Summary
TheAssassin’s Creedfranchise has been around for over a decade, and inAssassin’s Creed Mirage, Ubisoft is taking things back to basics. After a period of experimentation taking the series into the action-RPG genre,Assassin’s Creed Miragelooks to be a more classic experience that puts social stealth back at the center of gameplay. It’s a long time coming for fans who miss whenACwas about carefully planned assassinations, and thus far Ubisoft seems to have remembered its roots well. Time will tell if this leap of faith safely lands in the proverbial hay bale.
ForACfans who are particularly excited aboutMirage,Ubisoftis offering a pre-order bonus with the game. While these bonuses can be worthwhile, they also come with a fair bit of risk. By pre-ordering a game, players are often locked into paying for a project that they don’t know the full quality of, so unless they’re able to work out a return with a retailer, they’re stuck with an unsatisfying experience. That’s not to say this will be true withAC Mirage, but it’s worth evaluating the title’s pre-order bonus to determine if it warrants picking up the game on day one, or if gamers can wait a week or two to see ifMirageis all it’s cracked up to be.
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Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s Pre-Order Bonus Explained
Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s pre-order bonus follows a long line ofACpre-order trends. If gamers decide to pre-orderAC Mirage, which is releasing a week earlier than planned, they will be rewarded with a bonus quest titled “The Forty Thieves.” Ubisoft has relied on this type of pre-order bonus for many years now, which can help fans determine whether they want to commit themselves toMirageon launch. More content in any game is usually a good thing, but when it means making a significant decision on how to spend time and money, it’s important to discern whether that additional content is worth the effort.
Not much is known about the bonus quest offered the pre-order ofAC Mirage, but prior history can set some expectations. In mostACgames that feature a bonus quest for pre-ordering, the rewards for said quest are often inconsequential. The quest often takes place very early on in the story, the narrative of said quest is rather isolated, and any XP or gear earned by completion is usually negligible. In addition to these minimal payoffs,AC’s pre-order bonus quests typically amount to no more than an hour of extra content. In the grandruntime ofAC Mirage, it likely won’t amount to much.
All of that said, if any amount of additional content is of interest, then there can be value inAC Mirage’s pre-order bonus.Mirageis a scaled-back experience compared toValhallaandOdyssey, so one more quest can give players a reason to immerse themselves inMirage’s Baghdadfor even longer. If players are excited to get their hands on Ubisoft’s new project, this pre-order bonus just provides yet another reason to look forward to it.
Assassin’s Creed Miragehas evolved into an exceptionally important game for Ubisoft and theACfranchise moving forward. After years of RPG fatigue, much of theACfanbase is ready to go back to basics, but it remains to be seen how wellUbisoft has brought classicACinto the modern day. For fans who have been clamoring for as much classicACcontent as possible,Mirage’s pre-order bonus should be a welcome reward. Time will tell if Ubisoft is able to useMirageas a way to balance both classic and RPG-centricAssassin’s Creedexperiences moving forward.
Assassin’s Creed Miragereleases October 5 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
