Assassin's Creed Origins - Review

---

The series Assassin's Creed it is certainly very controversial and complex, we are talking about a franchise that has sold millions of copies but which, at the same time, has always caused a lot of discussion attracting several criticisms. The times when Ubisoft churning out a chapter a year seem long gone and, apparently, today the company prefers to focus more on quality by taking the time to make games of absolutely enormous size.

Article by Pietro Gualano  

After visiting Renaissance Spain, Turkey, the Middle East, France and England, the developers have finally decided to offer fans an extremely fascinating setting that fans have been asking for for a very long time: Ancient Egypt. Obviously setting the story in such a distant time period had some impact on the gameplay, a bit like it did with Far Cry Primal, but there are some basic features of the series that have remained unchanged. We are talking about an era full of mystery that, at least on paper, seems truly perfect for the Assassin's Creed series… How did things go in the kingdom of the Pharaohs?

• Disponibile so The Sphinx's Secret - Unlock Isu's Armor [Assassin’s Creed Origins]
• Disponibile so Puzzle of the Papyri solution [Assassin’s Creed Origins]
• Disponibile so Guide to the 12 Stone Circles [Assassin’s Creed Origins]
• Disponibile so Guide to the Tombs [Assassin’s Creed Origins]
• Disponibile so Sekhmet Costume Guide [Assassin’s Creed Origins]
• Disponibile so Guide to Main Missions [Assassin’s Creed Origins]
• Also available Guide to Trophies and Achievements [Assassin’s Creed Origins]
• Also available Guide to Phylax [Assassin’s Creed Origins]

 

Men and gods

The story of Assassin's Creed Origins is certainly very particular. Ubisoft decided for the first time to really go back in time by setting the game before the birth of Christ. The protagonist of the game is called Bayek and he is a Medjay, a sort of vigilante whose aim is to protect the weak and the innocent from the abuses of the powerful. This figure was actually present in Ancient Egypt but was historically little respected, the Medjays were certainly not lone knights who wandered in search of justice but we can only understand that the plot required it.

The topics covered are the classic ones of the series and from this point of view there are no particular news: we have tyranny, oppression, humiliation and of course revenge. And it is the latter, as happened in Assassin's Creed 2, that motivates Bayek by pushing him to go on in his hunt: our protagonist has experienced terrible events due to corrupt men and intends to put everything back in place. Of course, as per tradition, the plot relating to the artifacts present in all the chapters is also present in the background: from this point of view progress has been made, but there are still many questions to be resolved.

A half Medjay

Bayek's character works but he didn't convince us 100%… He has neither the charisma of Ezio nor the charm of Edward, but he still does his job thanks to a well-structured characterization. The traits of his personality they are well defined and it is easy to get in tune with him after what he has suffered, but we honestly do not believe that this protagonist will remain in our hearts like the ones we mentioned above. The other characters are also quite forgettable, the references to historical figures are obviously many but there are no subjects capable of making the player jump from the chair.

The dialogues, fortunately, were written well and the pace of the narrative is certainly good thanks to well-structured and varied main missions. Side missions, on the other hand, are quite predictable and often simply require you to retrieve an item, kill a target or hunt a certain animal ...

We would have expected more from this point of view, the player is naturally inclined to complete all the tasks to gain additional experience so a little more variety would not have hurt. Fortunately, the splendid game world created by Ubisoft manages to partially compensate for the defects mentioned above, but we'll come back to that later.

In conclusion, the story of Assassin's Creed Origins convinced us, but we believe that more could be done… The basic themes in the end are always the same, the characters are not unforgettable and the variety is not very high.

More and more lethal

In Assassin's Creed Origins, players have the ability to grow their own assassin through a classic level system. By fighting and performing other actions, experience is gained and, level after level, they are obtained certain skill points to invest in one of the three branches of the skill. One designed for players who love hand-to-hand combat, one for bow fanatics and one for those who prefer to resort to tools, deceptions and more.

The skills prepared by the guys at Ubisoft, fortunately, are almost all useful and it is honestly rewarding to see Bayek grow and increase his power level by level. Players can seamlessly choose which way to go based on the own style of play and, over time, they can become real shadows or ruthless war machines. The pace of progression is certainly noticeable, it is neither too fast nor too slow and allows the player to truly appreciate each new skill.

