Ubisoft has provided more details on Assassin's Creed Mirage's map size, comparing it to those seen in previous Assassin's Creed titles, Unity and Revelations. A major selling point for Assassin's Creed Mirage has been its intent on returning to the franchise's roots after massive titles such as Assassin's Creed Odyssey as it depicts the origin story of Master Assassin, Basim Ibn Ishaq, a character who players were introduced to in the franchise's last mainline entry, Assassin's Creed Valhalla.
Assassin's Creed Mirage will be far more stealth focused than the recent, more ARPG-esque entries in the series, with a depiction of Baghdad in the year 861 that is filled with crowds of people to blend into, and a more built-up, condensed area to parkour across. AC Mirage also promises a return to more traditional traversal akin to Assassin's Creed Unity's, where being spotted has dire consequences. Through this environment, players will be able to discover a variety of Hitman-esque assassination opportunities to take down of The Order of the Ancients.
AC Mirage's Map Is Closer In Size To AC Revelations
Easy Allies (via. Game Rant) spoke to Assassin's Creed Mirage's developers during the recent Summer Game Fest and were given a rough confirmation of its map size. Ubisoft reportedly compared Assassin's Creed Mirage's specifically to Constantinople in 2011's Assassin's Creed Revelations and Paris in 2014's Assassin's Creed Unity.
Those who played Revelations and Unity will know that even then the maps varied quite significantly. AC Revelations' Constantinople is on the smaller side at 0.94 km² in size, whereas Unity's Paris took advantage of the new hardware available three years later with the release of the PS4 and Xbox One, and offered a map more than twice as big at 2.40 km². It can be assumed therefore that AC Mirage will fit somewhere between the two.
Why A Smaller Map Is Perfect For AC Mirage
Over the years, traditional Assassin's Creed fans began to complain that the series had strayed too far from the series' stealth roots, with Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla seemingly focusing more on combat and showcasing huge open-world maps to explore. While these newer titles offered hundreds of hours of gameplay, it became harder to blend into crowds or escape foes across large open spaces, which was a huge component of the series' gameplay and stealth mechanics. Instead, players often had little choice but to tackle pursuers head-on, or hope that their horse was close enough and fast enough to make a getaway.
A smaller map is perfect for Basim's origin story, as it allows players to use the environment, Basim's array of gadgets, and his parkour ability to feel the tension of both planning a perfect assassination and escaping it afterward. Although Assassin's Creed Mirage's map may be smaller, the detail can go into making it feel truly lived in, with crowds and factions that can either aid or hinder Basim during fast-paced escapes across the city. The news of a smaller title should please those fans who have been longing for a return to Assassin's Creed's roots in recent years.
Source: Easy Allies/YouTube (via. Game Rant)