Game director Ashraf Ismail reveals why Assassin's Creed Origins has the series' first difficulty setting

Assassin's Creed Origins has a difficulty setting. That might not sound like much by itself, but it represents a shift in the way Ubisoft is approaching the series, and combined with all the other changes Origins makes to the AC formula, it adds up to something that feels fresh.

But don't take our word for it - watch this interview with game director Ashraf Ismail about how difficulty impacts all sorts of decisions both from a player and developer perspective from Assassin's Central.

"We wanted more gameplay depth, and that means more challenging aspects of the game - bosses, and so on," Ismail said. "What we felt was, by going deeper into the gameplay challenge of the game, we're feeding one part of the audience but not others. So it was a natural step for us to think well, let's give difficulty settings so that if you're really more into the narrative or the historical element, you can set the game to an easier setting. ... If you're the opposite, if you really want that very difficult challenge, you can set the game to a harder setting."

Ismail also said you'll be able to switch dynamically, so you're not locked into whatever difficulty you choose at the start. Enjoying the game on normal difficulty but having trouble with a particular boss? Kick the challenge down a notch and then back up once you've beaten it.

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