09 Oct 2023 2:16 PM +00:00 UTC

Assassin’s Creed Mirage players use mods to escape distracting ugly effects

Assassin's Creed Mirage protagonist stares at the ground

We've come a long way since the nobility of Assassin's Creed Unity had their entire faces missing, but it seems the series just can't catch a break. The newly released Assassin's Creed: Mirage has seen criticism for including several visual effects that players just can't stand.

In the days since release, fans have complained about the game's chromatic aberration making some textures look murky at best and actively distracting at worst. In a series all about focusing on your target and navigating precisely to strike at the perfect moment, getting blinded by the upholstery isn't a great look.

Chromatic aberration is an effect that causes purple and green fringing on the edges of objects. In real life, it’s a lens distortion effect caused by light travelling through glass and hitting an IRL mirror, and it’s an effect we’ve mostly got rid of. In games, it’s an effect that’s added for seemingly no reason, especially as Mirage doesn’t opt for a particularly filmic look.

Worse yet, there's currently no option in-game to turn off or even simply adjust this effect. Developers have acknowledged the issue and players' requests for a toggle in the game's discord server, but players may move on before it's added; the game takes around around 10 hours to complete without factoring in trophy hunting.

As can be expected, tech-savvy players and modders have come forward to provide a quick fix in the meantime with no downloads needed. On reddit, one user shared:

I'm sure there are other methods, but this worked for me. Use a hex editor on ACMirage_plus.exe and change "80 79 32 00 75 4E" to " 80 79 32 01 75 4E" and then you can play the game without getting a headache. I'm not sure if it would work if you didn't do it to both exe files - I did both just to be safe.

For the time being, it seems console players and those with non-standard PCs will need to wait patiently for a patch to enjoy the game without a headache. Thankfully, there's plenty of other games out and ready to enjoy in the meantime.

Assassin's Creed Mirage is available now on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. You can check out our review to hear more about the game - the good, the bad, and the chromatic.

For more articles like this, take a look at our Gaming News and Assassin's Creed: Mirage page.

Kieron West

Staff Writer

PlayStation expert

Kieron has written about video games since 2019 and loves helping others see everything that games have to offer. He's a big fan of PlayStation trophies and horror games, even making games of his own under the name WestyDesign.

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