Review for Assassin's Creed Origins. Game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 27/10/2017
How I would like to be… in Egypt.
So said a famous advertisement from the late 90s, while the Aida Triumphal March rang out, between one evening Rai 1 program and another. A simple spot, not too sophisticated, but which aroused emotions and which we still remember today, as many of you are sure, even almost twenty years later. Why the magic of the Land of the Pharaohs is strong, the call of a civilization perhaps unprecedented in the history of our planet, a population in extreme symbiosis with nature and in extreme symbiosis with divinity, a world that today, thousands of years later, continues to intrigue and fascinate.
Playing Assassin's Creed: Origins, in an even more accentuated way than its predecessors, it's a sensational journey back in time, a tangible experience lived in a lost, forgotten time, now submerged by the sand and by the years. Ubisoft Montreal's work goes beyond all possible praise in this sense: a maniacal study, albeit a representation with many “poetic licenses”, certainly one of the few interactive testimonies of those so mysterious centuries.
After a year of - necessary - stop, the killers are back and they did it in a big way, with the story of Bayek, Cleopatra, Julius Caesar and the origins of the creed. Set in the Ptolemaic period, Origins is the AC furthest from the present day and goes to explore the events that led to the founding of Templars and Assassins, of that rivalry that serves as the backbone of the series.
"What, Medjay a hand?" OK sorry, this is terrible ...
History that shows much darker folds than in the past and at the same time human, with a protagonist with an unusual character. Bayek is a Medjay originally from Siwa, a small town located right in the middle of Egypt. But what is a Medjay? A bit of a policeman, a bit of a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, a bit of a Ronda Padana, a Medjay is a highly respected figure, a direct servant of the Pharaoh and a bringer of justice. Its justice, though. Because after the death of his son by mysterious masked characters, Bayek is a different man: still firm in his positive ideals, but merciless and brutal in the face of revenge. In this, even his impetuous companion Aya does nothing to stop him: in Assassin's Creed: Origins the gruesome scenes and the decisions on the edge of morality will be on the agenda, not only advancing in the interesting main storyline, but above all in the side-quests .
Ubisoft has in fact fished with both hands from a product like The Witcher, wisely characterizing even those secondary activities that in the old games were often reduced to a simple "bring me my lost jar" or "kill the Templar master". Now, each mission can start from the simplest tasks and then evolve into something more intriguing or macabre, with implications often with a considerable moral impact. Bayek easily sided with the terrible tragedies of the common people, but faced mass murders of the forces of Pharaoh Ptolemy. Murders that will have a bearing on his figure.
We are certainly facing one of the best Assassin's Creed ever as for the - long-lived - narrative interweaving and, although the world building and the impact of our actions on the world is still far from the adventures of Geralt of Rivia, a very important step has been taken in this direction.
Virtual tourists
When you are not busy helping some derelict Giza family, you will spend a lot of time taking pictures (virtual) in Assassin's Creed: Origins, thanks to the dizzying beauty of its landscapes, its details, its angles and its fauna (BEWARE OF HIPPO). Impossible not to be struck by a world so wide and alive, so bright and so “alien”, far from the somewhat “canonical” settings of Ezio Auditore's Renaissance Italy or the Frye brothers' Victorian London. Or maybe Connor's frontier lands and Arno Dorian's revolutionary Paris. Because over the years, Ubisoft's workhorse series has led us to experience many adventures, but few times as intense and intriguing as those of the game just released in stores and that we really recommend you to go and buy.
The feeling of immensity, but at the same time density, tried looking for the first time at the game map reminded us of the one we tried a few years ago with Black Flag, just happened to be made by the same team of Assassin's Creed: Origins.
Fortunately, all this good things develop before our eyes with more than good performance, far removed from the terrible moments of Unity launch, despite still some bugs or inaccuracies appear (even normal, in a game of this size). All versions of Assassin's Creed: Origins run at different resolutions, but with excellent adherence to the target 30 FPS, let's say a surprise and a first time almost for the series. Of course, on PlayStation 4 Pro the higher resolution and effects will make the difference compared to Xbox One S (the version we reviewed, on which we report some short freezes during uploads), but we would like to recommend the game without worries whatever the console you own. Waiting for the queen version, on Xbox One X starting November 7, the one that should really make us salivate profusely.
