Sure, it retains the core gameplay loop of Origins, and has the same strengths that the base game does, but it feels starkly different from anything else we’ve experienced in ancient Egypt yet. Unlike The Hidden Ones, which seemed more like an extension of the mechanics and ideas that were found in Origins itself, this new DLC feels like an entirely new chapter with a completely different tone and atmosphere. Very rarely do video game developers choose to put all their efforts and love into a DLC, so much so that one could even justify it being released as a separate title. CD Projekt RED did it a couple years back with The Witcher 3’s Blood and Wine DLC, and Ubisoft have done it now with The Curse of the Pharaohs. If Assassin’s Creed Origins was the perfect way to reinvigorate a franchise that was starting to stagnate and continually disappoint, then The Curse of the Pharaohs, its second piece of DLC, is the perfect way to bid farewell to Bayek, its leading man, who has been with us through this massive journey across ancient Egypt the entire time.
