Assassin’s Creed.

I used to unapologetically tell people that it was my favorite game of all time. After a couple of years, when a poorly-received new installment was released, I would cautiously defend the game while secretly enjoying it in my private quarters. No matter what anyone said, Assassin’s Creed always occupied a special place in my heart. Even when others point out that they can no longer hold Ubisoft to its words and condemn me for getting fooled repeatedly, I only pretended to passively agree without really seeing their points. After all, it was fun for me.

Sure, you might call someone like me a fanboy. And honestly, I don’t mind being called one. In fact, I own every media mix for the series and wore a hat with the Assassin Insignia for years. I pride myself in my collection, apart from the crummy live-action movie released last year.

Now, you might wonder why I’m emphasizing my obsession with the series. It’s because what I’m about to say isn’t going to be nice. A man’s gotta say what a man’s gotta say, even if I’m meeting someone from Ubisoft the very next day. Assassin’s Creed Origins got it seriously wrong.

Improvements over previous games
Respect where it's due

Before I get into the ugly, let’s look at some aspects that were improved. Right off the bat, the game looks stunning. As soon as the demo started, I rode a horse across a desert near the Nile to a town. Graphical fidelity in this process is comparable, if not better, to Witcher 3. Everything from the lushness of the date palm trees and the water movement of the Nile to the endless blowing sand is unprecedented in this release, despite the fact that I’ve never thought Assassin’s Creed to be a bad-looking game.

What makes gorgeous graphics even better is the massive, open world. People are probably tired of hearing it by now, but the size of this Assassin’s Creed world puts all previous games to shame. Granted, it has to be large to incorporate ancient Egypt and the many surrounding city-states.

Additionally, the open world features have improved by many miles. Though previous titles were considered open world, gameplay wasn’t there to meaningfully impact the canvas; the open world merely served as a stage, and nothing more. In Origins, however, the sense of adventure took on a whole new meaning, to the point that the purpose of the game could just be exploration. Just with the limited time I had playtesting, I was constantly amazed by the sheer size of the world. As much as I love the series, I was even afraid I might not get to see it all. If thought of as a separate game, Origins felt like a different version of Witcher 3.

So then what seems to be the problem, you ask? This is still an Assassin’s Creed game.

Caught between being an assassin and a warrior
Where’s the classic Assassin’s Creed charm?

At its core, there’s only one glaring issue with Origins; a single problem permeates throughout the game and makes the whole experience uncharacteristic of the series. Origins’ main problem is actually quite simple.

I don’t feel like an assassin no matter how hard I try.

The one thing that differentiated the Assassin’s Creed franchise from other open world RPGs was the fact that you are an assassin. Starting from Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, all the protagonists of the series were different individuals with different backgrounds. But they all shared something in common; they were all assassins.

Running along the walls, and taking the lives of those who weren’t expecting death. Even when outnumbered, the hero was able to parry and fight back with no problems. It’s closer to being a fantasy game than a game based on something historic; not even close to what actual assassins were like long ago. But that didn’t matter much to me. The reason the game captivated me in the first place was due to this almost super-human protagonist. Venturing forward in various given settings, I enjoyed those parts of the AC series the most.

But this new title was nothing like what I used to play. Due to the changes in combat mechanics, the diversity of the weapons increased. Each weapon had different stats and elements added to it. When you strike an NPC, a number appears above your target, showing you the amount of damage you have done. I thought I was playing a phone game. And unlike before, the weapons now come with a ‘tier’ system, suggesting the idea that we may have to farm for better gear as we play the game.

Long story short, the gameplay and mechanics that I adored for so long in the AC series were no longer there. The game felt much closer to the ‘Witcher’ or even ‘Dark Souls’ series. Instead of timing your buttons to parry/counter, all I saw was the protagonist running and rolling around desperately trying to dodge incoming attacks. Maybe stunning attack animations could become an excuse for this; but no, it wasn’t.

As the E3 presentation continued, I kept my eyes on the gameplay. However, I couldn’t get this question out of my head. “Am I watching an Assassin’s Creed game? Or, am I watching a random RPG set in Egypt?” If the title of the game was, “Egypt: Twilight,” or “God of Sphynx,” it would’ve maybe been more impressive. But the title of the game is Assassin’s Creed. I constantly reminded myself that the protagonist is indeed an assassin, but it was hard picturing that with a man wearing a simple hood and a sleeveless shirt.

It's too early to tell
Fingers crossed...

Maybe I am judging the game way too quickly. It is true that the showcase of the game was rather limited and short. The last bit of hope that I have for the game is in the title of the game, Assassin’s Creed Origins. Looking at the definition of the word origin, the story of the game will most likely take place before the establishment of the ‘Creed’. It might be somewhat passable even if the protagonist is just a farmer.

However, from the presentation I witnessed, I don’t think we can expect much from this game. The trademark ‘Assassin’ concept that the series kept for so long has been castrated. The map is also littered with question marks and feels like some familiar RPG I may have played in the past.

The series’ selling point isn’t ‘grinding’. It isn’t about leveling up your character and it isn’t about the thrill of running around trying to dodge incoming swings. It is about experiencing the life of the protagonist, role-playing as an assassin, finding out who I must defeat in order to further extend the Creed. Role-playing in such a universe was definitely a treat and that was, once again, the main selling point of the series.

That is why I felt disappointed with Origins. Grinding for levels and gear, and playing as a protagonist that is closer to being a warrior than an assassin; I am sincerely hoping that the presentation was just simply short and that is why it couldn’t show us the good parts of the game. I truly hope it will still have the charm the previous AC games had. That is because I want an assassin in my AC game; not a Witcher doing an adventure in Egypt.