I am a huge nerd when it comes to ancient egypt but Origins, at least the bit I played reminded me of something we often forget. Everything we consider ancient Egypt, the pyramids, most of the temples, valley of the kings, that all was considered ancient by the time of Origins. Just the weight of time hit me and I only played a bit at a mates house once.
Same here, when i played origins i remember hearing some npc’s talking about “ancient civilizations” or “ancient Egypt” and i realized, we don’t realize how forward we are in human history, Bayek story was 2000 years ago and yet, in that time they used to call ancient some civilizations that we wrongly put in the same era (what i mean is like, before playing Origins Egypt 2000 B.C.E. and Egypt 47B.C.E. were the same for me and i couldn’t see the difference)
@@andregar-3743 the layperson sees Ancient Egypt (Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome for that matter) as one homogeneous culture, when there is a lot of diversity involved and I don't mean diversity in the meaning that has become the catchphrase at the moment. I mean diversity regarding eras, just culture in general.
This makes me want to play all AC games. It's just amazing that we can have a glimpse and immerse ourselves in these historical worlds even if they aren't super accurate.
It is a great game. They took their time with it, fixed a lot of gameplay concerns fans had for a decade at that point, and made a fun all around experience.
The origins map is perfect, the amount of landmarks never makes it feel empty, and even the deserts have the feeling of being immersive, with the hallucinations and the distant pyramids, you’re never drawn out of the map with poorly placed assets, even though there is a downgraded parkour system the parkour opportunities are still there with as much thought as Paris, the map is colourful too, unlike Paris, which gives an instant upgrade, although syndicates map was great, it was too modern, one of my favourite parts about exploring the maps is seeing what things were like hundreds even thousands of years ago, what landmarks used to be like, which is why mirage looks so promising to me now, it has all the best qualities I’ve listed, as well as the parkour centred aspect, but for now origins is on top
It's the little things that made Origins amazing for me, most specifically the agriculture, which was so accurate that it correctly depicted the correct commercial crops, like lentils and grains to blooming fields of flax that were a key industrial crop, even the wide array of accurate towering Egyptian pigeon coops, which were a main meat source for the common population.
Most certainly gotta agree with you on Origins. I love the variety we get in that map, it’s huge but it’s not too big for its own good like Odyssey or Valhalla. It also helps that I’ve been to Egypt myself and can reminisce when traveling to Giza or Luxor, Queen Hatshepsut’s temple, and the Valley of Kings in the DLC. Also, to go with the lore of the franchise, I absolutely love the air of mystery that permeates Origins. The First Civ tombs being built beneath other humankind tombs in the desert, the giant, alien canyon buried amongst the sands. Seeing the stars and the hallucination meteors that rain from the sky is breathtaking. Absolutely phenomenal setting.
@@sosaysjay the Sphinx for one, it really is smaller than you’d imagine until you see it in person. The Pyramids were breathtaking and being able to go inside of them was also amazing (I got to go inside of the 2nd pyramid, as well as Ramesses the Great and King Tutankhamun’s tomb all in real life) I also think the temple structures we see in Luxor and Memphis were pretty damn spot on as well, and of course the Nile looks amazing too
I agree with you on the map for Origins. I think of the new games since Odyssey it remains my favourite for the character, but also the world. It is big, but I found it much less taxing to explore and finsih compared to Odyssey which I am still playing even as I start Valhalla. I really enjoy the Ancient Greece setting and I like Kassandra, but there's too much. Origins balances the story and side activities much better in its open world.
I've been to egypt as well. Seeing these landscapes and structures during their ancient times was phenomenal. They haven't replicated everything 100 % but they are damn close. I could even see the same hills I've seen when I was in Luxor myself. The level of detail they've put into this game is simply amazing.
It's ironic that it doesn't feel too big like Odyssey or Valhalla, considering that Egypt is significantly larger than Greece and the British Isles lol. Really shows how important it is to make your gameplay make players *feel* a certain way
Arguably, what makes AC Black Flag stand out so much is not only the world design itself, but the music - the music is incredible and I still listen to it this day. I'm not only referring to sea shanties, but also the music that plays in taverns - with Spanish songs in Havana and a mixture of English, Scottish and Irish folk music in the English settlements.
Origins literally sparked my interest in history. The world and time period are so fascinating that it made me want to know more about all the cultures that can be seen in Ptolomaic Egypt. Bayek also went down as one of my absolute favorite video game protagonists, right up there with Ezio. Overall, phenomenal game.
Nothing has surpassed AC2 for me. None of the sequels. Not Origins, not unity, not black flag, and not the piece of trash only carrying the name of Assassins Creed.
@@JL32506AC 3 makes sense in this regard especially if you are American. Growing up in America, it was always a wonder to dive back into the history of the land I was born on. It’s a wonder for other parts of the world and their cultures as well, but the home one tends to hit the hardest. If someone asked me how they could get the best experience with the history of the US, I’d tell them to play AC3. Not to watch the patriot or Lincoln or some period piece. Red dead has its myriad of westerns to go to if you want to experience the Wild West. Nothing paints the picture clearer and as powerful as AC3 when it comes to the American Revolution. Both AC 3 and AC 4 took incredible risks that I appreciate. It’s just those risks worked out way better for them in AC 4. The ship combat and the exploration it encouraged fit the AC franchise perfectly. Unfortunately the setting for AC 3 didn’t hold up to what the franchise was known for. Small buildings, lots of space, not many cool landmarks. Just places where things happened, but nothing like the Roman Coliseum or Norte Dame, actual cool buildings to explore and possibly have a mission in
I think the reason Origins is this good, is because it is the most finished, polished and refined game in the series. You can literally tell they really put in the effort! Everything is thought out and addressed; has depth, meaning and it’s interesting! I guess one drop of passion makes all the difference in the world!
Origins was arguably the best world to visit. You have the woodlands of North Libya being Cyrenaica, and you have the sand deserts of Sudan, as well as Alexandria and the wet amrshes of Northern Egypt with the Sandy Dunes of Siwa and other areas. Best map as a whole.
Odyssey was the worst ac game in terms of being an assassin and in the audition for the worst ac game oat first of all u have no assassin history then u cant just assassinate someone because most enemys are too strong even if u one level above them and u have magic weapons Plus the story line is way too long because u have too many side quests and its not even relevant to kill that cult But killing those cyclops etc was fun
Origins is definitely my favorite game in the series and a lot of that just comes from exploring the map. The map made me want to explore and complete side tasks almost more than seeing bayek Jumpstart the brotherhood.
Even though I don't like the game it's used in, I really loved Victorian London. I personally always found that era of history very fascinating and it was great to get a glimpse into what it might have been like to live in mid 1800s London, including depicting the horrors of child labor. Lastly I liked the attention to detail with that era. For example there was an instance of a paper boy shouting out news referencing the Boshin War (and the wider Mejji Restoration) in Japan at the time On a side note, I was hoping that China would be the next setting (by Ubisoft Montreal) for the next mainline AC game as the sequel to AC Valhalla. It would have been a perfect fit for the series.
I’ve always had a bias in favour of Syndicate because of its setting and time period, as well as it being the most ‘modern’ AC that we’ve ever gotten (unless you count playing Watch Dogs Legion as the assassin)
@@AmalGum001 Look if the characters and writing was just tonally consistent with the dreary setting, then it would have been a decent game. But it wasn't and it was so bloatedly Jacob, not enough Evie.
yeah, i agree, but it's unfortunate that everything in the story and side quests of the game completely destroys the atmosphere of the world. If any game shouldn't have been fun and jokey, it shouldn't have been the one in Victorian London
@@donkeyman9710 I think it suited the Ezio games and AC 4 Black Flag, but not Victorian London. It would have been better if it was just Evie and Jacob was cut from the game entirely. It could have delved into topics regarding Sexism and other forms of mainstream bigotry that would have existed at the time. I find it hard to believe that nobody in Victorian London would have never said anything even slightly sexist to Evie. In addition one of the side characters is a transgender man. Again I find it hard to believe that nobody would have commented on it at all, or worse physically assault them during that time. Ubisoft could have taken a few risks but they played it too safe.
