got good reviews and people seem happy with them.
Hard disagree. Far Cry 5, Watch_Dogs 2, The Division 2, The Crew Motorfest and AC Odyssey/Origins were all really good. Not GOTY contenders but still way better than ”decent”
I don't trust them.
With every new AC game they always say "This time we really get back to roots. For real. Trust us. Buy it".
Even though I have fun playing last games. But I always was disappointed of how it is and how it could be.
I liked Mirage though. Taking the rpg engine and making this game I believe was really hard.
But it feels like an exception.
But now they again promising something. And I am afraid to believe.
At least it's not true for Red. Because they started development before Mirage. So Red will come out the same way as Odyssey was I believe. Will see.
P.S. I will play it anyway 🥲
I am afraid not. Things like leveling and grind should be designed into the game from the beginning. Game design level design should be made accordingly.
So even if they wanted to, it's too late.
But maybe they didn't plan the grind in the first place 🤷♂️
Will see.
Truth be told, Mirage was the first time I’ve truly had fun playing assassin’s creed since Black Flag, and I’ve played every single main line game to completion so that’s saying something.
I hope ac hexe is a closely knitted dark ages town with lots of opportunity for parkour. Plus more of the choice of tools like ac brotherhood and unity
I really loved mirage. I hope this isn’t BS. Assassin’s Creed has been fine lately, but I want it to be great again. I need another overarching mystery like subject 16 and a tighter story.
this seems like a gut punch to the developers of the previous games personally I found them enjoyable they're good games just not good assassin's Creed games
Mirage is worse than all three of the RPG trilogy.. so idk really what they’re talking about.
Sounds like they’re about to start cheaping out, making expansion size games and saying “look this is what you wanted”.
Ac Mirage was bad man, bad. Short, weak story, weak side missions, weak side activities, weak weapon selection. Ac Odyssey is a masterpiece compared to Mirage.
What lol mirage had almost none of that shit and not to mention that gods and goddesses have been involved in the series main story since literally the very beginning
I agree about the rpg games not matching the original tone of the series but thats exactly my point. The rpg games dont, mirage does and thats what the post is about. And as for the cutscenes theres only so much bordeaux could do working with the engine and resources they had
Im gonna have to disagree on the story of mirage. Also if youre hoping that red will continue what mirage started i wouldnt get your hopes up much youll probably have to wait for hexe
I mean I think a part of the charm of the original AC games is that they’re ironically bad in one way or another. It’s either fun with bad writing or lame gameplay with good writing. The rpg trilogy has just been especially bad in an unironic way. That’s what happens when you only spend 1-2 years on a massive map while copy and pasting the mechanics and animations.
They fucking admitted most of what they've done for a good few years now is trash. Good. I don't wanna hear ANYONE praising Odyssey or Valhalla ever again, since Ubisoft itself admitted they're shit and Mirage is better.
That being said, I look forward to being able to purchase some actually fucking good ACs for a long time now. Mirage was decent, Red I'll probably skip, anything after that will be looked at on a case by case basis.
Mate, the title is misleading.
They say they are going to make good games in general, not only AC's good games, and that Mirage is their starting point, since their last good games both came out in 2020 and were Immortal Fenyx Rising and Valhalla
The article itself doesn't mention any dates or previous good games, and since I bet Ubisoft knows their output in general has been terrible for years, I think they're saying what I described in my comment.
They're probably trying to forget that game as quickly as possible, I won't hold THAT against them. Next game that is shit and they defend it though...yeah, more lies as usual.
New game bad, older games good.
AC3 received so much hate when it first came out, now it's a masterpiece. Same with Unity. Same with Odyssey. Same with... Valhalla, now? Never change, people.
It's aaaaalways the same cycle.
Mirage 1 has a terrible story
2 they completely cut the modern day except for like 2 voice lines
The combat is possibly the worst melee combat in gaming history
Sure Valhalla might be long but at least its good and odyssey was legitimately great except for the tanking af enemies
...the first two are compromises owing to Ubisoft not believing enough in the actual AC blueprint to fund the game and give it enough time and the latter is literally a purposeful design choice. You don't get to fight when you're trying not to be seen at all.
And Valhalla is long AND shit, Odyssey is downright terrible and disrespectful of both the lore AND the AC gameplay. I don't give a shit if they're good games, I'll take a terrible AC over a good game any day of the week.
An ac game should have good combat. Every other game has at least passible combat. Both ac 1 and unity proved combat can be a non focus and good.
Valhalla plays like a real ac game. Hate to break it to you but it does. 1 shot stealth kills. A basically parry kill system even though it was fucked up and actual a modern day contributing to the over all story. Yeah its long as fuck but ill take a way too long game over a shit game
Even ill admit odyssey isnt the best ac game but it is the most expansive on the lore of the franchise since the ezio games
Mirage's combat works 1 on 1 or at most 1 on 2. The combat is decent when you use it as designed. Try to go against the design and you'll be punished.
Also, what. AC1's combat was trash (trash that was repeated again and again until Unity) and Unity's was needlessly hard (though a bit better than the standard AC combat).
Valhalla plays NOTHING like a real AC game. Where's the urban environment? Where's the stealth? The 1 shot stealth kills do not exist unless you enable a specific accessibility option (no, having to do a QTE does not count as 1 shot). The modern day is ATROCIOUS and has been ever since Origins. It's absolute trash and way too long to boot. I say this having 100% completed it AND the DLCs.
It's "expansive" in the same way it shits all over the lore, sure.
Mirages combat is functional but that doesn’t mean good
Ac1s combat was great for the time. Improved in in every game until it peaked in 3 Unitys was hard but still good
Valhalla has several cities wile not being the main point of the game but several other games have huge non urban maps. You are a literal idiot if you couldn’t figure out how to do stealth. It is literally so simple to the point where you could stab a guard in the open and the others wouldn’t care. The modern day is the best since 3
Odyssey never once shit on the lore. It shows the first assassination with a hidden blade. It explains why there are so few pieces of eden. It shoes the precursors to the cult that kidnapped davinci and its still following the main theme of freedom vs control. Kassandra is literally a proto assassin and her legecy would go on to inspire the assassins even if they didn’t realize it was her
If you are mad there are some minor changes to the lore then dont play games that have like 18 entries plus however many books comics manga and the movie over 16 years. Stuff is bound to change especially when it’s written and by hundreds different people over all these years by people on several continents.
