With the debut of the iPhone 15 Pro, Apple focused on communication that also emphasized the gaming capabilities of the A17 Pro chip and, to demonstrate them concretely, the company has signed agreements with Capcom, Kojima Productions and Ubisoft to bring some of their most recent titles to the iOS platform.
Over time we have therefore witnessed the arrival on the App Store of games such as Resident Evil Village, Resident Evil 4 and Death Stranding: Director’s Cut, in this precise order: ambitious yet surprisingly solid conversions, despite their inevitable technical limitations, among whose touch control systems are questionable and some frame rate difficulties.
Now it’s the turn of Assassin’s Creed Mirage, for the moment the last title on the list: how Basim’s adventure fares on iPhone and iPad?
A tribute to the classic chapters
If you’ve read our review of Assassin’s Creed Mirage, you’ll already know what this episode stands as a tribute to the classic chapters of the seriesremoving the RPG elements of the last trilogy in favor of a return to the parkour and stealth sections that characterized the beginnings of the franchise, with also a degree of difficulty aimed at encouraging escape and evasive maneuvers where one finds oneself facing numerous enemies at the same time.
This is a half-successful approach, in the sense that the first hours of the campaign more or less manage to remain faithful to this vision, but this time too the upgrades make the protagonist of the adventure really too strongwith in particular the ability called Assassin’s Readiness which allows you to eliminate up to five opponents in an instant, trivializing the challenge.
It is a shame that in terms of gameplay the developers of Ubisoft Bordeaux were unable to enhance all the elements introduced in Mirage, with the combats in particular proving disappointing due to the lack of depth, but from a scenographic point of view there is really little to complain about: we are faced with one of the most evocative settings ever for the franchise.
The Baghdad represented in the game is in fact the true protagonist of this chapter, with its fascinating architecture to explore walking through the streets or jumping from one roof to another, as well as of course the towers to climb for the inevitable synchronization mechanic; and the story of Basim, who from a petty thief becomes a master of the Occult, proves to be engaging also thanks to the excellent Italian dubbing.
How does it work on iPhone and iPad?
The iOS version of Assassin’s Creed Mirage can be downloaded for free from the App Store and played at no cost for the entire part of the prologue, after which it is possible to decide whether to purchase the full version of the experience at introductory price of €24.99: an offer valid until June 20th, after which the amount will become €49.99, i.e. the same as the debut on PC and console.
The game requires an active internet connection and supports the Ubisoft Connect platform with its cross-progression functionalitywhich means that once you have logged in with your credentials you can possibly restart the campaign from the last save made on a different system, or in any case carry it forward in parallel on different devices.
Having already completed Assassin’s Creed Mirage on PS5, after installing it on a iPad Air with M1 chip we were able to try our hand at the endgame and opt for the New Game Plus mode, which also allows you to skip the entire introductory phase and immediately reach Baghdad in the role of a Basim who has already finished his Occult training.
There are three different graphic presets for performance optimization purposes: high, medium and low. In all cases the frame rate is blocked at 30 frames and, according to what we have seen, even on the iPad Pro with M4 chip Assassin’s Creed Mirage finds some difficulty in maintaining that target in the most complicated situations, in particular during fights with multiple opponents.
Inevitably, on a device equipped with an M1 chip the fluidity decreases and with the high graphics preset we move between 25 and 30 fps depending on the situation, with some more noticeable drops during the excited phases: a compromise that can be accepted given the visual quality offered, although limited to a resolution lower than the native one and equal to 1997 x 1335 pixels.
By lowering the preset to medium, things improve substantially in terms of frame rate and not too much detail is lost, while with the low preset the resolution actually becomes a problem and the steps are clearly visible. Ironically, the most eventful fights also have an impact in this case: it is clear that optimization needs to be done with an update.
On the iPhone 15 Pro the situation in terms of stability improves, but only due to a lower resolution: in that case the game runs at 1398 x 654 pixels and the small screen size helps compensate for these values, which in movement express in any case a great sight. Of course, it could be said that Mirage’s graphics are wasted on a display measuring just over 6 inches.
Finally we come to the controls, the most marked weak point of these conversions so far. The layout of the touch controls can be customized and the buttons generally prove precise and responsive, although the inability to dynamically reposition the virtual stick is a big problem. Frame rate uncertainties, however, require the use of a Bluetooth controllerwhich once connected offers an experience completely similar to that experienced on consoles.
Apple devices compatible with Assassin’s Creed Mirage
The minimum requirements for Assassin’s Creed Mirage speak of an A17 Pro or M1 chip, as well as an iOS 17.4 or iPadOS 17.4 operating system and an active connection. On iPhone, 11.78 GB of free space is required for installation, while on iPad, 18.39 GB is required. Below is the list of compatible devices:
- iPhone 15 Pro
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPad Air (5gen) with M1 chip
- iPad Air (6gen) with M2 chip
- iPad Pro (5gen) with M1 chip
- iPad Pro (6gen) with M2 chip
- iPad Pro (7gen) with M4 chip
A great way to play Assassin’s Creed Mirage?
The analysis of the iOS version of Assassin’s Creed Mirage cannot ignore a fundamental assumption, which is the same as the other latest generation games that have been converted for iPhone and iPad: only a few years ago imagine that similar experiences could run natively on a smartphone or tablet it fell within the concept of science fiction.
So the possibility of experiencing Basim’s adventure against the backdrop of fascinating 9th century Baghdad on the move represents in itself a valid reason to proceed with the purchase (strictly at the launch price, let’s be clear) if you have an iPad with an M2 or M4 chip, an iPhone 15 Pro and a controller you can use.
