Before I loaded up the demo build for the upcoming action-adventure game Mirage 7, I admit I did not fully realize what I was getting myself into. But that’s the beauty of starting games completely blind – they get to surprise you with their unique quirks. Which is exactly what happened in the case of the aforementioned Mirage 7: described as a dark fairy tale that blends sci-fi and fantasy elements, it immediately starts you off with… the hunt for a military drone, and a cyberpunk-looking woman hooked up to some kind of futuristic device with cables going through her brain. Yeah.
Either way, that’s really how the game opens – and I loved it. Following that initial surprise, though, the game gets a touch more traditional and fantasy-like, and we end up controlling Nadira, a young woman trying to save her little sister. In the minutes that follow, we trek through the desert and learn how to use our lizard companion’s special vision to find interactable objects in the wild, how to combine items, and how we need to drink water to restore health. How very Prince of Persia of you, Mirage 7.
Jokes aside, the actual meat of the game has been serviceable, for lack of a better word. Nadira controls just fine, and so does her tiny lizard friend Jiji (because yes, there are segments where you play as the little guy), but I found a few things that could still use some polish. Combat in particular felt disappointingly one-note: you spam one attack button and do the occasional dodge roll. And there’s only been one type of enemy in the entire demo, which didn’t help matters, either. That said, the focus of this brief playable build was very much on exploring your surroundings, finding items and solving puzzles, with combat being more of an afterthought – which, honestly, I didn’t even mind too much. I’m also hoping the Jiji segments become a recurring thing, as there’s certainly potential for some interesting gameplay possibilities that would benefit from having a small lizard as a secondary playable character.
I sort of wish the game didn’t treat me as a complete dunce, though: at one point in the demo, you need to scavenge for resources to start a campfire, and Nadira’s voice actress simply could not stop repeating the exact same tutorial-esque line ad infinitum. Yes, Nadira, I know I need to get those fruits. No need to remind me literally every five seconds. It was beyond excessive.
As for the storyline, only brief glimpses are shown to the player through collectable journal entries: there are mentions of unethical human experimentation and the titular “Mirage” project, which all have me intrigued. I just hope the sci-fi angle plays a more prominent role going forward, because so far, it’s what prevents the game from being “just another one”.
Overall: so far, so decent. What little I’ve played of Mirage 7 felt adequate as a tutorial to introduce players to the core mechanics of the game; my hope is that the final release will further expand on these, with more complex puzzles, more varied combat, and a worthwhile sci-fi story that makes full use of the setting. Fingers crossed.