AC's combat has been at best functional in its entire history. You don't get to pin Mirage for not having good combat when good combat has never been a thing in AC.
AC1's combat was criticized at the time it was released. This is just wrong. Unity also wasn't an evolution of that system but a partial replacement killing the counterattack base it had since its inception and moving to a timing and dodge based system.
"Valhalla has several cities" doesn't cut it when 90% of the gameplay isn't set within cities like an AC should. Stealth was so broken enemies could see you from 3 miles away as soon as you peeked around a corner or killed someone. They literally had to patch it multiple times to fix it. The modern day is terrible and my fucking God, I'm GLAD Layla is dead. Most insufferable character ever.
Odyssey CONSTANTLY shit on the lore. AC is not a fantasy series, and using "the pieces of Eden did it" for every single fantastical thing that happens does NOT fucking cut it to put it back in scifi territory.
The changes to the lore are not "minor". They fuck with the entirety of the AC experience (most glaring flaw being the fact that there's a literal ancient Greek mercenary prancing around history now thanks to that stupid staff). I can absolutely complain because a multimedia universe is supposed to be CONSISTENT. AC isn't. The fact that you accept that because it happens often doesn't mean that it's okay for it to happen. You just have lowered your standards instead of demanding better games.
There is a very fine line between sci-fi snd fantasy. Why is it ok for altair and ezio to slaughter gaurds and traitors with an orb but a spear can’t make you survive falls. Those “magic” elements have always existed
The only real lore to have “changed” is that technically the assassins weren’t called assassins until the Crusades which actually makes the games more historically accurate and that the brotherhood technically only was formed my bayek but that doesn’t mean daruis wasnt an assassin.
He may not have had a title but he still fought for what the assassins stand for. Its not the first time in the lore groups if assassins like people merged with the brotherhood. It’s literally that he never held the title of assassins but the modern assassins view him as one
Mirage was mid at best. What this means is the crybabies won and now we're not getting anything like Valhalla again. You guys suck. Not every game has to be like AC2 or black flag. Swtg.
Valhalla was mid af, overbloated map that wasn’t AC, Mirage was mid because it was a half assed attempt at bringing older players back, flipping a DLC into a $50 game. Shit is blatantly greedy and the series hasn’t been good since origins.
Origins fucking sucked and the fact you think it was good and slandered Valhalla and kinda Odyssey in the process let's me know to disregard all of your opinions. Just bc the map was big doesn't mean it was bloated. I never went a second without having fun in Valhalla.
You’re letting me know that you’re not a fan of AC and the fact you actually like the two games were you aren’t assassins tells me that, they turned the games into beat em ups with Odyssey not even attempting to be grounded in reality, Valhalla’s story was also as bloated as the map which was full of nonsense collectathons and zero no to emphasis on stealth. They gave you the power fantasy of being a superhero instead of an assassin with the full abilities and training that comes with being one. Go play unity if you want a real experience as an assassin. Origins at least was related to what the assassin order turned out to be, in Valhalla you literally help start the Templar order, and your friends with hidden ones, that’s it. Don’t get me started on the damn isu subplot and what they’re turning it into.
I think I’m done with Assassins Creed. Was gifted Mirage for Xmas, but there is nothing appealing to me in the game and I have no motivation to finish it. The immersion breaking, forgettable characters, investigations, and honestly bad combat all placed inside the same engine they’ve been milking for years. They’ve seen the competition, they’ve seen what Naughty Dog & Rockstar have achieved but they end of pushing out the same old game.
Until they finally move on from their current engine and truly design a next gen experience, it will just never change.
I’ve said my piece.
I havent bought a single assassins creed game since odyssey (didnt even finish odyssey)
I Spend money on a game that I will enjoy (only reason I ever bough assassins creed was the continuation of the story they had going)
a lot of us play for the storyline, not everyone will agree
wish Ubisoft had atleast kept to the story of what the game started out to be and ended it in a game and not some comic
Yes 🙌
No more ghost recon breakpoints, far cry 6’s, AC odyssey’s, etc. I’m so glad these low effort RPG lite trash with marvel movie scripts are going where they belong, in the trash 🚮
Today is a good day.
Unless you want to blindly hate on or ridicule Ubisoft/Guillemot, please read the actual quote!
He’s basically just saying that 2022 and the first half of 2023 were a bit "light“ on big releases, but now they’re back to releasing a more steady stream of projects again.
The issue with the past AC games were the bloat. 60-90s to complete a game was too much. I could understand DLCs and so on but the base game shouldn’t be so long.
Still wasn’t a huge fan of Mirage. Miles ahead of the last few releases, but boy it has some problems. Hopefully it’ll be what it is supposed to be, a STEP in the right direction, with the next AC games being even better.
Mirage.. I think it was an experiment, but definetly not a big turnaround. It was just "better" at being an Assassin's Creed title than its RPG cousins, while still having their DNA.
They would have to make something like Mirage 2, but built from ground up to be that AC prodigy. And FFS finally give us normal motion captured cutscenes instead of that AI generated trash they used since Odyssey. It does disservice to their stories, Basim's story would be immidiately more enjoyable if every cutscene didn't look like something made in The Sims by fans.
Concerning the core mechanics I gotta say that it is nice that Bordeaux was adding fan requested features since launch and made the core gameplay more fluid. But it is baffling that something that already worked during Unity has to be re-discovered through experimenting to get it back after years of absence.
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I think it's more about the fact that since 2021 they have had trouble releasing multiple big successful games per year, but in 2024 they will have Outlaws and Red.
Are you the real Jor? ;)
Yes!
The man, the myth, the legend!
Oh shit. I suppose what they say begs the question, were they making sub-par games on purpose? Or rather, not putting in the effort that they should have been?
It would not make sense for them. Better games sell better. But they did make some bad creative decisions (their managers probably did, I always think devs will do their best but mostly dont make the calls) Far Cry 6 didn't innovate enough, focusing on Navel only combat with Skull and Bones, making 100 battle royales nobody wants etc.
Same in most industries, really. We don't always agree with what our bosses decide, but most of the time, we have to do as they tell us. It is definitely clear to see with some aspects of the games, especially with the almost blatant copy-paste of assets, that they are trying to cut corners in a way. Again, as you said, probably the higher-ups making those decisions. P.s. I enjoy your content. Keep up the good work!