I just found your channels and immediately watched all your essays. I have to say this is the best Assassin's Creed content I've ever seen on youtube. AC has always fascinated me as it's one of the only franchises of it's scale that is so immensely weird and interesting, and seeing someone break it down with as much thought as you have is incredible to see. Good job!!!
I’m a huge ancient classical guy, and the portrayal of Ancient Greece is absolutely stunning and on a whole pretty (albeit exaggerated at times) accurate, the metopes on some of the famous temples were dead to right, whilst not showing all of them, they absolutely get it right on the ones they do, the fantasy aspects and exaggerated sizes are a welcome to me as it plays into the myths that are such a key part of both our understanding, but also the society that was present at the time, the only thing that truly left me wanting was a mix of both different cultures from the different city states, and the traditions and festivals of the time, more reference to godly worship and festivals like the city dionysia would have fleshed it out to an unrivalled degree for me
First of all I appreciate the work that has been done for this video; although I love AC 4's map and I cant get enough of it but also love London in AC Syndicate, Paris in Unity, Egypt in Origins, Greece in Odyssey, Istanbul in Revelations, AC 2's and AC Brotherhood's map. I simply love the settings of AC series.
Bayek can do a backflip on a palm tree when there is a haystack nearby, when there are torches or campfires around the opponents, he can throw a sleep or poison arrow and catch more than one with an arrow, gives small subtle tricks, also gives a trick where msn bow and shield can remove.
I just want a game set on the Aztec Empire and I will be a happy man. It is 100% a bias of mine just because I'm Mexican, but I really think that it could be such an amazing setting to dive into and have the level of detail that the AC games have in portraying a city as unique as the Great Tenochtitlán was.
Agreed with number 1 as I'm a big Egypt historian geek, but Odyssey is close 2nd for me. I remembered the first time seeing central Attika, totally blew my mind (for me the best AC city design ever) and was so excited to go there immediately. Unity and Black flag also amazing.
Thank you, I always appreciated your comments on our other channel as well. A video like that would be fun to make, I will definitely keep that in mind
What i loved most about Origins was that it had all 3 major ancient civilization styles in one game. You could visit ancient Egyptian ruins, an ancient Greek city, and what most other people forget to mention in Origins, you could also visit an ancient Roman city. I would love an AC game set in ancient Rome and visiting Cyrene was the closest to that i could experience so far. Everything about that city is amazing, rivaling even Alexandria. It's a spectacular feat that Origins got to display and it is done beautifully. Also the DLC Thebes was cool too!
In that area yeah, but there are tons of ancient civilizations that would be amazing settings still. We still have yet to properly see ancient China, India, the Mayans or the Aztecs, and if we include more recent history there's even more.
watching your video about a games i love like origins and odyssey and listing to your voice makes me feel like i'm walking in old egypt or greec streets, thank you so much jay
I just finished Origins, my last AC was the 1st one. Im still thinking about it. All of Egypt is so lived in and diverse in the problems they have, making the side missions interesting and fun to do.
AC 1 was my favorite. It was so open, stealthy, and just totally different from anything I’d ever played. In retrospect I can see how it was a bit repetitive, but I loved that game so much. The cities were fantastic, the horseback riding between cities, and combat was wonderful. AC2 was quite good too, and I remember exploring Venice and having a blast in the masquerade sections. I would absolutely love faithful remakes/remasters with updated graphics but really no changes to the actual maps.
My top games 1. AC2 2. AC 4 Black Flag 3. AC Unity 4. AC3 5. AC Origins My top fav setting 1. Caribbean 2. Paris 3. Renaissance Italy 4. Victorian London 5. Egypt
As much as i do prefer the old style of ac games, i love that that new ac games have a tour feature where i can walk around the map and learn interesting facts about the culture.
I started with Black Flag. Loved every moment of it. Ship battle and customization, Matt Ryan as Edward Kenway, and a slew of other things but the two are the ones that made a huge impression of me. And then I went forward from there. After I beat Origins, I went back. All great and stuff but Black Flag will always be my favorite installment. I don't care what anybody says, Black Flag is MY Assassin's Creed game.
This video was an amazing watch! I was shocked to hear that this was the first video on the channel as I expected you to have a couple hundred thousand subscribers. Great quality, opinions and commentary
My favourites are Greece and England. Greece felt amazing and magical and England's countryside was very nostalgic for me. However, the main problem with these settings in my opinion is the amount of time spent on horseback instead of rooftops and cities.
@Elden Chad I actually think the amount of time on horse back makes a lot of sense. Classical Greece was 2,500 years ago and there was very little urbanization. Anglo Saxon England was also very sparse when it comes to urbanization. I think having some games with more urban areas is better, but larger rural maps make up for all the rooftop jumping.
Played origins and unity so far, and both were excellent games, the environments are so immersive, but Origins have to take the win, it makes you contemplate how massive and ancient those lands are, how much it’s been through, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans so many stories, it’s crazy
That detail about the penguins from Rogue being extinct literally made my jaw drop, that’s such a great use of historical settings that I can’t think of another example of in the series
For me I really liked the map of Constantinople ... I loved the style of building and run down nature and the Parkour felt smoother and the density of people was amazing
Loved Istanbul as well. The architecture, the streets, the markets it all clicked with me and loved the hook. It's why Mirage is a game I'm very interested in
wonderfully made video, and i am SO glad you gave origins the appreciation it deserves- many either prefer odyssey or discard the newer games entirely which i think does the ambition and beauty of origins a disservice.
Odyssey is still the only one I've platinum'd (mostly due to feathers), almost entirely because of the map and setting, I could not get enough. Egypt then the Caribbean round out my top 3.
AC2 almost single handedly got me interested in renaissance Italy and the history of that time period. I have a mental list of time periods id love to see represented in an AC game. Feudal Japan being one of them, I’m actually surprised that they haven’t done that one yet
They are actually working on an AC game in the Feudal Japan time period, when Oda Nobunaga was alive. It's AC codenam Red. They released a teaser quite a while ago. Here it is: ua-cam.com/video/gD_DemeUuy8/v-deo.html I'm glad they are working on a Japan AC game at this point with the current technology.
AC 1 and 2 got my attention quick. The stealthiness is what i loved and seeing ancient times come to life. I have skipped a few here and there because of real life. Sparta and Rome are my favorite time periods to read on and watch. There are others that I like almost as much. This franchise does an amazing job getting us as close to that reality as possible. I'm almost finished with AC 3 remastered and loving it also.
I LOVE this list. Every placement and reason in this video is 100% agreeable, and the fact that you put my favorite AC setting and almost my favorite game at #1 is so heartfelt. I couldn't agree more with this video.
Absolutely amazing essay here. Have been on a bit of an AC binge lately and this was a great watch. Glad to see Origins at the top of the list. I am still hopeful that Ubisoft will give us a sequel to it one day but the odds of that seems very unlikely.
Oh man when the bass kicks in in that ACII track you used at the start, hits just like it did back when I was young listening to the CD with the collectors edition.
@@sosaysjay it was my first and still to this day only collectors edition I ever bought! ACII was a really big deal for me growing up so the soundtrack always hits when I hear it!
They really nailed that feel of sailing out in the open, frozen ocean. The bleakness of the sea really sells it and makes you feel small and alone in the “big” ocean. Also the Legendary Ship fight settings are very well done imo.
