Hiding in haystacks. Parkouring across rooftops. Taking out enemies unawares with my hidden blade. Upon being caught, a well-timed smoke bomb cloaks me from pursuers. Then finally, after searching from shadows, I locate my target and work out how to deliver that all-important fatal blow. "Requiescat in pace." Nothing makes me feel like a bonafide Hidden One quite like the classic stealth assassination missions in the earlier Assassin's Creed games. From Ezio's sneakily stalking across the rooftops of Italy in the second outing, to memorable landmark missions in famous locations like Notre Dame in Assassin's Creed Unity, there are so many classic assassination missions that made me feel like a stealthy master of the Creed.
But as more recent games in the series - such as Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Assassin's Creed Odyssey - have shifted to sprawling open-worlds with RPG elements, I've been missing the more intimate, stealth-focused assassinations which were always at the heart of the original experience. While I've certainly enjoyed the RPG direction of later entries, Assassin's Creed Mirage looks set to be the answer to my prayers. The prospect of returning to an AC experience that puts its focus squarely back on stealth is a very welcome move, and its smaller scale is just what we need right now.
