4/5 ★ – kubachowicki_'s review of Assassin's Creed: Mirage.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ For whatever reason, I cannot find a Valley of Memory DLC page on here, so I will just write another review under Assassin's Creed: Mirage. This review will consist of three parts. Firstly, the overall gameplay mechanical overhaul. Secondly, the Valley of Memory free DLC. Thirdly, the Animus Challenges. Gameplay overhaul: Game changer. The biggest criticisms of Mirage have always been its gameplay system. The parkour was slow and clunky, and the combat was very basic and shallow. Unfortunately, the combat stays the same with this update. Fortunately, the missions in Mirage and its DLC are designed with a priority of stealth in mind, meaning that if you are strategic and role playing like an actual assassin, there will not be THAT many open combat encounters. This is the only reason I somewhat forgive the mediocre combat. However, it is worth noting that this only masks the problem, not resolves it. On the other hand, the parkour has been redeemed. Admittedly, it still feels a little off at times because it is fundamentally made on the Assassin's Creed: Valhalla engine, which is a game that does not pay much attention to actual parkour, but rather just being able to mantle on literally anything. As a result, there are moments where it feels a bit all over the place or the animations look funky. However, is the overall parkour experience improved? Absolutely YES, without a shadow of a doubt. It is not where we want to be as fans of the older games where parkour was emphasised, but it is the closest we have been in a while. This really does make the game so much more enjoyable, although I previously stated already that I think Mirage is underrated. Valley of Memory: Valley of Memory is the free story expansion for Assassin's Creed: Mirage. Set after the conclusion of the main game's story, it brings us a really personal journey for our protagonist, Basim, who goes on a quest to find his long lost father. We have a new map to explore, the region of AlUla, which is a decent size for a free DLC. I really enjoyed this one. It is one of the more emotional AC stories, at least in the last few years, and the ending is so wholeheartedly beautiful. Animus Sequences: The Animus Sequences are just a set of select missions and contracts that you can replay with additional challenges that grant rewards based on how many challenges are completed. The rewards are nothing too crazy for anybody who has already completed the game, especially if they went on further to 100% it or even platinum it, like myself, but they are nice to have items nonetheless. The new legacy colour filters of Assassin's Creed II, Unity, Origins, and Odyssey are probably my favourite thing in the rewards, more so than the weapons, to be honest. They add a new kind of immersion into the game from a visual perspective, as previously the only available ones were the default Mirage one and the classic Assassin's Creed one. This is a nice bonus, especially in a free DLC.