Unity is more of a half-step in that regard, I feel -- combat encounters are more challenging, certainly, but not as challenging as they should be. If Ubi has indeed taken cues from CDPR on combat encounter design, then it's probably safe to say that Origins will deliver on that front. The comparison is apt: Geralt's mutation-augmented abilities don't exactly make him a demigod and neither should a honed assassin skillset.
Well what "they should be" is an opinion, there isn't a perfect combat system, it's a matter of what choices you make to make it fun to play and Ubisoft shifted their choices with Unity, and shifted again a bit with Syndicate.
Unity allowed that if you were underequipped, against tough opponents of multiple ones, you were likely to lose if you have one or two missteps. I died a lot that way. Call it half-step if you want but this was imho, replaying AC1 while playing Unity at the same time, a bit more challenging then the first combat system in the series (and thanksfully since it has more depth and 7 years of experience). So no, Origins won't be the first AC game to have a more "challenging" combat system : Unity already did it, even if you believe that it wasn't enough.
You don't know that though... The origins of the assassin's were in AC1 in 1191CE not Egypt in 350BCE
You can find details on the lore before AC1's era here.
The Assassins, if not the Order itself, have existed since at least 456 BCE, throughout the Roman Empire, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution and into the Modern era.
Having a shield makes me think they're going the Souls-inspired/lock-on route, taking cues from For Honor
Which would be horrible. Last thing an Assassin should be doing is turtling behind a shield or doing slower 1v1 fighting.
There's a high chance the game'll let you play the way you want most of the times so you can be the "Assassin" you want : the sleathly guy who only uses his hidden blade in the shadows, or only the hidden blade in combat, or the guy with big weapons and a shield...
Assassin never meant automatically stealth ninja or something like this. I never understood this stance (which we have heard for EVERY game since AC2 : fire weapons, machette, rifles, pirate etc)
Season Pass. Exclusive missions. It's like they learned nothing.
It's doing well for them financially.