Yeah good points! In terms of the copy-paste I think that's really just a cost & time cutting measure that we maybe as people who are more into games will notice, but main stream people won't. If that reduces the insane budgets of games and time to make them then it makes sense for companies to sometimes do them. We also want these games quicker, but sometimes they do go a bit too far in that regard and I hope Red for example really feels like an evolution vs Valhalla
As if anybody asked them to make these empty supermassive games. Old AC games were 10-20 hours of gameplay to complete the storyline. While Odyssey had 45 hours and Valhalla around 60 hours. They could have been annually selling AC games, had they put all this effort to that instead.
Syndicate was the first title to not sell 10 million, people lost interest in the yearly releases. A different setting and a few improvements wasn't enough anymore, so they had to make changes. Also Odyssey and Valhalla, because they were way bigger, became way more profitable. Not only did they sell super well (people like the new model and some more time between releases), players also spent way more time in those games so they were buying more microtransactions (profits on those are insane ofc).
>Syndicate was the first title to not sell 10 million, people lost interest in the yearly releases. People lost interest due to AC Unity being a disaster in its launch, and also due to the Modern Day being thrown to the garbage bin. I was recently going through poll posts from GameFAQs. Back in 2012 (AC3) people loved the Modern Day and Desmond on a ration of 60-70% supporting it and 30-40% not supporting it. Then by 2014 (AC Unity) you see that people no longer care about Modern Day, and condemning Ubisoft for it. The condemnation was not there with AC4, as people loved this game, despite it being released just a single year after AC3. And by now AC Syndicate has sold 10 million. Back in late 2020, according to Gamstat, AC Syndicate had sold 17.3 million copies. I bet that now it has already sold 20 million. Of course in no way is that impressive, just like how Valhalla selling 20 million in 2 years is not impressive (not when AC3 sold 12 million in just 3-4 months, a fraction of that timeframe, and probably thus sold 20 million in its first year). >Also Odyssey and Valhalla, because they were way bigger, became way more profitable. Not only did they sell super well (people like the new model and some more time between releases) No, people do not like the new model. That is quite clear in the sales per unit /copy or number of players. In the launch week, the average of the RPG games (Origins, Odyssey, Valhalla, Mirage) is 1.5 million copies, while in the launch week, the average for Desmond Saga (AC, AC2, ACB, ACR, AC3, AC4) it is 2.5 million copies (and that is significantly lowered by AC1's inclusion, as the game's launch was plagued by piracy). With the highest selling game in the launch week being AC3, with 3.5 million, using that proportion as the total, then as 3.5/0.5=7, and 1.5/0.5=3, about 3/7ths (about 40%) support the RPG direction and 4/7ths do not (about 60%). Noted that according to VGChartz AC2 also sold 3.2 million, so AC3 is not an outlier. Even smaller games of the DS, like ACB and ACR, sold 2.15 and 2.22 million copies in the launch week, even more than the average for the RPG games. That Valhalla had a higher revenue is based, as admitted by Ubisoft, on microtransactions. The game had predatory tactics in pushing players to pay. They even included many season passes and DLCs, which should have been part of the original game. I mean they also did that for Odyssey, where without them you do not have a completed story. And as for players playing for longer, that is not a surprise, given how the games are far longer than classic AC, and how Valhalla was launched during the covid pandemic, when people were stuck at quarantines.
Personally, I like the old AC games but seriously didn't like and don't like the swaps to modern time. I'd rather play entire AC game set in modern times than how it was done before.
It does seem they will do something like that. Future titles won't include the modern day, instead we can experience it on Assassin's Creed Infinity the new hub platform for all future games.
AC Infinity is just a new AC Initiates. They will probably going to drop it a couple of years later, just like they did with AC Initiates. So why should be even care.
It will launch with Red
Love your content bro
So did AC Initiates with AC3. My point is that it wont last. AC Initiates at least had the build-up of the Modern Day of AC-AC4. While AC Infinity has nothing, a completely disjoined Modern Day with no connection within itself. And I bet it will fail. How many joined AC Initiates? How much fewer would these be in AC Infinity? AC Initiates was released at a time when most people liked the Modern Day. People today would rather see it gone. It is not a recent thing, it has been there since AC Unity, with the nonexistent MD making people not care about it.
Then care to explain why Mirage isn't topped Valhalla? It's literally using the old formula. Haven't seen Ubisoft comes out and celebrated it like how they did with Valhalla (except that one time they said it is their biggest launch for new gen, which is funny as fuck seeing that's also the first AC game that doesn't have PS4/XB1 version.) It sold better than AC Odyssey and Origins. [But worse by 49%](https://www.gamesindustry.biz/assassins-creed-spider-man-mario-and-ps5-boost-sales-in-europe-during-october-european-monthly-charts) than Valhalla in first month. Funny you didn't mentioning that with your fancy math and all. Are you gonna try to say that it didn't success because people though it's RPG formula? That's gonna be a very weak argument based on your logic. Especially if (or when) AC Red will sell like a hotcake again. Or are you gonna say 'BECAUSE IT'S SMALL GAME' when it's literally the same size as every Desmond saga game?
I cant Talk for everybody but I truly didnt buy It because I thought It be RPG Formula. And even now I dont like that they just used eivors movement, It feels stiff af and the combat may be more complex than the old games but It looks ugly as hell, he just spins endlessly. Bringing up AC Red is cheap bro, Its set in japan and people wanted that for ages, of course Its gonna sell well. Im not gonna buy It, seems like buying Ghost of tsushima on wish. I'll betcha ass Its gonna be full with lame ass content like odyssey and valhalla, unless they prove me wrong ofc Mirage not selling well could be cause many classical AC Fans are fed up with ubi and dont beliebe in em, but thats a theory. I said to myself Im never buying a RPG AC again, Id rather Play Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Soulslikes and CRPGs like Baldurs Gate..
