With the launch of Assassin’s Creed: Origins we were taken on a journey, back to a time before the Assassins Creed games that we’ve known and loved. Origins is a prequel to the other games, if you will, and being called Origins its not really rocket science to figure out where in the timeline it fits in.
BUT that’s not really the case with all of the games, so instead of this just being a long-winded review on the new game in the series I thought we could all just take a minute to quickly recap on the previous entries and see where they all fit into the story (Assassin’s Creed has had a LOT of spins off across the years, but for the purpose of this article and timeline I’m only going to be looking at the main entries and how they fit together – I’m also ignoring the ‘modern’ timeline for each game).
Assassin’s Creed (1191-1191)
This is the first game in the series, set in Jerusalem during the Third Crusade. You play as Altair, an assassin who just got demoted and is now tasked with the job of killing the 9 Templars to try to restore some of his former glory.
Assassin’s Creed II (1476-1499)
Set in Italy during the Renaissance you step into the shoes of a new character named Ezio. Ezio is out for revenge against the Borgia family, who are backed by the Templars, this journey takes you through Florence, Venice, Tuscany and Forli.
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (1499-1507)
Picking up from where Assassin’s Creed 2 ended, you once again find yourself in the shoes of Ezio, this time his tale of revenge leads him to Rome. With the help of fellow assassin Niccolo, Ezio then goes about rebuilding the Assassins’ Brotherhood and helping to free Rome from the Borgias influence.
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (1510-1512, Altair’s Story: 1204-1257)
Following a now much older Ezio, you are in Constantinople this time around. While on the search for the Five Keys to unlock Altair’s Library (the Assassin from the first game), Ezio becomes involved with the local Assassin Order.
Assassin’s Creed III (1760-1783)
We now jump forward in time by over 200 years to play as Connor, who has been pulled into the Assassin life in order to take down his father, a Templar Grand Master.
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (1715-1722)
Back in the time when Pirates were at their peak, we play as Edward Kenway, who just so happens to be Connor ‘s (our protagonist from the previous game) grandfather. He is right in the middle of the war that’s broken out between the Assassins and the Templars.
Assassin’s Creed Rogue (1754-1763)
Giving us a look at life on the flip-side, this time we play as a brand new character, Shay. What makes Shay different from our previous protagonists is that Shay used to be an Assassin but now he is an Assassin hunter working for the Templars.
Assassin’s Creed Unity (1789-1799)
We find ourselves in the French Revolution, playing as Arno, he is a French Assassin who is taking on the Templars in a bid to save Paris. However, things are not so clean cut for Arno as his father and the girl of his dreams are both Templars.
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate (1868-1868)
Jump ahead a couple of years and we are right in the beginning of the Industrial Revolution that’s broken out in Victorian London. This time around we can choose which assassin we want to play as, between two siblings, Jacob and Evie. They are both seeking to free London from the grip that the Templars hold over it.
Then, we have Origins. If we’re being honest with this timeline then Origins needs to be the first game on the list, but at the same time, you do sort of need to understand everything that happened in the previous games, the future, to really appreciate the past. Assassin’s Creed Origins is set in ancient Egypt and it focuses on the conflict that is going on between the Brotherhood and The Order of the Ancients, the original Templar Order. You control Bayek and his wife Aya who are fighting with everything they have to protect the people of the Ptolemaic Kingdom during this conflict.
When it comes to Origins I’ve been ‘writing’ this review since the launch but no matter how hard I tried I just couldn’t find the words to put down. I have words, but it’s just not a whole lot of them, and definitely not enough to stretch into a whole review.
My opinion on Origins can basically be summarized into three things I loved, three I didn’t and one thing that I find to be absolutely ridiculous beyond measure
The Good
I really loved the setting for this game, one of the places I’ve always wanted to travel to is Egypt, and getting to run around and explore it like this is just amazing in every way. I think it’s the prettiest Assassins game yet. Everything is just so silky smooth, I could sit and watch someone just running around the world all day. I like having an awesome bird I can fly to see what’s going on in the world instead of just following a mini-map constantly, and riding on a camel through ancient Egypt is just something else.
The Bad
I hate the loss of freedom and autonomy in-game that comes from losing the ability to jump whenever you want and instead of having to run around spamming a button while close to a wall and then just hope and pray the game lets me ‘climb’ it. I really don’t like the leveling system, it makes the game feel clunky, restricted and I just can’t stop feeling like it’s trying to be Horizon Zero Dawn instead of Assassin’s Creed. I also think it’s really sad how the leveling system has made assassinating people feel like something that’s more hassle than it’s worth and thus become kind of obsolete. I mean it’s in the name!
The Ugly
I’m not usually one to complain about Microtransactions (it means you can buy things in game using real-world money) but in an offline, single-player game it’s honestly ridiculous. They want me to spend my real money so that I can ride around on a Unicorn that a) literally nobody else but me will ever see and b) doesn’t even fit into the damn game but I can’t help wanting one so bad! GRRRRRrrrrrrr
But having said all of that and having had my little rant, I actually really did enjoy Origins, I think it’s sort of like a breath of fresh air for the franchise and if they just tweak the mechanics a bit and embrace the essence of being an Assassin again, then they have the making of something really great.
But now I want to know from you guys, have you played Origins? and if so what are your thoughts? Leave me a comment I’d love to know ^^
