Long-running video game franchises have had their fair share of detractors. Ever so often, there’d be a particular game in the series that sours the opinions of many fans. Then again, there comes a time when one title ends up redeeming the entire thing altogether. For Ubisoft’s flagship action-adventure franchise, that’s Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. The company embraced the action-RPG dynamics for Odyssey, even more so than Origins, breathing new life into the series. This review for the PC version of the game aims to show the many features and improvements of the game as well as a few minor disappointments. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey: The New And The Old For starters, I considered myself a fan of the series’ earlier games. Over a decade ago, the first Assassin’s Creed game filled me with wonderment. The sequel made me clamor for more. And then we had Assassin’s Creed 3 which left a bad taste in my mouth. Black Flag, for all the praise it has received, couldn’t wash it out. Unity was a hard pass. And, although I had Syndicate, I barely lasted a few hours until I had to put it down. Gone was the mystique and allure of what initially hooked me to the Assassin’s Creed franchise. It was replaced by trivial tropes and asinine collectibles. That’s the reason why, even though long-time fans praised Origins’ direction, I still did not budge. Then came Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. It provides that fresh and unique twist, taking the lessons from Origin to heart and learning from them. As mentioned above, Ubisoft fully embraced the action-RPG genre this time around. This feels less like a formulaic Assassin’s Creed game and more like a new hybrid IP. Yes, some old tropes still remain — the destinies of characters intertwined? Yep, still there. A ruthless organization, the Cult of Kosmos (proto-Templars) hell-bent on dominating the known world? They’re still around. A delightful romp through a pivotal historical moment? Yes, we have that too. Tons of collectibles in various locations? Definitely. What sets Odyssey apart is how it manages to keep everything tightly interwoven in a refreshing package. By The Gods! Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is set in Classical Greece — 431 BCE to be more precise. Interlocking alliances and political power-plays brought us the Peloponnesian War, a conflict between the Delian League led by Athens and the Peloponnesian League backed by Sparta. Every town and location looks and feels vibrant. For instance, your island home of Kephallonia is fairly humble and quaint, a far cry from the megalopoleis of Athens and Corinth. Students of history will also feel a sense of awe the moment they visit ancient wonders that are either lost or left as ruins in the present day. The Lightning Zeus statue, for one, gets a funny quip from your character. Making your way to the Temple of Apollo at Delphi might give you shivers. Seeing The Acropolis and The Parthenon in their unblemished splendor? Magnificent! Ah, and visiting the Lion of Leonidas on the hallowed grounds of Thermopylae whilst the Greek historian Herodotus provides exposition — now that’s impressive. Given that this is Greece, after all, the gods come into play literally and figuratively. NPCs will often mention the wrath of the gods, their strength, or their effects on daily life. Likewise, long-time players would know of Jupiter, Juno, and the other “gods.” They are the Isu, the First Civilization or Precursor race worshipped as Hellenic gods by ancient man. Ubisoft’s decision to finally take us to this time period opens more doors for Assassin’s Creed’s narrative arc. Characters, Choices, And Consequences As a married man who also hands the controller to my wife so she can explore the game, we naturally chose the heroine Kassandra over the male protagonist, Alexios. This was the first of many choices we had to make over the course of the game. The choices presented in the dialogue wheel can have minor effects like an extra item or new information. Conversely, these choices can also have major consequences both short term and long term. One of the earliest dilemmas you face concern a village suffering from a plague. Your decision will have adverse effects which you can’t foresee until much later in the game. As for the cast, without spoiling too much, know that many of them feel lively and dynamic. Each character feels unique in his or her own way with a splicing of that Greek fire (for lack of a better term). A certain passion or gusto for expressing oneself. And yes, you will encounter the luminaries of history from Leonidas, to the aforementioned Herodotus, to Pericles and many more. You might even meet denizens of myth and legend. You’ll also have romances and relationships in the game. These feature a few side quests for you to tackle before you can woo and sleep with a particular NPC. Romances are not restricted to gender at all. My Kassandra happily teased Odessa (the first romance option you’d meet) in every dialogue choice. This Is Sparta! Combat in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is fast-paced and fluid. It also requires a lot of practice to master the art. You can’t just happily “Sparta Kick” your way to victory all the time, although fancying yourself as Gerard Butler in 300 sure does work. You have an assortment of weapons to choose from each with their own unique animation and combos. They have their own rarity and, naturally, the rarer the better. They can also be upgraded to your level or engraved with unique effects. Ranged combat is via your trusty bow and arrow. Assassinating targets, a staple of a franchise remains a treat. Your character has three unique skill trees to pump ability points in — the Hunter, Warrior, and Assassin trees — signifying ranged combat, melee combat, and assassinations respectively. It’s as simple as holding down a button and pressing the appropriate key to use that ability. Combat mastery is a necessity for survival. You’ll need to dodge or parry enemies, sometimes dozens of them, while using the terrain and obstacles to your advantage.