Following the huge changes in the previous episode, the series of adventures about daring Assassins and malevolent Templars continues to amaze with new twists. At first appearance, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey appears to be a carbon clone of Egyptian Origins. Nothing could be farther from the truth – we are witnessing a definite shift toward the RPG genre. This isn’t the Assassin’s Creed from a decade ago, but it doesn’t diminish the fact that the game is fantastic.
It’s difficult to dismiss the new Assassin when we see how it pulls inspiration from The Witcher 3, Shadow of Mordor, and even Dynasty Warriors. Ubisoft certainly takes ideas from other games. You could have assumed that not all of them would fit into this series, but now we can’t conceive that the integrated innovations would be lacking in future editions. The Assassin, dressed in a Spartan helmet and wielding a spear, stands out from the series’ previous protagonists. He is not yet a cloaked assassin because the Brotherhood has not yet been formed. However, we can see how the ramifications of some incidents gradually give rise to the entire concept of combating oppression. Everything is described in the storyline, and it is worthwhile to believe the scriptwriters’ concept.
We travel to Greece during the Peloponnesian War, i.e. before the events of Origins, with the new version’s hero – or heroine. Templars and Assassins do not yet exist. Ancient civilization’s mysterious objects have huge power that corresponds to the era of great mythology. Someone descending from the pure-blood line of those subsequently known as Assassins possessed talents comparable to fabled heroes in ancient times. It’s no surprise that a group of individuals emerges who seek to harness the power of artifacts and control humanity’s history. The Worshipers, the Templars’ forefathers, have agents all throughout the continent and are preparing to take over the globe. By chance, the main character becomes engaged in the entire plot. He is a threat to the Worshipers’ objectives since he is a descendent of people who arose from crossbreeds between humans and an extinct higher civilization. This is how Alexios’ adventure begins, with a Spartan warrior vowing to exterminate the cultists. The narrative appears terribly hackneyed at first, but it gradually shocks and helps you to learn the actual meaning of Odyssey. It is also worth noting that the developers made certain that the tale was this time a really personal journey of the main character – the main plot is frequently broken into many pathways. We pick how and in what sequence we will discover the narrative of Alexios or Kassandra and the origins of the great brotherhood. This is the most important game in the history of Assassin’s Creed. Missions are distributed over the area, and we frequently have to select where we want to go first. It’s a system similar to The Witcher 3, where we chose which Ciri’s route to follow. The side mission system appears to be inspired on the Polish game, since many of the extra activities are mercenary contracts that we acquire from notice boards located in each village we visit. There are so many that merely finishing part of them while understanding the narrative takes at least 70 hours, and all of them take twice as long.
The gameplay of Origins has been extended in every way. This time, there’s a bigger homage to action RPGs. Conversations with NPCs allow you to determine your character’s difficulties and, in some cases, make actions whose ramifications we won’t hear about for a while. People who skim through discussions will be startled to realize that some activities need them to make decisions based on past interactions. Didn’t we pay close attention to the soup recipe? This might lead to poor ingredient selection and a disappointing conclusion to a brief journey. There are a number of these circumstances, therefore we’re dealing with a more intriguing type of adventure. There are several chores and orders distributed throughout a large map. We concentrate on the primary missions or spend a significant amount of time in a certain location. This time, adventurers can choose the quantity of hints they want. We may either journey from position “A” to point “B” in the traditional manner, or we can select a mode in which we simply receive suggestions about the location connected to the next step of the assignment and track the objective on our own. A helpful eagle and the capacity to survey a certain region come in handy in the latter situation. Alexios and Kassandra are in the midst of a territorial conflict between the polities of Sparta and Athens, so it’s no surprise that the majority of the jobs entail murdering enemy leaders, destroying military supplies, or removing robbers hunting for money. Conquering one side’s fortifications becomes tedious after a while, but these aren’t the only forms of side tasks. Traveling across Greece allows us to learn about the culture of the period, so we do many more intriguing things than merely shoot targets. We engage in philosophical disputes with Socrates, attend to games, and search for aquatic riches.
The fighting has been improved over prior iterations and is now more akin to standard action-adventure games, even resembling Dynasty Warriors at points. Aside from the conventional confrontations during missions or at sea in which we strike the other crew, we may also engage in wars for territory. As a mercenary, the game’s hero can assist degrade the military might of a given side before choosing one of them and standing on the defeated ground. Territorial battles are a different feature of the game in which we race through masses of combatants and engage with the other nation. We assassinate leaders to demoralize opponents and drive them to surrender. There’s no hiding here, as the main character may annihilate many opponents with a single hit. The enjoyment of fighting scenes would be diminished if not for fully new skill trees that, when paired with a lethal armament, transform the game’s hero into a mythological hero. However, it is important to note that, aside from such confrontations, superhuman abilities do not make the main character overly powerful. Enemies on the map scale to our level, so only careful management of special attacks and carefully chosen armor ensures victory.
Armor and weapons have benefits that boost one of three fighting styles: ranged archery, Assassin skills connected to stealth and silent elimination, and warrior powers in open battle. As a result, we choose goods not just for their beauty, but also for qualities that aid in character development. Furthermore, we may modify, expand, and add new aspects to the same armor and weaponry throughout the game. This component has been thoughtfully addressed, allowing us to create the hero we choose. It’s an odd idea to expand the number of accessible weapons while eliminating the option to use a shield. This is a stunning move, especially when given the viewpoint of playing as a Spartan warrior, when shields were common. Battles at sea have also experienced small adjustments, although they are essentially the same as in Black Flag, with the exception that we now develop individual ship parts, determine the look of the crew, and select four adjutants who boost the boat’s statistics. The mechanism of hunters pursuing our character has completely changed. Other mercenaries will be dispatched to assassinate the hero by committing crimes and public killings. The principles of the concept may be seen in Shadow of War, as a new thug arises in place of the dead executioner, hunting for a hero. Killing not only grants access to unique weaponry, but it also promotes our character’s standing among the most deadly contract fighters, and each “promotion” grants extra merchant discounts. A little tweak, but one that fits in wonderfully with the adventure component of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Aside from battling in different forms and conversing with other personalities, we spend a significant amount of time in the game exploring tombs, underwater ruins, and tunnels. Each of these locations is unique, has references to real or legendary artifacts and personalities, and includes easy riddles. It’s not Tomb Raider, but sometimes we have to stop and ponder before we find the treasure. Odyssey also teases aficionados of mythological creatures, but disclosing any details here would be too telling. We refute various misconceptions with Alexios and Kassandra.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey takes set in a vast world full of memorable experiences. All enhancements to conversation and decision-making are a definite advantage and bring the game closer to Geralt’s exploits. Other solutions, on the other hand, may be contentious, and it is impossible to predict whether everyone would approve of them. Open conflicts over territory and mercenary ranking are exciting new additions in the series that fit well with the model but stand in stark contrast to the already antiquated recapture of forts and naval warfare sequences, where it is impossible to innovate.
It is not, as many feared, such a different game that it has nothing in common with Assassin’s Creed from Altair’s time, but it is different enough from the original to brilliantly depict the series’ vast progression. The popular franchise still has much to offer dedicated fans, but it also changes enough – in a well-planned way – to attract new players. The golden mean has survived.