Why Mirage: Arcane Warfare Was Dead On Arrival
Mirage: Arcane Warfare is a mystery. It should have been a game that’s well received and anticipated. Created by the folks at Torn Banner Studios, the dev team had the experience and know how. They did after all make Chivalry: Medieval Warfare, one of the pioneers in the online melee PvP scene. So why wasn’t their latest project anywhere near as successful as their previous? After playing the game, we have a few theories.
The Groundwork’s Great
What make Chivalry great was how gritty that game was. It required skill and teamwork, and the result was a bloody, gory mess that gained a cult following among those who enjoyed melee combat. To top it off, it’s wrapped in a historical skin with relatable weapons and in a period that’s somewhat romantic. In Chivalry, it’s easy to pretend your fighting to good fight for a House during the War of the Five Roses.
Mirage: Arcane Warfare isn’t entirely alien however. There’s plenty that will remind you of Chivalry, especially the close quarters melee combat, and the design of the maps. Some of the weapons are indeed things we are accustomed to, but the magic part of if it is new. Besides new class archetypes involving magic and the supernatural, a lot of the groundwork remains the same. A couple of match modes, server browsing, avatar customization etc. Therefore on paper, this should have been a decent game for former Chivalry players,
Some Gameplay Decisions Are Not
Alas, that was not to be. Majority of players who were loyal Chivalry players (us included) simply can’t stick, even though it feels like the same game albeit in a different skin. In fact, as recent as last week and before the free day was announced, Steam Charts actually reported that the game had only 7 players on at one time. Those numbers are terrible, and a clear indication that something isn’t right. So what exactly is that?
I feel it’s what the competition is offering more in comparison to both Chivalry and Mirage. Chivalry was released in 2012, four years ago. Things were way different back then. We had no Overwatch, no PUBG, no Heroes of the Storm, no..you get the point. In the time since we’ve been spoiled by games that has laid the groundwork for what players want and expect in online PvP games. In Mirage’s case, there’s no PvE mode, no single player campaign – it’s pretty barren in comparison to the best of today’s online games, and that’s where it falls short. Players just have so many other options out there that offers more, and in some cases, for less money than what Mirage: Arcane Warfare costs.
Players Vote With Their Wallets
Bottom line, players decide where to spend their money based on factors such as fun and value. Unfortunately for Mirage: Arcane Warfare, not enough players think it offers a substantial amount of either. And we have to agree with them. It sorely needs something that we haven’t seen in Chivalry: Medieval Warfare before. Yes, arcane and magic is one of them, but lets not kid ourselves, it’s mere aesthetics and not features. Introduces a story mode, some form of a co-op campaign in addition to PvP, and people might just bite.