<doc-sep>Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is huge. Each new boundary is broken down the moment you reach it, the game world spilling out and expanding further and further than you can possibly imagine. It is big in the same way the Great Pyramids or Empire State Building are big, the result of untold amounts of labor and artistry distilled into something remarkable yet intimidating. It’s not a sandbox. It is a world, with all of the beauty, anxiety, and inconsistency that entails. Advertisement This post originally appeared 10/1/18. We’ve bumped it today for the game’s release. Odyssey takes the franchise further back in history than ever before, following a mercenary in the Peloponnesian War, circa 430-400 BC. For the first time in the franchise, players can choose which protagonist they play as for the whole game: a man name Alexios or a woman named Kassandra. They hold the spear of the fallen Spartan king Leonidas and travel with their pet eagle, Ikaros, which earns them the nickname “Eagle Bearer.” After being forced to flee Sparta at a young age, they’ve made a new life as a small time misthios, a mixture of professional mercenary and low-level adventurer. While taking odd jobs on the remote island of Kephallonia, they’re tasked with assassinating a Spartan general. That job pulls them into the larger conflicts of ancient Greece and reveals the existence of a nefarious cult seeking to control the region’s politics. Over the course of a game that can run thorough players well over 75 hours and likely more, players will run along the shores of Greek islands, climb the buildings of Athens and Sparta, sneakily assassinate or brutally slay hordes of enemies and command a ship through naval combat on the high seas. These events are being viewed by a modern day character named Layla Hassan through a DNA-reading device called the Animus. Layla was introduced in last year’s Assassin’s Creed Origins, which had her primarily reliving the life of an ancient Egyptian assassin named Bayek. By the start of Odyssey she has aligned herself with the shadowy Assassin Brotherhood, which has clashed throughout history with Templar Order in a perpetual shadow war. Layla is using the Animus in hopes of finding artifacts belonging to the Isu, an extinct race of powerful precursors who ruled Earth before humanity. As with recent games in the franchise, this framing device is barely mentioned, at least initially. For dozens of hours, the notion that there’s an Animus and someone using it is divorced from the main story. Save for a couple of scenes, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Assassin’s Creed Odyssey has no connection to the games that came before. For many players, it could pass as the first entry in a new franchise. This is the most accessible an Assassin’s Creed game has ever been, and all it took was abandoning anything that remotely makes the game feel like previous titles. For some, this will be liberating. For others, it may seem like an attempt to cash in on modern design trends. What’s gained in accessibility and ease of play comes at the cost of sanding off the rough edges that gave the franchise much of its personality. At least, that’s how it initially seems. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey feels like a game trying to be the widely-praised 2015 role-playing game The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt. It’s a process that started with last year’s Origins, which implemented more RPG elements and faster combat. Odyssey builds upon that to offer an ancient Greece full of side-quests, romanceable characters, and branching dialog trees. But while Odyssey recreates The Witcher 3’s gameplay form, it struggles in providing an equally engrossing story in the main campaign. Advertisement Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s narrative structures itself like a buffet, where players can pick and choose the series defining aspects that appeal to them the most and engage at their discretion. Fans drawn to Assassin’s Creed’s use of historical locations and personas can stick to the main quest, which focuses largely on the Eagle Bearer’s role in the Peloponnesian War. Those who wish to continue the higher-level experimental meta story of what’s happening in the modern day can focus on collecting First Civilization artifacts and furthering Layla’s personal narrative. And if you’re eager to understand the history of the Assassins and Templars, you can always hunt down the true identities of the Cult of Kosmos. While these narratives sometimes intersect, especially very late in the game, they’re mostly contained to their respective activities. As a result, Odyssey’s storytelling often feels fractured and lacking in confidence. Whereas early titles like Assassin’s Creed II wove its plot threads into one bold narrative, Odyssey allows the player to engage with them at their preference. While there’s an appeal to allowing that sort of player choice, it’s a instance where accommodating for the player ultimately weakens the