Feeling Godlike in Assassin's Creed: Origins

My sudden desire to join the Assassin's Creed fandom has recently had me spending a large chunk of my gaming time as one of the stabby protagonists from the series.  My most recent assassin action found me playing the role of Bayek of Siwa in Assassin's Creed:  Origins.  I just wrapped up my complete Egyptian adventure (which was very complete--I finished the base game and also the two story DLC's) and am feeling positive about the experience.  I'm just going to come out and say it....in my opinion, Origins is better than Odyssey (I still love you Kassandra!) in many ways.

I am basing my review off of my 101 hour playthrough.  I can't brag that I accomplished 100% of the achievements, but I did complete all locations in the base game and in both DLC packs.  I also did my best to finish all the sidequests and some of the side activities (arena fights, chariot races).  I messed around a bit with Discovery Mode, but I think I've had enough Origins for now.

Pros:

Ancient Egypt shows off its beauty at every turn.

--Ancient Egypt is an amazing setting.  I thought ancient Greece was awesome in Odyssey, but I liked Egypt more.  There was something magical about taking in not one, but two ancient wonders of the world, and the cities with their temples to the various Gods...really, really cool.  Maybe it's my own personal preference; I've always found ancient Egypt to be fascinating, but I just felt more excited by the setting.  I also felt that there was more of an effort made to include details about culture--stories about the Gods, the mummification process, burial rites--that wasn't as present in Odyssey.

Even when I was out adventuring in the rural areas of the map there was quite a bit of variety.  The Nile is bordered by lush farmlands but if you venture into the outer layers of the map, you will find yourself in sprawling deserts with endless miles of shifting sand dunes.  The wildlife if Egypt is also very diverse and running into angry crocodiles, hippos, and lions was a welcome change from the ol' gaming staple wolves.

The desert has its own unique beauty.

I also felt like the size of the map was Goldilocks level just right--not too big, not too small, and just comfortable enough that I wasn't wanting to stab myself in the eyes if I had to clear another identical military base (*cough, Odyssey*),.

--Bayek and Aya.  I liked the fact that you had two main characters (although you spend very little time playing as Aya) and that their storylines branched, but fused together seamlessly in the end.  Bayek is on a mission to hunt down the members of an evil group known as the "Order," (this is your stereotypical Assassin's Creed conspiracy) and most of the focus is on his story in Egypt.  Aya, on the other hand, seems more concerned about the larger political picture in Egypt and has attached herself to the efforts of Cleopatra to regain the throne.  Both are dealing with the death of their son at the hands of the Order in their own way.

--Assassinations that felt meaningful.  Unlike Odyssey that just throws a huge number of cultists at you, Origins takes a streamlined approach.  Each member of the order that you kill includes a storyline that plays out over the course of several chaining missions, and usually there are also sidequests that are tied into the narrative about a specific target.  Every single member of the Order felt like an evil villain who was doing some extremely despicable things.  Killing them felt good (not in a weird, psychopathic kind of way, but in a getting justice/taking evil out of the world way) and I loved the cutscenes that took place in the Duat (a kind of Egyptian limbo between layers of the afterlife) and watching Bayek's rage as he sent each on to their just rewards.

--Tons o' weapons.  You can pick something that fits your specific playstyle--super fast daggers, giant maces, a balanced sword (regular or sickle swords, which do bleeding damage), two-handed axes, long-reaching spears, and stupid scepters (they're dumb and I hate them).  This is accented by a shield for blocking, a bow for ranged combat, and a tool pouch which can include sleep darts, poison darts, or fire bombs (based on the talents you choose).  The legendary weapons have sleek, Egyptian inspired designs and some of them look super cool.

Bayek rides through the countryside on a pretty horsey.

--Enough cosmetic options to choke a hippo.  New outfits for Bayek can be purchased from weavers in cities throughout Egypt and special outfits are rewarded for completing certain events (of course you could also purchase some special theme content packs...ugh).  You can also purchase or earn special mounts (camel or horsey).  I didn't count the total number of outfits or mounts, but let's just say by the end of the game you will need to scroll through them.  If having a character with unique flair is your boat....well, there's a virtual Nile River of items to float it on in Origins.

