Assassin's Creed Odyssey

Remember when Ubisoft claimed that they weren't going to produce a yearly Assassin's Creed title in order to make the best games possible and avoid franchise fatigue?

I do too - and no I wasn't just making that up - so when Assassin's Creed Odyssey was announced and released merely a year after the incredible series revamp of Origins (which I was still making my way through!) I was skeptical. I didn't follow much of the game before it launched because I was convinced it would be a reskin of Origins since they do share a few similar locales. 

Reviews started pouring in and, shockingly, Odyssey was being hailed as one of the best Assassin's Creed of the entire series, which is saying something with highlights like Origins and Black Flag. I was also surprised to realize that the series had never gone to Athens/Sparta timeframe which obviously seems ripe for options in terms of this series' progression. I was intrigued and, because I've gotten so burned with this series before, I tend to wait for reviews now before purchasing. Collectively the gaming community was telling me that I needed to get Odyssey, so I caved. 

Large, furry Spartan helmet.
Not the best for stealth?

That was several months ago and even across a busy gaming season - with one huge game in particular - I've still managed to make a sizable but puny (compared to what the game has to offer) dent in Odyssey. This is one of those reviews that is coming with the asterisk of: "Yeah I haven't finished the game. In fact, I'm not really anywhere close probably, but unless something drastic goes wrong, this is my opinion and I don't see it changing."

So what is my opinion about the yearly iteration of the franchise we were promised would take more time off? I'm in love. I'm in love with the direction this series has decided to go, with larger worlds and more exploration/mystery, better combat, RPG elements, etc and Odyssey, somehow, is definitely one of the best in the series and features the most compelling story & main characters this series has probably ever seen (again, that's a high compliment). 

What's immediately interesting about playing Assassin's Creed Odyssey in such close proximity to the hyper-realism about Red Dead Redemption 2 is that it's an insanely wonderful complimentary game to play at the same time. Getting frustrated with feeling constrained in Red Dead? Your horse just die and you need some time away for mourning? Take your horse off a f**king cliff in Odyssey, it'll be fine. Fast travel where you want, it'll be easy.  Now, I'm not crapping all over Red Dead because, if you'll remember, I loved that game. It's incredible. But there were times where it felt refreshing to just have pure fun with Odyssey instead of always having to make an effort which sometimes is what plagued Red Dead. The double-edged sword is that Odyssey in comparison comes across a little sloppy when compared to it's insanely-detailed brethren. Yeah, your horse probably shouldn't be able to run up a slope that steep. Yes, you get the same "leather" from all animals and there's no skinning animations. Little things like that make you retroactively appreciate the amount of work they put into Red Dead, and it doesn't necessarily hinder Odyssey, but rather proves they're two very different games that, again, are awesome playing companions.

I have an affinity for climbing large statues and standing on them at precarious points

"Ahoy matees!" er...I mean "For Sparta!"

Assassin's Creed Odyssey's only true faults are ones you'd expect with a franchise this storied and a game/world this big. Sometimes mission structure isn't the most inventive, there's times it can all feel a little "samey", and the leap in growth from Origins to Odyssey is minimal compared to the leap we took to get to Origins. I understand that not everyone fell in love with the new direction, so if you didn't like the new combat, RPG elements, etc. then know that Odyssey doubles down on them. To put it simply, really the only issue I take with Odyssey is that it does play like a yearly iteration of the franchise, despite being really, really good. It'll get boring just a tad bit quicker because of it, but when your core gameplay is this strong and varied it takes a while to get there and by then, you've gotten your money's worth. 

One of my favorite things about Odyssey, and what elevates it considerably, is the core story and the main character. This is highly dependent on who you choose as you're offered the decision to be a male or female at the beginning. As the story unfolds you begin to not only get involved with the Assassin Order around you, which is almost a secondary plot in this game, but also the Spartan/Athenian war, and - most compelling - you're own family drama and mystery. I cannot stress this enough that you should hands-down choose to be Kassandra vs. Alexios when you begin. Not only is it unique to play this series as a [drop-dead beautiful] woman, but her voice actress, Melissanthi Mahut, is phenomenal. Compared to the dull and even dumber-sounding Alexios, Mahut's Kassandra is some of the best voice acting I've heard in games recently, on par with what Naughty Dog and Rockstar offer. And it shows; she was nominated for nearly every voice acting game award last year. Her portrayal of Kassandra goes a long way to making her one of the series most beloved protagonists as she's fierce, badass, caring, intense, and even funny. It's almost hard to explain how captivating the character and voice are over text, but you'll find you become very attached to her and the story/plot around her as the game progresses.  The story itself is well laid out and easy to follow, which isn't always the case with this series, so it was refreshing, much like Origins, to have a basic main thread to follow that's captivating. 

Winnie the Pooh is an a**hole!

