I'm about 24 hours in. It's good. It's damn good. It's not as innovative as a game like Watch Dogs 2, but the world Ubi has built carries the game's mechanics much further. I just wish there were more puzzle elements. Even Tomb Raider's tombs required more mental gymnastics than this game. That said, you can easily make your own fun with the tools they've given you. I had fun just flying with Senu for about an hour, discovering some regions I hadn't yet seen and taking her way up in the sky. The draw distance and weather effects in this game are so phenomenal.
I also think the devs really missed a golden opportunity by making the deities the backstory instead of putting them in the fore. The Witcher series thrived by really digging in to European folklore for all its worth, and I feel like Origins generally sidesteps that and instead makes the story a revenge plot played straight. For a game like Mafia III, they pulled off that simplistic framing with writing and voice-acting that was some of the best in the business. Assassin's Creed, meanwhile, seems to still lack a narrative voice. It's half-committed to the role, with the other half haphazardly translating "motherfuckers" for laughs. The game does itself no favors by featuring questlines that are awfully close to those I remember (more vividly) from The Witcher. A big confrontation in a bathhouse? You know it. Helping locals stage a play despite governing intrusions? Mmmhm. With Origins, pretty much everything in the narrative is middle of the road with the exception of the world itself.
But what a world it is. Honestly, where Origins is at its best is in its geographic diversity and its scope. The fact that I can spend an hour plundering tombs in Giza, ride through the desert, hallucinating in the deathly heat, spend an hour just flying as Senu, hop in a boat and sail to Alexandria before taking on a whole nother line of quests completely separate from the main story. It's exceptional, and the fact that the game can be talked about games like Red Dead Redemption and Witcher III without being laughed out of the room speaks to its quality. Good job, Ubi.
I'm still gonna wait to see what all the DLC is before buying it though. I already got burned on the Watch Dogs 2 DLC.
