''Assassin's Creed Origins'' is a 2017
action role-playing
An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing video game, role-playing genre.
Definition
The games emphasize Real-time ...
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
developed by
Ubisoft Montreal
Ubisoft Divertissements Inc., doing business as Ubisoft Montreal, is a Canadian video game developer and a studio of Ubisoft based in Montreal.
The studio was founded in April 1997 as part of Ubisoft's growth into worldwide markets, with s ...
and published by
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include ''Assassin's Creed'', '' Far Cry'', ...
. It is the tenth major installment in the ''
Assassin's Creed
''Assassin's Creed'' is an open-world, action-adventure, and stealth game franchise published by Ubisoft and developed mainly by its studio Ubisoft Montreal using the game engine Anvil and its more advanced derivatives. Created by Patric ...
'' series, following 2015's
''Assassin's Creed Syndicate''. Principally set in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...
, near the end of the
Ptolemaic period from 49 to 43 BC, the story follows a
Medjay
Medjay (also ''Medjai'', ''Mazoi'', ''Madjai'', ''Mejay'', Egyptian ''mḏꜣ.j'', a nisba of ''mḏꜣ'',) was a demonym used in various ways throughout ancient Egyptian history to refer initially to a nomadic group from Nubia and later as a ...
named
Bayek of Siwa and his wife Aya as they seek revenge for the murder of their son, and explores the origins of the millennia-long conflict between the Hidden Ones—forerunners to the Assassin Brotherhood, and the Order of the Ancients—forerunners to the
Templar Order
, colors = White mantle with a red cross
, colors_label = Attire
, march =
, mascot = Two knights riding a single horse
, equipment ...
. The framing story, set in the 21st century, follows a new character, Layla Hassan, who relives Bayek and Aya's memories using a modified Animus device.
The game's development began following the release of ''
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag'' in 2013.
Ubisoft Montreal
Ubisoft Divertissements Inc., doing business as Ubisoft Montreal, is a Canadian video game developer and a studio of Ubisoft based in Montreal.
The studio was founded in April 1997 as part of Ubisoft's growth into worldwide markets, with s ...
led its four-year development with help from a team of nearly 700 people from other Ubisoft studios around the world. The team consulted
Egyptologists and historians extensively to ensure the setting was authentically represented in the game. In response to the common criticism that the gameplay of the series was getting stale and overly familiar, Ubisoft decided to reinvent the ''Assassin's Creed'' formula with ''Origins''. Whereas previous entries were mainly stealth-action games, ''Origins'' introduces many elements found in role-playing games and an overhauled "hitbox-based" combat system. While ''Assassin's Creed'' had been an annual franchise since ''
Assassin's Creed II'' (2009), an extra year of development time allowed the team to polish the game further. This was largely a response to the tepid sales of ''Syndicate'', and the troubled launch of ''
Assassin's Creed Unity
''Assassin's Creed Unity'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It was released in November 2014 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, and in December 2020 for Stadia. It ...
'', which was plagued with technical issues when it was released in 2014.
Announced at
E3 2017, ''Origins'' was released on October 27, 2017, for
PlayStation 4,
Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ...
, and
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
, and for
Stadia on December 15, 2020. It received positive reviews from critics, with many calling it an improvement over previous entries and praising the story, characters, voice acting, reworked gameplay systems, world design, historical accuracy, and the visuals. However, the game also drew criticism for its pacing, quest design, and technical issues. The game has sold over ten million units worldwide and was nominated for several end-of-year accolades. Ubisoft supported ''Origins'' extensively following its launch, releasing two story
expansions—''The Hidden Ones'' and ''Curse of the Pharaohs''—and a free ''Discovery Tour'' mode, which removes all combat from the game and allows players to learn about the history and culture of Ptolemaic Egypt through a series of guided tours. Its successor, ''
Assassin's Creed Odyssey'', which is set in
Classical Greece
Classical Greece was a period of around 200 years (the 5th and 4th centuries BC) in Ancient Greece,The "Classical Age" is "the modern designation of the period from about 500 B.C. to the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C." (Thomas R. Martin ...
during the
Peloponnesian War, was released in October 2018.
Gameplay
''Assassin's Creed Origins'' is an
Role-playing video game
A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...
played from a
third-person perspective
Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...
