Assassin’s Creed: Origins arrives this week, marking another notch in the hilt for history’s most prolific extended family of professional murderers. The Assassin’s Creed formula has wavered between stale, fresh and overwhelming in recent years, but now Ubisoft are picking a direction and sticking with it, furthering the RPG elements from 2015’s Syndicate but this time at the beginning of the saga in Ancient Egypt. The game is familiar but may need some explaining if you haven’t kept up with the series’ latest instalments. Here’s what the deal is with Assassin’s Creed: Origins.
Assassin’s Creed Origins story
The closest the series can come to a fresh reboot is going to the start of the descendant order – the beginning of the Assassins – and that is Bayek. Bayek is one of the few remaining Medjay, a type of desert scout in the Egyptian military. In the reign of Cleopatra there’s little use for them, so he spends his days as a sheriff of sorts for his local community in Siwa, an oasis far to the West of Egypt in the Sahara.
A mystery causes him to leave his lands in pursuit of answers, taking him to the games primary city settings of Giza, Memphis, Cyrene and Alexandria, as well as smaller settlements in the Nile Delta like Faiyum. The map is apparently the size of Black Flag’s Caribbean but with sand instead of sea, and camels, horses and chariots to traverse it with.
Assassin’s Creed Origins gameplay
The game is more heavily focused on RPG elements than previous Assassin’s Creed titles. There is an ability tree with three main branches to unlock skills and specialise in playstyles. Master Warrior is a tree focused on melee combat, Master Hunter focuses on ranged combat and stealth, and Master Seer improves your tools and ability to manipulate your environment.
The environmental manipulation in Origins takes many cues from one of Ubisoft’s other open world series, Far Cry, particularly Primal where animals had a huge impact on gameplay. The series’ standard Eagle Vision now refers to a physical eagle, Bayek’s hunting companion Senu, which can be used to scout areas from a bird’s eye view. Eagle Vision allows you to mark enemy positions, and if upgraded through the Master Seer tree, attack or distract them, too.
There is also a full crafting system, which allows you to use materials gathered through hunting or combat to improve your weapons. There are more than 150 weapons in the game, including swords, bows, heavy weapons, long weapons, bombs and shields, which come in a range of rarities from common to legendary. The higher rarity a weapon, the better its attributes will be, including damage, damage type, status effects inflicted and bonuses such as crits or bleed effects.
Assassin’s Creed Origins DLC
As is customary by now, there’s gonna be some downloadable content for Assassin’s Creed Origins. However, this time, there are some pretty unique jewels in the sea of sand-based add-ons. First up, the big ones: single-player story expansions.
The Hidden Ones - estimated release January 2018. Bayek and his Assassins travel to a new region in the Sinai Peninsula, occupied by Roman forces, several years after Origins’ story ends. There will be Romans to fight and, in all probability, kill.
The Curse of the Pharaohs - estimated release March 2018. Bayek goes on a quest to fight mythical creatures of Egyptian legend, dead pharoahs and gods of Egyptian folklore and religious scriptures. A new region, the Valley of the Kings, will be their battleground.
There will also be smaller features and modes added by DLC within the coming months, starting with our most anticipated addition:
Discovery Tour - an educational, combat-free exploration mode where audio guides give you a tour of ancient Egypt. Learn about the history of locations and practices you encounter in the game.
Horde Mode - an endless wave mode fighting off various levels and types of enemies in the Gladiator Arena.
Photo Mode - pause the game, pick your angle, lighting, lens, everything. Take shots to share on social media or use as desktop wallpapers.
Trial of the Gods - Bayek faces off against Egyptian gods in boss battles during timed events, and receives rewards based on his performances. Rewards will most likely be materials for crafting or better weapons and outfits.
Nomad’s Bazaar - Reda, a wandering merchant, provides daily quests for Bayek to earn exotic rewards, again most likely better weapons, outfits, materials etc.
