"It's a Video Game!" - Assassin's Creed: Odyssey

Well, Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla has been released, and reviews seem promising. That being said, I’ll probably wait for the eventual “This Game Is Buggy” patch to be released before I end up playing it. I wish I could say that I’ve reached the end of the AC retrospective, but I have Syndicate to finish off. I’ll probably do that before I hit Valhalla. I’m just not sure yet. Anyway, on to Ancient Greece!

Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey was released on October 5^th, 2018. I don’t think I got it until 2019 though. This continued what Assassin’s Creed: Origins did with the RPG-lite mechanics and went even further. Now, we can choose the sex of our protagonist (Kassandra or Alexios). We can also alter the story of these characters a bit during certain sections of the playthrough. Even the skill tree that was introduced in Origins has been spruced up quite a bit. Also, Naval Battle makes its grand return here. It was only used sparingly in Origins.

Odyssey takes us back further in Earth’s history to 431 BC (or BCE). We end up playing as Kassandra or Alexios, The Eagle Bearer. Don’t worry about much changing in your playthrough other than the sex. Anyway, you’re a descendant of the legendary Leonidas. In classic Greek myth fashion, you’re basically left for dead as a child. When you become an adult, you end up sailing the seas as a mercenary (a Misthios) and try to piece together your lineage. Armed with a part of the spear of Leonidas, you end up going against what is considered to be the first Templar group: the Cult of Kosmos. Throughout your adventures, you face family members, many mercenaries, powerful ships, and a few monsters… oh yeah, there are monsters. Thanks, Isu Tech!

Shall we bow before Longinus, the Broom Breaker!!!

In the present day, you’re back as Layla Hassan. Ever since the events of Origins, Layla’s been with the Assassins trying to find Isu artifacts before Abstergo gets their hands on them. She ends up finding the Spear and finds out about a powerful artifact called the Staff of Hermes. This ends up leading her to the remains of Atlantis of all places… that’s right! Instead of Aquaman or the Ocean Master, Layla finds someone familiar helming the staff. After that, you move on to the Atlantis DLCs where you basically get overloaded with First Civilization lore. I didn’t get to the one DLC with Darius, the legendary first Assassin.

 

PROS

When I found this small area, I had to get pics.

While this game can be a little too overbearing at times, I do think that it’s a good one. While I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Eagle Bearer, he/she wasn’t bad. If I had to choose which is better, I might actually go with Kassandra. Even though I played as Alexios (Michael Antonakos), I think the voice actor for Kassandra (Melissaniti Mahut) was a little better. Since Odyssey goes heavy into the RPG realm, you get to make certain decisions that’ll affect your character’s story. How this lines up with the idea that this is supposed to be the past is weird, but it is a welcome addition. You also get a decent dialogue tree which is a step up from Origins.

The story overall is interesting. When I was younger, I liked Greek-themed stuff like Hercules, Xena, Jason and the Argonauts, and the original Clash of the Titans. The stuff here feels like it was pulled from there and mixed with something like 300. Heck, it starts out like a Greek tragedy. If you like Greek myth, you’ll probably love this. If you’re looking for something more Assassin’s Creed-like, you may be disappointed. I will say that the game does look into Isu (the First Civilization) lore, and that’s actually pretty cool. While some missions tend to be the usual fetch quest stuff, you do get some interesting missions that help broaden the world. It also helped that you had some okay supporting characters like Herodotos, Barnabas, and the weird one known as Akilabides.

Didn't have too many screenshots of Kassandra, so here you go.

The gameplay is a more refined version of Origins. You get no shield unfortunately, but you do have a nice counter move that helps. Since you’re pretty much a demigod here (just play the game, and you’ll see), you get a barrage of abilities here. You also have the ability to go at it stealth. Yeah, you’re not and official assassin in Ancient Greece, but the AC vibe is still there. Naval Combat makes a return here and it is pretty fun. While we got a snippet of it in Origins, we get it more here and done in a way that’s easier to do. You also get a lot of customizable gear to use, but this is something that’s been growing since the beginning with the franchise. You just have flaming swords now.

If there is one moment to utter the word, "THIS IS SPARTA," it would be during this mission where you meet _______.

The graphics are pretty good. We even get some good graphics during the side quest missions which is a step up from Origins. The landscape is pretty beautiful, and you may get some good pics with the picture system. While I gotta admit that I preferred Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece does look good and houses a lot of stuff… maybe a little too much. Also, the music is pretty good here. We end up hearing a familiar tune from the franchise here, and that’s always good.

CONS

While I do like this game, it does have some problems. You’ll notice that I didn’t mention the modern story because it was much worse here. We only visit the modern day a couple of times, and even then, there’s barely anything there. We also can’t take a break from the Animus, which is more of a nitpick. It also doesn’t help that Layla is just not that great of a character. Desmond from the early games was barely good, but at least we got some development with him over a few games. Here, we’re just getting snippets of Layla’s time with the Assassins. I want to like her, but I’m not feeling it. Hopefully, Valhalla can redeem her for me.

Hey, it's Layla... yayyyyyyy...

As for the Eagle Bearer, they’re good, but not great. I can’t really throw Kassandra/Alexios up on the pedestal as great protagonists. They do their job and do it adequately. There are just better protagonists that those two. Once again, we have some weak villains. The Cult of Kosmos are pretty much dudes you got to beat up. Thankfully, you do get a couple of twists with some of the characters you meet. Also, Deimos, their main enforcer, is interesting mainly because of the twist surrounding the character. You’ll see what I mean when you meet Deimos.

This world is so open, and while that can be cool, it can also be too much at times. At least I got to look good. 

One thing that hurts this game is honestly the length. While I do like open-world games, there are times where this world feels too big. I normally don’t have a problem with this especially since the franchise has been going this route for a long while. Also, you’re looking at a guy who’s replayed Skyrim a few times now. Maybe it’s the fact that there doesn’t seem to be much of anything in some areas except some mediocre side missions. I think it also has to do with the fact that Greece doesn’t feel as interesting like Egypt did. Oh well… at least you get to romance a crapton of people. Look out for the mission “Age is Just a Number” and prepare to laugh.

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Overall, Odyssey is a fun time, “no alcohol required.” While it may not be a game that has what lovers of the franchise want, it does have enough to make it a good game. I don’t know where it’ll be on my ranking of AC games, though. If anything, this game gave me more hope that a Superman game could work. Yeah, I’ll keep bringing this up until it comes… I should tweet this once in while too. Anyway, that should do it today. I don’t know when I’ll get to Syndicate, but it might be soon. The same goes for Valhalla. Until then, Peace, God Bless, and be careful out there.

Also, watch out for any medusas, cyclopses (?), dogs from Tartarus, and advanced humans who tower at about 7 feet. 2020 ain’t over yet, and I don’t even know what 2021 will bring us!