. Players complete quests—linear scenarios with set objectives—to progress through the story, and can
freely roam the
open world environment on foot, horseback, camel-back, horse-drawn vehicles or boat. The open world includes all of Ancient Egypt, featuring vast deserts, oasis, lakes and ancient cities such as
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandr ...
and
Memphis. The game's main character,
Bayek, can dive underwater and explore the lakes and the rivers, the first instance of underwater exploration in the series since 2013's ''Black Flag''.
As the players explore the world, they encounter different
non-playable characters who need assistance from Bayek. These side missions, which typically involve rescuing prisoners, defeating enemies, collecting items or investigating items of interest, often take Bayek to locations of interest, where the player can find treasures. Throughout the game, players can explore tombs and
pyramids
A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...
, raid bandit hideouts, solve riddle puzzles to find rare loot, and discover synchronization points, which then unlock additional locations of interest and serve as
fast travel points. Other side activities players can undertake include competing in a
gladiatorial arena where the player fights waves of increasingly difficult combinations of enemies culminating in a
boss fight
In video games, a boss is a significant computer-controlled opponent. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight. Bosses are generally far stronger than other opponents the player has faced up to that ...
,
participating in
chariot racing
Chariot racing ( grc-gre, ἁρματοδρομία, harmatodromia, la, ludi circenses) was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine sports. In Greece, chariot racing played an essential role in aristocratic funeral games ...
, and solving
stone circle
A stone circle is a ring of standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially in Britain, Ireland, and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being built from 3000 BC. The ...
puzzles.
Players earn
experience points by performing acts like completing campaign missions and side missions, discovering new locations, and defeating enemies. As the players earn sufficient experience points, they can
level up
Level Up may refer to:
Film and TV
*Level Up (2016 film), a British thriller film
* ''Level Up'' (American TV series), a Cartoon Network live action series
** ''Level Up'' (2011 film), the movie pilot for the Cartoon Network series
* ''Level Up' ...
and earn skill points, which can unlock new abilities. The
skill tree has three unique branches: Hunter, Warrior, and Seer. Hunter improves Bayek's ranged abilities; Warrior makes Bayek a more capable melee fighter; Seer turns Bayek into a more lethal and efficient assassin. Missions and areas have a level recommendation. Players need to reach a certain level before completing them, or else the game's enemies can easily overpower them . To further enhance combat efficiency, Bayek's hidden blade,
quiver
A quiver is a container for holding arrows, bolts, ammo, projectiles, darts, or javelins. It can be carried on an archer's body, the bow, or the ground, depending on the type of shooting and the archer's personal preference. Quivers were tr ...
, stabilizer glove,
bracer
A bracer (or arm-guard) is a strap or sheath, commonly made of leather, stone or plastic, that covers the ventral (inside) surface of an archer's bow-holding arm. It protects the archer's forearm against injury by accidental whipping from t ...
,
breastplate
A breastplate or chestplate is a device worn over the torso to protect it from injury, as an item of religious significance, or as an item of status. A breastplate is sometimes worn by mythological beings as a distinctive item of clothing. It is ...
and tool pouch can be crafted using the resources collected from
hunting
Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/ tusks, horn/ a ...
wildlife, dismantling gear, and attacking convoys carrying supplies. Bayek needs to earn coins by looting and completing locations of interest. Coins can then be spent on purchasing or upgrading weapons, outfits and mounts. Gears and crafting materials can be purchased from a special vendor through
loot boxes, though these boxes can only be purchased through the in-game currency. Despite this, some cosmetic items can only be purchased via Helix coins, which must be purchased with real-world currency.
Combat
Previous titles in the ''Assassin's Creed'' series used a "paired animation system" whereby the player character would engage with an enemy and combat would be dictated by a series of predetermined animations based on player inputs and scripted
AI movements. ''Origins'' moved to a "hit-box system". When the player wields a weapon, they strike at whatever is in range, allowing them to hit and injure enemies directly, and creating the possibility of missing an enemy entirely. There are two modes of melee attack—light attacks are fast but weak, and heavy attacks are slow but strong.
Complementing this is the way weapons fall into different categories (common, rare and legendary) and are rated on the damage dealt, speed and range.
Bayek can be equipped with eight types of melee weapons and four types of bows and arrows. Legendary weapons can usually be obtained by defeating
high-level enemies called the Phylakes. As enemy combat is also dictated by the hit-box system, the player is equipped with a
shield
A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of ...
and needs to balance their offensive and defensive capabilities.
Players need to use different weapons when facing different enemy archetypes.
They may also need to dodge or
parry
PARRY was an early example of a chatbot, implemented in 1972 by psychiatrist Kenneth Colby.