I remember when the gameplay trailer for Black Flag dropped. I couldn’t believe how advanced games had gotten. The idea of seamlessly, mid chase, going from a fleshed out island with a populated town to hopping on to your ship and sailing into the open ocean; catching up to a ship, entering combat and, again, seamlessly going from ship-to-ship combat to swinging onto their’s; finishing off the captain and taking their treasure, and sailing into the sunset avoiding dynamic weather just to come across an uncharted island with more activities while watching ships of various factions fighting each other in the distance. All of this with NO LOADING SCREENS! 16 year old me was blown away and hasn’t seen a game trailer since that’s lived up to that amount of hype.
Even though Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Victorian Times, Vikings and Pirates are really popular settings and soon to be Samurai. I always preferred the lesser known time periods that haven't been explored in other video games, such as the French Revolution, American Revolution, Third Crusade, Renaissance, soon to be Witch Trials with the upcoming AC Hexe. These are time periods you would not expect to see in an open world action based video game like Assassin's Creed. Like you would expect a Renaissance or an American Revolution game to be an educational puzzle game that plays out like a digital novel, or something you would just see in movies and documentaries. But instead Ubisoft gave us the opportunity to truly explore these settings that pretty much barely any other games truly looked into. And that's why I love AC. The time periods may not be my favourite, but the Crusades where your not the Templars and the Renaissance works so well with this franchise. I think Ubisoft should continue to go down the path into exploring time periods that no other games have explored.
This is such a wonderful and well thought out analysis. Origins is by far my favorite AC game of the “new trillogy”. Really love the way you broke this down. Subbed and liked. Would love to hear a ranking of all AC games for more than just their setting. Thank you for doing this!
Bro I really really love this video you really went over every little detail in every single game and I respect you for it. Besides you were fair to every game
Not Revelations? The Mirage Trailer reminded me so much of it and why I'm excited for it and might actually get the game day one or first sale, since games have sales a month or so after release
I actually wanted to add something about Rogue’s gameplay: while it’s true you act like a pirate when you’re not actually a pirate, that is *exactly* what the British navy did in the past,. Ships, informally called sea dogs, were legally allowed to attack and plunder enemy ships basically whenever they wanted, and in the Seven Years War British ships did the same thing to any French ships they saw. Shay is allied with the British after he joins the Templars, he even flies their flag on the Morrigan, so it makes sense that he’d be plundering French ships and generally acting like a pirate, even though their time was long over by the time of the game. Just felt like pointing that out. Great video!
I know the focus of this was the settings. But the protagonist's interactions with the settings is a big part of that for me. Ezio might have set the standard for drawing the audience in. But for me, Bayek puts it on a different level. You mention that the developers obviously loved the Origins setting. We get to see that through Bayek's eyes, and any lesser character would diminish the setting as well. The visual spectacle of Egypt was great, but seeing it through Bayek's eyes made it perfect for me.
The games continue to get more visually stunning, but my major complaint about the last few games has been the level system. The enemies in the Ezio collection were so fun and diverse to fight, but all we got in Origins and Odyssey were the same level 1 soldiers who are just level 50 now. The enemies levelled up with you in the low level zones too so no matter what, you had to keep levelling up the same weapons and armor because weapons had a level system too. Which brings me to the progression system, It was such a great feeling to see the visual differences in the new armor and weapons you'd strive for in the Ezio collection, but they decided to take that away so that you could use any weapon you wanted for the entirety of the game. Wish they'd revert back to AC2 system.
Great job you did here - I am definitely subscribing and going for next video. AC Syndicate is actually my favourite AC of the series and I love victorian London, but I do agree with Origins settings being the most beautiful of all series - as you said: even the empty desert regions doesn't feel as an unnecessary waste of pixels:)
I‘ve meant to make this comment on your last video but that never happened. First of all: I think you did an outstanding job with the last and this video as well. It shows how much you appreciate the games and their educational aspect. I hope more AC fans get to see this video and hopefully even one of the devs. My favorite setting still holds up to be the Italian renessaince. Assassin‘s Creed 2 was my entry to the series and having played the remastered Ezio Collection lately the game still evoked that deep feeling of nostalgia and love I have for this game. But the main reason I love AC2 above all other in the series is it‘s music. I am so glad you‘ve mentioned the phenomenal soundtrack by Jesper Kyd. It is due the music I have so many fond memories of it. (Side Note: My Spotify wrapped even put Jesper Kyd as #1 as most heard artist :‘D) Ultimately what still makes me love this series is it‘s roots in science fiction with „the ones who came before“ and the brillant idea of the animus to access all of previous historical settings and settings yet to come. PS: I just watched the Ubisoft Forward recap and I‘m slightly optimistic towards AC Mirage. PPS: I still have to play AC Valhalla but I‘m afraid I won‘t finish this game as it seems to be even bigger than Odyssey.
Hi, I appreciate the comment and I am glad you enjoyed the video. AC2 is still a very special game and Renaissance Italy holds up amazingly after all these years. I hope we both enjoy Mirage when it comes out!
My personal ranking: 14. Cyprus - Bloodline 13. Louisiana - Liberation 12. The Holy Land - AC1 11. The North Atlantic - Rogue 10. Istanbul - Revelations 9. The American Colonies - AC3 8. Rome - Brotherhood 7. Paris - Unity 6. The Caribbean - Black Flag 5. Italy - AC2 4. London - Syndicate 3. England (and the other maps) - Valhalla 2. Egypt - Origins 1. Greece - Odyssey Egypt and Greece are specifically a cut above the rest. Greece is one of the best open world environments I’ve ever explored, while Egypt captures an atmosphere and sense of scope unlike any other game I’ve played.
Pretty good list. I agree with most of the placements. I'd probably put Odyssey a little higher, and Black Flag a little lower, but I definitely agree with Origins taking the top spot. Without a doubt, it's the best realized historical setting in the series to date.
I liked AC Origins when it first came out but I was competing with my friend to beat it. But now that I’ve gone through and I replayed it, it is definitely my favorite game of the franchise!
For me its Origins, but the second place is Unity. It really impressed me as not many games at that time did. Unlike what I saw online, I got the gene day 1 and had not experienced any bug for some reason.
Islamic Golden Age Baghdad has so much potential to be amazing, both from a historical/aesthetic standpoint and in terms of Asssassin gameplay, it's the densest city of the early Middle Ages
when i saw karl marx in syndicate, it really made it my favorite setting in the series. it felt like unity but how it SHOULD have been, with famous people/activities from that era
My favorite is AC 3 because my favorite historical timeline is the American Revolution. It truly is a great game but, I will admit alot of it is nostalgia. It was my entry into the Assassin's Creed world when I first got a Xbox 360 for Christmas. It and Skyrim, which came out in the same year, will always be some of if not my favorite games.
Damn bro I was watching this on my TV had to get my phone to come and comment because I never watch long videos and I fell in love with your video man that didn’t feel like 40 minutes lol, and I have deep emotions when It comes down to certain games especially assassins creed as I am 22 now life is hard and I am In a complete different situation to where I was when I was playing these older assassins creeds I was at home now I live alone cause I got kicked out at 16 by my step dad :( but these games remind me of them times and I fell in love with these games when I was young , life is tough and unfair but at least there are some things we as individuals can find special to the heart and no one really understands my passion for these certain games like cod back in the day assassins creed Skyrim and so so much more I can’t remember from the top of my head but they mean so much to me especially some of the soundtracks from these games but haha sorry for the rant just means so much to me when I see a video or something that reminds me of these games I just rant I even got a YT channel gaming no one understands my passion for games only I do and it means something special but Amazing homie it was really great :)
I appreciate you checking my video out. I hope you are able to put food on your table and have a roof over your head. Having numbers like 211 for United Way and 988 for times of crisis aren't cures but I am glad they exist. These games meant a lot to me growing up and I am glad that I could help you connect with that too. Best of luck.
