Do you need to play previous Assassin’s Creed games to enjoy Assassin’s Creed Mirage?

Assassin’s Creed Mirage feels features a shorter playtime than past games in the franchise, and while Baghdad is an open world available for you to explore freely, the story takes you down a relatively linear path. You’re also highly dependent on stealth to get around, and remaining hidden requires you to crouch in the bushes, leap on roofs, and blend into crowds.

Newcomers to the franchise may have a slightly different experience, as they’ll lack the knowledge to understand some of the references and features borrowed from older titles. Nevertheless, if you haven’t played an Assassin’s Creed game before, you’ll have no problem jumping into Mirage, as it has in-depth explanations of its plot and gameplay mechanics.

Can newcomers enjoy Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s story?

Mirage stars Basim, who spends his youth as a petty thief. His adventures have him doing investigations in Baghdad to take down the Order of the Ancients. Of course, this isn’t Basim’s first appearance in the franchise. He was present in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla where he follows the Ravenclan on their Viking invasion of England.

You do not need to play prior Assassin’s Creed games to immerse yourself in Mirage‘s world. The game takes place before the events of Valhalla, so there is no essential information in prior games. Mirage features a Codex where you’ll find a Database containing notes regarding all the essential elements of the game’s world.

This doesn’t mean that series veterans won’t find something to enjoy. Returning players will appreciate seeing Basim’s character arc, as it provides additional context for his character in Valhalla.

Can newcomers enjoy Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s gameplay?

AC Mirage is an open-world game primarily featuring stealth gameplay. To evade guards, you’ll have to use your environment to your advantage. There are plenty of ways to do this, including hiding in haystacks, diving underwater, or blending into a crowd and acting inconspicuously.

Your foes will employ several strategies to thwart you, such as hanging wanted posters up. You can tear these down, and if you find yourself in a tricky situation you have many tools available to distract or blind guards.

Sometimes, your stealth plan will fail, forcing you into combat. This should be a last resort option, as you’ll often be outnumbered. Fortunately, you do have swords, daggers, and throwing knives at your disposal.

Anyone familiar with stealth games won’t have a problem getting the hang of Mirage‘s gameplay. Even if you aren’t, there’s a Tutorial menu present where you can brush up on any gameplay elements you’re struggling with.

There are a few treats for returning players. For example, the wanted posters and blending into crowds are borrowed from prior Assassin’s Creed titles that had the same feature. Mirage also gives you the option to slap on a filter that’ll have your game looking like the first Assassin’s Creed title.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage launches on October 5 on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.