You’ve tapped out those skill trees, but have you levelled up your brain? Until next Thursday, both Greek and Egyptian flavours of Ubisoft’s historical learn ’em up Discovery Tour by Assassin’s Creed are free to pick up and keep forever. Go on, get yourself a slice of ancient education without all that stabby Assassin guff to deal with.

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From a publisher as huge as Ubisoft, and in a series as chart-dominating as Assassin s Creed’s Discovery Tour represents an unusual and welcome ambition. The mode, available as free DLC for Assassin s Creed Origins or as a standalone game, strips out all the combat, levelling-up and collectibles in favour of a promised educational experience. It takes the strongest facet of Origins its detailed and enormous depiction of Ancient Egypt and adapts it into something almost entirely new.

Ubisoft isn t alone in remixing its games in this way, however. The Discovery mode for Origins follows in the squelchy footsteps of Frictional s Soma, which added a Safe Mode last December that removes any mechanical threat from its monsters. Traditionally, the concept of games has been closely tied with that of challenge , but these modes sidestep that. And in doing so, they remove a barrier to entry for less experienced players who want to explore their worlds. Even if the execution doesn’t necessarily match the idea, this is a good thing.

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The announcement of the Discovery Tour was a source of much rejoicing. Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed games have for many years built these extraordinarily detailed cities, that are swiftly disposed of as the series’ annual development cycle demands fresh urban grist for the mill. The recreation of Ptolemaic Egypt was by far Ubisoft’s most remarkable, and the idea of using it as an educational tool, a living museum of sorts, was well received.

In practice, Discovery Tour by Assassin s Creed: Ancient Egypt (to give it its given name) is a peculiar thing, made with much ambition, but seemingly little understanding of how education actually works. (more…)

We’ve only just started exploring the newly released Discovery Tour for Assassin’s Creed Origins, but there’s something we thought you should know. Gone entirely are all the marble boobies and winkies. For what we can only assume are “educational purposes”, the game’s many statues have been rather daftly covered up by a plague of seashells. (more…)

Lace up your walking boots and fill your canteen, as today Assassin’s Creed Origins wanders into a world of tourism. Today the game receives its new Discovery Mode in a free update, letting players freely and peacefully explore Ancient Egypt and enjoy guided tours written with historians. Ubisoft also sell this mode as a separate standalone game, cheaper and without any of that murdering. I’ve not played AssCreed Oranges yet because I have so many open-world murder simulators already half-finished, but I am tempted by wandering. (more…)