The first prequel of the Assassin's Creed saga takes you to the very root of the conflict between Assassins and Templars as you traverse dunes, oases, and landmarks across a fictional representation of Ancient Egypt.

This was a nice twist to the traditional Assassin's Creed formula we'd been accustomed to. This time around, the creators have decided to swerve from the usual Western costumes and trappings of the immediate predecessors to immerse us again in an epic Middle-Eastern setting. 

Indeed, it's not the first time we roam the Middle East, for the first game took us to the Holy Land, of all places. Conversely, in Origins, there are no "Latin" crusaders anywhere in sight, though you'll find Roman soldiers, so there's that.

This is also the first Assassin's Creed to be set in antiquity, with Odyssey immediately following its footsteps to bring us much further back. It's a welcome breath of fresh air to a series that was, quite frankly, becoming far too formulaic and stagnant, struggling to reinvent itself.

When I first saw this game's trailer, I was taken aback by the astonishing imagery, but I sometimes wondered whether this game was, in reality, an Assassin's Creed game or a spin-off of sorts, being that it looked so unique. The Assassin figure on the cover kind of gave that away (as well as the title, obviously), but he looked too small in relation to the rest of the elements so I wasn't able to make the connection at first.

Then I learn that the game's narrative involves the founding of the Assassin Brotherhood (formerly the "Hidden Ones"), which, according to the lore, would take place near the end of Egypt's Ptolemaic era. It's an interesting plot device that would make sense within the series' paradigm. 

Odyssey, on the other hand, only establishes loose connections to the franchise and its ethos, and it's often questioned whether the devs really intended it from the beginning or if it was just a mandatory homage to Ancient Greece. But enough about Odyssey (which is a great game, nonetheless). Back to Origins:

In this game, you will be exploring Egyptian deserts and oases, and visiting interesting locations and historical sites along the way. The map itself is generous, spanning roughly 31 square miles (a bit more than double the size of Skyrim's map). Unsurprisingly, the map is overly empty, which actually makes sense at this juncture, given that we are in a desertic region.

As far as looks are concerned, the vistas and sceneries are gorgeous! It also helps that, since there's not much vegetation, it's far easier for the game to render crisper objects and better shadows. It looked amazing even on older consoles but, on Ultra-High PC graphics, this game blows most of the predecessors out of the water (and, some would argue, even its successors, though that's debatable).

Finally, the story's execution was brilliant (albeit a bit linear) and Bayek - the protagonist and only playable character - is highly likable and memorable. He's sometimes compared to Altaïr (the protagonist of the series debut) because of the many traits they display, and I couldn't help but sympathize with him and his motivations, which is more than I could say for other protagonists within the series.