The Assassin’s Creed: Origins release date was one of gaming’s worst-kept secrets over the last few days, but now, instead of some leaked images and an October 27 due date, E3 delivered a look at the golden sun-bleached setting that looks like it’s actually going to be innovating in some very cool ways.
One thing the trailer nails is the combat — it looks smoother and more refined than the previous games that just kind of locked on then went into a set series of animations as buttons were mashed wildly. There’s still plenty of free running, and I even joked we’d be sliding down pyramids, and it turns out that’s true. Origins also seem to dip a toe into more fantastic mythology than the typical, paranoid secret societies Assassin’s Creed’s story revolves around. There’s a giant snake!
The “eagle spotting mechanic” also seems like a nice little way to enjoy your 4K, 60FPS images that the Xbox One X is going to deliver. According to the lore around this E3, Origins has been optimized specifically for the beefy Xbox One X (formerly known as Project Scorpio). The game will launch two weeks earlier, but it’ll be able to be played on your Xbox One, Xbox One S, and all the other consoles, it just won’t look as good or smooth.