@@sosaysjay thanks brother they really do mean a lot to me also man , they are so special people in my life will never understand , much love bro and keep uploading man you got special talent with those videos
Good post man. I’m 28 and I have a lot of the same thoughts and feelings about stuff that you do. Crazy how time flies. Good luck to you I hope you can keep growing and find success and happiness in life bro. I’m trying to do the same myself.
@@Flowerz__ hey man and yeah bro it’s a real struggle bro I haven’t felt a different feeling other then the feeling I have each day for as long as I remember, the days just are not the same but I hope we both find happiness bro and find a way to live less stressful ❤️
I remember buying Origins in a sale. I wasn't an avid Assassins Creed player, but had played 1,2,3 and Black Flag. The game really left me in awe with it's world, and it sparked in me a real interest for the games of the franchise. THe cherry on top of that world was that I liked Bayek, he felt human, with virtues and flaws.
I fully agree on Origin's setting being number 1. The top spots are all very strong but I'd actually reckon Syndicate to be in 2nd place. I feel like the immersion of walking through victorian London with all the factories, gardens, slums, great buildings, people playing music, cleaning or attaching posters to walls etc is unmatched in the series with mostly the difference in landscapes and wildlife seperating Origins from Syndicate (setting wise). For future games I hope they will do one in the HRE during the 30 years war. We've never been there and the complicated intrigues of the conflict would make for a great story. "Codename Hexe" sound like it's going to be in Germany (Hexe = witch in German) but I'm not sure which century a story about whichhunting would best take place.
Syndicate is a fantastic setting, you are right. And I am also fascinated by Hexe, and I am excited for them to reveal exactly what the setting will be
i'll play origins next but i'm currently working through Unity and man. playing the game now with stable performance on a 1440p monitor on maxed out settings with hdr, that game at least environment wise is maybe the most visually stunning game i've played. the parkour is super fun of course but just walking around the packed streets and seeing the detail and fidelity that a game from 2014 holds is incredible
Personally I would put AC4's Caribbean as number one. I highly value the "fun in traversal" aspect in an open world game, and sailing the Caribbean sea was able to constantly give me an engaging experience; the ever changing wave and wind/weather conditions that gives my goopy gamer brain things to think about (such as the ship's orientation), other ships to pirate on the way when you need extra excitement, adjusting sail speed around narrower and shallower waters, etc. Despite me heavily preferring the "big cities" world, AC4 managed to make exploring fun and prevents my brain to run on autopilot where you mostly just hold forward on the left stick and not much to think about. This especially matters to me in a series with precedent on making the players process the world for pathfinding and exploration. It might not be surprising that my second favorite setting is Paris where vertical movements is _potentially_ made smoother by Parkour Up and Parkour Down, with endless pathfinding possibilities (although, also with endless jank), even transitioning from exterior to interior almost seamlessly.
My favourite setting probably has to be Rome in AC Brotherhood. Absolutely loved the densely populated HUGE city that allowed for great parkour/freerunning sequences and with great flow. I remember being beyond hyped when I finally got to climb the Colosseum and doing the leap of faith from the top. I recently started my 2nd playthrough in AC Odyssey, and despite now hvaing 300+ hours in the game, I just miss that flow to the parkour that the densely populated cities from AC2 and AC Brotherhood brought to the table. I should play through Origins again tho, even tho climbing the Great Pyramid was absolutely amazing, it just didn't catch on for me as well as a lot of the other games in the series, gameplaywise too.
I love Syndicate sooo much. It’s such a sleeper AC game because of Unity. Jacob is a truly fun character, like Edward and Ezio, but kind of dumber which I enjoy. And Evie is intelligent and determined, and quick witted especially with an insult to Jacob. 😅 I think the setting of London is glorious and seems so true to history. The cinematic assassinations that you could achieve during main story missions were *chefs kiss* and I would say that Starrick was one of the best villains in the series.
Loved the game as well! Jacob is one of my favourite main protagonists! I thought Starrick was great as well, and Roth is hands down one of the best villains the franchise has ever seen! Sadly I didn't like evie, but the game is still grand!
I am a huge nerd when it comes to ancient egypt but Origins, at least the bit I played reminded me of something we often forget. Everything we consider ancient Egypt, the pyramids, most of the temples, valley of the kings, that all was considered ancient by the time of Origins. Just the weight of time hit me and I only played a bit at a mates house once.
Partly because the setting of Origins was during the Greek and start of the Roman occupation.
Same here, when i played origins i remember hearing some npc’s talking about “ancient civilizations” or “ancient Egypt” and i realized, we don’t realize how forward we are in human history, Bayek story was 2000 years ago and yet, in that time they used to call ancient some civilizations that we wrongly put in the same era (what i mean is like, before playing Origins Egypt 2000 B.C.E. and Egypt 47B.C.E. were the same for me and i couldn’t see the difference)
@@andregar-3743 the layperson sees Ancient Egypt (Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome for that matter) as one homogeneous culture, when there is a lot of diversity involved and I don't mean diversity in the meaning that has become the catchphrase at the moment. I mean diversity regarding eras, just culture in general.
Cleopatra was born closer to the invention of the iPhone that to the construction of the Pyramids.
That's trippy
This makes me want to play all AC games. It's just amazing that we can have a glimpse and immerse ourselves in these historical worlds even if they aren't super accurate.
yeah I only have played Syndicate and Valhalla to the end but this motivated me to start with the first game and play every one to the end
Watching any footage of AC makes me want to play it but actually playing it is another story.
Not super accurate, but they were at least trying up until Odyssey came out. They just threw any ounce of historical accuracy out with that one.
The ezio trilogy is my favorite set of AC games
Skip Origins Odyssey Vallhalla Black Flag and Syndicate
Words cannot describe my love for origins. It is absolutely exceptional.
It is a great game. They took their time with it, fixed a lot of gameplay concerns fans had for a decade at that point, and made a fun all around experience.
Agree! My favorite AC ❤
Imagine how i feel about it as an Egyptian.
I've completed everything is origins, and I cannot express how much I liked it
Rogu, Unity and Syndicate stans: And we took that personally......
The origins map is perfect, the amount of landmarks never makes it feel empty, and even the deserts have the feeling of being immersive, with the hallucinations and the distant pyramids, you’re never drawn out of the map with poorly placed assets, even though there is a downgraded parkour system the parkour opportunities are still there with as much thought as Paris, the map is colourful too, unlike Paris, which gives an instant upgrade, although syndicates map was great, it was too modern, one of my favourite parts about exploring the maps is seeing what things were like hundreds even thousands of years ago, what landmarks used to be like, which is why mirage looks so promising to me now, it has all the best qualities I’ve listed, as well as the parkour centred aspect, but for now origins is on top
It's the little things that made Origins amazing for me, most specifically the agriculture, which was so accurate that it correctly depicted the correct commercial crops, like lentils and grains to blooming fields of flax that were a key industrial crop, even the wide array of accurate towering Egyptian pigeon coops, which were a main meat source for the common population.
the ONLY problem I had was that the deserts felt to small, and in general it should've been spaced out a bit more.
Most certainly gotta agree with you on Origins. I love the variety we get in that map, it’s huge but it’s not too big for its own good like Odyssey or Valhalla.
It also helps that I’ve been to Egypt myself and can reminisce when traveling to Giza or Luxor, Queen Hatshepsut’s temple, and the Valley of Kings in the DLC.
Also, to go with the lore of the franchise, I absolutely love the air of mystery that permeates Origins.
The First Civ tombs being built beneath other humankind tombs in the desert, the giant, alien canyon buried amongst the sands.
