Why Assassin’s Creed Origins Prevails As Ubisoft’s Best RPG

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Shaheer Zahid

At HI Digital I test and write about different hardware configurations to show other PC users what they can expect from their build. My end goal is to educate the masses to make the right decision when they are looking for new PC parts to buy

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When Assassin’s Creed Origins was first announced as taking a different direction for the series, adopting the RPG genre, I was confused and expected to see the franchise being butchered.

However, I was wrong. After playing the game, I realized how good it was and how worthwhile the year break Ubisoft took to deliver this project ended up being. Generally, Assassin’s Creed Origins was also a good RPG.

Since then, two other RPGs have been released: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Valhalla. After playing all three and revisiting the first of Ubisoft’s RPGs in 2024, I can safely say that Origins is the best of them.

Why it matters: Initially seen with doubt, the shift toward RPGs proved successful for Ubisoft, but there’s constant debate on which entry from the trilogy is best. There are several reasons why I think Origins takes the top spot.

Staying True To The Franchise

The series evidently needed to change in its direction, considering the classic action-adventure style of Assassin’s Creed had prevailed for a decade and had lost its charm by Syndicate.

Despite the shift towards the RPG genre, Origins retained the essence of the original series. The game expanded a lot from its predecessor, Syndicate, which was a good entry but felt bland at times.

Skill trees, a large arsenal of melee weapons, ranged combat, and the introduction of a companion eagle that would survey areas were nice changes. Moreover, the setting was one of the best in the franchise, with Ubisoft taking players to Egypt during the Pharaoh Empire in the BC era.

Traversing deserts, pyramids, and historical locations made me fall in love with the game. Having replayed it nearly seven years later, the graphics still hold up. Ubisoft also nailed the level design of Assassin’s Creed Origins.

Let’s not forget how great the narrative was, either. Bayek is easily one of Ubisoft’s best protagonists, and his revenge-driven story kept me hooked till the very end as he helped pioneer the brotherhood itself.

Because of how great the story was, I can see why Bayek’s voice actor hopes to see another entry for his journey.

Assassin’s Creed Origins Vs. Odyssey And Valhalla

Ubisoft had many opportunities to expand from Origins and perfect the RPG formula, and it did, just not in the way that people expected it to. On any given day, I’d choose Origins over Odyssey and Valhalla for several reasons.

Now, I’m not implying that Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Valhalla are bad games at all. They are still great RPGs, but they have strayed away from the IP’s core so much that they don’t feel like Assassin’s Creed to me.

For instance, Odyssey had the series’ worst stealth and leaned into open combat. You didn’t even have a hidden blade, so there was nothing assassin-like about the experience.

In Valhalla, stealth wasn’t needed or emphasized much, but you could still approach from the shadows.

Odyssey took me 80 hours to complete, and its multiple storylines felt too stretched out. In comparison, Origins took me just under 25 hours to complete. The main story had a compact narrative, fitting well into the overarching plot of the Assassin’s Creed universe.

I hope to see Ubisoft using Origins as an inspiration for Assassin’s Creed Shadows this year. The team is said to be quite ambitious with the project, so it needs to avoid the mistakes of the last two RPG offerings.

Shaheer Zahid

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