The level of difficulty, as per tradition for the series, is quite low. We faced the story on a "difficult" level and we didn't have any particular problems due to a not particularly brilliant enemy AI and a rather simple combat system to manage. Bayek, in fact, only gets into trouble when he has to fight against really numerous groups of enemies but in one on one he practically always manages to manage the situation.

The game camera has been moved slightly to offer the player a different combat feeling, during the battle it is essential to block the view on a certain enemy and manage the space around us in the best possible way. Dodging, this time around, are much less effective and the player can safely take advantage of heavy, fast, and ranged attack combos. Fortunately, the bows were well made and divided into macro categories, each with its own characteristics.

Not just camels ...

From the point of view of the weapons we cannot complain: we have classic swords, clubs, axes, large weapons, curved swords, double blades, shields ... Each type has its own set of moves and its own reaction times, but don't expect however a complex system of statistics. The objects, divided by rarity, can be obtained by exploring the game world and looting the corpses of enemies. Of course there is also a sketchy crafting system that allows the player to upgrade their equipment.

However, for the upgrades you will need the materials but finding leather or wood, however, is not at all complicated. Thanks to the simple press of a button we can observe the game world directly from the eyes of an eagle (a bit like in Far Cry Primal), marking enemies and targets of various kinds. This operation is extremely useful and becomes essential before an assault on an enemy fortress or to identify the enemy to hit.

The gameplay of Assassin's Creed Origins works: the level and skill system convinced us and also the variety offered in terms of equipment. What we didn't like, however, is the low level of challenge which in the long run tends to compromise the experience a bit, since the story isn't solid enough to support it all. Our hope is that progress will be made in this direction in the future.

The reign of the pharaohs

The most successful aspect of Assassin's Creed Origins is without a doubt the game world. The ancient Egypt made by the Ubisoft guys is truly splendid, with huge tombs to explore, temples to visit, historical places to discover… The atmosphere was truly spot on 100% and allows the player to immerse themselves in history and, hour after hour, to learn more about one of the most important civilizations of the ancient world.

Egypt is full of history and it is extremely fascinating to get in touch with religion, with customs and with the society of the time. The work done by the guys at Ubisoft, while not 100% historically consistent, is extremely vast. It is easy to get lost in an oasis riding a camel or among the temples on the streets of Alexandria. The world of Assassin's Creed Origins will make you fall in love and is undoubtedly worthy of the beautiful settings created by Ubisoft in the past for this series.

A few mummy too many in the sarcophagus ...

Unfortunately, however, there are technical problems of various kinds that in the long run tend to tire. We refer specifically to an often inaccurate game camera (especially in fights) and to a not too bright AI. Furthermore, even the animations are credible and often woody, with small graphics and speech synchro bugs.

With the light, however, a excellent work as well as with textures. The overall quality is high although we believe some corrective patches are still needed. The character models, including that of the protagonist, were well taken care of and we really appreciated the work done on the faces: these in fact often manage to convey credible and real emotions.

As for the audio Ubisoft did a great job with both the music and the effects. The melodies are perfect for the context while the voices in the streets of the cities or the noises in the wilderness are well done. The game, however, is fully voiced in Spanish and is fully enjoyable in our language as well.

Conclusion

Assassin's Creed Origins is definitely a good game that focuses a lot on an evocative setting. We are not facing the best chapter of the series, but we believe that it is still a quality title and worthy of attention ... Too bad for an unforgettable story and for some too much weakness in gameplay. In the next chapters, also, we would like a higher level of challenge to allow players to get more involved in the franchise. From a technical point of view the game does not shine due to a 'Not excellent AI and some animations really not up to par. The level system and the skill tree are instead interesting innovations allowing the player to feel a sense of progression by gradually becoming attached to the protagonist.

The story did not convince us 100% due to some themes already seen and an imperfect characterization of the characters. Instead, we really enjoyed the pace of the narrative and the variety offered in the main quests. It is a pity that the side quests are not up to par and force the player to carry out repetitive tasks just to gain experience.