First of all, I would like to extend a huge complement for all those have worked so hard in Origins and the greater franchise.
The team has taken adverse level of criticism since Unity, and has embarked on a level of risk that is unprecedented in the recent history of the industry with the successful launch of Origins.

I am an avid fan of the franchise and I have played most of the major installments except for Chronicles, Rogue, and Liberation, and I would like to express some concerns and criticism of Origins and the greater franchise.

Preface: the direction of the lore and storytelling

The biggest downfall of the franchise as whole, in my opinion, is releasing contents and lore in different formats to the point of detriment. Initiates, project legacy, and the comic books would be the biggest offenders. The lore is a great drawing point for myself and potentially many other players. A unifying lore that connects all different conspiracy theories into some next-level sh*t beyond "illuminati" with the puzzles in Ezio saga is what really hooked me into the franchise. This element became more and more diluted after Desmond's death to a point where we have been in a 5-installment stalemate of "Juno is up to something and Assassins and Templars are doing... what?". Of course, the historical journey is also fascinating, but Origins has added a lot of fantasy elements that diluted it. The "reality is a simulation" bombshell dropped in Origins make it worse because we were able to enjoy the "conspiracy fantasy" where everything is real in this universe up until this bombshell.

Solution: Assassin's Creed is a AAA video game franchise. I hope that the important lore and story is kept within the major titles, while clearly communicating "such and such aspects of the lore will be explored in these platforms", should Ubisoft continue to explore with different platforms. I am by no means a writer or a producer, but for such a massive lore-driven franchise, I also believe there should be lore-master of a kind in the executive levels of Ubisoft that makes sure the lore is kept in-check.

The Gameplay of Origins

1. Side quests and grind is by far, my biggest complaint of Origins. In my opinion, the side quests feels like just another part of the grind. It is even worse in that side quests are accomplished solely to level up enough to play a main story quest. This is a huge issue. Equipment/crafting/money grind alone is quite severe, particularly the metals, carbon crystals and Drachma for gear/weapon upgrades. Player progression and gameplay-based rewards is important, but I can't wash off the feeling that these just artificially inflate playtimes to make the game feel like a "content-filled single player experience" when in reality a lot of the "content" is grind-heavy repetitive actions.

Solution: Make a memorable main campaign experience that is followed up by DLC content. Side quests and activity-driven progression should not be Mandatory in order to progress in the story. In the case of Origins, each region has its own stories and character. The side quests should be an end-game story content that allows players the option to explore the world further after completing the main story, and be a good neighbor for the people as a true Assassin should. Gear progression should be achievable by progressing the story and completing minimum side activities. Side activities' reward should focus on making certain challenges easier, and contributing to consumption of end-game contents like trial of the gods and Pharaoh's Shadows. The end-game contents should also have some kind of scaling mechanics for players that just want to have the experience, instead of gearing out to the max. Diablo 3's rift mechanics-particularly the challenge rift- is a descent solution to this matter. Destiny 2's Crucible is the worst offender, requiring DLC purchase and meaningless grind to achieve maximum power level just to experience a piece of content. As someone who in the design business, I can confidently assert that any design decision that has to be defended is a poor decision. (Looking at you, Bungie.)

2. The combat is just Hold down LB, Mash RB/RT or dodge spamming.
Based on the recent gameplay footages, this has been addressed quite thoroughly in Odyssey. The creative usage of adrenaline and removal of shields in favor of parrying overall make combat reminiscent of the Syndicate's combo mechanics and AC1/2's counter mechanics. I will reserve my judgement until I play Odyssey. Look out for deep analysis in case I have serious problems with it.

Character development

I like to think there are three elements in characters in this kind of video games that make or break them.

1. The character has... well, character
The character has to have some kind of attributes that makes players either like or hate. Ezio is a playboy who recognized that are things bigger than any individual. Jacob is reckless hothead that likes to kill Templars. Bayek lacked in this department because though we understood his character, there was a lot of confusion in his motives and character development because a lot of it was locked away in Bayek's promise and incrementally sliced storytelling in the main story.