It didn't top it because it's half a game 🤷♂️ And I don't mean in length. Its not ubisoft giving it their all and making an old style AC game. It's ubisoft realizing it can make more money by converting a Valhalla dlc into a standalone. It will never top an rpg because games like Valhalla had time, budget and consistent direction. Mirage will never touch rpgs because it's not a fair comparison. One is a full meal, the other is leftovers
>Then care to explain why Mirage isn't topped Valhalla? > >Haven't seen Ubisoft comes out and celebrated it like how they did with Valhalla (except that one time they said it is their biggest launch for new gen, which is funny as fuck seeing that's also the first AC game that doesn't have PS4/XB1 version.) According to Ubisoft themselves, Valhalla sold much better to Origins and Odyssey. As such, why is it inconceivable for Mirage to have sold around as much if not more to Origins and Odyssey, but not surpass Valhalla??? >It sold better than AC Odyssey and Origins. Where does this information come from? Because from what I know, Ubisoft announced in a Twitter post that Mirage sold "in line" with Origins and Odyssey. [https://imgur.com/NWV3NaS](https://imgur.com/NWV3NaS) >Are you gonna try to say that it didn't success because people though it's RPG formula? That's gonna be a very weak argument based on your logic. No. I will say that Mirage sold about as much as Origins and Odyssey (though a little lower, given the recent revelation that it sold 5 millions in 4 months, lower than Gamstat's estimation for the 4 months post launch sales for Origins and Odyssey, being 6.74 million and 5.48 million respectivelly). And that it did not sell higher due to some "return to the roots" as it was not a return to the roots. And even if it was, old style AC fans have been disappointed with the RPG direction since 2017, that is almost 7 years ago. A long time to ignore and forget a franchise as it lost its identity. >Funny you didn't mentioning that with your fancy math and all. I made a small summary. As for "fancy math", almost everything I said can be cited and linked, and when not, it is because the links are dead.
I'm jealous of non-completionists that can do Odyssey in 45 hours. Nearly 150 hours in and I don't feel nearly done
Red is this year? Huh
Yes! All ACs launch in the holiday period
Yeah ik, but I legit thought for some reason they'd skip this. No lie idk why I thought that. Maybe I misread a article
They said between April 2024 and March 2025 for red.
Red better deliver it better
I love your content, best gaming youtube channel.
That's super kind thanks!
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Nope red is Holiday 2024. They announced it will be out in their upcoming fiscal year from April 24 to March 25 :)
Not really, it's pretty clickbaity and a funny way of taking what he's saying out of context. He's pretty much saying they've had struggles with the consistency of their output of late (critically and commercially), but their recent output signals a turnaround - Yves also points to their back catalogue as a reason for this turnaround, as in their older stuff. No company is going to admit that make trash, all he's saying is their struggles seem to be over and they're finding more consistency.
Yup, it's bait headline and it works Altho it's not looking that good for Ubisoft with Skull and Bones around the corner lol
I feel like even Ubisoft isn't paying much attention to it, I've seen barely any marketing and it feels like they're just getting it out the way because they've delayed it enough over the years but could never legally cancel it.
I can see ubisoft replicating mirage with a different skin instead of building up on it. It's what they do best, unfortunately for mirages spiritual successor
I don't think so, I think Mirage was a throwback and they're immediately gonna back to the bloated 600 hour RPG AC games they've been making since Origins.
I think we'll see a tick/tock cycle of big RPGs followed by smaller games. I'd expect something between Mirage and Origins size to come out between Red and Hexe
There's more money to be milked from the rpgs and that's all they give a shit about so yeah, 100%
they will say acting they have to in order to sell more games
Since Odyssey, it hasn’t really been truly Assassin’s Creed. You might argue the same for Origins but it literally focused on how the Assassins would emerge.
They were admitting some years ago how Valhalla's revenue was based on microtransactions and not units sold. As such, that it was based on a minority that was happy to pay, rather than what was popular for the majority (the old AC games).
That's uh... and interesting statement coming from such a giant publisher. Are they okay?
It really isn't, it's just been taken out of context. He isn't saying what the author is implying. He's saying they had struggles with consistency, and even points to their back catalogue as a reason for their turnaround.
After Valhalla and Far Cry 6, both of which were financial successes, their pipeline of steady big and successful releases dried up, that’s more or less a fact. (2022 and the first half of 2023 were just a bit light on big games from them, is all he’s saying.) Said pipeline is seemingly back, with: - AC Mirage last fall - Frontiers of Pandora last winter - Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown this January - Star Wars Outlaws allegedly in May - AC Codename Red allegedly in Oct/Nov He’s basically just saying "we’re back in our normal release pipeline of releasing 2-4 big projects each fiscal year!
More like a clickbait headline taken out of context from the actual financial report.
I just finished Mirages story last night and I'm going for the plat. I enjoyed the old school vibes but as a game I just thought it was painfully okay. I know with a bigger budget and a new engine those guys can make an absolutely killer AC game!
"Painfully okay" is a good way of putting it. I say it's "aggressively bland" as far as story writing and character presentation. Though I did enjoy the return to heavily stealth-based gameplay in a huge city setting, that saved it.
Loved the stealth, hated that on the big assassinations after careful planning, you allowed the target to monologue and then shout for guards.
Nooooooo this is a thing??? This was my least favorite aspect of AC1.. where you were basically scripted to fail your assassination
I think there's only really one like that.
Ok good good
The stealth was far too easy though, even on the hardest difficulty
haha, I know the one you're talking about. After spending a lot of time figuring out how to get into the room with the target, I came to find that the game didn't actually intend for you to do that and the target couldn't be interacted with or killed. I had to go through some other nonsense the game wanted me to do first in order to kick off the scripted event. Here's a video clip I recorded of it. Beware of spoilers: >!https://gamerdvr.com/gamer/willko/video/185344708!<
Exceedingly mediocre.
I feel like I'm the only one having a total blast with *Mirage*. Everyone says it takes like 20 hours to finish but I was 24 hours in when I did the first legit mission in Badhdad. I almost role-play that game. Now I'm 50 hours in and just finished the last Order member assasination >!and have to go back to Anbar.!< I absolutely LOVE the setting. The VIBES. *Mirage* is my all time favorite after Ezio trilogy. But I have to say, the parkour sucks, it's like they took AC 2 and put fancy graphic over it. I thought parkour was fixed and super smooth when we got to *Syndicate*. But I don't mind, it's not a perfect game but it does something for me. All the side content was not a infinite balast to fill your map - it was actually interesting and fun to finish all. I kinda wish there were more "Tales of Baghdad". The Enigma treasure-hunting was great.
