REVIEW - Assassin's Creed Origins - The Original Pyramid Scheme

Name: Assassin's Creed Origins
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platforms: PlayStation 4 (reviewed), Xbox One, PC

Or AC Oranges, as I keep calling it

This game. Wow. If you've played the two most recent games in the series, Unity and Syndicate, and thought they were pretty meh, don't leave just yet. They had their flaws and didn't really move away enough from the now generic Assassin's Creed formula. AC Origins is a whole different kettle of fish. Ubisoft has done there usual of dropping you in a massive sandbox (quite literally filled with sand this time) and let you go about your business. I'm not talking about just getting to explore big cities either. You have Egypt to explore. With no loading screens. If you're looking at a set of mountains that would be "skybox" in most other open-world games, you can not only climb to the top, you can climb down the other side and keep on going. (Everything the light touches and all that)

At the time of writing, I've sunk about 50 hours into this game. The ingame title screen  (above) occurs during Act II of the game, it took me about 20 hours before I saw it. Ubisoft has been guilty in the past of providing large areas for you to explore and only providing you with collectables to pass the time for the most part. It seems they've learned from their mistakes. Sure, you've got your usual Assassin's Creed staples, your vantage points and bits and bobs to pick up. Thankfully these take a backseat to the missions that you're provided with to pass the time and level up your character, Byek. (That's a bit subjective, if you want to do all the vantage points first then that's your prerogative)

Ever seen a man motorboat the pyramids of Giza? You're about to.

From the start of Act II your given Egypt to explore. There is a catch, however. Being fresh-faced and just leaving your home for the first time, you could be considered "squishy". If you zoom out of the map far enough it'll show you that each region that Egypt is divided into has a general "recommended" level to be to safely explore it. Now as you'll be more than aware of by now, I'm a chump. I didn't know this when I first set out to explore the world. So there I am, riding my horse up through some glorious mountains that are lush and green, not giving one toss about the soldiers passing me by. They aren't bothering me so what do I care? I come across a "checkpoint" Roman base that takes up the entire road. Pfft, whatever, I think to myself, I'll blitz on through. 1 minute later after the loading screen has respawned me, I reconsider my place in the world and start crying. Basically, you can technically go anywhere, you just have to be smart about it. The combat in AC Origins operates completely differently from the previous instalments. (There's no "Just hit counter until success") Here you have to rely on knowing where the enemies are, actively blocking and parrying oncoming attacks and mashing the living shite out of the dodge button if there are archers about. The flip side to this is that if you're in a fight you're "in level" to deal with, it can seem a little too easy at points. (I kind of regret not playing the game on Hard for a bit of a challenge)

What is this? A desert oasis town for ants?

Leveling up isn't too much of a grind. You get experience for discovering new locations, killing enemies, and finding certain collectables. The majority of the of the points come from completing main and side quests. Most major cities you reach will provide an array of these as well as a few hidden throughout the land in isolated spots. Most of these are actually quite good fun, with interesting characters and a further excuse to explore the beautiful environment. There are more than a few quests that will involve you having to find someone who's gone missing and bring them back. (Most often to be found right in the middle of an enemy base) These can get a little repetitive and if you've explored the map as thoroughly as I have you'll probably find you're being sent to a camp you've cleared out already. There are more reasons for doing the side quests, on more than one occasion I've been surprised with a new horse. (That sounded cooler in my head) Weapons in the game are dangerously close to being just a thing you need to hit the other guy with. With the exception of a few unique items you get, overall you're bombarded with heaps of sharp objects that may or may not have better stats than the one you're currently holding. It is a bit of a let down here as aside from some of the designs, the weapons are the least interesting thing about the game.

Hey, you've got a little someone on your face

As this is the first game in the series, chronologically, the game wastes no time making various nods and outright shout-outs to a lot of the lore that featured in previous (Future?) games. The introduction of the Hidden Blade is a particular favourite of mine as it makes a perfect example of how symbology can stem from the smallest of actions. Your Eagle Vision comes in the form of a literal eagle called Senu. Probably the only positive thing I took away from another of Ubisoft's games, Far Cry Primal, was the ability to get a bird's-eye view with a trusted feathered companion. Senu is my girl. She can tag enemies for you, find hidden treasure and is extremely useful in finding those aforementioned missing persons. (I want my own, it's almost Christmas, someone make it happen) As for Senu's master, Byek (yes, it literally sounds like everyone is saying "by 'eck"), he is by far my favourite protagonist of the series to date. Bare in mind I hated Ezio and Connor and only liked Edward Kenway because he was a pirate so this doesn't exactly put Byek on a pedestal by any means. He's smart, has a very straightforward sense of justice but without being "black and white" in his judgements and has a sense of humour. Oh the Gods, bless this man. He smiles and cracks wise and not at other peoples expense like a smarmy git either. He's likeable, you'd buy him a drink.

This isn't a perspective trick, he's just a big bastard

This may split the crowd a little. There is a little modern day stuff in the game. Not to the degree it was back during the Assassin's Creed 2 era, just enough to remind us that there is still a meta-game going on we should kind of care about. There's crafting in the game that you use to upgrade your gear for better attack and defence mostly, this can be a bit time-consuming. So long as you don't make it a focus and dismantle (not sell) all your old equipment then it shouldn't be too much of a hassle. (The only thing I've really gone wanting for is animal skins, and they're everywhere if you Senu your way about for 10 seconds) There is a Photo Mode because what game nowadays isn't complete without one. Though thanks to it, I ended up with way more pictures than I could possibly use in one article. So there's that.

What's this? Play the damn game and find out yourself, lazybones!

Would I recommend Assassin's Creed Origins to you? If you're tired of massive open-world games, I can't promise that this is going to reinvigorate your passion for travelling long, digital distances. However, if you want an Assassin's Creed game that is both entertaining and actually does something with the franchise after I don't know how many years then this is the point to jump back on the bandwagon.

Hmm, already made a "boob" joke concerning the pyramids... eh, fuck it

Nipples!

Assassin's Creed Origins is currently going for around the £40 mark for all platforms. Of course, this is Ubisoft so there are about 10 different versions of the game you can buy with varying degrees of extras. As ever, shop wisely.