On November 18th, Valley of Memory was released for Assassin's Creed Mirage. This free story DLC is available to all game owners, regardless of platform. It was released alongside an update that slightly improves the original mechanics. We'll break down what came of it and what this DLC is like in this review.
Basim's Tragedy
The DLC's story begins before the final stretch of the main game. At the start of the "Head of the Snake" quest, a boy appears at the Hidden Ones' bureau and delivers a message to Basim from his friend Dervish regarding the protagonist's father. Together with Basim, they set off to a new location — the Al-Ula Valley — to find any clues about the assassin's ancestor.
The main storyline of the DLC can be completed in about three hours — it's like a separate film that will brighten up the evening. The story itself isn't particularly brilliant: it's a tale of fathers and children, spiced up with a pinch of revenge.
Nevertheless, the ending smooths out the impressions of the banal narrative. When Basim finally finds his father and sees what he has become, it becomes sad — especially if you are close to the topic of relationships with parents and/or you have already lost them. Here you immediately understand the true meaning of the DLC's title — "Valley of Memory."
On the one hand, the events of the DLC are not related to the main theme of the Assassin's Creed series. There is no Order of the Ancients here — the enemies are a gang of robbers — no Hidden Ones, no artifacts of the Isu civilization, and no themes important to the overall lore. And if you expected something like that, then "Valley of Memory" will most likely disappoint you.
On the other hand, the entire DLC is Basim's personal story, which was deepened just before his body was taken over by the Isu race representative Loki. This is exactly what Ubisoft games have been lacking in recent years — emotions. Especially Ubisoft Quebec games, because Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Shadows also have themes of family and revenge, but everything is built so sparingly and unemotionally that at the end of the playthrough you have no desire to sympathize with anyone. Whether you played it or not — there's no difference!
In "Valley of Memory," Ubisoft Bordeaux shows their colleagues the right example. They use banal script tropes that have been known for a long time: light, music, framing, common themes, the behavior of the characters, a touch of sadness, symbolism, and so on. Not brilliant, but it works! If you liked Basim as a character — him, not Loki — then you will like the new story. After all, if you think about it, he is one of the most tragic protagonists in the franchise: he lost his parents in childhood, suffered from nightmares, shared a body with another consciousness, and in the end simply dissolved, giving way to the evil Precursor.
Fabulous Al-Ula
The new region turned out to be relatively small: there is one town and several forts, the largest of which will have to be cleared in the finale of the DLC's story. The rest of the space is occupied by desert and rocks. Fortunately, the "Black Box" mechanic is still there: the few fortresses that have to be cleared during the game can be completed using different methods. In the final fort, there are two stages, each of which can be completed in at least two ways!
As bonus activities, the game offers you to go through some additional stories — in fact, just a few stories from NPCs that you just need to listen to, and sometimes make a choice. Spoiler: they don't lead to anything. Well, collecting collectibles — such as running after scrolls with notes — hasn't disappeared either, even if there aren't that many of them.
In three hours of gameplay, the gameplay won't be very diverse: we clear out outposts, eliminate targets, look for clues — all according to the old formula of the series. However, all the components of the DLC are made at a high level, close to what was in the games of the series before. Although, I dare say — even better, considering the small innovation in the gameplay.
With the release of the DLC, the developers improved the parkour system. Now, while climbing walls, the player can jump in any direction, which greatly diversifies and simplifies the exploration process. Sometimes you can even avoid some of the solutions prepared by the game in order to come up with your own ways to get to certain points. However, this function must first be enabled in the gameplay settings.
During the story, you will be given the opportunity to escape from prison, although in reality it is not very fun: you will have to wait a long time before you have the opportunity to escape. Except that you will have to complete a couple of errands for the bird, but this is literally a couple of minutes of gameplay so that the player doesn't get bored.
There is only one large side quest here — you need to help a lady return the riches stolen from her. We just find clues, explore locations, find the missing item and return it to the owner, receiving the corresponding achievement and gratitude from the NPC.
I can attribute the technical condition to the disadvantages of the update. The frame rate counter during the game often fluctuates from 40 to 60 and below, and in pre-rendered cutscenes it can even fall below 25, turning the video into a real slide show — this disease was also present at the release of the main game in some moments, but then it was fixed. It's especially обидно when this happens during a touching moment, which partially ruins the atmosphere of what's happening.
Diagnosis
The Valley of Memory DLC for Assassin's Creed Mirage turned out to be solid. It doesn't reach for the stars in terms of the variety of side activities, but it pleases with a simple but touching story. And the ending gives an additional emotional boost to an already good game — the finale of the main game is now perceived a little differently.
The DLC allows you to return to the game for another 5-6 hours to immerse yourself in the oriental atmosphere again, experiencing Basim's personal tragedy — and all this completely free! It's a pity that the publisher didn't arrange a sale — the project's online presence on Steam has grown, but not radically. Perhaps there are more players on other platforms.
The innovations in parkour greatly improve the overall impression of the gameplay. Exploring the magnificent city of Baghdad and the Al-Ula Valley has become much more exciting — parkour now encourages the player's ingenuity, opens up new paths to achieve the goal, and less "leads by the hand." Paving your way across roofs and rocks has become much more enjoyable.
And all this good is given out for free — a good reason to return to one of the best parts of Assassin's Creed in recent years!
Pro
- Simple but touching story
- High-quality innovations in gameplay and development of old systems
- The DLC is free!
Contra
- Problematic technical condition at the release of the DLC
