Assassin's Creed Origins

For: PS4, Xbox One, PC

Classified: MA15+

With reinvigorated mechanics and an interesting historical setting, Assassin's Creed Origins is the most impressive and inventive entry in the long-running series since the 2007 original.

Taking place near the end of Ptolemaic rule in Egypt, the game avails itself of familiar touchstones from history, including the pyramids and the rise of Cleopatra, while imposing its own fictional story of behind-the-scenes conspiracies and secret orders along the way. The earliness of the narrative – concerning one of the men who founded the Assassin Brotherhood in the first place – helps the game shed a lot of the weight of AC lore.

Egypt is a delight to explore, from the stretches of billowing sand dunes to green oases and from ancient carved structures and tombs to the sophisticated metropolis of Alexandria. It's the biggest world yet in an AC game, but it's also dense with things to do and filled with political and religious intrigue.

The focus on climbing and combat remain, but have been refined and modernised. The introduction of a level-based progression system and upgradable weapons and gear make this more of an RPG than previous entries, and the game is all the better for it.

Hunting wildlife to craft upgrades, exploring hidden temples for rare gear, solving mysteries, sailing along waterways and the self-imposed challenge of taking on much higher level enemies are all great diversions from the main story, which sees our hero Bayek on a mission of revenge after the killing of his son.

For whatever reason, Ubisoft insists on continuing the modern-day Abstergo meta-plot line, which is easily the weakest part of any AC story. Amazing and satisfying as this Egyptian adventure is, it would be more engrossing without the anachronistic sci-fi elements and bizarre continuity implications that come with this genetic time-travel premise.