Assassin's Creed Origins Review: A Masterful Mess

Before I launch into this I'll just come out and say the following is far longer than I intended and much is given over to the story, character and plot issues I had with the game but if you can stomach the text I think what follows is worth the read for anyone interested in the series, so if you can try to get through it and let me know what you think!

In a season of flops and disappointments with an aggravating amount of micro-transaction-pay-to-win rubbish creeping into mainstream gaming I never thought that Assassin's Creed would be included in that pile of disappointment.

To be fair Assassin's Creed has had it's share of under-performing, disappointing titles lately. Unity was a buggy mess and Syndicate was just plain mediocre. However with Origins Ubisoft really seemed to be pulling out all the stops to release something truly spectacular and that was very much the expectation.

At first Origins really did seem to be living up to the hype, the opening was fast paced and put you into the action quickly, the characters were interesting and the setting was spectacular. It did not take long for the shine to start to fade for me though. As gripping as the opening is I can't get over the feeling that the first few kills that Bayek makes were a far more thrilling story than anything that followed. As cool as it was to chase people down in the streets of Alexandria or Memphis this was ultimately not all that different from Ezio dropping from on high to assassinate his targets in Rome. The part of the setting that was truly unique in the series were the great desert expanses, full of shifting sands, remote oasis and wind-swept ruins yet the entirety of Assassin's Creed Origins' story takes place in the cities and spends very little time in the regions beyond. Apart from a few ruins and tombs you spend far more time on or around the water in Origins than you do in the deserts. Thus the first few kills Bayek makes to get revenge, involving him chasing temple priests across the remote mountains and across the deserts, spending months on the move as his hair grows to shoulder length and a beard sprouts on his face, his clothes run ragged and his body pushed to the limits. Bayek makes alliances, gains the help of friends, is nursed back to health and eventually runs down his first target in an ancient Pyramid before finally tracking the second to a large ruined complex on the outskirts of his home province of Siwa.

Those first two kills, despite their limited and rapid execution in the story and later expansion through character interactions in a few side quests, were far more gripping stories than what followed. After tracking through the desert Bayek goes in for a shave, links up with his wife and proceeds to get stuck in some very slap-dash political intrigue involving Cleopatra, Pompey, and of course Julius Caesar. Yet while those are names are titans of history they come off as rather stale and boring and their involvement in the story is poorly outlined and constructed. Despite being confident and flirtatious (though according to Polygon some dislike that portrayal) Cleopatra just is not in the game as much as she should be, a few cut-scenes, a couple walk-and-talk bits and that's the long and short of it really. Caesar and Pompey see even less screen time and spend almost no time with the player characters at all. All things considered I had more fun watching the classic Hollywood movie Cleopatra than actually engaging with Cleopatra in Assassin's Creed Origins and considering the series has dealt with such figures as Machiavelli, George Washington and Blackbeard that was just... sad.

My complaints with the story do not just end with the limited interactions with the famous characters and their limited connection to the plot but encompasses almost every aspect of the main story. Pieces of Eden are involved but to what purpose or intent is never explained, for that matter the nefarious Order of Ancients see almost nothing in the way of explanation or justification, ultimately apart from personal power the Order lacked depth, goals, structure or doctrine. It didn't help that I felt the post-kill dialogue sequences that usually help flush-out these villains were far worse this time around than in nearly any other title in the series. At their best those scenes really gave you an idea of the complexity of the characters and what they were trying to do, when Pitcairn is dressing down Connor for his naivety and impulsiveness when peace could have been had through peaceful negotiations he wasn't wrong. When Julian du Casse criticizes Edward Kenway for being selfish, short-sighted and limited of ambition he was right. At their best these sequences expound on the complexity of morality and choice, the limits and consequences of free will versus the desire for peace and order, yet while the sequences (known as Memory Corridors) in Origins are more visually impressive than any previous title their content was considerably less inspired. The villains in Origins were almost without exception selfish and unremarkable tyrants, greedy, self-interested and cruel with only a passing attempt made at justifying their actions with the goal of creating order and prosperity. Certainly not a one came anywhere close to the depth or intrigue of Haytham Kenway who stands as perhaps my favorite enemy in the history of the series.

