Ever since 2007, there has been an Assassin’s Creed game released almost every year. From main series releases to smaller games, the franchise has released some awesome titles for players and has become one of the most recognised franchises around.
Since Assassin’s Creed Origins arrived on Xbox One, PS4 and PC back in 2017, there has been Assassin’s Creed Odyssey in 2018 and the latest in the series, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla launching in November 2020. These games aren’t for the faint hearted however, with most gaining a PEGI 18 rating due to the violent content which means they are aimed squarely at adult audiences.
Origins was praised by many for its genuine characters, rich series of cultures, mission variety, and realistic Ancient Egypt open world. People who are not fans of the Assassin’s Creed games will probably wonder what is so hot about some of its features. For example, being able to climb on anything doesn’t seem like a big selling point, but you have to remember that veteran Creed players have never been able to run in a straight line across the entire map before without hitting barriers of one sort or another.
Yet, in this game, even huge castle walls will not stop you making a bee line for whatever your destination is. While some of the features might not impress all gamers, for long-time Creed fans this game was a strong signal that the franchise was back on track.
You can climb on almost anything
It doesn’t sound like a big selling point, but for fans of the game, the fact you can climb on everything is a paradigm shift. There is almost nothing standing in your way if you want to get from one place to another. With the exception of not wanting to swim, there is no longer a need to take the circuitous route.
Climbing was a big element in previous Creed games, but there are always those invisible barriers that mean you cannot get up a rocky incline or forested slope. All changed with Assassin’s Creed Origins; the developers went away, put in the time, and came back with an open world that for the first time felt truly open. In fact, the only place they messed up a little was the very high towers where you have to puzzle your way up.
The graphics and controls are big selling points
Let’s say you played the previous games, and you enjoyed the graphics. The graphics on Origins are so advanced, that it can actually be hard for some players to go back to the older games once they’ve played Origins. Add to this the fact that the controls are far more advanced, giving more even control, less jerkiness, and a more responsive gaming experience, and you have a recipe for a great game. So great in fact that if you are trying to introduce a first-time player to Assassin’s Creed Origins, you are going to have a very hard time convincing that person to go back and play earlier games simply because the shift in graphics and controls are so jarring.
The story arc is probably the first good one
That is not to say that previous games were bad, but the story arcs were always a bit shaky. For example, take Black Flag, which is popularly considered one of the best of the Seventh-Gen era. It is a great game, but the story arc is that a pirate gets lucky and walks into the life of an Assassin, and his memories are being harvested to power a computer game. In terms of story stakes and story arcs, it is hardly Lord of the Rings.
Then, take Assassin’s Creed Origins, it is about a Medjay who is trying to take revenge for the death of his son. Not only does the protagonist have a good motivation to keep slicing through enemies, but each boss fight also has meaning. It is not just a case of cutting through underlings until finding the big boss, there is a group of people behind the death of his son, and it is your job to take revenge. Even the game after Origins, Odyssey‎, couldn’t muster the same stakes despite its woke content and forked story choices.
Final thoughts – Where do we go from here?
Over the years there have been many games that have been inspired by Egypt. Casino gaming in particular is one sector that has embraced the theme, with titles like Book of Dead, Valley of the Gods, Cleopatra and Legend of the Pharaohs some of the popular Egyptian inspired options available at slot gaming providers such as LeoVegas for 18+ audiences.
However, in terms of video games, Assassin’s Creed Origins remains rated highly by critics and gamers for its Egyptian setting. The game’s historical accuracies and the use of historians and Egyptologists were praised by Forbes, referring to the game’s open world as “perhaps the most realistic recreation of classical Egypt ever made.”
Open world sandboxes are quite common these days but games like Days Gone and Mad Max are not as inspiring. It is only Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed that are bothering to refine the process. However, with all of its praise, Origins does still have its problems like any other game. The blocked off level areas seem a little unfair (something that was fixed in Odyssey‎), and the unclear story direction is troubling for completionists. Still, the graphics, controls, climbing mechanics and story arcs are better than anything that has come before it.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is the next game release after Odyssey, due to be released very soon, but so far the game reveals have been a bit of a let-down in the expectations department. After teaser trailers were revealed, hype and interest around the game grew immensely as fans had a potential look into the next generation of gaming. However, when Microsoft revealed Xbox Series X footage earlier this year, fans were left quite disappointed.
While the Microsoft livestream in May was packed with interesting games, the Assassin’s Creed Valhalla trailer on Inside Xbox was deemed the most boring aspect of the event. As fans were promised a first look on how Valhalla plays, they were disappointed as there were no explanations of visual upgrades or much gameplay footage at all, instead the teaser focused more on in-game cinematics instead.