2. The character has strong motives and conviction.
Edward is the best example in this regard. He wanted to make coin and make good on his wife. The piracy and naval exploration, which focused on making stack, had a clear and consistent drive because Edward's inherent desire for coin was explicit and substantiated. Ezio and Bayek's was less so in that their conviction was emotionally charged, but not substantiated through actions in narrative or content. Ezio's story in ACII and Brotherhood was that of retribution (His father and brother, and then Mario in ACB). Revelations was received poorly somewhat because Ezio's motives consisted of "Oh I have to go to the library because... reasons. The overall arc and intrigue, and his desire for peace helped remedy it, but it was easy for players to question why Ezio was doing what he was doing. In the case of Bayek, we were greeted with a very memorable cutscene at the beginning of the game that shows his anger and desire for revenge, but this motivation and the emotion is not expressed in the same degree ever again, weakening the overall drive which is essential in making the players motivated to progress through the story.

3. The character's growth should match the progression by the players.
This by far, is the weakest point across the franchise. We see some of this with Edward. As he becomes a more impressive pirate, we see his ship and his personal arsenal becoming more formidable. The progression is also achieved with coin, (an important element of the motives, as explained above) which makes the entire progression believable and enjoyable. Bayek's progression is mostly gear grinding, and there is no substantial character growth in my opinion. It is, at best, similar to Ezio's, and both lack an emotional transformation or catharsis. The last mission being played with Aya only adds insult to this injury.

Solution: Learn from Assassin's Creed IV. Give the character and story a clear motivation, and make sure the character narrative and progression follows this motivation. And have away with the silly ability points! XP-based leveling and skill points is so Y2K. Abilities could be unlocked through quests or activities that are directly connected with said ability. This gives clear meaning into grinds, instead of grinds just being well, grinds. ACII embedded core abilities with story content. ACIII tried similar things, except that there were too much; embed absolute core abilities into the story, and intertwine the rest with side quests or activities.

Looking beyond Odyssey: Piece of Eden is a narrative/gameplay Pandora's box that hasn't been fully tapped for over 10 years.

The Animus Control Panel has become a great device for justifying customization of character and gameplay. This also opens opportunities for full character customization like the Mass effect or [I]Elder Scrolls[/I franchise. However, I think Animus, as a gameplay and narrative device, is just the tip of the iceberg compared to Pieces of Eden. Let me explain:

We have established with the precursor messages that the whole universe of the game in itself is a simulation, and that Pieces of Eden is designed to tap into the restrictions of the simulated reality, bending natural laws, and "breaking the code". I don't know if the writers themselves is realizing this, but, in essence, as far as pure narrative is concerned, Pieces of Eden are magic. They literally break rules of nature and accomplish the unnatural. The sheer implication is endless. What if a piece of eden allows empowerment of weapons/equipment? What if another allows transmogrification of gears? (Diablo 3 Mistic) What if Uber-legendary gears were all Pieces of Eden or items embedded with powers of a Piece of Eden with truly magical qualities? The implications are endless, and worth exploration. If the franchise is going towards full-on historical fantasy with sprinkles of modern-day conspiracy theory mindf*ck we are more or less familiar with, the pieces of eden paves an extremely convenient ways of implementing "magic" to the "fantasy".

Lasting thoughts

I love the franchise, and I have bought almost all PC-release titles with season pass or some DLC. Origins was the only title I found to have too much grind to a point where I could not complete the game without losing grasp of the story, and making me forget about the game for a prolonged amount of time. I do not know if Odyssey will be any different, but my hopes are high. I will be pre-ordering the Spartan Edition soon, and I look forward to the game. I hope there were options for surveys and feedback from the developers/designers. Receiving criticism can be tough. I was a design student before and I will soon start a full time job as a designer/researcher. But take in the design thinking mantra of designing with your customers. I have also noticed recent CBT with content creators and fans, and I hope the teams continue and expand on these customer engagements.

Thank you for reading this long post, and I am of course, open to discuss any points in the post.