Xbox One X Coverage: Assassin’s Creed Origins

One of the more high profile titles we received with our review bundle was Assassin’s Creed Origins, developed and produced right here in Canada at Ubisoft Montreal. From top to bottom, the reimagined Assassin’s Creed title is phenomenal in more ways than one, and with only a few hiccups, it wasn’t hard to slap an outstanding review score on this one. While our initial review as done on a console that did not support 4K, we knew we would have to give the title a spin a second time on the Xbox One X. Despite having over 50 hours in my original game, it didn’t even think twice about starting it up again in 4K HDR!

This title was reviewed in 4K on the Samsung Series 7 55inch Q7 UHD QLED TV! Our Review Here.

First Impressions

From the first moment that Bayek exits the first tomb of the game, and through the desert ride with his friend, you begin to think not a lot has changed with the small – less than 2 GB – 4K HDR update. However, when arriving for the first time at Bayek’s home town of Siwa, and the game pans back a bit, you realize exactly what the enhanced update actually does: provides an outstanding, highly detailed, draw distance. More mountains are visible on the Xbox One X, the dust and sand rising from the ground is more pronounced, and the colours throughout are richer and more defined.

There are tons of technical things we could dive into, regarding pixel counts etc., but your average gamer doesn’t care about pixel counts, resolution numbers, or anything else. They have on thing on their minds: does it look good? Over the Xbox One and PS4, yes, it does look significantly better. There is also a slight improvement from the Xbox One S to the X; the difference between the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X versions, however, are much more muted. The colour appear a little deeper and darker on the Xbox One, and whether or not you like that will determine what console you decide to play on.

The enhancement work, none-the-less, has made Ancient Egypt look better than ever before, and some of the photo captured in game, in 4k, are frame worthy, for putting up in my gaming room in the near future. Without the right equipment, however, none of this matters. That means doing you comparisons on high quality, 4K televisions that will run you well over $1000. If you have the money, taking Assassin’s Creed Origins for a spin on Xbox One is highly recommended.

Frame Rate Improvements

The definite enhancement that will change the way you play Assassin’s Creed Origins is the increase in frame rate stability. On the PS4 and Xbox One, there were moments when the frame rate dipped well below 30 FPS, and it was noticeable to say the least. This was never a problem on the Xbox One X, with the console and game maintaining a frame rate within a few percentage points, which is extraordinary considering how much can be going on, on screen while you play.

These are the improvements that personally affect me the most: while better graphics are always a plus, I’m always looking for the most stable, game play experience. It appears as if the Xbox One X version of the game is where you’ll get that experience.