History
PARRY was written in 1972 by psychiatrist Kenneth Colby, then at Stanford University. While ELIZA was a tongue-in-cheek simulation of a Rog ...
hostile attacks.
Adrenaline
Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, is a hormone and medication which is involved in regulating visceral functions (e.g., respiration). It appears as a white microcrystalline granule. Adrenaline is normally produced by the adrenal glands and ...
slowly builds up during combat. When the player's adrenaline bar is full, they can unleash a devastating attack with their melee weapon. Bayek also has access to tools such as sleeping darts, poison darts, and
firebombs, and can use the environment to his advantage.
For instance, he can light enemies on fire after shooting oil canisters with fire arrows, and set traps near
braziers, defeating enemies when they attempt to call for reinforcements.
Locations within the game world enable the player to choose their playing style by offering
stealth
Stealth may refer to:
Military
*Stealth technology, technology used to conceal ships, aircraft, and missiles
**Stealth aircraft, aircraft which use stealth technology
**Stealth ground vehicle, ground vehicles which use stealth technology
** Stea ...
and open combat as equally viable choices for completing objectives. Players can subdue enemies by sneaking up behind them using the hidden blade, though higher-level enemies are not easily defeated. The "eagle vision" mode, which was used by the franchise to give the player the ability to scout an area by highlighting enemies and objects, has been replaced by a
Bonelli's eagle
The Bonelli's eagle (''Aquila fasciata'') is a large bird of prey. The common name of the bird commemorates the Italian ornithologist and collector Franco Andrea Bonelli. Bonelli is credited with gathering the type specimen, most likely from an ...
named Senu as a companion.
The player can take control of Senu and scout an area in advance, highlighting enemies who will then be visible when they return to controlling Bayek. Players can hide in tall grass or navigate rooftops to avoid enemies' attention. Bayek, however, can whistle to draw an enemy toward him, allowing assassination when the player is still in hiding. As with other ''Assassin's Creed'' games, Bayek is an expert in
free running and can climb nearly all structures. The player can also tame various predators, which will serve as a companion for the player and assist them against enemies.
Naval combat returns in sections where players control Bayek's wife Aya, who can command a ship and attack hostile ship vessels.
Synopsis
Setting
The player takes on the role of a Medjay named
Bayek of Siwa and his wife Aya, as they work to protect the people of
Ptolemaic Egypt during a time of widespread upheaval. The Pharaoh,
Ptolemy XIII, struggles to maintain his rule while harboring ambitions of expanding his kingdom. His sister, the recently deposed
Cleopatra
Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler. ...
, begins marshaling loyalist forces to launch a counter-coup against Ptolemy. Additionally, incursions into the Kingdom by the
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kingd ...
under the command of
Julius Caesar lead to fears of an imminent invasion. Bayek's role as a Medjay brings him and Aya into contact with the secretive forces manipulating these events and into forming the Hidden Ones, the precursor organization to the Assassin Brotherhood.
Plot
In 49 BC, Bayek, a Medjay charged with protecting the
Siwa Oasis
The Siwa Oasis ( ar, واحة سيوة, ''Wāḥat Sīwah,'' ) is an urban oasis in Egypt; between the Qattara Depression and the Great Sand Sea in the Western Desert, 50 km (30 mi) east of the Libyan border, and 560 km (348&n ...
, is abducted along with his son Khemu by a group of masked men and taken to an underground vault in the
Temple of Amun. They give Bayek a dormant Piece of Eden and demand that he use it to open a secret vault. Khemu helps Bayek escape. While struggling with one of the masked men, Bayek inadvertently kills Khemu. One year later, in 48 BC, Bayek has exiled himself to track down the five masked men to take his revenge. After eliminating two targets, Bayek heads for
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandr ...
to meet his wife Aya. Aya reveals that there is only one target left. Bayek identifies the Royal Scribe Eudoros as the last target, but he is disturbed by Eudoros' last words, which imply there are more masked men. Aya directs Bayek to her friend
Apollodorus for more information. Apollodorus introduces him to Cleopatra, who confirms that the masked men are members of the Order of the Ancients, which ousted her from the throne and seeks to control Egypt using Ptolemy as their puppet.