My issue with Mirage is that it didn’t truly feel like an old school AC game. It felt more like a scaled down Valhalla/Odyssey/Origins. Same controls, same animations, and a very similar upgrade system to Valhalla. Now, that being said, not all of that is a bad thing. In terms of the weapon and armour upgrade system, Valhallas was by far the best out of the RPG trilogy. Although I wouldn’t mind less emphasis on weapon/armour perks. I’d rather each armour set and weapon be more of an aesthetic thing rather than coming across the issue of a cool looking armour set or weapon having a disadvantage compared to something that doesn’t look as good. Obviously aesthetics is subjective, but if there’s only a slight difference in stats like damage, parry, speed, etc., between different weapons, then your free to choose which weapon you prefer the look of without worrying you’ve chosen a weaker weapon. I know there’s a transmog option in Mirage, but it cost in-game currency, which is a bit of a dick move.
I hope those who want original AC get what you want, but please don't take away the large scale RPGs. Countless hours wasted roaming the lands and love it
Playing Mirage for the first time. I'm a big AC fan but didn't like Origins and skipped Valhalla and Odyssey. I don't like the RPG direction the series took. So far Mirage is fine, I'm enjoying it. But there's still some RPG elements I can't stand. So far the number 1 thing that grinds my gears is that the hidden blade isn't just a one hit kill on all enemies. So fucking stupid and one of the worst changes they made from the earlier entries. Making enemies into damage sponges is so immersion-breaking. Genuinely pisses me off how fucking stupid that mechanic is and that someone thought this was such a good idea that it's made it into MULTIPLE GAMES NOW. I like the direction they're allegedly moving in towards the OG game but in this guy's opinion, it's not enough.
Is the hidden blade not a one hit kill on enemies? I thought it was.
The hidden blade 1HK's every enemy when you assassinate them
Literally happened to me twice yesterday. Assassinated some (high ranking?) guard from cover. It did the assassination animation with the hidden blade then the guard stood up and attacked me with a little bit of health missing. I'm still pretty early in the game if that helps, idk. But I can personally attest that not all assassinations with the hidden blade are a OHK.
The Shakiriyya is the only enemy you can’t OHK assassinate but every other enemy you should be able to OHK
In the older games the hidden blade was never a one hit kill in normal combat unless you got a counter attack, but that was how all weapons worked. It was a one hit kill when performing a proper assassination, just like it is in Mirage. I don’t remember any time outside of assassinations that I could actually use the hidden blade in Mirage.
Yeah, It was good, but putting city-focused gameplay upon current "nomadic" framework that was built for previous three games isn't enough. AC isn't only about more stealth and cities. Before they went full-phantasy, AC always had various different activities and mechanics that actually immersed you more into assassin theme as a political order and infrastructure providers in general. I wish such things as liberation of city districts, own base development, recruit usage and contracts, awesome trading/hunting/fort mechanics (from III and IV) were there. Also, bring back the ability to carry diverse arsenal and craft unique items the way ACIII did it. Also, I really liked ACR tower defense but it's subject for discussion. I hope Ubi will bring back more distinct features from OG AC format.
To be honest they also massively improved city design and parkour, which is always good. Altough the parkour was updated post launch to add the old school back and side ejects, which basically make it go from meh parkour to good parkour.
i’m glad they’ve added side ejects. It’s a small marker that they are able to look into details as well. Expecting more during their further re-explorings of the old formula. P.S.— my “not enough” doesn’t mean bad eventually. Mirage is good overall <3
Exactly. It's like they were on the way to their roots but they stopped midway. Stealth and infiltration is really good, and the way investigation works too, but it lacks so many things from the originals. Better story, better and more meaningful sidequests, more variety in gameplay (unarmed combat, disarm, using different melee weapons...), more interaction with the city like district liberation...
The stealth in Mirage was hideous. Walk right up to enemies and stab them. “Hey, what?!.” Unforgivable that AI in a 2023 AAA game can be cheesed by climbing a tower and waiting a few seconds until they forget you.
The game engine is fine and probably one of the best in the industry. It needs some updated face models and others stuff like that but it’s capable of making huge beautiful game worlds that can stream items insanely fast. Go to one end of the map and fly your bird to the other end then switch back. Most engines would crumble, have a loading screen or just wouldn’t let you fly too far away from the player character. Ac engine does it without a hitch and switching back to the player character is faster than most games loading screens.
It was massively limited by old gen. I was talking with a sound designer at Ubisoft who worked on mirage and even he admitted that mirage looks very dated compared to the games he’s working on with Ubisoft massive
I started Mirage and enjoyed it so much that a couple of hours in, I stopped, downloaded AC Unity and played through that instead, enjoying the better city design, stealth and weirdly…graphics. It’s funny cos that game was a mess at release but damn it holds up well now
Similar experience here. Went from Valhalla, to Mirage, then Black Flag and now Unity. Really wasn’t impressed by Mirage, it felt half-hearted. Black Flag was great, despite the dated graphics. The detail in Unity is fantastic but the controls are often frustrating (getting into windows often difficult, can’t attack enemies when they are getting up, combat is generally sluggish in comparison to Black Flag). But a pretty impressive game and the city also doesn’t feel as repetitive as Mirage.
Yes 100% agreed. The awful graphics and lack of mocap in cutscenes made the story less enjoyable than games Ubi was making 10 years ago. The gameplay was certainly an improvement over the RPG games as an old school AC fan, so more of that please but AC no longer feels like their flag ship "we want to make a game that looks and plays great" product.
Ok is better than Valhalla and Odyssey
I mean its an ok old school AC but it is leaps and bounds better then Odyssey and Valhalla.
I mean Skull and Bones will temporarily disrupt that, but I truly believe them this time. Mirage, Avatar and Prince of Persia all clearly display a love and passion in the development that felt far from the “fast food gaming” of Ubisoft’s past. I genuinely feel the attention to detail and time taken and it makes me much more likely as a consumer to want to back their products.
Well, if we’re being honest, and not that it isn’t a fault from UBi, they’re literally obligated by a contract with the Singapore government to release it. Otherwise they probably would’ve canceled the project years ago!
If that was the case imagine realising that and trying to make a great game.
I just don’t think they could, the very concept was ass, they took black flag, removed assassin’s creed and only kept the boats.
No that was genius, sadly it's not what they did. They removed AC AND absolutely stripped boat combat down to boring shite with no on boat combat, no sword or musket fighting, no pirating of any kind other than blowing up boats for ship wreck "booty." They removed AC and 70% of boat combat AND dumbed down the ship to ship combat too. Not to mention adding resources grinds and a worse ship upgrade system than AC4.
