Assassin's Creed: Mirage is just six months from release, but some long-time fans of the Ubisoft franchise are concerned about one new feature.
"Teleporting just feels like magic, which I don't particularly care for in AC, " one Reddit commenter says of Basim's newfound ability to choose multiple enemies, appear behind them, and swiftly despatch each one despite being nowhere near to begin with.
Following a gameplay walkthrough shown at Ubisoft Forward 2023, we know that Mirage sees the addition of Assassin Focus. The multi-kill mechanic does look teleportation-like, allowing you to select scattered targets and execute them from a distance. It's just one way that Mirage looks to shake up its own formula, but Focus has sparked worried conversation on Reddit, with some users fearing it errs too far from the series' established canon.
The conversation then turns to explaining Focus within the context of Creed and the Isu, an advanced humanoid species that each playable assassin across the AC games is descended from.
"It's pretty confirmed that Isu inheritors with high percentages of DNA are a bit faster and stronger than most. Like a natural born captain America," offers another commenter, attempting to ratify Focus as a speedy movement rather than all-out teleportation.
Not everyone is convinced, however, as is made plain in another Reddit thread. "However Animus related, Basim's 'Focus' is still a teleport. Magic or not," reads its title, referencing both the Isu theory and a theory that Focus is the result of the player experiencing Basim's memories through the Animus. A time-travel-like device that frames the story through the eyes of a modern protagonist, witnessing past events from the comforts of the present day, it's just one way that Focus could be explained as a fair in-game mechanic.
The original poster asserts that their problem with Focus isn't a question of why or how Basim can do it, but how it enables "cheesing out assassination routes, via an ability that the game itself is providing you and that discourages assassination planning." Given that Mirage promises a return to stealth-centric combat as seen in earlier Creed entries, it makes sense that some AC fans aren't best thrilled with a tool that could be used to bypass its challenges.
Assassin's Creed: Mirage is slated to launch on October 12, 2023, so all we can do is wait and see how the story makes sense of its most unexpectedly controversial new feature.
Mirage is just one of many upcoming Assassin's Creed games, from Codename Hexe to Ancient Japan-set Codename Red.
