I had heard so many good things about Origins but it was just bad...so bad.
How? Combat finally got decent after years of broken, one-note "counterattack to win", better customization, stealth is still there, real side missions and side activities rather than minor, half-assed nuisances, historical tourism is still there as well.
Make no mistake, you might have a certain, kinda rosey view of AC because you dropped out early, but the series was not in a good place. It was getting as infamous as COD and Battlefield because of how samey every game was, with the only possible exception of Black Flag and that was largely because of the naval battles. Origins represented a much needed overhaul and quality boost to a franchise that was stagnating.