Assassin’s Creed has been around for a long time. And with any franchise with rapid releases, it got a tad old fast. I still love these games and I enjoyed playing them but there comes a point where they just felt like the same thing over and over. Assassin’s Unity is, in my opinion at least, the ultimate Assassin’s Creed experience. It had the right amount of cloak and dagger gameplay with good parkour, and it dabbled in the gear system. When Assassin’s Creed Origins came along, I’ll admit, I hated it at first. It felt like the furthest thing from an Assassin’s Creed game. I was on the verge of refunding the game until I finished the first act. I could feel myself gradually liking the game bit by bit as I played. By the end of the first act I was quite fond of the game, although it is still very different.
Full on RPG
The game is a clear cut RPG. The combat is very much inspired by the likes of Dark Souls and there are main and side quests to do instead of repeatable activities to complete as ‘side content’. There is even a skill tree and colour coded loot. The game was a much needed refresher for the series and although at first I hated this, I grew to love it to the point that Assassin’s Creed Origins is one of my favourite games.
The Map
Ancient Egypt in Assassin’s Creed Origins is beautiful. Maybe I am biased as I love desert maps in games. There’s something about roaming endless barren wastes for miles and then stumbling upon an Oasis that just gets me. Maybe it’s the contrast between barren desert and lush, fertile river ways. I loved this map and the world was carefully crafted. NPCs go about their daily routines, although they do get annoying when they say the same thing over and over. Seeing the clash of Egyptian, Roman, and Greek culture in the world made for some interesting and diverse locales as well. I just spend time roaming around in the map looking for trouble because this is one of the best open worlds I have explored. I loved that sense of discovery when reaching a peak and overlooking a city down in the valley. Or descending the depths of a tomb to see what secrets it holds.
Assassin’s Creed Origins marked a new era for Assassin’s Creed and whether you like it or not, this new era is going to stick around for quite some time.
