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| img source: IGN |
Flashspoter - Mirage 7, an action adventure game that takes players to the Middle East with an atmosphere of dark fantasy, has just been officially launched and those who love the genre can now play the game wherever they live. The game is the desire of an Italian team, Drakkar Dev, and the publisher of the game is Blowfish Studios. The game tracks the path of a young girl caught in the middle of the desert full of secrets through the players' eyes.
First published on March 6, 2026, the game is themed around a distinctive mix of Arabian Nights folklore and science fiction elements and is now available for players to enjoy on multiple platforms including PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam, Epic Game Store, and GOG.
Players will play the role of Nadira, an indomitable explorer who is deeply affected by grief, in this game. Rasha, her little sister, is kidnapped by strange soldiers and she is devastated. To grant her wish to bring back her sister from the dead, Nadira needs to make a trip that is extremely risky to the Palace of the Moon. It is a place known only to the Princess Taishma who is believed to have power over life and death.
Nadira's trip reveals not only spectacular desert scenes but also tough nature-related riddles. She has with her closest confidant, the devoted lizard Jiji. Jiji is far from a mere travelmate; as the game progresses players come to find that she is the main key to unlocking different puzzles. Through the "Lizard Eye" skill, players are able to see and reveal hidden items that are invisible to the normal eye, a feature quite vital for the continuation of the journey. During the course of the story, Nadira and Jiji will come across and have dealings with puzzling characters, like the enigmatic witch Jala, along with the Vizier, a ruler whose very existence is always concluded by hot puzzles.
Regarding gameplay, Mirage 7 delivers a game that feels like old school adventure games. Gamers need to discover the world, gather things, and unite them for survival. As an instance, in order to start a fire in the camp, the player has to locate dry wood and Flint. To get food, Nadira must assemble a sling (slingshot) from twigs and muscle veins of defeated enemies to knock the date palm fruit from the tree.
Classic survival-horror elements are also felt in this crafting system, similar to the scrounging mechanism in the Resident Evil game. In addition to exploration, players will also be faced with battles against monstrous creatures such as giant scorpions, cave spiders, and flying skulls . Equipped with a dagger to defend, Nadira, the main character, can perform melee attacks. While slingshot weapons for long-range attacks.
In fact, a nice feature of the game is that it comes with three levels of difficulty, and players can choose which one suits their style. The "Story" Mode is for those who love to get involved at the narrative level assisted by the game puzzles. In contrast, "Challenge" Mode will give more power to the players seeking to have a larger challenge.
A key highlight of the Mirage 7 is its excellent atmospheric construction ability. The game's Middle Eastern artistic landscape backdrop serves as the location for the thick mystical atmosphere that the game conveys, made even better by the oud (a stringed instrument characteristic of the Middle East) music that helps the immersion of the player to deepen. The developers succeeded in bringing together the style of ancient fantasy with elements of science fiction, such as the existence of a secret underground military base and a strange "hybrid" that the player encounters right at the start of the game.
The game's narrative, inspired by the award-winning short story Miraggio, takes on the themes of courage, loss and betrayal. Observers note that although the main storyline is quite dense in duration of 3-4 hours, the mystery behind the "Mirage" project and the presence of mysterious pale entities give it a depth that makes the player constantly guess.
From the various reviews that emerged post-release, The Mirage 7 received mixed highlights. As an indie product, the game has been praised for its daring blending of genres that are difficult to put together. Its main strength clearly lies in worldbuilding and its mystical narrative. The use of Jiji as a puzzle aid and environmental narrator through the "Lizard Eye" ability is also rated as a smart and refreshing mechanism.
However, on the other hand, the execution of the gameplay is considered a weak point. A review of Tech2.hu, a tech news site from Hungary gave it a low score of 4/10, criticizing the combat system as feeling simplistic and lacking interest, as well as the characters being judged superficial. Similar critics have also highlighted that while the enemy's design looks visually impressive, the combat becomes non-strategic and feels like an obstacle course due to the lack of lock-on and the enemy being a "damage sponge".
While Tech2.hu gave sharp criticism of the combat system, reviews from the Australian media checkpointgaming.net it offers a slightly softer perspective by giving it a score of 6/10 (Decent). In their review, they acknowledged that Mirage 7 has a number of bright ideas, especially when it comes to merging meta-mysterious narrative with classic survival horror-style exploration. The richness of lore and mythology of the world built by Drakkar Dev is praised as the main attraction that manages to immerse players into the vibran desert landscape. However, the medium also highlights similar fundamental flaws: often logically inconsistent environmental puzzles and a narrative that feels rushed, especially at the end of the story. The combination of these elements makes Nadira's adventure feel like a collection of unique concepts that are burdened by immature design, so they can only be enjoyed optimally for a short time before frustration begins to arise .
In addition, some observers note that the logic of solving puzzles is sometimes inconsistent, where a solution can only be found after a certain mechanism is introduced abruptly. This can reduce the "eureka!"and it turns into frustration, or it can be said that it doesn't give a variety of problem-solving options that vary from one player to another. Anyway, for the adventure genre enthusias who crave the golden age of classic point-and-click, this flaw might still be overlooked in exchange for the enjoyment of its mythologically rich main story.
At present, Mirage 7 is available for purchase and play. The Game costs $19.99 / €19.99. The game features text and interface support in various languages for the global market, including English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish, with English-language voice support.
If players experience such a situation that they get stuck right away in the story, the developer has also thought of an in-built "Puzzle Hints" feature which can be accessed through the options menu. Besides, water is indispensable in the game, so always keep your supply topped up and be sure to use Jiji's "Lizard Eye" ability regularly as it is very helpful for spotting hidden elements everywhere.
Going by the name, Mirage 7 is just the ticket for getting engrossed in a visually stunning dark fairy tale. Even if the fighting mechanics are a bit basic, the storyline written in the style of a poem, the mythologically inspired puzzles and the companionship of Jiji who is unbearably cute and adorable, make the game more than worth the while. This is an epic that is neither very long nor too short and it is a great opportunity for those who want aloud different narrative experience amidst the craze of AAA games.
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