game’s overall storytelling impact. It’s as if Odyssey is embarrassed to be an Assassin’s Creed game, leaving the more avant-garde or commentary-laden narrative frames on the periphery lest players have to engage with anything too challenging or outside of standard big-budget video game fare. Multiplatform Multiplatform Assassin's Creed Odyssey Assassin's Creed Odyssey Back Of the Box Quote "Man, Sokrates is a bit of a maláka.." Type of Game Stabbing Simulator... but everything's in dactylic hexameter. Liked The game world is gorgeous, combat is brutal and expressive, great side-quests, mythological content is fantastic. Disliked Massive scale can be overwhelming, the main story lacks emotional bite, the best stuff is hidden away at the end of optional side-quests, occasionally glitchy. Developer Ubisoft Quebec (plus 9 additional studios!) Platforms PS4 (Played), Xbox One, PC Release Date October 5, 2018 Played 75 hours thus far. Completed the main story in around 50 hours. Very close to 100%; mostly need to explore more shipwrecks. This is regrettable, because the franchise has always worked best when embracing these narrative frameworks, reassessing and re-viewing history through the self-aware lenses that Odyssey mostly discards.<doc-sep>Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, the next big chapter in the series, releases very soon. Which means it’s now time to devour Assassin’s Creed Odyssey reviews and impressions. Odyssey represents a lot of firsts for the franchise. It’s the first Assassin’s Creed to take us to Ancient Greece, the first true Assassin’s Creed RPG with choices and consequences, and the first one to offer players the choice of protagonist. Though you may see a lot of similarities between Origins and Odyssey, the latter seemingly stands on its own with upgrades to the combat, enhanced exploration, and a BioWare-style approach to storytelling and dialogue. It remains to be seen whether Ubisoft has been successful in turning Assassin’s Creed into that style of RPG, but the reviews below should give us an idea. Here are the reviews we’ve spotted so far. As ever, scores displayed are out of ten unless noted otherwise. You may also want to give our own review-in-progress a read. PC players should grab the latest Nvidia drivers before playing. If you’re interested in that version, it’s also worth having a look at the minimum and recommended specs. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is out October 5 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Owners of the game’s various special editions can play starting tomorrow.<doc-sep>Assassin's Creed Odyssey is now available, bringing the blockbuster action series to ancient Greece. After Ubisoft saw diminishing returns from its annual sequels, the company took a year off to put more time into its next installment. The result was Assassin's Creed Origins, a well-received return to form that borrowed some heavy RPG elements like loot, and revised some of its staid mechanics. Odyssey is the first sequel since Origins, and it follows just a year after. Though Ubisoft has already confirmed another isn't coming next year, this game following so hot on the heels of the last one runs the risk of exhausting fans again. The critical reception suggests that the shine hasn't worn off quite yet, with generally positive reviews that note this one isn't quite as novel, but learns its lessons well from its predecessor. Read on for a look at impressions from around the industry, or check GameSpot's sister site Metacritic for a wider view. Game: Assassin's Creed Odyssey Assassin's Creed Odyssey Developer / Publisher: Ubisoft Ubisoft Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One Release date: October 5 October 5 Price: US $60 / £49 / AU $78 GameSpot -- 8/10 "Assassin's Creed Odyssey's ambition is admirable, which is reflected in its rich attention to detail for the era and its approach to handling the multi-faceted narrative with strong protagonists at the lead. While its large-scale campaign--clocking in at over 50 hours--can occasionally be tiresome, and some features don't quite make the impact they should, Odyssey makes great strides in its massive and dynamic world, and it's a joy to venture out and leave your mark on its ever-changing setting." -- Alessandro Fillari [Full review] GamesRadar -- 5/5 "In the end this journey is all about choice. The people you decide to let live, the romances you have, the sexuality lines you blur, the questlines you follow, the people you help and hinder and the RPG picks you make. It's an utterly beautifully crafted world and story, with cutscenes for literally days. After 70 hours I've only just finished the main storyline and I still have plenty to see in Odyssey's Greece, and it's a joy to keep on exploring." -- Sam Loveridge [Full review] IGN -- 92/100 "Assassin's Creed Odyssey is a resounding achievement in world building, environment, and engaging gameplay with occasional problems throughout. Its incredible recreation of ancient Greece is something I'll want to go back to long after I've finished its main story, and its excellent systems mesh together in a way that’s hard to beat. While there are definite rough edges, Odyssey sets a new bar for Assassin's Creed games and holds its own in the eternal debate over the best open-world roleplaying games ever." -- Brandin Tyrrel [Full review] Forbes -- 8.5/10 "Origins was delightful and Odyssey hits almost all the same notes, so there's a lot to like about it as well. But this series needs a bit of breathing room, and I hope it gets another bit of rest after