Why a marriage is at the heart of Assassin's Creed Origins

It turns out Assassin's Creed Origins has a squidgy, soft heart under all that shiny armor. Beneath the stabbing, hippo slaughter and treasure hunting is something that's pretty rare in the world of AAA games, a marriage. Bayek and Aya, the heroes of the latest installment, are actually sort of adorable. She teases him, he pulls faces to make her laugh, all while plotting the downfall of evildoers. #relationshipgoals. 

"Wanting a place where we can create chemistry, where we can create drama, having that in a husband and wife relationship made sense to all of us," explains Ashraf Ismail, game director on Assassin's Creed Origins. "It was that combined with the idea that we were giving a birth to something. We romanticised the idea that the birth of something starts from a marriage."

Sat next to some giant Egyptian props in a darkened warehouse in San Francisco, Ismail says it was about making sure these protagonists were more than just "super-powered athletes that are doing crazy stuff," making sure that they were recognizable as human. Even having seen just a few hours of gaming's hottest new couple in action, it seems like the development team achieved its goals. The characters have that same mix of light and dark that makes the latest batch of Whedon-esque superhero movies such a success. 

"We had the idea of Bayek and Aya being husband and wife very early, and of course it's been a lot of fun," continues Ismail. "These are two people who look at the world from slightly different perspectives, but they started from similar places and their goals are the same. What kind of friction and chemistry and drama can we create with people who have the same goals, but who look at the world differently? That was the goal, they they go on a journey together, and it's a bit of an exploration of their relationship as well. How does this relationship and all its details and chemistry, how does that lead to something bigger than them?"

We'll have to wait until October 27 to find out. 

Rachel Weber
Contributor

Rachel Weber is the former US Managing Editor of GamesRadar+ and lives in Brooklyn, New York. She joined GamesRadar+ in 2017, revitalizing the news coverage and building new processes and strategies for the US team.

Latest in Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing Yasuke kneeling and praying while wearing a traditional purple robe
Ubisoft reaches deal with Tencent to create $4.3 billion mini-Ubisoft subsidiary to "spearhead development" on new Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six games
Assassin's Creed Shadows Belly of the Beast Ise Sadaoki sending Naoe to get papers
How to retrieve the papers in the Assassin's Creed Shadows Belly of the Beast quest
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
Assassin's Creed Shadows shoots past 3 million players and 40 million hours played with the "second-highest day 1 sales revenue in Assassin's Creed franchise history"
Assassin's Creed Shadows The Killing Field executioner boss fight
How to find and kill the executioner in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows Butterfly Collector Naoe squatting next to butterfly on tree
How to complete the Assassin's Creed Shadows Butterfly Collector quest
Naoe looks over at a dense, lush, green forest in Assassin's Creed Shadows from a viewpoint
Getting Assassin's Creed Shadows on PS5 and Xbox Series X was all about adding "dynamism" to the open world, but the devs seem most proud about the trees
Latest in News
Everybody's Golf Hot Shots
The surprise theme of today's Nintendo Direct was classic PlayStation franchises getting a comeback without Sony's involvement
Hogwarts Legacy how many spells
Unannounced Hogwarts Legacy DLC reportedly canceled, partly because the studio wasn't sure it'd be worth players' money
Ultimate X-Men #14
Ultimate X-Men #14 pays homage to a classic Wolverine moment as the Shadow King returns
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing Yasuke kneeling and praying while wearing a traditional purple robe
Ubisoft reaches deal with Tencent to create $4.3 billion mini-Ubisoft subsidiary to "spearhead development" on new Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six games
Kaitlyn Dever as Abby in The Last Of Us season 2
The Last of Us showrunner says he isn't worried about fan reaction to season 2: "The best way we could respect our fans and honor them is to not worry about them"
Black Myth: Wukong
English is no longer the biggest language on Steam as Chinese gamers embrace PC gaming even harder after Black Myth: Wukong