TheAssassin’s Creedfranchise has gone through some serious changes back in 2017, with the release ofAssassin’s Creed: Origins.Fans of the series were in agreement about the fact that these alterations were much-needed After all, the tried and testedACformula was getting a little stale after eight main entries with eerily similar gameplay mechanics and mission sequences.
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Ubisoft’s pivot turned out to be a huge success. Fully-fleshed RPG elements revamped combat mechanics and beautifully realized open worlds became landmark characteristics of the series. AfterOrigins,Assassin’s Creed: OdysseyandValhallacontinued the trend. In many ways, these titles improved upon the formula. On the other hand, though,Originsremains the best “new"Assassin’s Creedgame in a few very important areas.
Updated on July 01, 2025 by Jake Fillery:After the Assassin’s Creed franchise closed the curtain on Ezio Auditore and Desmond’s story, the series seemed directionless, and many fans got off the hype train in awaiting something new and special. Luckily for them, Assassin’s Creed: Origins was something special, and it evolved the series in a way that could paint the future for the direction of the franchise, for better or worse. There’s much to love about Assassin’s Creed: Origins and fans have expressed their keen interest in the characters, world, and story. It has been six years since Assassin’s Creed: Origins and the franchise has stumbled with Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey and Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, begging the question of what made Assassin’s Creed: Origins better than its sequels, and can the series come back to form with Assassin’s Creed: Mirage?
17Grounded Tale
There was a simplicity toAssassin’s Creed: Originsthat deserved to be admired. Players were entering a bold new world, with brand new characters that they had no attachment to just yet. It was a far cry from the characters and DNA of what players knew, but luckily, a grounded story was told that helped to anchor players to these new characters in emotional ways. Whereas with the sequels, the games went too big, and far too mythical, lacking the personal story progression that provided character growth.
Assassin’s Creed: Originsallowed the franchise to go back before what they knew, and this era from 48 BC allowed more creative freedom when it came to storytelling. Despite the complex elements involving the decade-long franchise lore, there was beauty in simplicity surrounding the story of Bayek, a vengeful father seeking out the murderer of his sons, whilst founding the Assassin’s Brotherhoodthat fans know and love today.
16Strong Franchise Ties
Assassin’s Creed: Originswas unapologetic with its connections to the series. Everything was clear from the beginning. The hood, the eagle, the hidden blade. Everything was there, showing fans who might have left the series behind thatAssassin’s Creedwas still there, it has just evolved. These strong franchise ties allowed comfort in familiarity, and players wouldn’t be confused as to if they are an Assassin or just some random person with a hidden blade.
The very fact thatAssassin’s Creed: Originsshows the foundation of the Assassin’s Brotherhood, and the reasons for their weaponry, makes for a pleasurable experience. However, the sequels seem to lack much-needed ties to the Assassins, and it’s hard to look at the sequels toAssassin’s Creed: Originsand see them asAssassin’s Creedgames, and instead, just as historical open-world games with a branded title for easy recognition on the market.
15Lack Of Nonsense
Although theAssassin’s Creedseries has featured some more magical and mythical elements of the past, such as characters like Juno, and even the pieces of ancient technology like the Apple of Eden, there’s something weirdly jarring when players see Norse mythology characters like Loki, and characters being able to freely roam Valhalla, or fight the likes of Hades.
The sequels forAssassin’s Creed: Originsbecome more bizarre, and the emphasis on fun, makes the game not-so-fun. It makes players wish for a simpler time when the story was going somewhere, and not so disconnected fromits lore and mythologythat it just makes for a confusing experience that prefers recognizable character names and jokes, over its character motivation.Assassin’s Creed: Originsdid a great job of allowing Egyptian mythology to leak into the world without being so overbearing.
14A Love Story
WithinAssassin’s Creed: Origins, there is a beautiful yet tragic love story between the two central characters, Bayak and Aya. These two characters are entwined throughout the story, and their chemistry is electric, which is why seeing them in pain, or saying goodbye, is an ending that nobody wants, but it is what the story needs.