If all of this were not enough of a let-down the potentially intense sociopolitical situation in Origins wasn't very well handled in my opinion. The setting is perfect for an exploration of complex issues of nationality, immigration, invasion and occupation, integration, culture and religious conflicts and so much more, issues that are very relevant today. Given that Egypt had suffered under Persian occupation before the coming of the Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great the Greeks were seen as liberators not conquerors. Centuries after that transition the situation has soured with the Greek presence and rule no longer feeling as magnanimous or welcome and certain areas falling prey to intense social discord between Egyptians and Greeks. The whole situation is made worse with the arrival of the Romans whose culture, religion and attitudes clash with both Greek and Egyptian and the dynamic is further turned on it's head. At times these issues shine through and some of the characters start to show the effect that understanding and collaboration, the concept of a cultural melting-pot, can have in producing positive results but these are too often shown through side-quests and the main plot almost entirely fails to explore any of these issues in depth. Compared to previous efforts in AC III and Unity which dealt with the American and French Revolutions respectively the showing in Origins was particularly disappointing.

Side-characters come and go in the plot too frequently and too briefly to grow attached to and universally failed to be as intriguing or well constructed as the cast of characters from previous titles. Compared to the stand-outs from AC II or Black Flag the allies and friends that Bayek and Aya make are rather dull, uninspired and predictable.

Yet despite all of this the worst thing about the story of the game is that the ending is well... missing. I actually sat stunned as the final cut-scene of the game finished and a big "Assassin's Creed Origins" appeared on the screen and no credits sequence rolled and I was left back in the game with nothing to do and no real end to the stories or conflicts that had been approaching their apex. Everything from what the Order had been trying to do, how the Pieces of Eden were involved and what was going to happen to them, to the very political situation in Egypt, none of it was resolved like... at all. At best this seems like something that might be addressed in the upcoming story expansion (which we have to pay for!) but I don't really see how so many loose ends are going to be tied up in an expansion when a full sixty dollar full release game couldn't manage it. I have never felt this cheated or let down by the ending of a game before, even the pseudo-ending of Shadows of War last month was significantly more thrilling and satisfying than anything Origins provided and perhaps doubly-disappointing because anyone who has visited the vault beneath Monteriggioni in AC II knows how this all will end but apparently Origins couldn't be bothered to actually get there.

The ending of the game was even more frustrating for me because it was tied into the deteriorating relationship between the main two protagonists, Bayek and Aya. I suppose this was meant to add weight to the situation and get the player to be more emotionally attached to the outcome but it just annoyed me. I couldn't sympathize very much with Aya and felt Bayek had really been shafted in the situation, forced to clean up the political mess Aya's naive alliance with Cleopatra had caused and their mutual endeavor to end the Order of Ancients and avenge their son largely seemed to fall on Bayek's shoulders without equal commitment from Aya. Perhaps if the game had been advertised as having two protagonists or if Aya's involvement in the story had added up to more than a couple of limited naval sections and one or two missions her character might have had more weight and depth but as it was I found her irritating and unlikable. Side-quests helped give Bayek much more depth and nuance to his character, showing him as he struggled with the conflict between his sworn responsibilities and his moral compass against his need for violent vengeance.

As a sworn protector Bayek clearly struggled with the desire to go outside the bounds of society, legal and governmental structures to strike at the enemies that had wronged him and were harming Egypt. Additionally Bayek's oaths to his family and his desire to do right by his son and his wife were measured against his desire to aide Egypt in it's time of crisis and protect and serve the greater people of the country and the world. Aya on the other hand seemed to face little in the way of emotional or moral struggle. While Aya frequently expressed a desire for vengeance and justice her actions in the game did not really add weight to those words. Her alliance first with Cleopatra and later with Roman agents opposed to Caesar made Aya come off as unattached to the things that Bayek held so dear including their home region of Siwa or even Egypt itself. Aya was constantly moving towards greater ambitions, a trait which might have been laudable under different circumstances but just struck me as selfish and irresponsible considering her current responsibility and mission was unfinished and is ultimately left to Bayek to complete in her absence.