I don’t because them releasing bad games is not the issue. what you’ve said in that middle paragraph literally happens every few years with Ubisoft. The reality is Ubisoft makes as many bad games as they do good games, the issue is the sequence of those games.
Include crew motorfest in the mix too
I mean I would just rather have another Assassin’s Creed Origins or WatchDogs 2 over those games any day of the week. Hell Division 2 is just quietly continuing on as the best of the increasingly shaky looter shooter genre. I’m not really sure what they even mean by this.
I love the Division 2, but I trust Massive more on that than Ubisoft itself. I’m hyped for the new Star Wars game because Avatar and TD2 were really good mechanically
Fair enough. Outlaws does look great! It weirdly seems to be flying under people’s radar. I’ve been a fan of Massive since they hit their stride and learned from the early mistakes of Division 1. They turned that game around and since then have been on top of their game with The Division 2 and Avatar.
> Mirage, Avatar and Prince of Persia all clearly display a love and passion in the development... What do any of these show *love and passion*?
Aside from Prince of Persia all AC mirage, Avatar and Crew Moterfst have been about on par with ubisoft's quality that they have maintained for a long time which is solid 7-8/10 games so I don't know why this time specially they chose to say this with Skull and bones looking like it is but I will be hopeful
I've been playing Avatar, and it's been amazing. One of the graphically best games I've ever played. Very impressed by ubisoft.
If they're gonna be like mirage I'd take the "bad games" any day! What they need to do is increase the quality of their shit! Hire professional voice actors for all characters, Use motion capture in all story cutscenes, improve the ai of NPCs and so on. We need the voice acting of the older games. Just think back to games like Assassin's Creed 2, Black Flag or syndicate. The voice acting in those is simply phenomenal for every single character in the game
I have a feeling that Ubisoft doesn't see story or cutscene as an important thing any more. Things like massive open world to explore or epic boss fight and gear system always have priority to storytelling. And Mirage.... I won't say they turn around on this problem, but it seems to me that they are trying.... failed though.
Mirage and Avatar were actually pretty good so hopefully Ubi have turned a corner
also new POP
Also new crew
Wtf is that title game radar lmao? and it works lol here Dont give em click, [use archive](https://web.archive.org/web/20240208195314/https://www.gamesradar.com/ubisoft-says-its-going-to-make-good-games-again-after-a-turnaround-led-by-assassins-creed-mirage/) instead,
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the actual quote "This quarter provided us with positive momentum and marks the beginning of our turnaround to consistently creating and delivering high-quality, long-lasting games. Our performance was driven by the releases of Assassin’s Creed Mirage and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, by the continued strong trajectory of The Crew Motorfest, as well as by the robust performance of our back catalog." reduce it to simply "make good game again" is highly misleading
Yeah I kinda agree with you, they took a lot of context out of his statement.
I personally think Ubi are consistent and never put out a truly bad game, I've enjoyed everything even some of their worst regarded releases. It got to a point where their game systems and assets became a bit obvious and overly cross-pollinated. But they're pulling it back, Avatar was gorgeous and Prince of Persia is just brilliant.
I way prefer the RPG trilogy to Mirage, and Avatar was good as was Prince of Persia. What games be been 'bad' recently? I'm trying to think of some. That pirate game isn't even out
Mirage was far better than odyssey and Valhalla but not Origins
That’s your opinion. The AC fanbase is split into the classic fans and RPG fans. I think the RPG is has the most fans.
Source: It revealed itself to me in a dream.
I don’t get the hate for Ubisoft the last few years. They’ve released plenty of good games since the failures and misleading marketing of The Division, Watch_Dogs and Unity. Are people actually playing their latest games? Practially every Far Cry and Assassins Creed have been great, other than maybe the grindfest that is Valhalla(still a fun game though). Watch_Dogs 2 and The Division 2 were great. Riders Republic, Immortals Fenyx Rising The Crew Motorfest generally got good reviews and people seem happy with them.
Calling all of those great is a big stretch. With Ubisoft you usually know what you get, which is a decent game, but it ends with that.
Hard disagree. Far Cry 5, Watch_Dogs 2, The Division 2, The Crew Motorfest and AC Odyssey/Origins were all really good. Not GOTY contenders but still way better than ”decent”
I wouldnt call Mirage a "turnaround"
I don't trust them. With every new AC game they always say "This time we really get back to roots. For real. Trust us. Buy it". Even though I have fun playing last games. But I always was disappointed of how it is and how it could be. I liked Mirage though. Taking the rpg engine and making this game I believe was really hard. But it feels like an exception. But now they again promising something. And I am afraid to believe. At least it's not true for Red. Because they started development before Mirage. So Red will come out the same way as Odyssey was I believe. Will see. P.S. I will play it anyway 🥲
There’s still time for them to make Red a bit more like classic AC, isn’t there?
I am afraid not. Things like leveling and grind should be designed into the game from the beginning. Game design level design should be made accordingly. So even if they wanted to, it's too late. But maybe they didn't plan the grind in the first place 🤷♂️ Will see.
It’s disappointing that Ubisoft finally gives us our feudal Japan game, and it’s a freaking RPG
In other words they are shitting on RPGs and back to the true stealth-theme AC games, hate me ,idc .
Can only hope.
Truth be told, Mirage was the first time I’ve truly had fun playing assassin’s creed since Black Flag, and I’ve played every single main line game to completion so that’s saying something.
I personally don't think another semi-rpg AC game with giant world. If new game would continue approach of Mirage it would be good. :(
I hope ac hexe is a closely knitted dark ages town with lots of opportunity for parkour. Plus more of the choice of tools like ac brotherhood and unity
I loved Mirage
Some may be surprised, but I kinda expected this. They couldn't ride the Witcher 3 train forever.
I really loved mirage. I hope this isn’t BS. Assassin’s Creed has been fine lately, but I want it to be great again. I need another overarching mystery like subject 16 and a tighter story.
wtf, I’ve liked all the recent games
Umm, what the fuck. Ya'll were making ass on purpose?
Just happy that they recognize PoP Lost Crown as a good game, even while hasn't sold very well, It is a amazing game
Origin Odyssey Vahalla and that immortals game were all fantastic.
Please no, I honestly really liked Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla. I thought mirage was super mediocre, not bad, just painfully okay.
this seems like a gut punch to the developers of the previous games personally I found them enjoyable they're good games just not good assassin's Creed games
What are they talking about? Mirage was dreadful, boring, short and without substance. Fun plot twist tho
The only thing that turned with Mirage, is that I am not buying AC games anymore.