Seeing the stars and the hallucination meteors that rain from the sky is breathtaking. Absolutely phenomenal setting.
Did you see things in Egypt that you thought were particularly well made in Origins?
@@sosaysjay the Sphinx for one, it really is smaller than you’d imagine until you see it in person. The Pyramids were breathtaking and being able to go inside of them was also amazing (I got to go inside of the 2nd pyramid, as well as Ramesses the Great and King Tutankhamun’s tomb all in real life) I also think the temple structures we see in Luxor and Memphis were pretty damn spot on as well, and of course the Nile looks amazing too
I agree with you on the map for Origins. I think of the new games since Odyssey it remains my favourite for the character, but also the world. It is big, but I found it much less taxing to explore and finsih compared to Odyssey which I am still playing even as I start Valhalla. I really enjoy the Ancient Greece setting and I like Kassandra, but there's too much. Origins balances the story and side activities much better in its open world.
I've been to egypt as well. Seeing these landscapes and structures during their ancient times was phenomenal. They haven't replicated everything 100 % but they are damn close. I could even see the same hills I've seen when I was in Luxor myself. The level of detail they've put into this game is simply amazing.
It's ironic that it doesn't feel too big like Odyssey or Valhalla, considering that Egypt is significantly larger than Greece and the British Isles lol. Really shows how important it is to make your gameplay make players *feel* a certain way
Arguably, what makes AC Black Flag stand out so much is not only the world design itself, but the music - the music is incredible and I still listen to it this day.
I'm not only referring to sea shanties, but also the music that plays in taverns - with Spanish songs in Havana and a mixture of English, Scottish and Irish folk music in the English settlements.
you damn right
The setting of Odyssey is amazing. I was studying ancient Greece and the Peloponnesian War when I started playing it
Origins literally sparked my interest in history. The world and time period are so fascinating that it made me want to know more about all the cultures that can be seen in Ptolomaic Egypt. Bayek also went down as one of my absolute favorite video game protagonists, right up there with Ezio. Overall, phenomenal game.
I got so into all the settings in the franchise that I actually went and did a university degree in Ancient History and Archaeology.
ong bro i agree with you, origins made me want to learn more about history and ac odyssey too but not as much
Nothing has surpassed AC2 for me.
None of the sequels.
Not Origins, not unity, not black flag, and not the piece of trash only carrying the name of Assassins Creed.
@@JL32506AC 3 makes sense in this regard especially if you are American. Growing up in America, it was always a wonder to dive back into the history of the land I was born on. It’s a wonder for other parts of the world and their cultures as well, but the home one tends to hit the hardest. If someone asked me how they could get the best experience with the history of the US, I’d tell them to play AC3. Not to watch the patriot or Lincoln or some period piece. Red dead has its myriad of westerns to go to if you want to experience the Wild West. Nothing paints the picture clearer and as powerful as AC3 when it comes to the American Revolution. Both AC 3 and AC 4 took incredible risks that I appreciate. It’s just those risks worked out way better for them in AC 4. The ship combat and the exploration it encouraged fit the AC franchise perfectly. Unfortunately the setting for AC 3 didn’t hold up to what the franchise was known for. Small buildings, lots of space, not many cool landmarks. Just places where things happened, but nothing like the Roman Coliseum or Norte Dame, actual cool buildings to explore and possibly have a mission in
I think the reason Origins is this good, is because it is the most finished, polished and refined game in the series. You can literally tell they really put in the effort! Everything is thought out and addressed; has depth, meaning and it’s interesting! I guess one drop of passion makes all the difference in the world!
Origins was arguably the best world to visit. You have the woodlands of North Libya being Cyrenaica, and you have the sand deserts of Sudan, as well as Alexandria and the wet amrshes of Northern Egypt with the Sandy Dunes of Siwa and other areas. Best map as a whole.
odyssey better
@@aloetragedy1568 no
@@elliptic3892 yea
@@aloetragedy1568 no
ac4 is a better game overall not map but in everything else most people agree
Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla maybe they doesn’t feel a lot like a AC but definetly are really good and beautiful games
I like them more than the first games but I do think especially in Valhalla and odyssey that they’re too repetitive
Odyssey was the worst ac game in terms of being an assassin and in the audition for the worst ac game oat first of all u have no assassin history then u cant just assassinate someone because most enemys are too strong even if u one level above them and u have magic weapons
Plus the story line is way too long because u have too many side quests and its not even relevant to kill that cult
But killing those cyclops etc was fun
Not good games, ac or not.
Origins wasn't bad.
But the other two are trash.
Not even for a stand alone game.
@@sam1_2_1 no
Origins is definitely my favorite game in the series and a lot of that just comes from exploring the map. The map made me want to explore and complete side tasks almost more than seeing bayek Jumpstart the brotherhood.
Even though I don't like the game it's used in, I really loved Victorian London. I personally always found that era of history very fascinating and it was great to get a glimpse into what it might have been like to live in mid 1800s London, including depicting the horrors of child labor.
Lastly I liked the attention to detail with that era. For example there was an instance of a paper boy shouting out news referencing the Boshin War (and the wider Mejji Restoration) in Japan at the time
On a side note, I was hoping that China would be the next setting (by Ubisoft Montreal) for the next mainline AC game as the sequel to AC Valhalla. It would have been a perfect fit for the series.
I’ve always had a bias in favour of Syndicate because of its setting and time period, as well as it being the most ‘modern’ AC that we’ve ever gotten (unless you count playing Watch Dogs Legion as the assassin)
@@AmalGum001 I feel like the first watch dogs is the closest to a modern assassins creed game
@@AmalGum001 Look if the characters and writing was just tonally consistent with the dreary setting, then it would have been a decent game. But it wasn't and it was so bloatedly Jacob, not enough Evie.
yeah, i agree, but it's unfortunate that everything in the story and side quests of the game completely destroys the atmosphere of the world. If any game shouldn't have been fun and jokey, it shouldn't have been the one in Victorian London
@@donkeyman9710 I think it suited the Ezio games and AC 4 Black Flag, but not Victorian London.
It would have been better if it was just Evie and Jacob was cut from the game entirely. It could have delved into topics regarding Sexism and other forms of mainstream bigotry that would have existed at the time.
I find it hard to believe that nobody in Victorian London would have never said anything even slightly sexist to Evie. In addition one of the side characters is a transgender man. Again I find it hard to believe that nobody would have commented on it at all, or worse physically assault them during that time. Ubisoft could have taken a few risks but they played it too safe.
I just found your channels and immediately watched all your essays. I have to say this is the best Assassin's Creed content I've ever seen on youtube. AC has always fascinated me as it's one of the only franchises of it's scale that is so immensely weird and interesting, and seeing someone break it down with as much thought as you have is incredible to see. Good job!!!
I am glad you liked them, thank you
My love cannot express for odyssey and origins 2 phenomenal games
Odyssey yes...love it
I’m a huge ancient classical guy, and the portrayal of Ancient Greece is absolutely stunning and on a whole pretty (albeit exaggerated at times) accurate, the metopes on some of the famous temples were dead to right, whilst not showing all of them, they absolutely get it right on the ones they do, the fantasy aspects and exaggerated sizes are a welcome to me as it plays into the myths that are such a key part of both our understanding, but also the society that was present at the time, the only thing that truly left me wanting was a mix of both different cultures from the different city states, and the traditions and festivals of the time, more reference to godly worship and festivals like the city dionysia would have fleshed it out to an unrivalled degree for me
First of all I appreciate the work that has been done for this video; although I love AC 4's map and I cant get enough of it but also love London in AC Syndicate, Paris in Unity, Egypt in Origins, Greece in Odyssey, Istanbul in Revelations, AC 2's and AC Brotherhood's map.