Cleopatra gives Bayek four new targets. He tracks them down and kills them while Aya convinces
Pompey the Great
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...
to ally with Cleopatra. Bayek receives a letter from Aya explaining there are more members of the Order at large, including members of Ptolemy's royal guard. Bayek begins to believe that Cleopatra is using him to kill her rivals. Pompey is killed by
Lucius Septimius, forcing Bayek and Aya to sneak Cleopatra into the palace to meet Julius Caesar. Cleopatra impresses Caesar and secures his support. Bayek kills
Pothinus
Pothinus or Potheinos ( grc-gre, Ποθεινὸς; early 1st century BC – 48 or 47 BC), a eunuch, was regent for Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator of the Ptolemaic Kingdom. He is most remembered for turning Ptolemy against his sister and ...
, "The Scorpion", but is stopped from killing Septimius by Caesar. Aya watches Ptolemy be eaten by crocodiles when he tries to flee across the Nile.
Cleopatra takes the throne as Pharaoh. Septimius becomes an advisor to Caesar, and Cleopatra cuts ties with Bayek and Aya. Bayek realizes that Cleopatra and Caesar have now allied themselves with the Order, and gathers his allies to form a brotherhood to counter the Order and defend the people's free will. Bayek and Aya realize the Order showed interest in the
tomb of Alexander the Great
The tomb of Alexander the Great is attested in several historical accounts, but its current exact location is an enduring mystery. Following Alexander's death in Babylon, his body was initially buried in Memphis by Ptolemy I Soter, before be ...
, where they find a mortally wounded Apollodorus. He warns them Caesar's lieutenant
Flavius
The gens Flavia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Its members are first mentioned during the last three centuries of the Republic. The first of the Flavii to achieve prominence was Marcus Flavius, tribune of the plebs in 327 and 323 BC; ...
is the leader of the Order. He and Septimius had taken the Orb and a Staff from the tomb and are going to Siwa to open the Vault.
Bayek tracks Flavius to
Cyrene, where he has used the activated Apple of Eden to enthrall the population. He kills Flavius, avenging Khemu's death and returns to Aya. Aya recruits
Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger
Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Ser ...
and
Gaius Cassius Longinus
Gaius Cassius Longinus (c. 86 BC – 3 October 42 BC) was a Roman senator and general best known as a leading instigator of the plot to assassinate Julius Caesar on 15 March 44 BC. He was the brother-in-law of Brutus, another leader of the ...
to their cause and heads to Rome to assassinate Caesar and Septimius. Bayek and Aya part ways but form the Hidden Ones, the foundation of the Assassin Brotherhood, swearing to protect the world from the shadows. In
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, Aya confronts and kills Septimius, who wields the Staff of Eden. She infiltrates the
Roman Senate
The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...
and
assassinates Caesar. Later, she meets Cleopatra and warns her to be a fair ruler, or she will return to assassinate her. Afterward, Bayek and Aya, now calling herself
Amunet, begin recruiting and training other Hidden Ones as they build the Brotherhood in Egypt and Rome, respectively.
In 2017, Layla Hassan, a researcher for Abstergo Industries, is tasked with retrieving an artifact in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...
on their behalf. Instead, she finds a tomb containing the
mummified bodies of Bayek and Aya. Hoping to find information that would secure her a position in the company's Animus Project, Layla covertly relives both Bayek and Aya's memories using a modified Animus. When Layla fails to report in, Abstergo sends a team to kill her, but their plan fails. Layla returns to the Animus but is later awoken by William Miles, an Assassin Mentor and the father of the deceased
Desmond Miles. She accepts his offer to work with the Assassins, but does not join them. The two depart for modern-day Alexandria. In experiencing Bayek's memories, Layla may encounter a series of ancient structures built by the First Civilization. Each contains a message that alludes to Layla playing a pivotal role in an upcoming apocalyptic event.
Development
Ubisoft Montreal
Ubisoft Divertissements Inc., doing business as Ubisoft Montreal, is a Canadian video game developer and a studio of Ubisoft based in Montreal.
The studio was founded in April 1997 as part of Ubisoft's growth into worldwide markets, with s ...
led the game's development, with assistance provided by other Ubisoft studios in different parts of the world. The team in Montreal previously worked on ''
Assassin's Creed Revelations'' and ''
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag''. Development began after ''Black Flag''s completion and lasted approximately four years.
Ubisoft Sofia and
Ubisoft Singapore played prominent roles in designing the game's map and quests. Sofia worked on the game's tomb and pyramids, while Singapore crafted the naval combat. Jean Guesdon and Ashraf Ismail, who both worked on ''Black Flag'', returned as the game's directors.
Nearly 1,000 people worked on the game; only 300 came from the Montreal studio.
Ubisoft described this model of development as "co-development" where, unlike previous installments in the series, the support studios had more freedom and their work was more integral to the whole.