None of this is helped by the most critical failure of the game's story in my estimation, the explanation of the Origins of the Assassin's Creed. The game gives us a limited explanation to justify the hidden blade, the uniform of the Medjey shows similarities to the later robes of the Hashashin led by Al Mualim and the feather ritual is explained as a funerary rite practiced by the Egyptians so some things are there. But the Creed itself, the codes and structures that guide the Assassins' and give them their mission is never properly explained or outlined. In fact it constantly struck me as odd whenever Bayek started expounding on the virtues of their creed and how it would defy and defeat the nefarious Order when no creed had actually been outlined. Whose creed, what creed? Bayek's creed? The Medjey creed? A newly invented creed? Heck the precurser truth segments in the game even seem to hint that maybe the creed came from the ancients technology talking through time to the user of the Animus, maybe. Or perhaps some combination of all of these possibilities. Regardless of what it is no real explanation is given. The original Assassin's Creed released back in 2007 did a great job of explaining the Assassin's Creed and the conflicts of morals and contradictions inherent in the Assassins and their actions, the story of the game expounded on some complex ideas of morality and personal responsibility but Origins doesn't even bother to try, nobody actually sits down and explains what freaking creed the Assassins or "Hidden Ones" are supposed to be following, or for that matter the creed they are opposing either. For a game series that has done so much to weave complex concepts of philosophy and morality into their plots Origins fails appallingly to live up to it's predecessors.

Now putting all of that aside I know some people care far more for graphics and gameplay than plot and I can't entirely disagree with that attitude. Gameplay is important and Origins went for a number of firsts in the series. You can functionally play this game more like a third person shooter than a melee action game, horse combat has been improved and expanded over previous titles, chariots were added, small boats, underwater combat against hippos and crocs, there are even huge elephant boss battles and the fighting uses a completely different system than in any previous title. Combine that with an absolutely massive open world and scores of locations to explore and this should have been unambiguously awesome right? Well, not entirely.

I will say that the combat in Origins may not be as cinematic or as smooth as Black Flag felt with counter-finisher and the like, most enemies will fall into rag dolls as you deplete their health bars with mashed light attacks or crushing heavy blows before you dodge the opening strike of the next enemy and move in to respond. Gruesome finisher kills only occur on the final enemy of a fight and are thus far less frequent than in previous titles and are entirely absent from mounted combat which takes up a sizable chunk of your time as you move through the game world. To be honest I did enjoy the combat in Origins a lot and appreciated the occasional mix-up of bosses and the challenge of the arena fights. The world is epic with some truly spectacular environments and set-pieces that doubtless took countless man-hours for the developers to craft and implement. From the Pyramids of Giza to the rolling sand-dunes of the desert, rugged mountains and ruined temples it has been some time since the world of an Assassin's Creed game was so striking. Not since Rome or Constantinople have the settings in the franchise really left me awed.

Unfortunately not all is awesome with the gameplay here either. Enemy variety gets kinda stale quite quickly. I know previous games have not excelled in this area too much either but with the effort poured into Origins it struck me as a let down that you really only have a half dozen or so different types of enemies wearing one of three sets of clothes, bandit, Ptolemaic, or Roman. Combat against most of these foes quickly became predictable and repetitive and even most of the bosses in the game don't help too much. There are only a handful of boss enemies scattered about in the toughest forts and these all fall into a single glaive-wielding brute archetype, only some of the Arena bosses add any depth to the bosses and these are entirely optional content. The mounted combat felt great but I found chariots almost entirely useless, unable to use melee attacks from them and with a wide turning radius they very quickly become a liability, not an asset. A horse or camel was almost universally better even if still primarily using a bow. Underwater fights are very few and not that important and bows struck me as even more frustrating and counter-productive. Instead of changing your style of bow use the bows are broken into four types. If you want to fire arrows in a different way you have to use a different bow. The warrior bow always and only fires a spread of five arrows while the light bow fires arrows rapidly but cannot be aimed in or charged. I found myself almost exclusively carrying predator and hunter bows for stealth-kills and have only bothered with the other two for arena battles and the first Trials of the Gods a couple of days ago.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing about the gameplay for me were the elephants. I was really expecting something awesome, perhaps regular patrols that would be escorting a war-elephant replete with soldiers fighting from a howdah that could perhaps be boarded or fought from horseback or might have to be run from. Instead the four elephant encounters are restricted to big circular arenas where you fight them one (and in one case twice) at a time, on foot. Despite the supposed challenge these fights were not all that hard or interesting nor was there any notable reward for beating them.