this." -- Paul Tassi [Full review] Game Informer -- 8.25/10 "Assassin's Creed Odyssey aims high in its attempts to blend innovative additions with returning features. The execution might be uneven, but Ubisoft Quebec ultimately strikes a successful balance among the many parts. The story is compelling, both as a hero's journey and in the way it ties into the series' wider lore. Exploring the world is fun, combat is empowering, and getting epic loot is a thrill. That solid core formula carries Odyssey a long way, but like Icarus and his wax wings, it's not enough to reach the bright star on the horizon." -- Joe Juba [Full review] The Escapist -- 6/10 "I'm still going to go back once this review is written, to play more, and to definitively solve the mysteries of Kassandra’s odyssey, but I will in all likelihood spend real money on an in-game permanent XP boost to reduce the amount of stuff I have to see that I just don't care about. If that sounds like an endorsement with a small but appreciable 'but' attached, well." -- Arthur Gies [Full review]<doc-sep>
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (PS4) – does bigger mean better? The most expansive Assassin’s Creed yet recreates Ancient Greece in all its glory but can a game be too big for its own good? Amazon mocked for AmaZen mental health 'cry closets' set up on factory floor Assassin’s Creed is a franchise we’re always desperate to love. For those with a keen interest in history it’s the only big budget action series that ever deals with the subject in any kind of realistic detail. Given its vibrant politics and mythology you’d think Ancient Greece in particular would be commonplace, but Odyssey is one of the few times it’s ever been tackled seriously. The end result is possibly the best Assassin’s Creed ever but still a game fraught with compromise and frustration. Last year’s Assassin’s Creed Origins was the most significant revamp the franchise has seen in its 10-year history, transforming the series from a stealth-orientated action adventure to a straight-up action role-playing game. That was widely seen as a positive move, but it didn’t resolve two long-standing problems with the series: turgid storytelling and mediocre gameplay mechanics. Although it reversed the series’ downward trend we still feel Origins was a missed opportunity to more thoroughly revamp the franchise. But there is hope that a more incremental transformation can lead to the same result. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is certainly a useful step in that direction, even if the act of playing it does often feel like taking on a second job. Games as a service titles like Destiny are often criticised for how much of your time they try to take up, but Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is at least as demanding without having any online options at all. But while we often worry that Ubisoft’s vast development studios can lead to a lack of creative focus, here the hundreds of developers have clearly been essential in making a game that is so full of content it’s literally overwhelming. The game’s story is set even further back in time than Origins, in 431 BC during the Peloponnesian War – which was basically Athens and her allies against the Spartans and theirs. As usual the game doesn’t dwell on the more unpleasant aspects of the era but it still doesn’t ignore issues like slavery or the fact that the Spartans were far from the freedom-loving badasses that the movie 300 made them out to be. For the first time in an Assassin’s Creed game you have a choice of female or male character, siblings who are former Spartans now working as mercenaries. We played as Kassandra, although it seems that the plot is largely the same whoever you choose, even though the two characters have distinct personalities. The storytelling is as straight-faced as usual but Kassandra at least has a better sense of humour than most Assassin’s Creed protagonists, and her voice actress is very good. There’s also still a story going on in the present day, featuring Layla Hassan from Origins, but (thankfully) that only accounts for a very small percentage of the game. Odyssey embraces its new status as a role-playing game by allowing dialogue options wherever possible, complete with branching narratives, multiple endings, and romance options (which are little more than one-night stands and framed with all the tact and subtlety of a porn film). Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (PS4) – we kind of miss the camels from Origins The Witcher 3 seems to be the primary influence for a lot of the game, especially in terms of the effort made in providing interesting side quests. Odyssey is a surprisingly hardcore role-player in that many activities are impossible if you’re not at the required experience level. Ordinarily this would mean level-grinding against cannon fodder enemies but thankfully that’s not usually necessary given the wide variety of other activities available. As in The Witcher, many of these side stories contain some of the most interesting storytelling and character moments, including those that tackle famous Greek myths and monsters. That said, there’s only so many ways the game can repackage the same basic mission types and sooner or later you begin to realise how similar many of these missions really are. Arguably the bigger problem though, is simply how much all this side-questing slows down the pacing of the overall story. The map is already twice as big as Origins and it can often take several hours of levelling up before you’re able to tackle the next story missions.