Sometimes he meets characters who are genuinely funny and human. Time and again, he helps people who have been wronged by the state, and so edges closer to his own desire to complete himself through revenge. Through cutscenes and quests, we get a sense of the intersection between Bayek’s private woes and the greater political conflict. The story does well to explore this aspect of his rage, which helps to explain his incredible capacity for violence. He has personal reasons for his hatred, a mission of revenge that I won’t spoil here. The protagonist, Bayek of Siwa, is a Medjay, a kind of ancient cop / social enforcer. The people are in need of a strong leader. This tale begins at a time when Cleopatra is seeking to gain the throne from her younger brother, a kid called Ptolemy who doesn’t know his arse from his obelisk. There’s also a complex and mostly fulfilling story at play. There is never a shortage of walls to scale, hillsides to scramble across and rooftops to skedaddle along. It is mountainous, dotted with fortifications and grandeur. But this ancient Egypt is both monumental and vertical. Ancient structures were rarely more than four stories high. That makes sense for a series so heavily geared toward climbing buildings. Previous Assassin’s Creed games took place in the late medieval or post-Renaissance world. I spend a lot of time just trotting around between quests, and I’m perfectly happy to do so. Even after 50 hours of play, I’m still finding things that please my senses.
I enjoy being a part of this world, and my enjoyment is no fad. It’s one of the most beautiful games I’ve ever played. This is, by far, the best-looking Assassin’s Creed ever made. If aesthetics alone were the reason for a full year’s delay on the game, it’s been worth the wait. From marble palaces to mud-hut hovels, from dead carcasses to soaring aqueducts, this Assassin’s Creed overachieves on looks. If you ever wanted to step into the distant past, into a simulation of ancient life, here it is. This is a space of loveliness, a work of art.
Wind skitters over dunes, flamingoes startle over shimmering streams. There is red and green and gold here, turquoise, amaranth and pearl shimmering in digital sunlight. I have not played this game on any console that you (or I) actually own. But if you are not planning on buying an Xbox One X, you should read this review with the necessary caveats. Ubisoft wants us to see the world it has created in the best possible light. And so I’m in the awkward position of critiquing a piece of software made for a console that will not exist as a consumer product for another few weeks. Ubisoft insisted on only allowing me to play this one version as a condition of playing the game, pre-release.
It is necessary for me to mention that this review is based on the Xbox One X version of Assassin ’ s Creed Origins.
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