Assassin's Creed is dead. Long live Assassin's Creed
The work of the many development teams involved in Assassin's Creed: Origins has not been reduced to a graphic restyle, a new setting and a deeper plot, on the contrary. The core of what has changed the series forever since this episode is in new combat system and the introduction of RPG elements, completely unpublished; an almost total change of pace for the brand.
"They always attack one at a time." How many times have you heard this phrase talking with friends of the Assassin's Creed combat system, a simplistic phrase but representative of the Canadian team's tribulations in creating a game experience in clashes comparable to the excellent one of explorations. In the past it was useless to change the system almost completely (as in Unity and Syndicate): the criticisms remained and AC had not found its way in this direction.
Well, Origins has made a complete clean sweep of what existed before, turning the game into a real RPG, still fishing, with both hands, from that Wild Hunt masterpiece. And, why not, also from Dark Souls. First of all, in Assassin's Creed: Origins for the first time there will be a level progression system, experience points and skills to unlock, belonging to three different specialization trees. Each mission completed will in fact give a quantity of XP to be used to earn new moves or passive skills, as well as improve Bayek's stats. Each enemy and each mission will have its own recommended level, which we suggest you follow to avoid repeated Game Over. The game will guide you towards a progression without too many worries, but know that deviations from the path are possible, for the most daring of you.
The equipment has also been completely revised, with a loot system and "rarity" of weapons and armor: all very basic, but effective enough to enhance the game experience and offer depth in an area where previous episodes were lacking.
Geralt of Siwa
You will need it at least an hour to start mastering the new combat system, as said similar to the one found in WRPG like The Witcher 3. The habit of the old AC is hard to fool, but once you take the reins of the new system, you can see its many positive features. Although even today it happens to be able to enter a challenge and get out of it simply by mashando the button deducted to the thrusts with the sword (at least against the weakest enemies), it is a good idea to select the type of white weapon or bow right for each situation, with really marked differences between the use of a pike and a club or maybe a double blade. By exploiting a subspecies of Z-Targeting of Zeldian memory then, you can center the focus on a single enemy and choose between a weak and a heavy attack, while dodging and managing resistance. And yes, enemies will attack from multiple sides at the same time.
The new system is, at the same time, one of the high points of Assassin's Creed: Origins and its only real flaw. Like all carat additions in titles of this magnitude, it is a bit cumbersome and not without limits, especially on the quality of the animations and the interpenetration of the bodies, not up to the refinement of the rest of the package. Some clashes will also be very difficult for reasons that are not well defined and in general we certainly cannot speak of an elegant ballet on the battlefield as one might expect from an expert assassin. However, the road is the right one: finally also the combat system is one of the cornerstones of this production, for good (often) and for bad (sometimes).
Fly ... an eagle in the sky (no, we don't support Lazio, but it's always a beautiful anthem)
The last note of the review of Assassin's Creed: Origins is reserved for your travel companion, the adorable Senu eagle, freely controllable by the player at any time. After years, Ubisoft wanted to take the classic Eagle Eye skill of the series and apply it to the letter: now we will be able to scout places and opponents by driving Senu from above, a nice novelty and distraction, also perfect for enjoying one last time the fantastic panorama.
Assassin's Creed: Origins is not just a great game, but a mini-reboot that bodes well for later chapters. It is a long-lived, intense story, accompanied by a world, that of Egypt of the Ptolemaic age, truly unique, alive and vibrant, a joy to explore in order to discover the origins of the Assassins' creed.
► Assassin's Creed Origins is an Adventure-Action game developed and published by Ubisoft for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 27/10/2017
Our latest game news: How to get Altair and Ezio Auditore outfits in Assassin's Creed Origins
