In Assassin's Creed Mirage, teleportation is possible, and I'm uncertain about how I should feel about it

Assassin's Creed Mirage is promoted as an AC game in the spirit of "Back to Basics," which means that every design decision made by Ubisoft undergoes heightened scrutiny. Much like its protagonist Basim, who gracefully traverses from rooftop to rooftop, it treads along a narrow path that requires careful navigation.

Mirage should place a stronger emphasis on stealth compared to the recent RPG entries, yet it should not reintroduce the immediate mission failures of the earlier games. It should be more compact than the sprawling open-world titles that came before, but not so small as to not justify its $50 price tag. It should highlight stealth by presenting Basim as less imposing in combat than Eivor and Cassandra, while still avoiding the extreme where attacking is only possible after a successful parry, as seen in the early games.

It is a delicate balancing act. More so than for other triple-A franchises, returning to its roots is a challenging task for the Assassin's Creed series. Throughout its 16-year history, these games have experimented with various identities, sometimes placing more emphasis on stealth, combat, the Animus, naval battles, settlement building, or parkour in each individual release. What may be considered "classic AC" by one fan may be viewed as a relic from a lesser era by another.

So, when I came across a clip on Twitter featuring YouTuber JorRaptor's preview of Mirage, where Basim marked an enemy on a ledge and then teleported to their position to eliminate them, it was not surprising to witness negative reactions from some AC fans. The game aims to return to the series' roots, and the original AC heavily focused on traversing the environment, challenging you to become familiar with its unique controls in order to stealthily approach and eliminate your target. It could be a demanding game, and coupled with the limited number of targets, each assassination felt hard-earned. By allowing Mirage to bypass the arduous process of climbing a wall, it neglects the essence that the first Assassin's Creed cherished.

However, some of the best stealth games released since the first AC have showcased similar mechanics. In particular, I think of the three Dishonored games and Deathloop, which allow you to set a point in space and then teleport to it. This ability opens up possibilities for these games to incorporate various stealth maneuvers, such as accessing overhead platforms that can only be reached with this magical skill. While other games may need to provide more time dealing with guards at the opposite end of the corridor, Dishonored can elevate the challenge on the ground by offering you a path to the sky.

Of course, the statement "Dishonored did it" doesn't imply that AC must do the same. However, stealth games have evolved in the 16 years since the first Assassin's Creed game. Titles such as Dishonored, The Last of Us, Metal Gear Solid 5, the modern Hitman trilogy, and the Batman: Arkham games have all been released since Desmond's initial dive into the Animus. Few players would be satisfied with a game that plays exactly like AC did in 2007. The team at Ubisoft must decide which modernizations they wish to incorporate into the old formula.

Should an ability like Blink be one of them? I'm not sure. I quite enjoy Assassin's Creed in all its iterations, but I've never been one of the passionate fans of the series. The challenge for Ubisoft is that these passionate fans will never be in complete agreement. It's impossible to please everyone. I hope that the team behind Mirage makes the necessary decisions to create the best possible game, whether it aligns perfectly with the classic Assassin's Creed or, more likely, not.