According to Ismail, the co-development model allows each area in the game's world to be unique.
Despite this, the Montreal studio set some guidelines that all studios needed to follow. For instance, the distance that a quest requires the players to travel is limited. For the quests in a hub area, there can only be one "funny" mission and one eradication mission. Ubisoft's goal was to modernize the series.
Ancient Egypt was one of the most popular choices requested by fans of the series, but Ubisoft had declined the idea.
Alex Hutchinson
Alexander Hutchinson (born 24 December 1934) is a Melbourne based Australian musician, who mainly plays clarinet, but also saxophone. His lifetime non-stop seventy year career extends from when he was first professionally employed as a perform ...
, the creative director of ''
Assassin's Creed III'', called Ancient Egypt—along with the other two chosen settings,
Feudal Japan
The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new inven ...
and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
—"the worst choices" for a setting.
In a later interview, however, Ismail said Egypt was a setting the team wanted to explore and acknowledged fans' requests. He believed Ubisoft had not chosen Egypt for previous installments because of technological constraints.
49 BCE was chosen as the game's setting because it reflected an "impressive clash of civilizations". Egyptian culture was thriving but nearing its decline, while the Romans and the Greeks exerted a strong influence over Egypt, culminating in its annexation by the Roman Empire following the game's events. Ismail called this setting "epic" because it showed the "death of one world,
ndthe birth of a new one".
Initially, the team started with the world map from ''Black Flag'' and turned all its water bodies into landmasses. With such a large map, they needed to fill it with meaningful content, so they incorporated elements from
role-playing video games
A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immer ...
and quests into the game. Puzzles, hunting, and military outposts were added to facilitate the player's exploration of the game's world. The game's combat was completely overhauled, as the developer wanted to give players more freedom of choice. For the first time, difficulty settings were introduced to the series to ensure the combat would be accessible.
The studio consulted
Egyptologist
Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...
s and
historians
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...
, and secured deals with
universities
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...
to ensure that experts on the subject could provide the team with information and research. In addition to recruiting in-house historians, they also consulted academics like
Jean-Claude Golvin to place landmarks in the game's world and recreate ancient paintings. The historians were involved in the game's creative process. For instance, Evelyne Ferron, one of the game's consultants, convinced Ubisoft to modify a scene featuring public
mummification
A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furt ...
in a temple because the scene went against the "Egyptian mentality" at that time.
Alan Gardiner
Sir Alan Henderson Gardiner, (29 March 1879 – 19 December 1963) was an English Egyptologist, linguist, philologist, and independent scholar. He is regarded as one of the premier Egyptologists of the early and mid-20th century.
Personal life ...
's ''
Egyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs'' served as the foundation for the language spoken by the NPCs, though the team also drew from the works of
James Allen and
Raymond Faulkner
Dr Raymond Oliver Faulkner, FSA, (26 December 1894 – 3 March 1982) was an English Egyptologist and philologist of the ancient Egyptian language.
He was born in Shoreham, Sussex, and was the son of bank clerk Frederick Arthur Faulkner a ...
. The goal was not to create a historically accurate version of Egypt but to make Egypt an authentic setting.
The team watched films and TV series to see how ancient Egypt was portrayed in pop culture,
and adjusted the game when they felt the focus on history had impeded gameplay and entertainment. Some cities featured in the game were larger than they were initially as the developer "wanted to create this sense of pharaonic scale in places like Alexandria and Memphis".
Ismail added that if an event is well documented, the artists followed the historian's consensus. However, for parts that were not well-researched, they would design and recreate them on their own.

The team also endeavored to make the game world more immersive. To this end, the studio added
sandstorms
A dust storm, also called a sandstorm, is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Fine particles are transpo ...
to the game, and players would experience a
mirage
A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', meani ...
if they remained in the heat too long. Cities have distinct designs which reflect their origins. While designing Alexandria, inspirations were taken from
Pergamon
Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on th ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, whose design resembled that of ancient Alexandria.
While most locations were handcrafted, artists and programmers made use of
procedural generation
In computing, procedural generation is a method of creating data algorithmically as opposed to manually, typically through a combination of human-generated assets and algorithms coupled with computer-generated randomness and processing power. In ...
to fill vast, open areas with rocks, grass and trees.
Mini-map from the
head-up display (HUD) were replaced with a
compass
A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with ...
