hello folks.
so we are all familiar with the famous "death rooms/grey rooms" after you kill a target.
they have been in every game (exept unity which played a flashback instead) and have gotten a mixed reputation from the fanbase.
now i always kinda liked them since they where understandable and simple.
with origins though... now i must note that i have only played up to mid "sequence" 2 (let's call them that for easy refference) so it could be that my "rant" becomes useless.
however for every major death in the prologue,and the alexandria sequence the "death room" just seem to out of place.
for instance we get to kill a target in the prologue and have to confirm his death (it's obvious that he is dead).
so we then enter that room we all know,and all of the sudden the guy is in perfect condition (not something the targets where in previous games) and we end up killing him AGAIN with the apple.
in the alexandria part when you kill that elite guard looking for aya,we end in that room again ofcourse as always,but again he seems perfectly fine and then just crumbles in to partial dust when bayek touches him with a feather. oh and they where 4 other men in that room aswell.
it all seems a bit to theatrical imo. the rooms have been here all the time but never this "in your face".
it is a bit off putting from the whole assassination process in this game.
feel free to correct me if i'm looking at it the wrong way (wouldn't surprise me)
Saw one of them on youtube and I agree, IMO they should be replaced by a more straightforward near death conversation, no need for fancy background and tone. Kinda liked the necessity to confirm death though, very reminiscent of AC1, even though those could happen during the conversation above as it did in AC1 so it would give the writers more freedom to come up with nice events after the death of the target.
They've been pushing my suspension of disbelief way too hard lately.
- Bayek's warg powers;
- Arno' stupid flashback superpower;
- OVERPOWERED Eagle Vision/Sense/Whatever (in general, not talking only about Origins);
- etc.
The story was more interesting when things were simpler and somewhat more grounded in reality. A device capable of extracting "memories" from DNA, sure, the lore has already established that memories are somewhat stored in DNA, so why not?! Being a walking animus (Arno's case), no, just no!
I liked them. I've always thought that the "Death Rooms" were related in some way to the "sixth sense" possessed by the Isu and accessible only in shadows and whispers to the Assassins; partly fact and partly intuition, intentionally stylish and mysterious. Combine that with the deep religiosity of Bayek, and you have license to delve even deeper into that aesthetic.
Plus, Khaliset's Death Room was probably the most affecting scene in the story. "Am I to remain in the Duat forever?" I actually had goosebumps, that line was so well-delivered. John Pitcairn has officially been replaced as the target I feel worst about killing.
I also really liked this new version of them. The older ones are quite boring in comparison. With Origins they serve as a nice emotional recap for why you assassinated the target in the first place. So yeah, I'm glad they are how they are. My only gripe is that Bayek feels a bit... powerless in some of the conversations? Like his enemies are mocking him even though he just bested them. Altair's white room conversations were much more respectful.