The latest update for Assassin's Creed Origins adds a whole new game mode: the Discovery Tour. Ubisoft has teamed up with various historians in order to transform the title's virtual Egypt into a place of learning. The game's full, unedited open world is yours to explore without fear of combat or death, and dotted all around the map are guided tours, which fill you in on a number of different subjects depending on the location.
Starting a tour is as easy as walking up to one of the many shining beacons scattered across Egypt and hitting X. Some tours have just a few stops while others can last a good 15 minutes or so. As mentioned, the tours cast a wide net, covering everything from daily life in ancient Egypt and the building of the pyramids to religious beliefs and superstitions. Some tours even provide insight into the techniques Ubisoft used to develop the game.
For a free update, it's pretty great. The developer's crafted an incredible open world that's stuffed to bursting point with detail, and using it as the basis for what is essentially an educational tool actually makes a good deal of sense. If you're even the least bit interested in Egyptian history, then you should really give it a shot.
Having said all that, the Discovery Tour isn't perfect. For starters, the narrators can sounds a little robotic. These days, most modern documentaries tend to go with more casual-sounding narration that injects a bit of character into proceedings, but here it's all very dry and to-the-point. It's definitely not a deal breaker, but some extra enthusiasm would go a long way.
What's more, the narrators have a bad habit of being unable to keep quiet, even when you're not taking part in a tour. The Discovery Tour lets you explore Egypt at your leisure, opening up the entire map regardless of your progress in the main game, and that's great if you're just looking to get lost in the superb open world that Ubisoft has created. But hearing the narrators banging on about the weather or commenting on how dangerous it is to stray from the roads can quickly become annoying.
There's no denying that the Discovery Tour is thoughtfully structured, though. Whenever you reach a new point of a tour your progress is saved and you can return at any time. You can also pick and choose which tours you'd like to experience from the quest menu, so jumping from one station to the next is easy if you're in a hurry.
So how effective is the Discovery Tour as an educational tool? Honestly, it's not bad. Some of the tours offer a lot more information than others -- and some sadly feel a little tacked on -- but we're sure many younger people would rather explore this virtual version of Egypt than read through an old textbook. Heck, we know what we'd have chosen at school if we had been given the choice.
All in all, the Discovery Tour is a thoughtful and informative addition to Assassin's Creed Origins. It's certainly not without its faults, but it's a good example of how games can serve a completely different purpose if the developer is willing and has the means to go that extra mile.
Have you tried the Discovery Tour in Assassin's Creed Origins? What do you think of it? Educate yourself in the comments section below.
Comments 15
It does sound really good, and I love this as an idea. I've always felt that games could do more from an educational perspective; they're a great but underutilised learning tool I feel.
It's a shame this isn't VR. I know it'd never run given how beautiful Origins is, but it'd be amazing if you could visit some of these incredible landmarks and see them in their true scale.
Will Siwa ever know peace?
@get2sammyb Agreed; games that set out to faithfully recreate a particular era or civilisation have so much research and historical background poured into them, I've always felt it a shame when all of that detailed work is then reduced to giving your character somewhere to run, jump and hide.
Not only that, but games like Tomb Raider and Uncharted, and films like Indiana Jones, are wonderful catalysts for becoming interested in the real historical background behind the myths and legends. I'd adore going on a walking historical tour with Lara around some of the spectacular locations she's visited (the Croft Manor DLC in Rise of the Tomb Raider came very close to being that, albeit rooted firmly at home... I grew up near Guildford, so it was hardly exotic).
Does it have microtransations? Buy this new Pyramid tour for just 9.99
@AFCC No.
@get2sammyb Sad! Would be really cool
That's pretty interesting, Egypt really fascinates me.
This makes me want to get the game. Ancient Egypt is fascinating.
Do they really censor nipples and genitalia from statues? Cause that seems absurd
@AFCC its 2018, we're living in the good guy ubi era , for now at least
@bbtothe I mean...everyone's got nipples....EVERYONE!
There's room for improvement, but on the whole this sounds like a really cool and positive thing. It would be nice if they could add a similar mode to previous games and they definitely need to work on making the narration more lively. Kids aren't going to learn much from this if they get bored and zone out.
@RogerRoger Yeah, I wonder if this is the future of education. I can see a world where there is less text book reading and lectures and more virtual touring. But is there a way at to learn Algebra with a video game? I sure hope so.
@Th3solution if accompanied by narration, a vitual tour IS a lecture. Sounds like the narration could stand to be a bit more lively though. More interactivity is needed too. The ability for students to steer the narration in particular directions that interest them, or to pose questions and have them answered. At any rate, leveraging existing high-quality simulations for the education market is a brilliant and long overdue idea
@Th3solution Of course there's a way to learn algebra in a videogame!
"Current Objective: Find X"
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