, as they believed this made the HUD less obstructive and encouraged players to explore. To make the world more dynamic, the team invested a lot of time into designing the
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machine
A machine is a physical system using Power (physics), power to apply Force, forces and control Motion, moveme ...
of the non-playable characters, ensuring they would have a routine every day such as working during daytime and sleeping at night. Quest givers travel and do not stay in a fixed position, and players can choose the time of day to assassinate their targets. Factions also respond differently to players.
Alain Mercieca was invited to serve as the game's narrative director after a cinematic director saw one of his "punk plays" called ''Squeegee Nights''. The lead character, Bayek, was more experienced and mature than other protagonists in the series. Ismail described Bayek as a "reactive" protagonist, who could express various emotions. Bayek, as a Medjay from Siwa Oasis, a traditional village in Egypt, embodies an older way of life and Egyptian traditions. As Egypt is about to be annexed by the Roman Empire in the game, Bayek must find out "what he needs to do, what he needs to become". His personal quest would lead ultimately to the formation of the Assassin Brotherhood.
Abubakar Salim
Abubakar Salim (born 7 January 1993) is a British actor. For his work on ''Assassin's Creed Origins'', he was nominated for a British Academy Games Award and named a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit. On television, he is known for his roles in the Sky On ...
, who was initially told that he was auditioning for an
animated TV series that required
motion capture
Motion capture (sometimes referred as mo-cap or mocap, for short) is the process of recording the movement of objects or people. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robo ...
, voiced Bayek. In 2020, a report from ''
Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to:
People
* Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer
* Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian
* Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and ...
'' alleged that Ubisoft, in particular the marketing department and Chief Creative Officer Serge Hascoët, had tried to minimize the role of female assassins in a number of ''Assassin's Creed'' games. Initially, Bayek was expected to be injured or killed off early in the game, and the main playable character would become Aya. Actress
Alix Wilton Regan voiced Aya.
Release
Following the release of ''
Assassin's Creed Syndicate'' (2015), which sold fewer copies than its predecessors, Ubisoft decided against releasing an ''Assassin's Creed'' game in 2016. Ubisoft allowed one year of additional development time so they could "evolve the game mechanics" and reposition the series as a "premier open-world franchise". Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot later added that this also gave the Montreal studio additional time to polish the game and learn from ''
Assassin's Creed Unity
''Assassin's Creed Unity'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It was released in November 2014 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, and in December 2020 for Stadia. It ...
'' (2014), whose troubled launch alienated the series' fans. Ubisoft had released new installments in the franchise every year since 2009's ''
Assassin's Creed II
''Assassin's Creed II'' is a 2009 action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montréal and published by Ubisoft. It is the second major installment in the ''Assassin's Creed'' series, and the sequel to 2007's ''Assassin's Creed''. The ...
''. ''Assassin's Creed Origins'' was first leaked in January 2016, with ''
Kotaku
''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier.
History ...
'' sources suggesting the game was codenamed ''Empire'' and set in ancient Egypt. Ubisoft announced it officially at Microsoft's press conference during
E3 2017. The game was released for
Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ...
,
PlayStation 4 and
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
worldwide on October 27, 2017. There were five special editions of the game available when it launched. The
Stadia version released on December 15, 2020.
Additional content
Ubisoft supported the game extensively following its official launch. Several gear packs were released for the game, and Ubisoft partnered with
Square Enix
is a Japanese multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', '' Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game franchises, among numerou ...
, the developers of ''
Final Fantasy XV
is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix. The fifteenth main installment of the ''Final Fantasy'' series, it was released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2016, Microsoft Windows in 2018, and as a launch title ...
'', to create crossover content. All
season pass holders have access to two pieces of story-driven
downloadable content
Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enabli ...
(DLC) packs. The first pack, ''The Hidden Ones'', was released on January 23, 2018, and is set five years after the game's main narrative, focusing on Bayek and Amunet's efforts to expand the Hidden Ones' influence and liberate the
Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a ...
from Roman occupation.
The second pack, ''The Curse of the Pharaohs'', was set to be released on March 6 but was delayed to March 13. This DLC focuses on
Egyptian mythology
Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient Egypt, which describe the actions of the Egyptian gods as a means of understanding the world around them. The beliefs that these myths express are an important part of ancient Egypti ...
, as Bayek travels to
Thebes to investigate a curse that has apparently brought several ancient
pharaohs
Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the ...
back from the dead. Both packs raise the maximum players' level and introduce new outfits, mounts and gears.
