Board Thread:Series general discussion/@comment-5088097-20170624223327/@comment-746824-20170625051010

Even in Assassin's Creed, Eagle Vision was more than just observational skills abstracted by the Animus, given that at the end Desmond obtains the ability to use it in the modern day. The original game might have implied that that's all it was (not textually at least), but if so it was in service of the twist.

As it stands it is definitely a sixth sense, more than simple observation. Characters in ancillary materials (Initiates, Project Legacy) describe it as a second vision or something to turn on (with difficulty). Even more current materials depict it as more than sight. Charlotte de la Cruz literally sees through walls to see a ventilation shaft that she uses to aid her escape.

As for Bayek's manifestation of the ability, we have yet to actually play the game to judge its depiction and see if it fits with the others or if it's wildly different. However I don't believe that what we've seen in the game contradicts or changes in any way, shape or form how Eagle Vision has been established to work.

tl;dr: It was never not a special ability, it still is one, and Origins is not retconning it.