Assassin’s Creed Origins Has One Of Gaming’s Most Emotionally Charged Stories
Assassin’s Creed Origins took me by surprise. Firstly, it was the sights offered by its recreation of Ptolemaic Egypt. The way it opens, in that dusty yet lush oasis of Siwa, before unfolding to reveal landscapes of unexpectedly verdant valleys, wildflower meadows, and shimmering waterways.
Traversing the sun-swept streets of Alexandria, and crouching among the riverbank reeds will always be baked in my memory, especially with it being the first Assassin’s Creed I ever played. I still recall the amazement of how the map expanded further near the end to show you green Cyrene, a place that today makes up northeast Libya. It delighted in a way that Odyssey’s too-big and too-samey Ancient Greece doesn’t quite manage.
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But as beautifully realised as the environments were, it was the story that really gripped me, hanging as it did off the broad and charismatic shoulders of Bayek of Siwa. He’s one of my favourite characters I’ve encountered. Not just in video games, but in all media. Firstly, his physicality is beautifully drawn, with his large, gentle eyes, strong hands, a deep rich voice, and a dome of a head. But it’s his temperament that truly shines.
As you progress through the game, you discover Bayek’s gentle humour, his great respect and fondness for children, his delight at the small things, and his utter abhorrence of injustice. His anger at any grievance is righteous and quick, yet controlled, like a fury born from a heart of boundless compassion. This compassion, too, is cut with great sadness: Bayek and his wife Aya lost their son Khemu who was killed in a struggle with members of the Templar Order.
Khemu’s spirit wanders throughout the game. You
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