Assassin's Creed: Origins - Gold Edition Review: Is It Worth Playing?

What is Assassin's Creed: Origins - Gold Edition?

Assassin's Creed: Origins - Gold Edition is a detailed bundle of the 2017 action role-playing game developed by Ubisoft Montreal. This edition includes the base game, the 'Deluxe Pack' of cosmetic items, and the 'Season Pass'.

The Season Pass grants access to two major narrative expansions, 'The Hidden Ones' and 'The Curse of the Pharaohs', along with a selection of additional side missions and equipment packs. The game is available across PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

The premise marks a pivotal shift for the long-running series. Set in the Ptolemaic period of Ancient Egypt, it serves as an origin story for the conflict between the Assassin Brotherhood and the Templar Order.

You play as Bayek of Siwa, a Medjay - a protector of the people - whose personal tragedy sets him on a path of vengeance and ideological founding. The narrative explores the formation of the Brotherhood's core tenets against a backdrop of political intrigue, with historical figures like Cleopatra and Julius Caesar woven into the plot.

The setting is one of the game's strongest assets, presenting a vast and evocative recreation of Egypt from the Nile Delta to the deserts of Giza.

Gameplay

The gameplay in Origins represents a fundamental reinvention for the Assassin's Creed franchise, moving decisively from action-adventure towards a full action-RPG structure. The core loop involves exploring the massive open world, undertaking main quests, engaging in combat, and managing character progression.

Combat overhaul

Combat is the most altered mechanic. It abandons the counter-kill system of earlier titles for a hitbox-based, stamina-managed system reminiscent of titles like The Witcher 3.

You have light and heavy attacks, can block with a shield, and must time dodges carefully. Every enemy has a level, and engaging an opponent several levels higher than you is typically futile, emphasising the RPG progression.

The learning curve is moderate; the basics are easy to grasp, but mastering timing against shielded soldiers or agile hunters requires practice. Stealth remains viable with tools like sleep darts and predator bows, though it feels less mechanically deep than dedicated combat.

Progression and loot

Character progression is handled through a skill tree split into three paths: Hunter (ranged), Warrior (melee), and Seer (tools and stealth). You earn ability points by gaining experience, which dictates your level.

Loot is a constant driver, with a colour-coded rarity system for weapons and shields that have varying damage stats and special perks. This adds tangible growth, but can lead to chasing incremental stat upgrades.

The world is filled with activities - clearing bandit camps, solving papyrus riddles, raiding tombs for skill points, and arena battles. While visually stunning, the tasks can become repetitive over the lengthy runtime.

The two expansions, particularly 'The Curse of the Pharaohs', introduce new enemy types and fantastical locations that provide a welcome change of pace from the base game's grounded challenges.

Who is Assassin's Creed: Origins - Gold Edition for?

This edition is aimed at solo players who enjoy deep, exploratory open-world RPGs and have a specific interest in Assassin's Creed lore or Ancient Egyptian history. It is a decidedly single-player experience with no multiplayer component.

• Casual players can enjoy the exploration and story on lower difficulties.
• Completionists will find dozens of hours of content in hunting every location and maximising their build.
• Fans of later series entries like Odyssey or Valhalla will recognise Origins as the template from which they evolved.
• History enthusiasts will appreciate the Discovery Tour mode, a free non-violent educational tour of the game's historical setting.

If you enjoyed the RPG direction of later series entries, Origins shares clear DNA with open-world RPGs such as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, though its narrative is more personal and less branching. It is less suited for players who preferred the more straightforward, narrative-driven parkour and assassination of earlier Assassin's Creed games, as those elements are now part of a much broader, stats-driven system.

Graphics and performance

Assassin's Creed: Origins is visually stunning. The visual style is one of grandiose scale and atmospheric detail, from the bustling markets of Alexandria and Memphis to the serene beauty of the Nile and the oppressive heat haze of the desert.

The recreation of Giza and other monuments is impressive, and the game uses lighting and weather effects to great dramatic effect. Character models, particularly during key story scenes, are detailed and expressive.

On PC, performance is heavily dependent on hardware. The game is demanding, even on modern systems. To achieve stable 60 frames per second at high to ultra settings at 1080p, a powerful graphics card from its release era or later is recommended.

The CPU is also heavily utilised due to the density of the world's NPCs and simulation. There were sporadic performance issues and DRM-related stuttering at launch, though many were alleviated through subsequent patches.

On PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X, the game offers enhanced resolution and more stable performance compared to the base consoles, which can suffer from noticeable frame rate dips in dense areas. Achieving consistently smooth performance at higher settings requires a capable gaming PC.

Value for money

The Gold Edition represents a significant time investment. The base game's critical path can take around 30 hours, but engaging with a substantial portion of the side content can easily double that.

Purchasing the Gold Edition at a discount is almost always better value than buying the base game and Season Pass separately. You are paying for a vast, single-player open-world RPG and its two largest story expansions.

If the core gameplay loop of exploration, levelling, and loot appeals to you, the amount of content per pound is very high. However, if you find the activities repetitive before finishing the main story, the expansions will likely feel like more of the same.

For a player new to the game who wants the complete experience, the Gold Edition on sale offers solid value given the sheer volume of content.

Verdict

Assassin's Creed: Origins - Gold Edition is a defining and successful pivot into the action-RPG genre, bundled with its most important post-launch content.

It offers a breathtaking and immersive historical setting, a compelling personal story for its protagonist, and a combat system that, while not the most refined, provides a satisfying foundation for its successors to build upon.

We would recommend this edition to players seeking a vast, atmospheric open world to get lost in, and to those with a specific interest in Assassin's Creed lore. History buffs will also find much to appreciate in its detailed recreation of Ancient Egypt. The Gold Edition is the definitive way to experience Bayek's journey.

However, we would caution players nostalgic for the more focused, stealth-and-parkour gameplay of titles like Assassin's Creed II or Black Flag. The RPG mechanics here, from level-gating to loot stats, fundamentally change the pace and priorities of play.

The core gameplay loop can also become grindy and repetitive, especially across the full breadth of the base game and expansions. If you dislike chasing experience points to meet quest level requirements or managing an inventory of constantly upgrading gear, this may not be for you.

Ultimately, Origins is a strong, ambitious reboot that reinvigorated the franchise. The Gold Edition packages it at its most complete, making it a worthwhile journey for the right kind of explorer.