Years Later, Assassin’s Creed Origins Is A Fantastic Game

Ubisoft’s premiere flagship Assassin’s Creed has seen quite a number of highs and lows ever since its inception in 2007, when the very first iteration in the franchise made landfall, sending shockwaves across the industry for its genre-defining quality. The first swath of years for the series has been the definition of gold, right up until the launch of Assassin’s Creed Unity, and perhaps even Syndicate as well arguably in 2015. 

After that? The reception hasn’t been too kind to new Assassin’s Creed games, coming from veteran fans of the franchise, of course, but somewhere in there, there’s one title in there that has managed to keep me hooked and engaged after all these years despite its flaws and shortcomings—Assassin’s Creed Origins, a breathtaking venture into the heart of the Assassin Brotherhood, way before any of the latter took place at all.

Join me as I dig into what makes Assassin’s Creed Origins one of the most stand-out games in the entire series, and why you should give it an honest shot if you’ve been sleeping on it already. 

Assassins Creed Origins is a masterpiece
byu/New-Championship5171 inassassinscreed

Hailed As The Best Of The RPG Trilogy By Far

First off, I’m glad to put it out here that Assassin’s Creed Origins’ greatness did not go unnoticed at the time of its release, receiving great fanfare from gaming publications all over the world, not to mention admirable user appeal as well. It did not end up winning any Game of the Year awards, save for one at the Visual Effects Society ceremony in 2018, but it’s sure as heck nothing below the standard either. 

Ubisoft has put out Assassin’s Creed Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla following the release of Syndicate. These three titles have been marked by fans as the franchise’s “RPG trilogy” because right after Valhalla, the devs decided to go back to the IP’s roots by putting out Assassin’s Creed Mirage, finally putting the franchise back on course. Circling back to the topic at hand, Origins is considered the best of the RPG trio of AC titles. 

Assassin’s Creed Origins is so good.
byu/PursuitOfHapiness inassassinscreed

Now what leads to one making claims like those? Hear this: Ubisoft isn’t exactly loved across the spectrum, so when one of its games receives praise, know that that’s some genuine accomplishment right there. Origins has been able to dish out a fantastic gameplay experience that has even managed to stand the test of time. The title was launched in 2017, so fast-forward to 2024, you can boot up the game right now and have a blast with it. 

There isn’t a single thing this game sets out to do that it doesn’t achieve with flying colours. Bayek is a joy to play, the graphics and lighting are the best in the trilogy, and the world is gorgeous,” says one u/TomTheJester. 

No questions asked.

And part of that is seemingly thanks to the next-gen upgrade the game received back in June 2022, benefitting substantially from the doubled frame rate. If you’re on Xbox, try it out on the console as part of your Xbox Game Pass membership, considering that Origins is a part of its catalog as well.

Look At It From A Broader Lens 

When you assess Origins from a lens that’s coated in the colors of the legacy of the franchise, you’re going to pick flaws from the game more times than warranted. Origins does have RPG elements sadly, but it’s still the most linear single-player campaign experience as compared to Assassin’s Creed Odyssey or Valhalla, making it still fairly likable, save for some pain points.

So that means you cannot influence the story in any way whatsoever, unlike Valhalla or Odyssey. For an Assassin’s Creed game, that sounds good to me. 

Aside from the mediocre combat and the lack of versatility in that aspect, Origins’ world is mesmerizing. It’s rich with detail, and is bursting at the seams with quality, proving as if a ton of work went into crafting the game’s environment. As for the characters, the story of the game carries a lot of emotional weight, with both Bayek and Ara nailing their roles and coming off as highly deserving of another game to their name.

Alright I was wrong about Assassin’s Creed: Origins
byu/pouriaq inpatientgamers

What’s Next For Assassin’s Creed? 

With Assassin’s Creed Mirage now out and impressing folks across the board with its back-to-basics approach, the next game in the series has been unveiled—Assassin’s Creed Shadows. It looks good for now, but here’s one thing about it that I didn’t really love, per se: Ubisoft is back to keeping it RPG-style. In addition, the title is headed toward monetization hell, but it’s too early to make a more profound statement on the subject. 

In summary, if you’ve been skipping out on Origins for some reason, this is your cue to play it right away. Ancient Egypt in all its glory awaits you, truthfully.