Assassin's Creed Origins - A Bold Reinvention That Forgets Its Roots

Having finished my first full playthrough of Assassin’s Creed: Origins, I find myself admiring Ubisoft’s creativity, being an advanced rebuild of the series, while at the same time being critical of all the series values they lost in the process. It’s breathtaking and ambitious, but at times, I did find myself lost in the sheer scale and not in how I felt being an assassin.

Having come off Syndicate, which felt as though the traditional formula had been polished and perfected, I was taken by how much Origins felt like a separate franchise, although I recognize why Ubisoft might want to distance it from the franchise. It feels like an answer to franchise fatigue, and while I agree with much of its vision around modernizing the franchise, I would argue it’s lost the chic and clarity of focus that made the series so stellar.

The World and Presentation

Let’s start with the obvious: Egypt is mind-boggling. Ubisoft artists have made one of the best game worlds. The game map made the deserts and the banks of the Nile, and the lakes and the quiet banks of the Nile. Sparkling lakes and deserts, and the cities with their architecture and crowds, like Alexandria, were accurately busy and beautifully rich. To say the least, the game is the most visually stunning Assassin’s Creed, and one of the most stunning the Xbox has to offer.

What really stands out is the scale. The sense of place here is enormous, to the point of being overwhelming. I’ve never played an AC game where I could ride for such long stretches without hitting a landmark. It’s both awe-inspiring and exhausting. The scale is undeniably grand, but it also stretches the pacing thin. It felt like a lot of thought and design was put into it, but here, the scale was what was used. It’s a fair trade for some, but as someone who values efficient world design, I sometimes felt my attention drifting.

Anyone who buys cheap PS4 games should give credit where it’s due: the new Egypt feels alive. Every hour of the day adds different atmospheric changes, and the behaviors of the animals and the people interacting with the environment really showcase a functioning ecosystem. The immersion brought by watching crocodiles attack hippos or seeing merchants as they pack their stalls is incredible.

The New System

The gameplay structure is the most significant change in Origins. The previous game in the series had linear mission sets and scripted tailing sequences, which provided a more restricted experience. Now, it has an open world and RPG elements: experience points, loot, crafting, and other gated resources. Origins is the biggest shift Ubisoft has ever made with the series, and it is clear they want this to be the new foundation.

I appreciate the open-world concept. You can tackle goals in any sequence, find different areas on your own, and encounter the stories without following a precise path. Still, it sometimes seems to me that the essence of Assassin's Creed is becoming something less unique. I never thought your frustration would stem from a lack of an engaging story. I grind for materials on the Black Flag to build and upgrade my fleet.

The lack of guaranteed assassinations is the worst change. In the previous games, you could achieve a "perfect" stealth kill. You could master your method. In Assassin's Creed: Origins, that's gone, and it feels terrible. A hidden blade is useless against a higher-level foe, which goes against the very essence of kill. There is no other term for it. In a series that is centered on stealth, this is a step back.

The shift in the combat system is also apparent. Unlike previous titles, combat in Origins is no longer in the rhythm of the counter-based system, with the more ponderous and pragmatic use of hitboxes, dodging, and light and heavy attacks introduced. It is functional, but slower and heavier. I appreciate the more realistic combat system, but I miss the unbroken, old AC combat system with its fluid and elegant combat. The instant parries and cinematic finishers created a combat system that seamlessly transitioned from one combat to the next. It is no longer rhythm and timing. It is now a game of stamina and spacing mechanics.

The Stealth Experience

Stealth is still here, but now feels more like an afterthought. The addition of Senu, your eagle companion, is brilliant. Beyond this, there is not much more in the evolution of stealth, and in fact, it has regressed in some aspects. The absence of social stealth is more apparent: there is no blending in crowds, no hired distractions to draw guards, and instead, the game relies on bushes and elevation. It is a simplified system that works, but it feels like a lot of informal tools for this. The approach to freedom is clear, but it is more of a paradox. The tools, in this stealth system, have decreased.

I love how every fortress and stronghold has different options to sneak in. But without guaranteed kills, even some successful stealth approaches can encounter problems if you misjudge how strong an enemy you are dealing with. To my dismay, I had to abandon all stealth and rely on my bow, forcing me to turn what was supposed to be a precision stealth operation into an archery contest with the enemy.

The Story and Characters

Bayek is, to his credit, a strong protagonist. The voice acting is top-notch, and the cutscene direction has definitely improved.

The game’s pacing can be off at points. The first act is captivating because you want to learn about Bayek’s personal story, but the middle section is filled with boring narrative. There are times when you are more focused on the side quests to level up than advancing the story. When the story regains momentum near the end, it does so beautifully, ending with the most satisfying articulation of the Creed’s core values. Getting to this point, however, requires a dollop of patience.

Origins is also very dependent on its surrounding narrative for a sense of its identity. Players can appreciate the detail and care put into representing Ptolemaic Egypt’s blend of Greek and Egyptian cultures. The focus on Greek and Egyptian culture is detailed and very well crafted. Players may appreciate the detail and care put into representing Ptolemaic Egypt and the balanced blend of Greek and Egyptian cultures. It is just too bad that the sprawling open world makes the story feel overwhelming at times.

The Technical Achievement

I have to say that Origins is really good-looking. The lighting is some of the best I have seen in a Ubisoft game, and the draw distance is remarkable if you buy PC games. The texture work on stone, fabric, and sand is really good, and the game’s photo mode is amazing. The ambient sound of the desert winds takes the echo, and the markets and the Nile all work together to create an atmosphere that is easy to get lost in.  It is easy to get immersed in the environment.

The performance cost, though, is on the higher end. Even with a powerful PC, you will still see frame drops in densely populated areas. You will also see a drop in frame rate during very intensive visual areas. While beautiful, Egypt showcases some poor optimization. I won’t deny the technical showcases, but the game desperately needs optimization.

The UI is functional, but it is too cluttered. There is too much menu navigation for the inventory, gear, abilities, crafting, and more. Then, each menu transition takes just long enough to get annoying. It’s fine at first, but over time, it eats up too much time. For a game that relies so much on the player and interaction, the speed of navigation is frustrating. It needs to be faster.

The Overall Experience

Assassin’s Creed: Origins is a wonderful reinvention, but it feels like a game aimed toward a different audience than the one that fell in love with the franchise a decade prior. It is large, grand, and full of content, but it is also, at times, unfocused and bloated. The stealth is dull, the combat is clunky, and the RPG elements, albeit complex, get in the way of the fantasy of being an assassin more than they should.

That being said, Ubisoft’s ambition is still admirable. The iterative design that they have practiced for many years has been reflected in their design, and it demonstrates a real risk. I do miss the design purity in the old games, but I respect the intent of Origins, and I can still admire the craftsmanship.

I believe Origins might split the community. For newcomers and role-playing game (RPG) fans, this may be the best Assassin’s Creed yet. On the other end of the spectrum, we grew up with the classic formula, and it is harder to move on from what has been lost. I definitely had fun, but I also nostalgically remembered when assassination was an art, and not an option buried under layers of loot and levels. I also felt this was the moment the series stopped feeling like home.