Ubisoft has revealed that parkour in Assassin’s Creed Mirage will be inspired by the in-depth climbing system featured in 2014’s Assassin’s Creed Unity. The next installment in the historical open-world series will follow the early years of the Master Assassin Basim Ibn Ishaq during the Golden Age of Baghdad. Developer Ubisoft claims that Mirage will be a return to classic Assassin’s Creed gameplay, and Basim’s freerunning abilities will apparently borrow from Assassin’s Creed Unity.
When it first released Assassin’s Creed Unity was widely criticized for its microtransactions and slew of technical issues. However, the French Revolution adventure actually introduced a number of gameplay innovations that fans have grown to appreciate in hindsight. The game put a renewed emphasis on stealth with its Black Box assassination missions, and the title’s revolutionary parkour system is often considered the series’ best. Assassin’s Creed Unity lets players easily maneuver protagonist Arno Dorian as he runs across the rooftops of Paris, with responsive controls making the Assassin organically climb up or down on a whim. While Assassin’s Creed Unity gameplay was largely abandoned in recent entries, Assassin’s Creed Mirage is set to bring back the game’s greatest innovation.
In an interview with Arab Hardware, translated by PCGamesN, Assassin’s Creed Mirage lead producer Fabian Salomon reveals that the game will borrow from Assassin’s Creed Unity’s parkour system. Saloman explains that the dense city of Baghdad is a perfect fit for the franchise’s classic freerunning traversal, and parkour is expected to be an engaging part of the experience. Many fans still consider Assassin’s Creed Unity’s system to be the pinnacle of the franchise’s climbing mechanics, and Assassin’s Creed Mirage will strive to reach that game’s level of fluidity and responsiveness.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage Takes Cue From The Series’ Past
While no gameplay has been shown yet, the Assassin’s Creed Mirage reveal trailer certainly supports a return to the historical franchise’s roots. The trailer sees Basim move like a traditional Assassin, with the protagonist hiding among a crowd and using smoke bombs to escape pursuers. Ubisoft has even revealed that Mirage will borrow another Assassin’s Creed Unity mechanic by turning every assassination into a Black Box mission. These open-ended missions allowed Arno Dorian to approach and eliminate his targets in a variety of ways, and Assassin’s Creed Mirage will see Basim hunt his enemies in the same manner.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage promises to bring the series back to its roots, and putting an emphasis on parkour is an essential part of delivering that promise. The freerunning system in Assassin’s Creed Unity is considered the best in the whole franchise, so borrowing some of Arno’s moves is a great way to facilitate fun traversal. Fans have yet to see gameplay footage of Assassin’s Creed Mirage, though, so only time will tell whether Basim can move as gracefully as Arno.
