Was Assassin’s Creed Origins’ Egypt the best open world in the series?
The article is a retrospective column originally published in PC Gamer’s January 2018 issue, reflecting on whether Assassin’s Creed Origins’ Egyptian open world represents the best in the series.
Since Origins’ 2017 launch, Ubisoft has expanded the franchise with new historical settings: Greece in Odyssey (2018), the British Isles in Valhalla (2020), and Japan in Shadows (2025). While each subsequent world has grown increasingly larger and more detailed, the article argues that none have matched Origins’ success in capturing the majesty and historical authenticity of a real-world location—specifically the Giza plateau.
The piece highlights the Discovery Tour feature, introduced with Origins, which transformed the game’s development assets into an educational experience. This innovative approach to using detailed game environments for historical learning is presented as one of Origins’ most significant contributions to the series.
Ultimately, the retrospective examines how Assassin’s Creed’s open-world design has evolved across different historical periods, questioning whether the franchise’s expansion toward larger, more densely detailed worlds has improved upon or diminished Origins’ focused, historically-grounded approach to environmental storytelling.