Assassin's Creed: Origins PlayStation 4 Review

 To say that nothing is true, is to realize that the foundations of society are fragile, and that we must be the shepherds of our own civilization.

To say that everything is permitted, is to understand that we are the architects of our own actions, and that we must live with their actions, whether glorious or tragic.

Throughout all of the Assassin’s Creed games, the words Nothing is true, Everything is Permitted, is given as the slogan of the Assassin’s brotherhood. But only once is the true saying said. This was said by none other than Ezio Auditore da Firenze.

Now if me knowing that entire thing by heart does not prove that I am a fan of this series, then so help you God that I will put on the coat of the Assassin, attach my hidden blade and I will … slowly tickle you into submission. No but seriously I do have the Assassin coat complete with eagle tip hoodie and the blade is ordered and on its way to me :]That is right people another review is in for Ubisoft’s long awaited tenth installment of the A.C. game series. Now I had to sacrifice one year of my life so that Ubisoft could reinvent the wheel when it came to A.C. and let me just say one thing … these guys nailed it.

Reinventing the wheel

Now let me say when they reinvented the wheel with the series, by God did they do it. Yes, you still assassinate targets linked to the Templar Order, but that’s what the Assassin’s Creed games are about. But this game is amazing. Boasting the ENORMOUS map of Egypt, the game already is set to new heights. Now you’re probably saying, “JoKishler, so what if the map is bigger, the gameplay is the same, same premise, why waste my money?”Well I am an engineering student, not your accountant, so if you don’t want to waste money don’t, just spend it on blackjack and hookers.But seriously, Ubisoft have outdone themselves, with such a large map, they took the parkour and free running abilities of the Assassin and made it so much better. No longer will you have to hold down a button or key to constantly sprint, it is all determined by how far you move the joystick. This determines how Bayek, the Assassin you control, moves. Slight movement causes the casual, suave walk, and pushing it further allows for jog, and at maximum rotation into a full on sprint.Now big map, big desert, lots of synchronize points and yes … I have waited a long time to see this in an A.C. game … EVERYTHING IS CLIMBABLE. The walls of a mountain, the sparse trees, the roofs, walls and … all I can say is that you feel like an Assassin. For example, climbing a pyramid is absolutely awesome. You have to find cracks in the structure to be able to grip. To reach a higher grip, you run up and if you don’t make it, you slide down the pyramid, until you find a crease to hold onto. Let me not lie, if you hit a miss on climbing and you slide down, it gets annoying. But THAT is what makes this game awesome. It has become more realistic. It’s more plausible and let’s be honest people, if we could do half the s#@t we do in games in real life, we would all be in jail or dead with no chance of respawning.

Montu, bless us with the ability to kick some butt

Ok, for all of you wondering, Montu is the Egyptian God of War, but I give it about 3 games before Kratos comes over and takes control.But let’s get back to business. Origins has seen a whole new combat system. Now I know a lot of people are saying it’s nothing compared to Dark Souls and that it’s a copy of Dark Souls combat and blah blah blah. Look I haven’t played a single Dark Souls or Dark Soul’s type game, and for me, this combat system was new, harder, more interactive and worth every second of cutting up some moronic guard. I mean dude, I literally killed 4 hippos, 2 crocodiles, 6 of your other team members. I am level 30, you are level 20 … lay down your sword bro, just pretend you’re dead, I will let you live, I am no Templar.But yes, the combat system requires concentration, precise timing to deflect attacks and dodge powerful moves. The player can have a choice of two types of bows for range, two types of melee for attacking, a shield, and a tool. You can switch it up during combat as each weapon, depending on rarity, will grant a player various bonuses such as poison on hit, bleeding etc.Now this little feature is just so wicked awesome, I have to put it in this review. If an enemy is shooting at you with a bow and arrow, and you are blocking with your shield and three arrows get caught in your shield, when you are about to fire back, you pick the arrows from your shield. I mean that is EPIC and let’s be totally honest, gives a new meaning to “why are you hitting yourself”.

RPG taking over the world

Yes, confirmed, write it down, scream it loud and proud. A.C. is officially an RPG game now. Bayek can be customized with various outfits, and levelled up. He can only fight those weaker than him or slightly stronger than him and the beauty part of A.C. Origins is that each area of the map has recommended levels. And let me tell you this, I was only level 10, accidentally found an area with level 20 guards, thought I will take a shot and well … I died. Can’t say I’m surprised, but I am a bit dumb at times… trust me on that.But Bayek can not only change his clothes, and mount and weapons, but you can toggle hair, beard and his hood. Kudos Ubisoft! Kudos!

Tell me a story and pass it on

Ok, without spoiling anything, A.C. Origins is the creation of the Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood (not the game, the actual brotherhood, the clan … like Nibble). You meet, like all A.C. games, historical characters, witness historical events and live in a historic time. I have to say, the game is really futuristic. See I told you that I am dumb.But Bayek is not limited to the story missions, while travelling across Egypt, he encounters many side quests and missions, each with their own story, own style and own rewards. Trust me when I say this, you spend more time on that than you do on the story. The only reason, you will continue with the story is because a new side quest is in a region too high levelled for you. So the balance found is brilliant.

Any negatives to share JoKishler?

Look, I am a huge fan of the series. I have read the books, I have the soundtrack, the hoodie, the blade, so would I bad mouth the game? Yes I can. As beautiful as the setting is, and as challenging the missions are, some things are a little repetitive. Like scouting a small camp, finding all of the objectives and completing them. But A.C. Origins introduce a little detective work in there, looking for clues and bringing criminals to justice. With each case being different, the game has a repetitive nature as in, find clues, find the person, eliminate guards, assassinate the target, but the approach to each case varies and the game is absolutely brilliant because of this.

Final say

Ubisoft took 2 years to make this game and have done the best job ever. Boasting the large map, new combat system and RPG style gameplay, Assassin’s Creed Origins is without a doubt one of the best in the series. With missions ranging from hunting wild animals to saving people to investigating and assassinating the perpetrator, A.C. Origins has many many hours of gameplay, ready and loaded for the player to explore. For a fan such as myself, the game is near perfection and I highly recommend it for everyone.

IGN: 9/10
Steam: 9/10
JoK[ishl]er: 9.8/10