Assassin's Creed games have changed a lot over the last 15 years. They went from a contained affair in the original where the focus was story to having multiple cities in Assassin's Creed 2. The latest iterations like Odyssey and Valhalla, however, have become bloated beyond belief, with quest markers every few steps to distract you from main story missions. But, the latest news about Assassin's Creed Mirage suggests we've come full circle.
In an interview with GamesRadar, Assassin's Creed Mirage's creative director Stéphane Boudon discusses how Ubisoft is listening to the community's complaints that open-world fatigue is setting in and shaping Mirage around what players want.
"Amongst our fans," Boudon says, "we started hearing the desire for a character-driven story, focused on the core pillars of the first ACs in a more intimate scale. It resonates with us as well, as developers, and this was the starting point of the project."
The idea of getting an Assassin's Creed game that takes the series back to its roots and focuses on a more "intimate" experience, rather than open-world bloat, is something that players are eager to see. However, given Ubisoft's track record, the community isn't buying it just yet.
In a Reddit thread about the GamesRadar interview, Reddit user 'arex333' says "This sounds great, but I'm also skeptical because they said something very similar about Valhalla.... and look how massive and bloated that game ended up being."
"Yeah, I don't get that one either," says 'FaceMace87', citing the fact that players were led to believe that Valhalla would be a shorter and tighter experience than Odyssey but ended up being larger and longer.
So, it's clear that fans are viewing what Ubisoft say and do with a critical eye, and rightly so. The French company recently delayed Skull and Bones yet again, and cancelled three of its upcoming games, with CEO Yves Guillemot unhappy with the state of affairs at the company.
Whatever happens, we want more Ezio-like Assassin's Creeds. Ah, the good old days.