The same cannot be said for the sequels toAssassin’s Creed: Origins, in whichValhallaandOdysseysee romance as options and side quests, a reward for playing the game. The romance options in theseAssassin’s Creed: Originssequels lack importance in the story, which is a shame, considering that love has always been a central theme in theAssassin’s Creedgames. The lack of relationships that impact the story, and are reserved as nothing more than optional missions, leaves much to be desired.
13The Main Story
The overarching narrative of allAssassin’s Creedgames is nothing new. The everlasting battle between the Assassin Brotherhood andthe Templar Orderacross the ages has become so convoluted and complex that many players admit they don’t know what’s going on anymore and newcomers feel intimidated by it.
EnterOriginsand the story of the establishment of the Hidden Ones, the precursor organization tothe Assassin Brotherhood. The plot revolving around Bayek and Aya’s revenge story turning more and more political as the main questline progressed was simple, which is exactly what made it so good. The plots of the later entries weren’t nearly as polished and captivating, withOdyssey’smultitude of plotholes, and the uninspired conquest story thatValhallafocuses on.
12It Isn’t As Bloated
The general trend in the gaming industry is to upscale most aspects of new games. Bigger maps, more things to do, more side quests, more collectibles. While it may seem like it’s a good idea, open-world games have become so large that completing some of them feels like work. This is exactly the case withOdysseyandValhalla.
AC: Originspioneered the formula that is also implemented in the later titles, but its scale was much more bearable. The smaller number of question marks and things to do on the map allows for more organic exploration and completion of all the objectives.
11Map Size
To piggyback on the earlier point, a lot of the “bloatedness” that the newestAssassin’s Creedgames suffer from is related to the size of their open worlds. The sheer amount of landmass present inOdysseymakes traversing the game without fast travel a nuisance. Players who don’t want to break their immersion and choose to brave Ancient Greece on foot, horseback, and by ship only, succumb to many in-game hours spent solely on commuting from point A to point B.
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InOrigins,the map was much more scalable. Granted, some of the desert environments were dull and repetitive, but at least traveling on horseback from one end of the world to the other felt doable.
10Side Content
Much of the side content inAssassin’s Creed: Originsdoes not differ much from what players may encounter inOdysseyorValhalla,but there are certain exceptions. Sequences such as exploring the Ancient Tombs in search of mystical tablets that provide insights into the First Civilization, or the tear-jerking Stone Circle quests where players get to relive Bayek’s memories with his late son truly stand out as some of the most creative and engaging moments in the series.
Odysseyhas done away with many of these concepts, opting to include more bosses, collectibles, and “collectathon”-type side quests instead. Tomb exploration and puzzle-based retrospections made a comeback inValhalla, but they never quite recaptured the magic these moments had inOrigins,primarily due to the lack of a worthy narrative-based reason for including them in the first place.
9The Length Of The Game
The “length” of anAssassin’s Creedgame in the post-2017 context should also take into account at least some of the side quests and other content. After all, players need to get through them to be of a high enough level to handle the main quests.
All in all, getting through the main plot ofOriginstakes around 30 hours for most players. It is a near-optimal length, leaving players with the time to get to side content they may have missed out on.Odyssey’smain story clocks in at 45 hours andValhalla’swhopping 60-70 hours just to get to the end credits. While some gamers may consider it better value for their money, it is important to note that such main quest lengths are achieved by adding a lot of filler content and missions that are intended to artificially prolong the game.
8The Main Character
Assassin’s Creedhas had some great protagonists featured in these games across the years. Ezio Auditore and the Fry Twins are just two of the best examples. On the other hand, there were some quite lackluster characters, as well, like Arno fromUnityorAC III’sConnor. Bayek of Siwa belongs in the first category.
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With a strong, emotional backstory, a sense of humor, witty dialogue (and a badass spouse), the Last Medjay of Egipt makes for a very compelling and entertaining character to play as. Especially when compared to a funny, but uninspired Kassandra (AC: Odyssey)and the somewhat brutish Eivor (Valhalla).
