Ubisoft has released a new video showing off Basim from Assassin’s Creed Mirage taking on three enemies at once, with the “warm-up” tag attached to it. The player’s response on the net was, however, quite opposite, almost as if there was a battle in a different arena.
The Twitter official Assassin’s Creed account posted a very short video that showed the protagonist Basim overcoming numerous enemies quite easily. It was very provocative to say: “Three against one? Basim regards this as a warm-up.” The intention was to make the fighting in the game sound very attractive. However, it actually opened a huge can of worms, igniting a tiger of a debate within the community of players of Assassin’s Creed. The responses of disappointment literally inundated the discussions, there being a great number of players labeling the combat system as horrible or dookie and calling for the return of the older ones.
So what has caused the uproar? Let’s have a look. A good part of the comments was downright negative. One user, Vinit, declared, “This combat system needs to be scrapped completely. This is not AC at all.” Another user Josh Cornhill took an even harder-line saying, “It kinda looks like dookie, dude.” Others were also quite critical and they poured out such comments as “Hilariously bad combat” and “It’s the worst thing ever to brag about this game’s combat. It’s terrible” which were among the most common. It really is a very tough reception for a feature that the developers are trying to support and feature.
But there is still some level of general dislike, and the criticism is not always vague. The feedback of most players contains in-depth analysis on various aspects. Some of the players are just fed up with the timing. Akshay characterizes the issue as follows: “Honestly the combat in this game has been consistently terrible. You are barely given any time to judge if an enemy is about to use a light or heavy attack.” This tells us that there might be an issue with the game’s feedback system. A different player, Andreas, provided a more technical explanation by stating: “The combat notifications came just a fraction of a second after the enemy attacked, as opposed to in the Batman games… where they came just a fraction of a second before the enemy attack.” That tiny delay could be the one making the difference between feeling like a highly skilled assassin and feeling like you are just pressing buttons without aim.
Then there are the people who are simply being nostalgic. This part of the threads is full of pleas to “bring back AC3 combat” and “go back to old combat.” It appears that quite a number of the original fans are really missing the counter-heavy and slick style of the previous titles, such as the Kenway saga. One gamer, Zinney, was very articulate in expressing his wish for “the ability to implement smoother counters like the Kenway saga games used to have.” It is a typical case of “the old ones were better,” but it is a feeling that is obviously very strong in the community.
Oh, what was I talking about? That’s right, not everybody has such a negative view on that. The opinions are not a total slaughter. There may be a little, but still very vocal group of players who not only defend the combat, but have also discovered a way to enjoy it. The user lytblu26 told their story: “I really found it hard at first to deal with the combat mechanics, but once I figured out how to control them, it was pure pleasure.” Thus for some there is a hard-to-overcome difficulty that eventually pays off. Another player, Ryan, even went so far as to call it “the first AC game that genuinely challenged you without spongy enemies,” which is quite flattering. He shared his playing style: “Hard mode, HUD off, no seeing enemies through walls ability… That’s the only way I can play.” This indicates that perhaps the default settings are not conducive to combat at all and that altering them could enormously impact a player’s experience.
Then there is the question of an entirely different nature. Some players are of the opinion that the combat is intentionally designed to be somewhat clumsy or hard. The rationale is that it drives you back to the series’ roots, which is stealth. User CJ Phillips agreed with someone and added, “To be honest yes. It’s a lot more fun when you go stealth only. And I like to think they made the combat bad on purpose so that players would prioritize stealth.” Now that is a very interesting question. Is it bad design or is it intentional design to promote a certain playstyle? This is a dispute that might not be resolved easily.
Not to mention, there are always wild and off-topic requests in the comment section of the Assassin’s Creed posts. While all the discussions around the combat were going on, one user, Furkan Kaya, thought it was the right time to ask about Xbox Crocs, showing how diverse the PlayStation and other gaming communities can be. Meanwhile, Ubisoft continues to support the game with new content updates.