The Perfect Storm: Ancient Greek

While there are likely some elements of the world carried over from Origins, I didn't ever feel like it was a direct copy because the majority of the map takes place across the Greek islands which feels distinctly different than Origins' deserts. In fact, this game feels a lot like a Mediterranean Black Flag, which is an intoxicating combination. And yes, that means the fantastic ship gameplay from Black Flag makes a return, proving to be the "added-value" element of this yearly iteration. It's a welcome return and fits in wonderfully even if its use isn't as prominent as it was in the pirate game. On land, gameplay remains the same as Origins, which isn't surprising given the overhaul the series took to get there, and I'm fine with that. Combat is actually more challenging this time around because shields have been removed (for your character at least). Defense then shifts from holding a button to block and instead needing to time your dodges or counters, making you feel much more skilled, but also offering a fairly difficult learning curve in the first hours of the game. After getting used to it, I actually enjoy it more, but it's definitely one of the "harder" AC games. Along with combat, there's a slew of skills and traits you can unlock, most of which are useful and awesome. Spartan Kicking enemies is equal parts hilarious and satisfying (especially if you do it off a cliff) and skills like healing come in handy during intense battles. It's a bit unfortunate that there's only 8 maximum mappings for these, meaning that you'll be unlocking some you wont use - which is weird - but overall I enjoyed these additions. Stealth in the series has largely remained unchanged because it's not broken and is still a very intuitive system. Taking down an entire enemy complex, some of which have 20-30 enemies, without being caught is highly satisfying and challenging if you're patient. 

The gameplay is complimented nicely by the RPG elements that are now part of this series, for the better. Acquiring new gear on a consistent basis is easy to sort through and I also found myself switching/upgrading regularly, which is important. Most of the armor has some awesome design and I was sometimes more concerned with making Kassandra look like a badass rather than higher stats. Same goes for weapons, though they're arguably a little more basic in terms of aesthetics but the gameplay is significantly different for a staff (for example) vs. a sword. Finding legendary gear (marked as gold) is exciting and often gives you a competitive edge against harder enemies and you'll come to find that you can't even imagine the game without these elements as you progress through it. 

Like I said, I have a problem!!

One aspect that's always important in the Assassin's Creed series is the open world of which it resides. It can make or break any open-world game really and this series has had its highs and lows when it comes to interesting worlds. For a while now the series has graduated from a single (or couple) cities to much larger worlds that span significant distances, but arguably have less vertical playground. That's a fine move since the series has become less about parkour-ing all of the place and more about other things. Odyssey's map is huge and varied, full of mystery and things to do. I particularly LOVE how the AC maps put little question marks on things you haven't found yet because it makes you an efficient hunter vs. just wondering around aimlessly looking for stuff. As I mentioned earlier, a significant portion of this map is the sea meaning that it's quite a bit different from the games we've gotten since Black Flag and its prominence is a welcome return. I particularly love how this series dedicates itself fully to a specific time period and, much like it was with Egypt in Origins, it's the same here with the Greeks. There are tons of historical landmarks, architecture, and places/things to explore that all combine to effectively put you in that time. And if you haven't put it together thus far, Odyssey and its map are packed to the gills with things to do. These games are nearly impossible to 100% because there's so much and this time around the most significant additions are that there are tiers of mercenaries that hunt you (think the Phylakes from Origins), a cultist organization to takedown, and sea-based missions to complete. It's astounding that even after all the hours I spent in Origins and the hours I've sunk into this game, I'm still eager to continue playing through the story and just exploring in general. 

Gorgeous attention to time period detail

I'm still surprised to be writing this review a little over a year later from the phenomenal Origins that acted basically as a series reboot. What's perhaps more surprising is that, for a series that has struggled more than most and had some really high peaks and really low valleys, Odyssey makes it 2 fantastic games in a row for Ubisoft. Their renewed focus on story, picking specific eras, exciting open worlds, RPG elements, and enhanced combat has led to an exciting continuation of a series that was on its last leg just several years ago. For me, these last two games represent some of the best Assassin's Creed has ever been and I can't wait to see where it goes next as long as Ubisoft keeps in mind the mistakes they've made in the past. 

CONS

• Not a whole lot that's "new" here when compared to Origins. Does feel at times like the yearly iteration
• At times the lack of attention to detail pulls you out of it, especially if you just came from playing Red Dead
• Given how stellar her performance is I feel like the series should have just gone all in on Kassandra, made it her story, and not given players the choice
• Felt like I had more instances of tight-space fighting with the camera and or climbing mistakes. Still minimal though, especially when compared to early in the series
• Weird that you can unlock far more skills than you have room to store. There should have been more "passive" options

PROS

• Engrossing story that's one of the best this series has produced along with potentially my favorite protagonist yet with Kassandra. The voice/mo-cap performance for her is incredible
• Features a huge, varied world that feels authentically like the time of the ancient Greeks and Spartans
• Littered with places to explore, historical architecture, various terrains, and the sea
• There's SO. MUCH. TO. DO. It can be an overwhelming game when you have 20+ available missions + a bunch of random side stuff you can do, but the UI helps you to manage it well and the prospect of not doing the same thing across multiple hours of play is exciting
• The sea-based naval gameplay makes a welcome and triumphant return. I've missed it!
• Spartan Kicking (and other abilities) FTW!
• RPG elements are still very welcomed in this series. They've changed it, yes, but it makes the game more interesting and challenging for longer
• Insanely cool armor design. Kassandra can look like a Greek Wonder Woman or a female King Leonidas. It's up to you
• Amazing cored gameplay from a traversal, combat, and stealth perspective. Combat sees the most change and becomes more challenging (but more rewarding) without shields
• For as large as the game is, the graphics often amazed me of horizons in the distance or foliage on trees. Won't be the prettiest game you play, but it's consistent
• Amazing original score that fits in with the time period
• Immensely fun and easy to sink hours into, Odyssey continues to represent Assassin's Creed at its peak

Rath's Review Score | 9.5/10