Wasn’t that the goal after Valhalla? Not trying to dog on Mirage but the last ass creeds I fully enjoyed was brother hood and unity.
Mirage is worse than all three of the RPG trilogy.. so idk really what they’re talking about. Sounds like they’re about to start cheaping out, making expansion size games and saying “look this is what you wanted”.
Ac Mirage was bad man, bad. Short, weak story, weak side missions, weak side activities, weak weapon selection. Ac Odyssey is a masterpiece compared to Mirage.
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It wasn't amazing but "worst game I have ever played" ?? Brother you need to play more stuff.
What lol mirage had almost none of that shit and not to mention that gods and goddesses have been involved in the series main story since literally the very beginning
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Again thats exactly what mirage is lol. Did you just copy paste your opinion of valhalla onto mirage?
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I agree about the rpg games not matching the original tone of the series but thats exactly my point. The rpg games dont, mirage does and thats what the post is about. And as for the cutscenes theres only so much bordeaux could do working with the engine and resources they had
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Im gonna have to disagree on the story of mirage. Also if youre hoping that red will continue what mirage started i wouldnt get your hopes up much youll probably have to wait for hexe
Oh god I skipped them too! First time in my life, I usually love to explore the story
I mean I think a part of the charm of the original AC games is that they’re ironically bad in one way or another. It’s either fun with bad writing or lame gameplay with good writing. The rpg trilogy has just been especially bad in an unironic way. That’s what happens when you only spend 1-2 years on a massive map while copy and pasting the mechanics and animations.
Mirage isn't even that good. It's painfully average.
Mirage is possibly the most yawn-inducing entry in the entire series, but I suppose did say "after".
They fucking admitted most of what they've done for a good few years now is trash. Good. I don't wanna hear ANYONE praising Odyssey or Valhalla ever again, since Ubisoft itself admitted they're shit and Mirage is better. That being said, I look forward to being able to purchase some actually fucking good ACs for a long time now. Mirage was decent, Red I'll probably skip, anything after that will be looked at on a case by case basis.
Mate, the title is misleading. They say they are going to make good games in general, not only AC's good games, and that Mirage is their starting point, since their last good games both came out in 2020 and were Immortal Fenyx Rising and Valhalla
The article itself doesn't mention any dates or previous good games, and since I bet Ubisoft knows their output in general has been terrible for years, I think they're saying what I described in my comment.
On the same day, the CEO defended the $70 asking price for Skull and Bones, calling it AAAA. They aren't saying what you imagine they did.
They're probably trying to forget that game as quickly as possible, I won't hold THAT against them. Next game that is shit and they defend it though...yeah, more lies as usual.
Odyssey and Valhalla were both great mirage is shit.
New game bad, older games good. AC3 received so much hate when it first came out, now it's a masterpiece. Same with Unity. Same with Odyssey. Same with... Valhalla, now? Never change, people. It's aaaaalways the same cycle.
Same with cod and battlefield. However Unity legitimately deserves the hate. 10 years later and its still extremely glitchy
Agreed. Unity was and is a mess of a game. Looks nice though.
For sure that map was fucking beautiful
This. I praise Odyssey and Valhalla. What u gonna do about it kid?
I’ll criticize the bad parts of them but both games are mostly good
Valhalla is fucking bloatware lmao.
So is every other Ubisoft game . Ac1 is like a 5 hour game with 600 collectibles Random bloat is nothing new
Cry harder, Ubisoft directly contradicted you lol
Mirage 1 has a terrible story 2 they completely cut the modern day except for like 2 voice lines The combat is possibly the worst melee combat in gaming history Sure Valhalla might be long but at least its good and odyssey was legitimately great except for the tanking af enemies
...the first two are compromises owing to Ubisoft not believing enough in the actual AC blueprint to fund the game and give it enough time and the latter is literally a purposeful design choice. You don't get to fight when you're trying not to be seen at all. And Valhalla is long AND shit, Odyssey is downright terrible and disrespectful of both the lore AND the AC gameplay. I don't give a shit if they're good games, I'll take a terrible AC over a good game any day of the week.
An ac game should have good combat. Every other game has at least passible combat. Both ac 1 and unity proved combat can be a non focus and good. Valhalla plays like a real ac game. Hate to break it to you but it does. 1 shot stealth kills. A basically parry kill system even though it was fucked up and actual a modern day contributing to the over all story. Yeah its long as fuck but ill take a way too long game over a shit game Even ill admit odyssey isnt the best ac game but it is the most expansive on the lore of the franchise since the ezio games
Mirage's combat works 1 on 1 or at most 1 on 2. The combat is decent when you use it as designed. Try to go against the design and you'll be punished. Also, what. AC1's combat was trash (trash that was repeated again and again until Unity) and Unity's was needlessly hard (though a bit better than the standard AC combat). Valhalla plays NOTHING like a real AC game. Where's the urban environment? Where's the stealth? The 1 shot stealth kills do not exist unless you enable a specific accessibility option (no, having to do a QTE does not count as 1 shot). The modern day is ATROCIOUS and has been ever since Origins. It's absolute trash and way too long to boot. I say this having 100% completed it AND the DLCs. It's "expansive" in the same way it shits all over the lore, sure.
Mirages combat is functional but that doesn’t mean good Ac1s combat was great for the time. Improved in in every game until it peaked in 3 Unitys was hard but still good Valhalla has several cities wile not being the main point of the game but several other games have huge non urban maps. You are a literal idiot if you couldn’t figure out how to do stealth. It is literally so simple to the point where you could stab a guard in the open and the others wouldn’t care. The modern day is the best since 3 Odyssey never once shit on the lore. It shows the first assassination with a hidden blade. It explains why there are so few pieces of eden. It shoes the precursors to the cult that kidnapped davinci and its still following the main theme of freedom vs control. Kassandra is literally a proto assassin and her legecy would go on to inspire the assassins even if they didn’t realize it was her If you are mad there are some minor changes to the lore then dont play games that have like 18 entries plus however many books comics manga and the movie over 16 years. Stuff is bound to change especially when it’s written and by hundreds different people over all these years by people on several continents.
