Assassin's Creed: Origins Review

"Gorgeous Egypt"

Campaign

Assassin's Creed: Origins is the best Creed yet offering a massive and gorgeous look at ancient Egypt. This entry in the series has been given some extra polish and that has really shown for a well performing world. It's massive in scale presenting a map the size of Black Flag, but on land.

The story follows a man named ‎Bayek after he deals with a traumatic event and then attempts to gain revenge within the lands of Egypt. He is joined by his wife Aya which occasionally gets a turn in the action during special events of which the player gets to take on her role. The modern time is still present, but used little as the game aims to jump right in and completely engage players within the ancient era.

The story was well developed following the character as he attempts to gain revenge, unite Egypt and work to make the world a mostly better place. While the story was interesting, there are a ton of side quests and activities to take part in that really help build the world.

There are piles of characters with stories, problems and things for you to engage in. These are matched by some sporting events such as the chariots or taking out fortresses if you feel that could be included. The narrative is grand in scale having players venture across open landscapes and multiple locations to deal with the threats against Egypt as you help build the first form of the Creed Brotherhood.

Gameplay

The world is truly beautiful, I've played few open world games that match the scale and gorgeous quantity of life that Origins does. You can raid tombs, scale massive pyramids or just take in the sights of the large draw distance. Cities are big, feature solid verticality despite the time and are ever so authentic.

The art is unique everywhere from the peaceful statues to the moving hieroglyphics. It's such a lovely form of art and going anywhere from sand dunes to clear clean water is a splendid time. The water is just as important as you can dive, swim or even boat along areas that line cities. It's hard to really dive fully into every part of this environment, but it's amazing and something any historic fan of the era will love.

Movement is great here, many buildings offer easy and smaller blocks for precise climbing of walls. The combat was revamped here feeling more visceral and I liked the change. It is however much more difficult in terms of how the levels are present, it's not just a game of assassinations anymore.

This encourages players to work through side quests and explore the area, but for those that want some more linear in terms of narrative that will be difficult. You can basically just waste tens of hours within the area and there's just so much to do. Another new mechanic is an actual eagle to fly around as for spotting and this addition was great. I did notice that some quests felt repetitive in nature as you'd often free someone, throw them on a camel and then ride away.

It was always a different tale but you could see how some activities might not have enough variation for everyone. For the most part Origins runs very well being a smooth experience with an amazing draw distance.

There are variations for the weather at times with sand storms coming into play and a full day/night cycle which can affect missions. I did notice that some areas within cities might feature slightly slow loading or a couple dropped frames, but this was minor. Honestly the biggest issue I had was a cutscene where a camel walked through the inside of a bath house, so not an issue at all.

The Conclusion

I found Assassin's Creed: Origins to be an excellent entry in the series providing a breathtaking and authentic look at ancient Egypt. The story was well developed with characters that were intriguing and not a typical tale.

The setting like mentioned so many times previously was incredible and it was filled with things to do or unique characters to interact with. The new combat system is solid and while it can be difficult, the game mostly encourages you to explore for fresh quests to get stronger.

The abilities you earn felt natural with progression and there are a wide selection of natural animals. I was however disappointed that you can't kill chickens. Despite this, Assassin's Creed: Origins is the best of the series and a bold evolution for the open world experience.

Assassin's Creed: Origins Review on Playstation 4
Review Code Provided by Ubisoft

Rating Overall: 9.0