Ubisoft also released several free updates for the game. In December 2017, they added a new mission named "Here Comes a New Challenger", introducing a new gladiatorial arena in
Cyrene. The update also includes a new difficulty mode named Nightmare, and enemy scaling, where low-level enemies will have their level increased to match the player's level. Ubisoft also released a series of missions named ''Trials of the Gods'', which allows players to fight high-level bosses inspired by
Egyptian deities. A
New Game Plus
A New Game Plus, also New Game+ (NG+), is an unlockable video game mode available in some video games that allows the player to start a new game after they finish it at least once, where certain features in NG+ not normally available in a first ...
mode was introduced in February 2018. An update in April introduced the Animus Control Panel for PC players, allowing them to adjust gameplay parameters such as increasing the movement speed, possessing infinite
health
Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...
, and increasing the number of tame animals.
Ubisoft released ''Discovery Tour'' in February 2018. It consists of 75 guided tours, each lasting from five to 25 minutes. They focus on the landmarks featured in the game and the social traditions and the way of life of ancient Egyptians. The tours feature "academic information curated by historians and Egyptologists" based on research from universities and institutions like the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docume ...
.
''Discovery Tour'' removes combat from the game entirely, allowing teachers to show this portion of the game to schoolchildren directly. The team received feedback from people in the education field and designed the tour and its control to be as accessible as possible, and allow players to explore at their own pace. In an article on history-themed video games, ''
Damals
''Damals'' is a German monthly popular scientific history magazine. The magazine has been issued since 1969 and aims primarily at students, teachers, university students, scientists and a readership interested in historical science. The German ...
'' magazine wrote the ''Discovery Tour'' mode presented a transformation from an entertainment product to an interactive learning aid. In its 2018 exhibition on the "Queens of Egypt", the
Pointe-à-Callière Museum in Montreal, Canada, incorporated images and video sequences from ''Discovery Tour''.
A standalone free version of ''Discovery Tour'' was released in May 2020. A similar ''Discovery Tour'' mode would later be released for ''
Assassin's Creed Odyssey'' and ''
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
''Assassin's Creed Valhalla'' is a 2020 action role-playing video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the twelfth major installment in the '' Assassin's Creed'' series, and the successor to 2018's '' Assassin's ...
''.
In June 2022, Ubisoft released a patch for ''Origins'', which boosted the
framerate
Frame rate (expressed in or FPS) is the frequency (rate) at which consecutive images ( frames) are captured or displayed. The term applies equally to film and video cameras, computer graphics, and motion capture systems. Frame rate may also b ...
to 60fps on
Xbox Series X/S
The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 2020 ...
and
PlayStation 5
The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, it was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North A ...
.
Reception
Critical reception
''Assassin's Creed Origins'' received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
.
Louise Blain of ''
GamesRadar
''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites '' Total Film'', ''SFX'', '' Edge'' and ''Comput ...
'' praised the varied map design writing that each region felt unique.
IGN's Alanah Pearce agreed, adding each city had its own unique culture and architecture. She added the game offered a "delightful sense of discovery" as it allowed players to come upon locations of interest organically.
Chris Carter of ''
Destructoid
''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022.
History
...
'' wrote that "at no point did ''Origins'' feel inauthentic", and applauded Egypt as a unique setting for a video game. Like Pearce, he explored the game's world more than previous ''Assassin's Creed'' games.
''
VentureBeat
''VentureBeat'' is an American technology website headquartered in San Francisco, California. It publishes news, analysis, long-form features, interviews, and videos.
History
The ''VentureBeat'' company was founded in 2006 by Matt Marshall, ...
''s Stephanie Chan described Egypt as "a spectacle to behold", praising its varied map design and the puzzles inside tombs and temples. Alessandro Fillari of ''
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' also liked Egypt as a setting, calling it "vibrant and lush". He believed it had a "strong sense of life", though he noted some regions are too sparse. He praised the dense towns and cities in the world, and commended Ubisoft's attention to detail.
Writing for ''
PC Gamer
''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...
'', Christopher Livingston noted the recommended level of an area made ''Origins'' similar to a
massively multiplayer online
A massively multiplayer online game (MMOG or more commonly MMO) is an online video game with a large number of players, often hundreds or thousands, on the same server. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent open world, although there are ...
game (MMO) and remarked it created "a feeling of artificial difficulty".
Blain praised the game's design and applauded the team for ditching the franchise's staple gameplay features such as paired animation combat, tailing missions, and an excessive amount of collectibles.