I simply love the settings of AC series.
Me too, that is why I wanted to make videos like this
I’m not surprised Origins is number one. Absolutely stellar setting.
Bayek can do a backflip on a palm tree when there is a haystack nearby, when there are torches or campfires around the opponents, he can throw a sleep or poison arrow and catch more than one with an arrow, gives small subtle tricks, also gives a trick where msn bow and shield can remove.
My first game on the Series X was Valhalla I was just stunned by the graphics and attention to detail it’ll always be my favorite
I just want a game set on the Aztec Empire and I will be a happy man. It is 100% a bias of mine just because I'm Mexican, but I really think that it could be such an amazing setting to dive into and have the level of detail that the AC games have in portraying a city as unique as the Great Tenochtitlán was.
Agreed with number 1 as I'm a big Egypt historian geek, but Odyssey is close 2nd for me. I remembered the first time seeing central Attika, totally blew my mind (for me the best AC city design ever) and was so excited to go there immediately. Unity and Black flag also amazing.
Nah odyssey definitely is not the best ac city design, not even close.
Agreed. When i stepped into my adulthood i thought i would take it easy with origins but ended up playing 12 hours a day for a week.
Your love of game worlds is so awesome. I’d love to see a video where you rank your top 10 or 15 open world from any games, not just AC
Thank you, I always appreciated your comments on our other channel as well. A video like that would be fun to make, I will definitely keep that in mind
I loved one History UA-camr's description of Odyssey "for all my complaints about it, this was mostly Greece as the Greeks would describe it"
What i loved most about Origins was that it had all 3 major ancient civilization styles in one game. You could visit ancient Egyptian ruins, an ancient Greek city, and what most other people forget to mention in Origins, you could also visit an ancient Roman city. I would love an AC game set in ancient Rome and visiting Cyrene was the closest to that i could experience so far. Everything about that city is amazing, rivaling even Alexandria. It's a spectacular feat that Origins got to display and it is done beautifully. Also the DLC Thebes was cool too!
In that area yeah, but there are tons of ancient civilizations that would be amazing settings still. We still have yet to properly see ancient China, India, the Mayans or the Aztecs, and if we include more recent history there's even more.
@@indmur Totally. Or Japan... An AC feudal japan tho... just take my money
@@dragosalexpop Assassin Creed red is set in Japan and you play as a ninja
It still baffles me that they didn't do ancient Rome instead of Valhalla. Seriously a trilogy of Egypt, Greece, Rome would have worked so well
@@neine999 and would have tied very well with the ending of origins.
Dude I wanted to binge watch your videos but there's only a few these are amazing
That is very kind, thank you. I’ll try to make more at a faster pace if possible
watching your video about a games i love like origins and odyssey and listing to your voice makes me feel like i'm walking in old egypt or greec streets, thank you so much jay
Thanks, I’m happy you enjoyed it!
Odyssey's Greece was the most magical, vast and alive world I have ever experienced in a video game.
I just finished Origins, my last AC was the 1st one. Im still thinking about it. All of Egypt is so lived in and diverse in the problems they have, making the side missions interesting and fun to do.
AC 1 was my favorite. It was so open, stealthy, and just totally different from anything I’d ever played. In retrospect I can see how it was a bit repetitive, but I loved that game so much. The cities were fantastic, the horseback riding between cities, and combat was wonderful. AC2 was quite good too, and I remember exploring Venice and having a blast in the masquerade sections. I would absolutely love faithful remakes/remasters with updated graphics but really no changes to the actual maps.
My top games
1. AC2
2. AC 4 Black Flag
3. AC Unity
4. AC3
5. AC Origins
My top fav setting
1. Caribbean
2. Paris
3. Renaissance Italy
4. Victorian London
5. Egypt
I see you're OG player
You a real one for this
21:47 you stepped on every innocent human with that horse and i know you did it on purpose.
the origins valhalla and odyssey dlcs also look absolutely astonishing
As much as i do prefer the old style of ac games, i love that that new ac games have a tour feature where i can walk around the map and learn interesting facts about the culture.
I started with Black Flag. Loved every moment of it. Ship battle and customization, Matt Ryan as Edward Kenway, and a slew of other things but the two are the ones that made a huge impression of me. And then I went forward from there. After I beat Origins, I went back. All great and stuff but Black Flag will always be my favorite installment. I don't care what anybody says, Black Flag is MY Assassin's Creed game.
This video was an amazing watch! I was shocked to hear that this was the first video on the channel as I expected you to have a couple hundred thousand subscribers. Great quality, opinions and commentary
I appreciate that, thank you
Fantastic video! I bought Origins after watching this, and it did not disappoint.
My favourites are Greece and England. Greece felt amazing and magical and England's countryside was very nostalgic for me. However, the main problem with these settings in my opinion is the amount of time spent on horseback instead of rooftops and cities.
@Elden Chad
I actually think the amount of time on horse back makes a lot of sense. Classical Greece was 2,500 years ago and there was very little urbanization. Anglo Saxon England was also very sparse when it comes to urbanization. I think having some games with more urban areas is better, but larger rural maps make up for all the rooftop jumping.
@@Collision_9 Funnily enough Greece 2500 years ago had a lot more urban development than England 1200 years ago had!
Played origins and unity so far, and both were excellent games, the environments are so immersive, but Origins have to take the win, it makes you contemplate how massive and ancient those lands are, how much it’s been through, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans so many stories, it’s crazy
That detail about the penguins from Rogue being extinct literally made my jaw drop, that’s such a great use of historical settings that I can’t think of another example of in the series
I recently played the last 3 ac games, and for god’s sake, how much i loved exploring Greece, i never felt boring exploring the map
For me I really liked the map of Constantinople ... I loved the style of building and run down nature and the Parkour felt smoother and the density of people was amazing
Loved Istanbul as well.
The architecture, the streets, the markets it all clicked with me and loved the hook.
It's why Mirage is a game I'm very interested in
@@UA-camCensors constantinople
This is actually a super solid list! Egypt was by far my favorite setting in the franchise
wonderfully made video, and i am SO glad you gave origins the appreciation it deserves- many either prefer odyssey or discard the newer games entirely which i think does the ambition and beauty of origins a disservice.
Thank you, that is much appreciated
This video is extremely under-viewed
Odyssey is still the only one I've platinum'd (mostly due to feathers), almost entirely because of the map and setting, I could not get enough. Egypt then the Caribbean round out my top 3.
AC2 almost single handedly got me interested in renaissance Italy and the history of that time period. I have a mental list of time periods id love to see represented in an AC game. Feudal Japan being one of them, I’m actually surprised that they haven’t done that one yet
They are actually working on an AC game in the Feudal Japan time period, when Oda Nobunaga was alive. It's AC codenam Red. They released a teaser quite a while ago. Here it is: ua-cam.com/video/gD_DemeUuy8/v-deo.html
I'm glad they are working on a Japan AC game at this point with the current technology.
AC 1 and 2 got my attention quick. The stealthiness is what i loved and seeing ancient times come to life. I have skipped a few here and there because of real life. Sparta and Rome are my favorite time periods to read on and watch. There are others that I like almost as much. This franchise does an amazing job getting us as close to that reality as possible. I'm almost finished with AC 3 remastered and loving it also.
Really, really excellent video man.
Hi, that means a lot, thank you. I always look forward to your content
I LOVE this list. Every placement and reason in this video is 100% agreeable, and the fact that you put my favorite AC setting and almost my favorite game at #1 is so heartfelt. I couldn't agree more with this video.
Absolutely amazing essay here. Have been on a bit of an AC binge lately and this was a great watch. Glad to see Origins at the top of the list. I am still hopeful that Ubisoft will give us a sequel to it one day but the odds of that seems very unlikely.
