Assassin's Creed Origins (2017)

It's been years that I've last played an Assassin's Creed title, but I can confidently say that it's less dynamic now; being the price paid for a different style of game, more RPG-like with a much more open world.

What does that mean? I'm much less careful now (I'm playing in normal difficulty and I'll never choose anything else in a game). I don't consider too many options, being silent often has no meaning at this point, especially because fighting isn't that hard because I can always level up and come back after dying. Previously, or so I remember, getting involved in a fight was not fun unless you can count the enemies easily. Apart from that, you just had to run, run, run away most of the time, then hide again. Being a silent assassin, you know. Now I just feel like a gladiator running through and killing everybody. Everything but silently. If I attack someone in public, no matter if it's a civilian (sorry, it happens) or a guard, it has zero consequences, unless a few more of them are randomly riding around and I'm still present. But that's just three more easy guards to kill.

I am not really complaining though. After the Ezio trilogy ended, Ubisoft seemed to start struggling, quickly recovering with Black Flag and Rogue, then completely ruining it with Unity. Syndicate was interesting, but almost an entirely different game. Origin, I think, is a good comeback to the series, introducing a lot of new stuff that seems to be enjoyable, but it feels different (also noteworthy: a lot of cheesy humor - not sure if I want to complain here either).

I definitely like this game, but have to finish the story first before I can further evaluate it.

Been playing this on and off for 4 weeks and I can't bring myself to finish it. Went to every stone circle, all you get is a costume, went to every synchronisation point and uncovered the whole map, nothing for that and I'm still under levelled for the next mission. This game has some great qualities and is the best assassin's creed for me since 2 but I find the map boring and bland, like a skyrim with nothing to do.

Hopefully I will finish it one day.

I've played every AC game and ended up skipping Syndicate because I was just too excited to play this one.

This is a fantastic game. The best AC game since Black Flag easily. And probably my second or third favorite of the whole series.

You play Bayek of Siwa who goes on a quest of revenge against those who have ripped his family apart. And from there you are free to play how you want.

Being able to go from sneaking and stealthy assassinating each target in a base to all out war was really cool. Loved clearing out bases and enemy camps. That honestly never got old to me. If you think that part was repetitive I understand but I loved every second of it. The combat has been completely overhauled from every AC game that came before. The combat is waaaay more fun now and theres a lot of strategy you can use to defeat your entries. I also loved how fast the combat was, it keeps you on your toes. Egypt was also truly beautiful. I just wanted to keep exploring and exploring. I honestly thought the desert landscapes would get old real fast but I was completely wrong. The story was good and sometimes great, it never dragged and usually kept me pretty interested. Another huuge improvement was the side quests, there were a ton. And not just dumb fetch quests, these are fully fleshed out RPG style quests that were great to see play out.

Cons: -A little buggy at times

Pros: -Beautiful and huge open world -Great main and side quests -Improved combat system

Overall this is a massive step in the right direction for Assassin's Creed and I honestly can't wait for the next entree in the series.

I am really enjoying this game. It does a wonderful job at recapturing the best aspects of the historical adventure genre. It is also the first AC I feel completely invested in since AC III. I enjoyed Syndicate quite a lot, and Evie is still one of my favourite assassins, but the wonder of visiting a historical era is stronger in Origins. And the game has cleared up nearly all the clutter that has accumulated over the life of the series. Gone are floating pages to capture, gone is a map littered with so many icons that I cannot make out the actual terrain, gone are collectibles stuffed in the game as busy work. AC Origins is a thorough blast to play and I find myself exploring the map because I want to discover what is out there, not merely to navigate from one collectible to another. Layer on top of that the fact that the stealth and combat mechanics are at their best. While I always had fun with stealth in AC games (except Black Flag, never in Black Flag), the ability to survey the land using Senu and plan an approach is glorious. And the combat! An AC game with truly enjoyable combat. Some came close before (AC II and Syndicate have enjoyable enough combat systems) but the complete overhaul of combat in Origins is fresh and exciting. Skill matters more than it did in previous AC games which means winning feels more satisfying.

I think I am both close to completing the main story, but also far from clearing the full game. I am nearly level 40, and at least half the map is still shrouded. There is still quite a lot to explore, and I am exited to do so. The current main mission I have to undertake warns me that commencing the mission is a point of no return. I think I want o explore the map a little more before I proceed with that mission.

P.S. thank goodness for level scaling. Even on hard the game is a little too easy, and I constantly feel overpowered—blame my combination of skills earned and gear I suppose. Level scaling helps a bit, whereby enemies are not drastically weaker. But for an adventure-RPG the game could make the stakes a little higher. I suppose that's what Nightmare mode is for.