--Memorable story.  Bayek's quest for vengeance paired with Aya's politically motivated activities makes for a great story.  There are many great moments sprinkled throughout and those moments stick.  One of my biggest gripes about Odyssey is that the story is easily forgotten (partially due to just being weak, but also partially due to the almost overwhelmingly large map).  Plus, there's a tie-in with the establishment of the actual Assassin's Creed and how it came to be that's going to be fun for any fan of the series.

The city of Memphis is filled with landmarks.

--Photo mode.  Snapping up gorgeous shots of Egypt is easy with the in-game photo editing tool.  At the press of a button the game pauses, and you can position the camera exactly where you want it.  From there, you can choose a variety of different photo settings to customize your image.  I'm a dork for photo mode.

--Side activities.  There are two different arenas that feature tiered fights against various foes.  After you've complete three of the tiered fights you earn the right to face off against a "boss" type of enemy.  The "boss" fights vary from fairly easy to more difficult.  If slaying hordes of baddies isn't your thing, there's also the hippodrome where you can participate in Ben-Hur style chariot races.  There are several different races to complete and each has a specific theme and challenge.  Once you've completed all the basic arena fights or chariot races there are "elite" options for overachievers (there is actually an achievement for completing all the arena fights including the elite ones).

--Discovery Mode.  As a lover of history, I thought it was great that they added in a special mode that is dedicated to helping people learn about locations and culture in ancient Egypt.  There are numerous tours that players can take where they move through guided checkpoints that include narration and images of the real-life items that inspired parts of the game.  There's also some insight into the game development aspect and some unique facts about what was chosen and why.  If you're interested in the history behind the game or the decisions that went into the development, discovery mode offers up some additional content.

Cons:
--Combat can feel unresponsive.  I can't exactly put my finger on why it happens, but there are certain times during combat where you absolutely cannot dodge.  I think that it is tied to the animated sequences of attacks--some enemies have powerful attacks (their weapon will glow, which signals that the attack is unblockable) that they can unleash.  If your character gets hit by this attack (which is usually a series of motions and attacks), you are sort of stuck in the animation sequence.  Mashing the dodge button to avoid getting hit by the second, or third part of the attack isn't even possible--you just have to hope that you have enough health to survive getting walloped a few times.  It's extremely annoying and was the source of much obscenity yelling on my part.  This is one area where I would say Odyssey has improved--dodging is much more fluid and I didn't feel as powerless during combat.

The other combat related complaint I have is related to blocking.  I found blocking with the shield to be utterly useless.  You have to press shift to put Bayek into "defensive stance" and sort of time the block right.  It felt awkward and I never really figured it out.  When you combine the need to block and dodge it gets especially hairy.  Mostly I tried to dodge and hoped for the best.  There's a good chance that you will be frustrated by parts of the combat in Origins.

I just want to pet them!

--No dog or cat petting.  I want to pet them and you took that away from me after Black Flag.  I'm still bitter.  Why put cute dogs and cats into a game if you can't pet them?  Revolt!

Other than the janky dodging issue with combat, I found that I enjoyed Origins.  The story is definitely much better than in Odyssey and ancient Egypt is a fabulous place to explore.  I would recommend Origins to someone who is new to Assassin's Creed because I think it's the blueprint for the more RPG-oriented direction that the series seems to be taking.

If you're wondering about the DLC, I would recommend picking it up (if you enjoyed the base game).  The Hidden Ones focuses on the early days of the Assassin's order and follows Bayek as he works with a small cell to overcome a set of problems that plague a new region.  There are some cool items, including a new armor set for Bayek that has more of the traditional AC feeling.  The Pharoah's Curse adds a large new zone and has a solid story--dead pharoahs are rising from the grave to attack people throughout ancient Thebes.  The goal is to find out what's causing the curse and put a stop to it.  I really liked the stories in both DLC packs.