I am glad you enjoyed it. There is a lot of great content they could still get out of that era, so I suppose we will see if they ever revisit it.
I've watched this vid 3 times a few months in between. It's just a solid vid
That’s very kind of you, thank you
Oh man when the bass kicks in in that ACII track you used at the start, hits just like it did back when I was young listening to the CD with the collectors edition.
The soundtrack is what got me into the series and it holds up really well
@@sosaysjay it was my first and still to this day only collectors edition I ever bought! ACII was a really big deal for me growing up so the soundtrack always hits when I hear it!
Is the intro song a remix or a different version
Wait what I completed the entire story of odyssey and you telling there’s snow in that game 😂😂😂😂
Great review. In October I went to Egypt and went to Memphis and Alexandria. Constantly felt I was in AC.
This is more than just ranking the maps. It’s a pov I’ve never seen so thank you to showing me something refreshing. Keep it up
I like Rogue's Northern Atlantic map, the Caribbean is a bit better in terms of overall look and variety but I like the atmosphere in Rogue.
It does have a fantastic atmosphere
They really nailed that feel of sailing out in the open, frozen ocean. The bleakness of the sea really sells it and makes you feel small and alone in the “big” ocean.
Also the Legendary Ship fight settings are very well done imo.
Rogue deserves a lot more praise in my opinion. Gameplay wise, it took the naval combat from black flag and perfected it.
I remember when the gameplay trailer for Black Flag dropped. I couldn’t believe how advanced games had gotten. The idea of seamlessly, mid chase, going from a fleshed out island with a populated town to hopping on to your ship and sailing into the open ocean; catching up to a ship, entering combat and, again, seamlessly going from ship-to-ship combat to swinging onto their’s; finishing off the captain and taking their treasure, and sailing into the sunset avoiding dynamic weather just to come across an uncharted island with more activities while watching ships of various factions fighting each other in the distance. All of this with NO LOADING SCREENS! 16 year old me was blown away and hasn’t seen a game trailer since that’s lived up to that amount of hype.
when only 710 people really found you so far but you make such high quality content as if you had 100k subscribers
That is kind of you, thank you
Even though Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Victorian Times, Vikings and Pirates are really popular settings and soon to be Samurai. I always preferred the lesser known time periods that haven't been explored in other video games, such as the French Revolution, American Revolution, Third Crusade, Renaissance, soon to be Witch Trials with the upcoming AC Hexe. These are time periods you would not expect to see in an open world action based video game like Assassin's Creed. Like you would expect a Renaissance or an American Revolution game to be an educational puzzle game that plays out like a digital novel, or something you would just see in movies and documentaries. But instead Ubisoft gave us the opportunity to truly explore these settings that pretty much barely any other games truly looked into. And that's why I love AC. The time periods may not be my favourite, but the Crusades where your not the Templars and the Renaissance works so well with this franchise. I think Ubisoft should continue to go down the path into exploring time periods that no other games have explored.
This is such a wonderful and well thought out analysis. Origins is by far my favorite AC game of the “new trillogy”. Really love the way you broke this down. Subbed and liked.
Would love to hear a ranking of all AC games for more than just their setting. Thank you for doing this!
I appreciate that, thank you
Great video, I’ve currently only played ac odyssey and Valhalla but this video has encouraged me to try the earlier games
I am glad to hear that. This series is full of really cool settings, I hope you enjoy the games.
I'm sorry to hear that, please play syndicate, black flag and origins.
I love odyssey, probably because I'm so intrigued by early civilization.
Bro I really really love this video you really went over every little detail in every single game and I respect you for it. Besides you were fair to every game
Thank you, I am glad you liked it
To me the best settings are AC1 and Mirage. The Arabic setting is simply my favourite and imo the most fitting one for Assassin's Creed
Not Revelations?
The Mirage Trailer reminded me so much of it and why I'm excited for it and might actually get the game day one or first sale, since games have sales a month or so after release
woah this is one of the best ac ranking videos I have seen I cant believe this is your first video
For the first time i played Origins, I took a few minutes just to enjoy the view. It's nice to see Egpyt as a game
Awesome video, love this exact format (especially talking about video game locations). Keep making videos cause you're really good!!
My favorite setting is Valhalla, but all the games have great settings. Can't really fault anyone for having different tastes. Great video.
I actually wanted to add something about Rogue’s gameplay: while it’s true you act like a pirate when you’re not actually a pirate, that is *exactly* what the British navy did in the past,. Ships, informally called sea dogs, were legally allowed to attack and plunder enemy ships basically whenever they wanted, and in the Seven Years War British ships did the same thing to any French ships they saw. Shay is allied with the British after he joins the Templars, he even flies their flag on the Morrigan, so it makes sense that he’d be plundering French ships and generally acting like a pirate, even though their time was long over by the time of the game. Just felt like pointing that out. Great video!
I know the focus of this was the settings. But the protagonist's interactions with the settings is a big part of that for me.
Ezio might have set the standard for drawing the audience in. But for me, Bayek puts it on a different level.
You mention that the developers obviously loved the Origins setting.
We get to see that through Bayek's eyes, and any lesser character would diminish the setting as well.
The visual spectacle of Egypt was great, but seeing it through Bayek's eyes made it perfect for me.
The games continue to get more visually stunning, but my major complaint about the last few games has been the level system. The enemies in the Ezio collection were so fun and diverse to fight, but all we got in Origins and Odyssey were the same level 1 soldiers who are just level 50 now. The enemies levelled up with you in the low level zones too so no matter what, you had to keep levelling up the same weapons and armor because weapons had a level system too. Which brings me to the progression system, It was such a great feeling to see the visual differences in the new armor and weapons you'd strive for in the Ezio collection, but they decided to take that away so that you could use any weapon you wanted for the entirety of the game. Wish they'd revert back to AC2 system.
Great job you did here - I am definitely subscribing and going for next video. AC Syndicate is actually my favourite AC of the series and I love victorian London, but I do agree with Origins settings being the most beautiful of all series - as you said: even the empty desert regions doesn't feel as an unnecessary waste of pixels:)
Great content Jay. Im glad your new channel will grow
Thanks Engille. Even if it doesn't grow I had a lot of fun making the video and I hope I get the chance to make more.
I need an Assassin's Creed game to take place in Aztec culture
This was fantastic! You've got yourself a new subscriber.
I really appreciate that, I'm glad you enjoyed it
@@sosaysjay I did! As for ideas for future videos down the line, maybe ranking ac protagonists might be fun.
Odyssey, Origins, Unity and Revelations are my Mt Rushmore of AC games.
I‘ve meant to make this comment on your last video but that never happened. First of all: I think you did an outstanding job with the last and this video as well. It shows how much you appreciate the games and their educational aspect. I hope more AC fans get to see this video and hopefully even one of the devs.
My favorite setting still holds up to be the Italian renessaince. Assassin‘s Creed 2 was my entry to the series and having played the remastered Ezio Collection lately the game still evoked that deep feeling of nostalgia and love I have for this game. But the main reason I love AC2 above all other in the series is it‘s music. I am so glad you‘ve mentioned the phenomenal soundtrack by Jesper Kyd. It is due the music I have so many fond memories of it. (Side Note: My Spotify wrapped even put Jesper Kyd as #1 as most heard artist :‘D)
Ultimately what still makes me love this series is it‘s roots in science fiction with „the ones who came before“ and the brillant idea of the animus to access all of previous historical settings and settings yet to come.
PS: I just watched the Ubisoft Forward recap and I‘m slightly optimistic towards AC Mirage.
PPS: I still have to play AC Valhalla but I‘m afraid I won‘t finish this game as it seems to be even bigger than Odyssey.