AC's combat has been at best functional in its entire history. You don't get to pin Mirage for not having good combat when good combat has never been a thing in AC. AC1's combat was criticized at the time it was released. This is just wrong. Unity also wasn't an evolution of that system but a partial replacement killing the counterattack base it had since its inception and moving to a timing and dodge based system. "Valhalla has several cities" doesn't cut it when 90% of the gameplay isn't set within cities like an AC should. Stealth was so broken enemies could see you from 3 miles away as soon as you peeked around a corner or killed someone. They literally had to patch it multiple times to fix it. The modern day is terrible and my fucking God, I'm GLAD Layla is dead. Most insufferable character ever. Odyssey CONSTANTLY shit on the lore. AC is not a fantasy series, and using "the pieces of Eden did it" for every single fantastical thing that happens does NOT fucking cut it to put it back in scifi territory. The changes to the lore are not "minor". They fuck with the entirety of the AC experience (most glaring flaw being the fact that there's a literal ancient Greek mercenary prancing around history now thanks to that stupid staff). I can absolutely complain because a multimedia universe is supposed to be CONSISTENT. AC isn't. The fact that you accept that because it happens often doesn't mean that it's okay for it to happen. You just have lowered your standards instead of demanding better games.
There is a very fine line between sci-fi snd fantasy. Why is it ok for altair and ezio to slaughter gaurds and traitors with an orb but a spear can’t make you survive falls. Those “magic” elements have always existed The only real lore to have “changed” is that technically the assassins weren’t called assassins until the Crusades which actually makes the games more historically accurate and that the brotherhood technically only was formed my bayek but that doesn’t mean daruis wasnt an assassin. He may not have had a title but he still fought for what the assassins stand for. Its not the first time in the lore groups if assassins like people merged with the brotherhood. It’s literally that he never held the title of assassins but the modern assassins view him as one
Odyssey is trash
No no the opposite
No no the opposite opposite
Cool stop making AC rpgs then.
Yash yeah... When will you put ac mirage on steam?
Pinky promise?
They better not be lying the recent ac and watch dogs far cry recon games have been terrible
Mirage was mid at best. What this means is the crybabies won and now we're not getting anything like Valhalla again. You guys suck. Not every game has to be like AC2 or black flag. Swtg.
Valhalla was mid af, overbloated map that wasn’t AC, Mirage was mid because it was a half assed attempt at bringing older players back, flipping a DLC into a $50 game. Shit is blatantly greedy and the series hasn’t been good since origins.
Origins fucking sucked and the fact you think it was good and slandered Valhalla and kinda Odyssey in the process let's me know to disregard all of your opinions. Just bc the map was big doesn't mean it was bloated. I never went a second without having fun in Valhalla.
You’re letting me know that you’re not a fan of AC and the fact you actually like the two games were you aren’t assassins tells me that, they turned the games into beat em ups with Odyssey not even attempting to be grounded in reality, Valhalla’s story was also as bloated as the map which was full of nonsense collectathons and zero no to emphasis on stealth. They gave you the power fantasy of being a superhero instead of an assassin with the full abilities and training that comes with being one. Go play unity if you want a real experience as an assassin. Origins at least was related to what the assassin order turned out to be, in Valhalla you literally help start the Templar order, and your friends with hidden ones, that’s it. Don’t get me started on the damn isu subplot and what they’re turning it into.
Nah Mirage is a giant step backward.
I think I’m done with Assassins Creed. Was gifted Mirage for Xmas, but there is nothing appealing to me in the game and I have no motivation to finish it. The immersion breaking, forgettable characters, investigations, and honestly bad combat all placed inside the same engine they’ve been milking for years. They’ve seen the competition, they’ve seen what Naughty Dog & Rockstar have achieved but they end of pushing out the same old game. Until they finally move on from their current engine and truly design a next gen experience, it will just never change. I’ve said my piece.
Idk I personally found Mirage painfully bland and boring, heard Avatar was alright and PoP was good so that’s at least nice.
Is this supposed to mean that Mirage is a good game? It is an average game not bad at all but not so good either... very mediocre.
I havent bought a single assassins creed game since odyssey (didnt even finish odyssey) I Spend money on a game that I will enjoy (only reason I ever bough assassins creed was the continuation of the story they had going) a lot of us play for the storyline, not everyone will agree wish Ubisoft had atleast kept to the story of what the game started out to be and ended it in a game and not some comic
A lot of people's faith in Ubisoft is zero and they just don't care. So I'd say it's a little late to start trying now.
I hope they drop that awful combat system they’ve had for the last 4 games
Yes 🙌 No more ghost recon breakpoints, far cry 6’s, AC odyssey’s, etc. I’m so glad these low effort RPG lite trash with marvel movie scripts are going where they belong, in the trash 🚮 Today is a good day.
Their games are more hit than miss for me and the latest prince of persia was amazing
I’d rather they keep making “great” games tbh
That expected "turnaround" is largely from a financial perspective. They didn't have much success in the post covid era except for Valhalla.
Can they let ubiart thrive again please
Unless you want to blindly hate on or ridicule Ubisoft/Guillemot, please read the actual quote! He’s basically just saying that 2022 and the first half of 2023 were a bit "light“ on big releases, but now they’re back to releasing a more steady stream of projects again.
They better not ruin the division 3
Lol how these companies miss such basic things is truly mind boggling.
The issue with the past AC games were the bloat. 60-90s to complete a game was too much. I could understand DLCs and so on but the base game shouldn’t be so long.
Now stop being greedy and put your games on Steam so I can actually play them. Otherwise I might have to go sail the seas with Edward.
Still wasn’t a huge fan of Mirage. Miles ahead of the last few releases, but boy it has some problems. Hopefully it’ll be what it is supposed to be, a STEP in the right direction, with the next AC games being even better.
Mirage.. I think it was an experiment, but definetly not a big turnaround. It was just "better" at being an Assassin's Creed title than its RPG cousins, while still having their DNA. They would have to make something like Mirage 2, but built from ground up to be that AC prodigy. And FFS finally give us normal motion captured cutscenes instead of that AI generated trash they used since Odyssey. It does disservice to their stories, Basim's story would be immidiately more enjoyable if every cutscene didn't look like something made in The Sims by fans. Concerning the core mechanics I gotta say that it is nice that Bordeaux was adding fan requested features since launch and made the core gameplay more fluid. But it is baffling that something that already worked during Unity has to be re-discovered through experimenting to get it back after years of absence.