Assassin’s Creed Origins will, for the first time, show us the birth of the Creed. The golden sands of Egypt will be bathed in the blood of your enemies as you carve through this ancient landscape in the biggest adventure in Ubisoft’s series yet. Trek across the desert on camelback, climb to the summit of Egypt’s famous pyramids, and delve into the mysteries of a forgotten civilization.

With this big step back in time, the series also moves forwards with a host of changes. If you are wondering what new features await, how the gameplay differs from its predecessors, or even what the map itself is like, read on. Here’s what’s new in Assassin’s Creed Origins:

Assassin’s Creed Origins map and setting

Assassin’s Creed Origins takes place around 300BC, in a transitionary period between the Macedonian Empire and the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Ancient Egypt. Ubisoft claim to have recreated Egypt in its entirety. Although we wouldn’t expect it to be to scale, it would be safe to assume this will be one of the largest, most authentic worlds you’ve ever parkoured across. You can free-run across sand dunes, right? Obviously there will be more to it than the desert, however, with a landscape peppered with towns, those pyramid landmarks, the Nile Delta, the Nile River, and scattered oases.

Assassin’s Creed Origins combat

Combat has been completely revamped for this prequel. This time, it won’t be about simply biding your time for a counter-attack or even bashing buttons, as fighting is now governed by both a stamina and adrenaline gauge. You have to choose your strikes to conserve stamina, while successful strikes and dodges build that adrenaline gauge - once full, you can unleash your fury. On top of these new systems, you can now equip a shield for defense, used for blocks and parries. Combat is also governed by RPG systems, so you will struggle in battle if you are a much lower level than your opponents. If you want to experience the world without all the violence, there will also be an exploration mode.

Assassin’s Creed Origins gameplay

As well as the combat, open-world exploration has also been reworked. Rather than just scaling buildings, trees, mountains, and even pyramids will be climbable - if you can see it, you can probably climb it. You will need all your climbing power, too, to track down papyrus collectibles captured on the breeze. When you’re not chasing these down, you will be going on assassination missions, tailing targets, delving into tombs, or creeping through an enemy compound. Ubisoft have also said that, while stealth is an option, they don’t want to fail the player for being spotted this time. That means it’s unlikely there will be any insta-fail stealth missions.