Last year, I was finally introduced to Ubisoft’s popular series with Assassin’s Creed Origins. Although it did not connect with me as much as I’d hoped, I got a small taste of what all the fuss was about regarding Assassin’s Creed. This year, I decided to give the series another try with Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and I’m so grateful I did.
The first major change in Odyssey compared to any of the Assassin’s Creed games is the ability to choose between two protagonists: Alexios and Kassandra. Both characters share the same campaign so there really isn’t a right or wrong answer here, but for transparency sake, I chose Kassandra (which is absolutely the right answer). Odyssey’s campaign felt perfect in length and offered numerous unique quests that never felt redundant. The only quests that seemed like a chore was when I’d have to retrieve something to bring back to someone and then have them tell me to go get something else, instead of telling me everything right from the start. One other thing that irritated me while playing was that enemies would increase level with you, essentially rendering early grinding useless. I spent a good deal early on doing side quests (I got easily distracted) and I was pretty strong early on, but the game eventually leveled out and my early increased strength didn’t matter. I’m not sure how developers can solve that because you wouldn’t want to go into an area at level 37 and find only level 30 enemies. So, I understand the concept of leveling up alongside the player, but there needs to be some reward for players who choose to do early grinding and/or a lot of side quests in general throughout the game.
Growing up, I found Greek mythology to be very interesting. I loved reading about the stories of Hercules, the Minotaur, Medusa, and the Cyclops. Being able to interact with characters from Greek mythology and hearing NPCs praying to the gods like Apollo and Aphrodite as you walk through the streets felt almost magical. Aside from mythical creatures, it was even more incredible to regularly converse with the likes of Socrates and Pythagoras. Ubisoft’s ability to flawlessly create representations of people who lived ages ago is a testament to the skilled individuals who shaped this game.
Maybe it was the change in era with Ubisoft moving to Ancient Greece, but Odyssey succeeded in many ways that Origins failed for me. Right from the beginning, you’re thrown into action fighting the Persians a la the battle from the movie 300. Ubisoft doesn’t waste any of the player’s time by explaining many of the game’s general mechanics; the hope here is that you’re familiar with the franchise or the basics. The first Spartan-Persian battle is an introduction to a new feature in Odyssey called Conquest Battles. As you traverse through the Greek world, you’ll discover ways to lower the fortitude and defense of leaders in each section of the map, resulting in them becoming vulnerable and enacting a Conquest Battle. Even though you were the main reason why the leaders become vulnerable, you can choose whether to defend or attack the city-state (one option gives more valuable loot than the other).
In addition to adding Conquest Battles, Odyssey added the dynamic of ship battles back into the fold. A popular feature in the 2013 iteration Black Flag, traversing my ship was as annoying for me as it possibly could have been. Controlling anything that deals with water seems pretty frustrating and navigating through the treacherous waters among Athens and Sparta was just that. Fighting against enemy ships was easy enough, but there were many times I wanted to flee instead just to not waste time and it seemed impossible to get away. The realism of sailing is noticeable as going against the current will result in your ship slowing down and taking that much longer to reach your destination. Being able to customize the ship and choose what type of crew to have was fun, but the best part of sailing was the crew bursting into song at a drop of a hat. Hearing the random conversations and songs from members of your crew helped make sailing the high seas bearable.
Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey restored my faith in the Ubisoft franchise. I was never big on the series, with Origins being my first entry into the series, but if future Assassin’s Creed games are similar to my experience with Odyssey then I’m here to stay. Ubisoft continued to enhance and expand on the RPG-elements in the franchise, which is a breath of fresh air into what many might’ve considered a dying franchise. However, the amount of customization regarding the skill tree still remains a bit barren, as most skills tend to be vastly superior than others, but it’s trending in the right direction. Being able to choose between two protagonists added another small bit of singularity to my experience, knowing that not everyone was playing as Kassandra. The voice acting was near perfect, the only low point was Alexios; it was like his voice didn’t match his physique and it made it almost funny to hear him speak. Combined with the era’s mythology, the Greek setting was an absolute hit for Ubisoft. If you’ve been burned by Assassin’s Creed before in the past or if Origins was just an alright experience for you, Odyssey is an amazing game that should pull you firmly back into Ubisoft’s grasp. For Sparta!
Final Score: 9.5/10
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