Pearce liked the elimination of forced stealth missions and the implementation of a redesigned parkour system, which removed the frustration she had with earlier installments. She also applauded the new progression system, which gave players more choices than previous games, and the action-focused combat, which she described as "tense".
Suriel Vasquez of ''
Game Informer
''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 ...
'' praised the game's openness, since it gave players freedom to approach objectives in their own way. He described the combat as being more active and involving.
Chan described the combat as "flawed" but "generally solid", though she disliked segments featuring Aya and Layla as she felt they interrupted the gameplay. Christian Donlan, writing for ''
Eurogamer
''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson.
Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...
'', believed that the combat was a significant improvement over its predecessors and felt it reflected the franchise's new direction.
He believed that the combat was more engaging, commenting it required players to use strategy, especially when they were facing different enemy archetypes together. However, he felt that the combat and the gameplay were unoriginal, and added that "everywhere you look in ''Origins'' you'll find things that you have done in other games". Both Pearce and Fillari complained the lock-on system did not work properly.
Fillari added it turned "battles that could be tactical and fierce into disorienting and clumsy encounters".
Fillari also noted that the control for stealth was less responsive than the previous games and considered it one of ''Origins'' weakest aspects.
Blain liked the game's quests noting that starting one side quest might initiate a chain of additional narrative side missions that players can complete.
Pearce called the story "delightfully mystical" and "elaborate",
while Fillari applauded the narrative for successfully balancing "moments of heartbreak and earnestness".
Pearce also praised the side-quests for being memorable and featuring "multi-faceted, interesting characters with believable motives".
While Carter noted that the game had a rough start, the tale involving the cult and the Order of the Ancients slowly became more intriguing and interesting.
Chan criticised some campaign missions, especially those involving assassinating members of the cult, for being anti-climactic. She praised the side-quests for reflecting the everyday life of Egypt, but she lamented they were repetitive. She compared completing locations of interest to running errands. Andy Kelly, also from ''
PC Gamer
''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...
'', added that the game was "guilty of a particularly egregious example of padding", and wrote that during his 28 hours play time to finish ''Origins'', at least eight hours were spent on completing side content "against
iswill". Livingston remarked the player was often forced to grind for experience points before they could complete the main campaign missions, which broke the flow of the main campaign.
Bayek is generally well-liked by critics. Donlan called him "charming", while ''
Polygon
In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed '' polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two t ...
''s Colin Campbell described him as "kind" and "devout".
Chris Naunton Christopher Hugh Naunton is a British Egyptologist, a writer and a broadcaster, and an expert on the life of Flinders Petrie.
He studied Egyptology at the universities of Birmingham and Swansea, and obtained his PhD. He has been director of the ...
of
Southampton University
, mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour
, type = Public research university
, established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...
created ''Playing in the Past'', a
T.tv series, using ''Origins'' to teach the
history of ancient Egypt
The history of ancient Egypt spans the period from the early prehistoric settlements of the northern Nile valley to the Roman conquest of Egypt in 30 BC. The pharaonic period, the period in which Egypt was ruled by a pharaoh, is dated from the 3 ...
. He and other Egyptologists described the game's depiction of the era as "the best visualization of Ancient Egypt ... amazing".
Sales
In November 2017, Ubisoft announced sales of ''Assassin's Creed Origins'' during its first 10 days were double those of ''Assassin's Creed Syndicate'', while player engagement increased. 35% of the sales were digital download, compared to just 12% for ''Syndicate''.
It was the best-selling retail game in the UK in its first week of release, beating competitors including ''
Super Mario Odyssey
is a 2017 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. An entry in the ''Super Mario'' series, it follows Mario and his new ally Cappy—a sentient hat that allows Mario to control other characters and objects— ...
'' and ''
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus'', which were released on the same day as ''Origins''. It was the second best-selling retail game in the US in October 2017, behind ''
Middle-earth: Shadow of War'', and the third best-selling game in November, behind ''
Call of Duty: WWII'' and ''
Star Wars Battlefront II''. The game sold more than 10 million copies during life of
eighth generation of video game consoles
The eighth generation of video game consoles began in 2012, and consists of four home video game consoles: the Wii U released in 2012, the PlayStation 4 family in 2013, the Xbox One family in 2013, and the Nintendo Switch family in 2017.
The gen ...
.
Accolades
Sequel
The game was followed by ''
Assassin's Creed Odyssey'', which takes place in
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
during the
Peloponnesian War. Developed by
Ubisoft Quebec, the game was released on October 5, 2018 for Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
References
;Notes
;References
External links
*
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