Bayek of Siwa is on his way back, and a controller isn’t part of the deal this time.
This October, the hero of Assassin’s Creed Origins resurfaces in Assassin's Creed® Animus – The Board Game, built by Mantic Games. He isn’t travelling alone, either: a lineup of other series protagonists comes along for the ride.
What the Kickstarter haul tells us
Backers committed £274,425 to the campaign. That sort of figure suggests plenty of people had been waiting for a reason to spend time with these characters again.
Anywhere from one to four players step into the roles of Assassin's Creed protagonists, digging through the past, cutting down targets and competing to leave their stamp on history. Ten eras are included, and each is designed to be played more than once.
Why Bayek’s name keeps surfacing
Origins arrived in 2017 as the tenth major installment in the franchise, at a moment when Ubisoft’s series was pulling mixed reviews. The Egyptian chapter ended that run. Critics singled out the performances, the writing, the atmosphere and the gameplay.
The story carried real weight, too. Bayek and his wife Aya set out to avenge the death of their son, and what they assemble along the way becomes the Assassin’s Brotherhood. The war with the Templars that runs through the rest of the series begins right there, under Cleopatra’s reign.
Its two DLC releases, The Hidden Ones and The Curse of the Pharaohs, went down just as well. Nearly a decade on, Bayek still comes up whenever fans discuss the best characters the series has produced.
Read the pledge tiers carefully
The Initiate Pledge sits at £65 and covers six playable eras. Fair enough, as these things go.
The Early Bird Master Assassin Pledge, though, is the tier that opens up to 10 playable eras, and that’s the bundle putting Bayek’s stretch of Ancient Egypt in your hands. The miniatures ship with it.
What the game actually asks of you
Players slip into the memories of the assassins they pick, each one carrying their own abilities and goals. Your choice comes down to era, skills, equipment and playstyle.
From there, actions are spent moving around the board, investigating special locations and hunting enemies down. Special cards keep throwing new material at you: targets, challenges and events you never planned for.
Boxes begin shipping to backers in October. Bayek’s Egypt is in the expensive one.