I loved the setting; Egypt was beautifully realized and, apparently, extensively researched. But the plot and technical issues ultimately made this experience less fun than it should have been. The plot is at once simplistic and bungled, with lead character, Bayek of Siwa, being driven by an incident that simply doesn't ring true. And that backstory is told in such an offhand, broken way that it simply doesn't resonate the way it should. (Without giving away any spoilers, there is a dramatic event with an NPC at around the 50-75% mark that carries far more emotional weight than the incident that originally triggered Bayek's mission.) As a result, Bayek ends up being a fairly shallow character (though well-acted).
Story beats are seriously impeded by a constant stream of interminably long loading/saving screens, sometimes breaking up cutscenes into a disjointed string of sequences that play out in-between black-screen pauses that can each last 30 seconds or more. (There were whole sections of gameplay where I sat waiting more than I was playing.) Add in NPCs with bizarre behavior (and some truly over-the-top voice acting), near-constant graphic pop-ins, and frequent graphic tears.
For the record, I played this game in 2020, on a PS4 console. There should have been sufficient time for Ubisoft to patch this game to near-perfection.
Story beats are seriously impeded by a constant stream of interminably long loading/saving screens, sometimes breaking up cutscenes into a disjointed string of sequences that play out in-between black-screen pauses that can each last 30 seconds or more. (There were whole sections of gameplay where I sat waiting more than I was playing.) Add in NPCs with bizarre behavior (and some truly over-the-top voice acting), near-constant graphic pop-ins, and frequent graphic tears.
For the record, I played this game in 2020, on a PS4 console. There should have been sufficient time for Ubisoft to patch this game to near-perfection.