Assassin’s Creedfans, especially those who hatedAssassin’s Creed Shadows, will rejoice to know that a new entry from the series is now free to play onXbox Game Pass.Released in March,AC Shadowsis the latest installment in the franchise, taking you to a recreation of Japan during the Sengoku period. You control twodistinct protagonists inAssassin’s Creed Shadows, Naoe and Yasuke, each of whom has a different gameplay style.
While Naoe is trained as a kunoichi who excels at stealth and infiltration, Yasuke is a powerful samurai who can fight his way through groups of enemies.LikeValhallaandOdysseybefore it,Shadowsis a large open-world game. You’ll likely spendhundreds of hours withAssassin’s Creed Shadows, depending on how you approach its optional objectives. However, games of this scale aren’t appealing to everyone.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage Just Joined Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
The Title Can Be Played On Consoles & PC
Luckily, a much more condensed title in the series has just entered the Xbox Game Pass catalog. As was announced by Microsoft in a post on the officialXbox Wireblog,Assassin’s Creed Miragehas become available for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate memberswithout any extra costs other than the subscription value. The title entered the catalog this Thursday, August 7.
It’s worth noting that the game is available for consoles, PC, and Cloud via the subscription service. Considering how long the otherAssassin’s Creedtitles, likeValhalla,Odyssey, andOrigins, have been available for Xbox Game Pass Standard members,it’s unlikely that the game will be removed hastily from the catalog. Even so, you should playAC Mirageon Game Passas soon as you can to take advantage of the benefit.
Mirage Is Old-School Assassin’s Creed Fun
The Game Is Mostly Centered Around Stealth & Parkour
If you miss the classic exploration format applied to some of the very first entries in the series and don’t particularly like the broad open-world approach offered byShadows,Valhalla, orOdyssey, for instance,Miragemay be the game for you. The title released in 2023 pays tribute to the old-schoolAssassin’s Creedgames.
Miragetook lessons from classicAssassin’s Creedtitles. The open-world map is much smaller, for example, andthe gameplay is centered mostly around parkour and stealth in tighter areas rather than large-scale combat. As such, you’re able to expect to spend a lot more time on rooftops and silently eliminating targets.
The feeling provided by the early entries in the franchise comes back strong withMirage, as you’ll often have to escape and hide rather than face your enemies head-on. Of course, you’re able to, much like Ezio did, but the investment in stealth is much higher than it’s been in years. This certainly pleases fans of the originals.
The game also significantly dials back on the RPG elements of the latest installmentsand returns to a more traditional progression format. A lot of the elements from the classic games also make a comeback withMirage. In the game, you can hide among crowds via a social stealth system and pickpocket people freely. Additionally, the reputation system and chain assassinations fromAssassin’s Creed 2andBrotherhood, respectively, return.
Overall,the game is seen as a “triumphant homage” to the first few games, as stated byScreen Rant’s review ofAssassin’s Creed Mirage. We also highlight the fact that scaling the franchise back down from the size of aValhallato the size ofMiragecan “result in a game that elicits some of the fondest memories of the series.”
AC Mirage Deserves A Game Pass Following
The Title Is A Great Addition To The Xbox Subscription Service
Assassin’s Creed Mirageisn’t perfect, but it does deserve more attention. Especially with the possibility of playing it without any extra costs other than the subscription service’s value,Miragemay be worth your time and investment into Xbox Game Pass. For reference, according toHowLongToBeat,Assassin’s Creed Miragetakes an average of 23 and a half hours to complete.
If you haven’t engaged with the franchise in a while because of the path it took withOrigins,Odyssey,Valhalla, andShadows,you should definitely take advantage ofMirage’s return to the stealth and parkour-focused action. On Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, particularly, it’s much easier to simply install the game and start playing.
Furthermore, if you’re intrigued by the story of Basim Ibn Ishaq in Baghdad, you’re able to learn even more about him, asAssassin’s Creed Valhallais available on Xbox Game Pass, too. While the England-set title isn’t focused on Basim, specifically, he does play a pivotal role in the campaign, and both stories are intertwined.
Surely, the gameplay experience provided by both titles is drastically different, but if you don’t necessarily have an issue with large-scale open-world maps with hundreds of hours of gameplay, you can playValhallaafterMirage. However,I recommend playingValhallabeforeMiragefor narrative purposes that will remain unspoiled.
The addition ofAssassin’s Creed Mirageto the Game Pass Ultimate catalog is a notable one, as this is a big title from a big publisher – and this doesn’t happen all the time. Ultimately, members are getting a rare opportunity to test one of Ubisoft’s largest releases in the past few years without extra costs. If you haven’t yet, I highly recommend playingMirage, which honors classicAssassin’s Creedgames, onXbox Game Pass.
