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The first prequel of the Assassin's Creed saga takes you to the very root of the conflict between Assassins and Templars as you traverse dunes, oases, and landmarks across a fictional representation of Ancient Egypt.
This was a nice twist to the traditional Assassin's Creed formula we'd been accustomed to. This time around, the creators have decided to swerve from the usual Western costumes and trappings of the immediate predecessors to immerse us again in an epic Middle-Eastern setting.
Indeed, it's not the first time we roam the Middle East, for the first game took us to the Holy Land, of all places. Conversely, in Origins, there are no "Latin" crusaders anywhere in sight, though you'll find Roman soldiers, so there's that.
This is also the first Assassin's Creed to be set in antiquity, with Odyssey immediately following its footsteps to bring us much further back. It's a welcome breath of fresh air to a series that was, quite frankly, becoming far too formulaic and stagnant, struggling to reinvent itself.
When I first saw this game's trailer, I was taken aback by the astonishing imagery, but I sometimes wondered whether this game was, in reality, an Assassin's Creed game or a spin-off of sorts, being that it looked so unique. The Assassin figure on the cover kind of gave that away (as well as the title, obviously), but he looked too small in relation to the rest of the elements so I wasn't able to make the connection at first.
Then I learn that the game's narrative involves the founding of the Assassin Brotherhood (formerly the "Hidden Ones"), which, according to the lore, would take place near the end of Egypt's Ptolemaic era. It's an interesting plot device that would make sense within the series' paradigm.
Odyssey, on the other hand, only establishes loose connections to the franchise and its ethos, and it's often questioned whether the devs really intended it from the beginning or if it was just a mandatory homage to Ancient Greece. But enough about Odyssey (which is a great game, nonetheless). Back to Origins:
In this game, you will be exploring Egyptian deserts and oases, and visiting interesting locations and historical sites along the way. The map itself is generous, spanning roughly 31 square miles (a bit more than double the size of Skyrim's map). Unsurprisingly, the map is overly empty, which actually makes sense at this juncture, given that we are in a desertic region.
As far as looks are concerned, the vistas and sceneries are gorgeous! It also helps that, since there's not much vegetation, it's far easier for the game to render crisper objects and better shadows. It looked amazing even on older consoles but, on Ultra-High PC graphics, this game blows most of the predecessors out of the water (and, some would argue, even its successors, though that's debatable).
Finally, the story's execution was brilliant (albeit a bit linear) and Bayek - the protagonist and only playable character - is highly likable and memorable. He's sometimes compared to Altaïr (the protagonist of the series debut) because of the many traits they display, and I couldn't help but sympathize with him and his motivations, which is more than I could say for other protagonists within the series.
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AC: Origins, much like its predecessors, is played from a third-person perspective, meaning that you can see your character as you play.
Moreover, it's an open-world game. Hence, you can freely roam around. even if you won't be given lots of options or reasons to explore other than for sightseeing or collecting certain items. You'll be capable of traveling the world by foot or horseback/camelback for faster commutes.
The game is largely linear and devoid of choices or branching paths since you're basically just recreating past events. You can opt for activating Discovery Tour, a gameplay mode that grants you the ability to explore the world unhindered but, otherwise, you're essentially stuck with the main storyline missions. There are sidequests, but nothing to write home about, unluckily.
You play as Bayek, whom you meet as you witness the death of his son Khemu at the hands of mysterious masked captors. You will then take control of him as he's resolved to avenge his son. You'll be working in tandem with Bayek's wife, Aya, who's likewise on the lookout for Khemu's murderers.
You'll have an animal companion called Senu, whom you can summon at will by pressing "up" the d-pad. While in previous entries of the franchise you could take a glimpse at hidden symbols and people's alignments with Eagle Vision, here you'll be using an actual eagle that will allow you to scan the broader area and target enemies and items.
The game takes place mostly in the past, though some scenes of the "present" era are shown. The events of the game are actually memories retrieved by Layla Hassan, an Abstergo Industries employee, from the mummified corpses of Bayek and Aya via a device called the Animus.
When it comes to actual gameplay, this game marks a stark departure from the series' action-adventure and "social stealth" approach, venturing further into a role-playing framework. This brings lots of changes to the game's core mechanics, which are more focused on Witcher-oriented frontal combat and earning/upgrading abilities as you level up.
Keep in mind, that we're not yet into full-blown RPG territory, as this would only be thoroughly materialized by the time Odyssey comes out. Still, Origins borrows some role-playing elements from other games into what appears to be a transition from classic action-adventure AC into RPG AC.
Purists would decry this change in approach. I honestly like that we're given more options for character build, but, at the same time, the combat leaves a bit to be desired, mainly because it feels too "arcadey" for my taste. I was never a big fan of Witcher-style combat and, while the execution here might seem more polished, it's still no Dark Souls.
Some folks prefer the new combat system and claim that attacks in previous AC titles were too easy to pull out. I rather enjoyed AC: Unity's system because it required a bit more strategy and timing to take out multiple enemies. You could also disarm enemies and perform amazing combos with various weapon types (and the animations were pretty satisfying too.)
Starting with Origins, combat became too "samey", which is ironic. You have a light/heavy attack button scheme, as well as dodge and block buttons. plus some button combinations for skills, but I felt that the way I approached enemies lacked the nuance of previous titles and it was not satisfying in the least. After the 10th brawl, I was pretty much left wishing it was over.
Still, so far, combat is my only major complaint about this game. But hey, at least it was better than the one in Odyssey, partly because it was weightier and more grounded (you could also use a shield.) In addition, enemies are not as damage-spongey here, so it feels way more balanced.
In synthesis, Origins gave us a plethora of new features aimed at reinvigorating the franchise, especially after the poor reception that the latest entries had up to that point. After almost five years since release (as of this writing), you have a chance to get this game at a much cheaper price tag, and we definitely recommend that you check it out.
I hope you found this review useful. You can additionally leave your insights about this amazing game in the comments section below.
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