Some AC: Origins geeking out
Nov. 7th, 2020 09:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kutsuwamushiI've been playing AC: Origins a lot lately.
I bounced right off of it when it first came out, but then I came back and gave it another try. I've finished the main quests, the first DLC, and am working through the second (and last) DLC.
Today I reached a point in the last DLC that was amazing, and I'm glad I wasn't spoiled in advance.
In the second DLC, Bayek is investigating a curse that has struck Thebes. An ancient artifact is bringing dead pharaohs back to life as vengeful shades. They are very angry and keep stabbing people, and if he stabs them back they only go away for a little while. So he needs to find the root of the problem.
The investigation takes him to the Valley of the Kings to investigate Nefertiti's tomb. At this point, I felt like I was probably nearing the end of the main story of the DLC. There are only three map regions in the DLC and I'd explored the two most densely populated ones. I also had a quest whose next step just sounded like it could be the story's climax.
Now, the tombs in Origins usually have hidden rooms and dead-end paths. They usually just lead to some extra treasure. This time though, I broke through a cracked wall and found an entirely different tomb - the tomb of Tutankhamun. And in his tomb, there was a mystical, glowing door ...
I went through the door and suddenly I was IN THE EGYPTIAN AFTERLIFE.
In an entirely new map region that I had *no* idea was there.
And it's not even the only one.
???!!!!!
It's a beautiful area with interesting details to explore. But that moment of "what is this" really, really sold it. You enter by crossing a bridge of water and lilies suspended over a cavern and patrolled by jackal-headed guards. Once you get past them, it opens up into this mystical townscape lit by giant, glowing blue lilies.
The entire time I was like ... "whaaaaaa...."
Was not expecting it.
There are some boneheaded game mechanics things, but it's still so cool. (They didn't overhaul how the game works for the afterlife areas, so the activities and NPCs are basically the same as in the living world. The jackal-headed guards are reskinned bandits, for example, and the secure areas where they hang out are reskinned bandit camps. So, I'm supposed to kill the commander and steal the treasure??? But ... isn't that kind of, well... a little lacking in piety? Aren't these divine servants? WHAT HAVE I BECOME??? IS THE BLADE ALL I KNOW ANYMORE????)
I usually don't care much about spoilers. But I'm learning that I might want to start avoiding spoilers for games. I didn't read any spoilers for AC: Origins before playing it, beyond some basic facts about the premise and gameplay, and I think it's really improved the experience.
I bounced right off of it when it first came out, but then I came back and gave it another try. I've finished the main quests, the first DLC, and am working through the second (and last) DLC.
Today I reached a point in the last DLC that was amazing, and I'm glad I wasn't spoiled in advance.
In the second DLC, Bayek is investigating a curse that has struck Thebes. An ancient artifact is bringing dead pharaohs back to life as vengeful shades. They are very angry and keep stabbing people, and if he stabs them back they only go away for a little while. So he needs to find the root of the problem.
The investigation takes him to the Valley of the Kings to investigate Nefertiti's tomb. At this point, I felt like I was probably nearing the end of the main story of the DLC. There are only three map regions in the DLC and I'd explored the two most densely populated ones. I also had a quest whose next step just sounded like it could be the story's climax.
Now, the tombs in Origins usually have hidden rooms and dead-end paths. They usually just lead to some extra treasure. This time though, I broke through a cracked wall and found an entirely different tomb - the tomb of Tutankhamun. And in his tomb, there was a mystical, glowing door ...
I went through the door and suddenly I was IN THE EGYPTIAN AFTERLIFE.
In an entirely new map region that I had *no* idea was there.
And it's not even the only one.
???!!!!!
It's a beautiful area with interesting details to explore. But that moment of "what is this" really, really sold it. You enter by crossing a bridge of water and lilies suspended over a cavern and patrolled by jackal-headed guards. Once you get past them, it opens up into this mystical townscape lit by giant, glowing blue lilies.
The entire time I was like ... "whaaaaaa...."
Was not expecting it.
There are some boneheaded game mechanics things, but it's still so cool. (They didn't overhaul how the game works for the afterlife areas, so the activities and NPCs are basically the same as in the living world. The jackal-headed guards are reskinned bandits, for example, and the secure areas where they hang out are reskinned bandit camps. So, I'm supposed to kill the commander and steal the treasure??? But ... isn't that kind of, well... a little lacking in piety? Aren't these divine servants? WHAT HAVE I BECOME??? IS THE BLADE ALL I KNOW ANYMORE????)
I usually don't care much about spoilers. But I'm learning that I might want to start avoiding spoilers for games. I didn't read any spoilers for AC: Origins before playing it, beyond some basic facts about the premise and gameplay, and I think it's really improved the experience.