Hi, I appreciate the comment and I am glad you enjoyed the video. AC2 is still a very special game and Renaissance Italy holds up amazingly after all these years. I hope we both enjoy Mirage when it comes out!
ac 2 did it well
My personal ranking:
14. Cyprus - Bloodline
13. Louisiana - Liberation
12. The Holy Land - AC1
11. The North Atlantic - Rogue
10. Istanbul - Revelations
9. The American Colonies - AC3
8. Rome - Brotherhood
7. Paris - Unity
6. The Caribbean - Black Flag
5. Italy - AC2
4. London - Syndicate
3. England (and the other maps) - Valhalla
2. Egypt - Origins
1. Greece - Odyssey
Egypt and Greece are specifically a cut above the rest. Greece is one of the best open world environments I’ve ever explored, while Egypt captures an atmosphere and sense of scope unlike any other game I’ve played.
Pretty good list. I agree with most of the placements. I'd probably put Odyssey a little higher, and Black Flag a little lower, but I definitely agree with Origins taking the top spot. Without a doubt, it's the best realized historical setting in the series to date.
I liked AC Origins when it first came out but I was competing with my friend to beat it. But now that I’ve gone through and I replayed it, it is definitely my favorite game of the franchise!
The nostalgia from top to bottom in this video is off the charts man. Just wow. 👏 👏 👏 🎉🎉🎉😢😢😢
I’d say good ranking but Paris deserves to be higher as it had random events that happen and has the most opportunities for parkour and stealth
For me its Origins, but the second place is Unity. It really impressed me as not many games at that time did. Unlike what I saw online, I got the gene day 1 and had not experienced any bug for some reason.
Islamic Golden Age Baghdad has so much potential to be amazing, both from a historical/aesthetic standpoint and in terms of Asssassin gameplay, it's the densest city of the early Middle Ages
Historical accuracy is an important factor to me apropos AC
when i saw karl marx in syndicate, it really made it my favorite setting in the series. it felt like unity but how it SHOULD have been, with famous people/activities from that era
My favorite is AC 3 because my favorite historical timeline is the American Revolution. It truly is a great game but, I will admit alot of it is nostalgia. It was my entry into the Assassin's Creed world when I first got a Xbox 360 for Christmas. It and Skyrim, which came out in the same year, will always be some of if not my favorite games.
Damn bro I was watching this on my TV had to get my phone to come and comment because I never watch long videos and I fell in love with your video man that didn’t feel like 40 minutes lol, and I have deep emotions when It comes down to certain games especially assassins creed as I am 22 now life is hard and I am In a complete different situation to where I was when I was playing these older assassins creeds I was at home now I live alone cause I got kicked out at 16 by my step dad :( but these games remind me of them times and I fell in love with these games when I was young , life is tough and unfair but at least there are some things we as individuals can find special to the heart and no one really understands my passion for these certain games like cod back in the day assassins creed Skyrim and so so much more I can’t remember from the top of my head but they mean so much to me especially some of the soundtracks from these games but haha sorry for the rant just means so much to me when I see a video or something that reminds me of these games I just rant I even got a YT channel gaming no one understands my passion for games only I do and it means something special but Amazing homie it was really great :)
I appreciate you checking my video out. I hope you are able to put food on your table and have a roof over your head. Having numbers like 211 for United Way and 988 for times of crisis aren't cures but I am glad they exist.
These games meant a lot to me growing up and I am glad that I could help you connect with that too. Best of luck.
@@sosaysjay thanks brother they really do mean a lot to me also man , they are so special people in my life will never understand , much love bro and keep uploading man you got special talent with those videos
Good post man. I’m 28 and I have a lot of the same thoughts and feelings about stuff that you do. Crazy how time flies. Good luck to you I hope you can keep growing and find success and happiness in life bro. I’m trying to do the same myself.
@@Flowerz__ hey man and yeah bro it’s a real struggle bro I haven’t felt a different feeling other then the feeling I have each day for as long as I remember, the days just are not the same but I hope we both find happiness bro and find a way to live less stressful ❤️
@@djswirley thanks dude. Appreciate you.
Wow, what an awesome video. Great job my dude, very informative 🔥👌
The historical settings is what assassins creed nail in
I remember buying Origins in a sale. I wasn't an avid Assassins Creed player, but had played 1,2,3 and Black Flag. The game really left me in awe with it's world, and it sparked in me a real interest for the games of the franchise. THe cherry on top of that world was that I liked Bayek, he felt human, with virtues and flaws.
I fully agree on Origin's setting being number 1. The top spots are all very strong but I'd actually reckon Syndicate to be in 2nd place. I feel like the immersion of walking through victorian London with all the factories, gardens, slums, great buildings, people playing music, cleaning or attaching posters to walls etc is unmatched in the series with mostly the difference in landscapes and wildlife seperating Origins from Syndicate (setting wise).
For future games I hope they will do one in the HRE during the 30 years war. We've never been there and the complicated intrigues of the conflict would make for a great story. "Codename Hexe" sound like it's going to be in Germany (Hexe = witch in German) but I'm not sure which century a story about whichhunting would best take place.
Syndicate is a fantastic setting, you are right. And I am also fascinated by Hexe, and I am excited for them to reveal exactly what the setting will be
Thanks for your dedication!
Venice from AC 2 was so atmospheric. Damn, nostalgia hitting hard.
i'll play origins next but i'm currently working through Unity and man. playing the game now with stable performance on a 1440p monitor on maxed out settings with hdr, that game at least environment wise is maybe the most visually stunning game i've played. the parkour is super fun of course but just walking around the packed streets and seeing the detail and fidelity that a game from 2014 holds is incredible
Personally I would put AC4's Caribbean as number one. I highly value the "fun in traversal" aspect in an open world game, and sailing the Caribbean sea was able to constantly give me an engaging experience; the ever changing wave and wind/weather conditions that gives my goopy gamer brain things to think about (such as the ship's orientation), other ships to pirate on the way when you need extra excitement, adjusting sail speed around narrower and shallower waters, etc.
Despite me heavily preferring the "big cities" world, AC4 managed to make exploring fun and prevents my brain to run on autopilot where you mostly just hold forward on the left stick and not much to think about. This especially matters to me in a series with precedent on making the players process the world for pathfinding and exploration. It might not be surprising that my second favorite setting is Paris where vertical movements is _potentially_ made smoother by Parkour Up and Parkour Down, with endless pathfinding possibilities (although, also with endless jank), even transitioning from exterior to interior almost seamlessly.
This makes a lot of sense to me, it really is fun to explore and travel
My favourite setting probably has to be Rome in AC Brotherhood. Absolutely loved the densely populated HUGE city that allowed for great parkour/freerunning sequences and with great flow. I remember being beyond hyped when I finally got to climb the Colosseum and doing the leap of faith from the top. I recently started my 2nd playthrough in AC Odyssey, and despite now hvaing 300+ hours in the game, I just miss that flow to the parkour that the densely populated cities from AC2 and AC Brotherhood brought to the table.
I should play through Origins again tho, even tho climbing the Great Pyramid was absolutely amazing, it just didn't catch on for me as well as a lot of the other games in the series, gameplaywise too.
I love Syndicate sooo much. It’s such a sleeper AC game because of Unity. Jacob is a truly fun character, like Edward and Ezio, but kind of dumber which I enjoy. And Evie is intelligent and determined, and quick witted especially with an insult to Jacob. 😅 I think the setting of London is glorious and seems so true to history. The cinematic assassinations that you could achieve during main story missions were *chefs kiss* and I would say that Starrick was one of the best villains in the series.
Loved the game as well! Jacob is one of my favourite main protagonists! I thought Starrick was great as well, and Roth is hands down one of the best villains the franchise has ever seen! Sadly I didn't like evie, but the game is still grand!