Curse of the Pharaohs is arguably one of the best DLC we've ever had the pleasure of playing. It is not a small sentence to start this review, we realize it, but we wanted to clear the field of doubts: with this DLC Ubisoft Montreal not only gives a new adventure to Bayek with variable duration between 10 and 20 hours depending on how much time you will spend in secondary activities and exploration, but rather raises the value of the whole title with a spectacular focus on the paranormal that we cannot do now without.
Assassin's Creed: Origins it has never been so good to see, it has never been so satisfying to play as in this second expansion, which succeeds Gli Occulti, completely changing its approach. If precisely in the first downloadable content of the game that has given life to a series that has now become a bit stagnant, the development team wanted to propose a decent but not very innovative "more of the same", here instead a breath of fresh air has arrived … Or desert sand, as you prefer.
But where is the Valley of the Kings?
One of the "strange" shortcomings of the main game was the absence of the beautiful area of Thebes and above all the Valley of the Kings, one of the most iconic places in all of Egypt. The Curse of the Pharaohs immediately resolves the lack, throwing us in the center of the city overlooking the Nile. But something is wrong. Strange presences haunt the area and rumors of the pharaohs of the past awakened from the tombs chase each other among the common people. Will some alien technology in the shape of a fruit come into it again? It will be your job to find out, but as in the main title it will not necessarily be the central narrative strand that offers the best moments, rather the always abundant and intriguing side missions.
Although Egyptian religion and mythology were an integral part of Assassin's Creed: Origins, they are the focus of this DLC and the game benefits greatly, especially to keep everything fresh and new even after tens of hours already spent in Egypt. In addition to the size of the new region (without any particular surprises), the new weapons and the new Level Cap raised to 55, it is religion and the supernatural that take over and make the experience memorable.
The challenges of the Duat
First of all, Bayek will finally be able to visit the Duat, the Egyptian afterlife only "tasted" in the main story. In fact, the pharaohs of the past have awakened and the doors to their otherworldly realms have opened. If the size and variety of Curse of Pharaohs' overworld are apparently just OK, wait until you enter the underworld for the first time. Four areas of discreet extension and above all incredible design and surprises, inhabited by animals and imaginative adversariesi, fruit of the immense Egyptian tradition. It will not be impossible to see boats sailing on endless changes of wheat, gargantuan statues emerging from sandstorms in the desert or fighting giant scorpions with poisoned daggers. We don't want to reveal everything to you, but in these areas Both the graphics engine and the combat system of Assassin's Creed: Origins shine in a new light.
This new expansion also offers a more than important level of challenge, especially by confronting the fierce bosses of the afterlife; we really advise you to equip yourself well, go up to the recommended level and arm yourself with patience and strategy to do it. If we really want to find a point where Ubisoft has not gone as "far" as it could, it is in the field of new equipment and related effects, perhaps not "spectacular" as we could expect from the weapons that were once pharaohs, the sovereigns / gods of Egypt.
Really, The Curse of the Pharaohs has managed as an expansion to improve an already fantastic game, offering a familiar yet new adventure, a journey into the culture and myth of a country that now, like Bayek, we really feel ours. Waiting for official news (some rumors have come out in recent days) on the future of the brand, if this were to be our greeting to the Nile Valley we could not have said goodbye in a better way.
Verdict: recommended to everyone