Reward was the next thing that really fell flat for me. My inventory quickly became chock full of scores of surplus weapons that I'd never use. I got a legendary regular sword relatively early on in the game when I killed the first of the ten Phylakes hunters and after that never bothered with anything else. Inventory management was clunky and annoying so I just ignored it for the most part. Tools are now limited to one equipped at a time and while previous titles sometimes made me feel like batman with his bottomless utility belt the effect of this limitation was that I simply didn't bother with tools. Further while you can change your outfit and some are rewarded in game none of these compare to the purchased deluxe or add-on pack outfits (unsurprising really) and as a result I rarely bothered with those either and felt quite let down by that as well. Functionally my character's equipment, weapons, outfit, mount, tools, went almost completely unchanged from level 20 onwards and all the hundreds of items tossed my way as rewards were simply irrelevant and thus really undermined the feeling of achievement for getting them. Especially considering that some of these are supposedly awesome and legendary weapons like the bow of the founder of Cyrene or the incredible Sword of Ptah which sound awesome until you find out they are just rare weapons, not legendary, and thus don't hold a candle to the same legendary sword I've been carrying for ten levels now.

Which now brings me to exploration. This has always been an important aspect of the Assassin's Creed franchise, climbing all over historic buildings and monuments looking for feathers, flags, treasure chests or whatever and marveling at the epic, awesome stuff you unlock when you find enough or all of these hidden items. In Origins exploration is still there but rarely was it interesting or challenging like in previous titles. While I didn't enjoy Rogue very much the environmental exploration in that title was interesting and challenging, requiring thought and observation while now it's a matter of: run into area, pulse to highlight loot, pick-up loot, leave. It was rarely difficult in any notable way to find or get to the hidden loot and it was even more rare that said loot was actually notable or useful in any way. Yet another rare Phalanx shield was meaningless given I already had a legendary shield and about twelve of the same rare shield already, thanks very much Temple of Alexander! Perhaps the most discouraging aspect of the exploration however was the very uneven spread of locations. Most of the interesting areas in the game cluster around the rivers and there are entire regions including the north-western sea and much of the southern and western deserts that have no locations to explore in them at all. Not only does the story of the game not take you far from the beaten path, the side-activities don't give you reason to go to some places in the game either!

Lastly the RPG leveling system of the game felt actively detrimental to me. It arbitrarily cut-off whole areas of the game because I was too low-level to survive hyenas let alone soldiers while it makes returning to and finishing exploring early areas like Siwa laughable as level 1 soldiers virtually explode if you look at them wrong at level 40. Where in previous games different enemy types offered consistent levels of threat and weakness the varied levels of the enemies in Origins makes some impossible to slay while others couldn't likely kill you if you went to take a nap in the middle of a fight. The skill tree only aggravates this problem as you increase your character's capabilities previous enemies only become even more pathetic and even high-level foes fall with dismaying ease. Instead of unlocking alternative strategies and capabilities as you did in previous Assassin's Creed games with sleep darts and rope darts giving you stealth and assassination options you previously lacked, most of the upgrades in the Origins skill tree just makes existing options easier or more powerful. Compared to a game like Arkham City where upgrades increased access or opened up new routes and capabilities the skill tree in Origins quickly became redundant and I found myself often with ten or more upgrade points to spend that I had let pile up without noticing.

I won't even go into great detail about the naval battle sequences, they are few, short and unnecessary and that's about all that needs to be said, I almost forgot to even mention them.  

So on the whole as I sit here and write this I am left feeling just sad. I had such high hopes for Origins and they just did not pan out. What is here is still a great game, Bayek is one of the better protagonists of the series in my opinion, I'd put him over Connor and the Fry Twins any day though I don't think he quite equals Ezio or Edward in my opinion. The setting is awesome, the visuals are awesome, gladiators, Romans, freaking Cleopatra man! It is just unfortunate that with everything going for it we have an unfinished story and gameplay that just feels uninspired and unfinished. The elephants could have been so much more, the water combat could have been so much more, the exploration could have been so much more, I feel I would have been much happier if half of the concepts in this game had been cut if the other half had been flushed out to their potential. All things considered this game is well worth the asking price and I will probably get the expansions and keep playing, I love the series too much to be too discouraged by these setbacks and honestly this is not the worst Assassin's Creed Game, it's not even in the bottom five I think. Even so this is now the fourth title since Black Flag and that game still stands as my all time favorite in the series (and not just because of the pirates and ship combat). The series should be moving forward and getting better not struggling to reach previous heights.

Perhaps the promised story expansion will be worth the asking price, finish the story and really make up for the short-falls of the game and maybe the next title will take what Origins has done and improve and polish it into something truly awesome but in a world where gaming titans like Grand Theft Auto V and the Witcher 3 showed remarkable improvement over their predecessors and broke new ground in content, gameplay, graphics and story Assassin's Creed Origins just fails to rise to the challenge and for such a powerful franchise this is just not good. Ubisoft can do better and hopefully they will.