fbpx

Assassin’s Creed Origins Review Xbox One X

Now that I’ve committed 30+ hours to Assassin’s Creed Origins I thought it was about time to write a review, and put why I love this game so much into something readable!

Coming in fresh to the Creed

I can honestly say until Assassin’s Creed Origins I haven’t played any of the games in the franchise since the second game was released many years ago. With this in mind I’m essentially reviewing Origins completely unbiased and not comparing to any previous titles.

Set in ancient Egypt – my favourite history lesson!

When I was at school I remember learning about the Egyptians and  loving every moment of it, Pharoes, tombs, pyramids, they were all a winner. Assassin’s Creed Origins being set in Egypt was always going to go down well for me. Putting my Egyptian passion aside, the story of Bayek losing his son in a horrific way (no spoilers here) and then hunting down those responsible throughout the game just ticks all the right boxes for me.

The combat system – get used to it

From the first time I played Origins and encountering the combat system (bearing in mind the previous game I played was Shadow of War) I hold my hands up that I was very unsure about it. As with what i know about previous Assassin’s Creed titles, you need to level up to face higher level enemies and progress through the game. At the beginning of the game when I was very low level, this obviously meant taking a heavy blow from an enemy pretty much drained all of your health, thus meant I kept being slaughtered – pretty damn frustrating.

As I levelled up however I’m not sure if if it was the fact that my health and abilities had grown or more because of the amount of time i’d spent carving up dudes, but it got to a point very quickly where I began to understand and even like the way the combat system worked.

Finding and looting treasure

It quickly became apparent that you’re not able to complete main quests one after the other as Bayek’s level just wouldn’t be high enough. Instead, it’s a good idea to check your map to see which pyramids, camps, and other areas you can trawl through in order to complete location objectives – one of which is looting treasure.

Once you find treasure, take down captains and fully complete different locations, Bayek will receive XP which will be essential in levelling up to attempt higher level missions.

Getting to know your trusty steeds

From the start of the game you’ll come fully equipped with a camel to help you travel and explore the depths of ancient Egypt, along with a very valuable asset – Senu the eagle. By pressing up on the D–pad you’ll be able to see the world through the eyes of an eagle, Senu will help you find and tag enemies located in restricted areas, pinpoint the location of treasure, and tag animals that you can track down and kill for resources.

As you progress you’ll gain ability points to unlock new skills, one of which allows Senu to dive down and assist Bayek – killing venomous snakes for example.

Who doesn’t love a boss fight?

If you love the idea of hunting down someone to avenge a death, or generally just enjoy the idea of taking down a high profile target, then the fights you encounter within Assassin’s creed Origins are likely to hit the right spot.

What I like about Origins as that it’s not just a case of selecting your target, turning up and fighting. As Bayek, you need to select your target, speak to others to gather intel, find the target, and then finally plan your method of attack – so it’s much more tactical which is great.

Don’t forget your upgrades!

You may think levelling up Bayek is enough to help you succeed in Origins but you’d be wrong. With each level up you’ll usually receive ability points which will allow you to upgrade your skills – this will help with things like new combat moves, wielding more weapons, as well as assisting you in hunting animals and actually surviving the fight with them. As well as ability points though it’ll be important to change around your weapon inventory so that your weapons keep up with your level up, there’s no benefit keeping a level 12 weapon/armour equipped when you’re now level 20! Make sure to dismantle older weapons as well so that you get resources to upgrade existing weapons and shields. This might just improve your chances of surviving a fight with a pack of hyenas!

Star struck rating

Overall this game can keep you playing for 40-50 hours without any DLC, in my opinion that’s pretty decent in terms of gamplay time. The storyline keeps you hooked, graphically it looks stunning in both 4K or your standard Full HD so no one misses out. The game is challenging in terms of the battles you encounter and if not you can always opt for a higher difficulty level. I have genuinely loved every moment of this Ubisoft title. This deserves the rating it’s been given.

Good
  • Stunning in 4K, plenty of playtime
Bad
  • The combat system isn't for everyone
5
Highly Recommended
Written by
I've been a gamer ever since I was old enough to hold a controller, early 90's to be exact. My first console was a NES, with my favourite games ranging from Super Mario to Duck Hunt. Fast forward almost 30 years and I'm now a PS4, PC and Switch player. My ideal genres are RPG and RTS titles, so Assassin's Creed, Kingdom Hearts, Viv 6 and Two Point Hospital are included in my mix.

Have your say!

0 0