I generally like the Assassins Creed series but I’ll admit I got series fatigue after Black flag and never finished Unity and I never even purchased or played Syndicate. I absolutely love what they did with Origins though and as result I thoroughly enjoyed the newest installment, Odyssey. I got a Platinum trophy on the Playstation4, thus I fully explored the game and most of what it had to offer. This game is absolutely massive and Gorgeous to behold. I must say it is an impressive game even at its worse! Never once can I say the game is very bad at all there were some minor things I found silly or repetitive but that is literally any video game.
Most importantly I thought the game was fun! It’s fun and rewarding to explore, the action is fun, and they give you so many options on how to fight and engage the enemy that, as long as I kept changing up my perks and switching up my play style and weapons, the gameplay loop never really got boring even after 100+ hours. To me that is a pretty good experience. There was some repetitive stuff but to me it never felt super drab or grindy.
I truly enjoyed the characters and time setting. I liked the Greek accents even if they were a little cheesy sometimes I thought it felt pretty genuine for the most part. Most every review I have seen or read praises Kassandra as the better and more lively of the two playable characters. I chose her because quite simply a female character adds so much to the dynamic and way I play the character. I personally like the “Bad Ass” female persona, I grew up watching Ripley fighting aliens with machine guns duct taped to flamethrowers. I wasn’t disappointed by Kassandra in the slightest. I read a review that says, “playing as her turns the game from a good one with a solid male lead character into an epic game where you are basically a mini Wonder Woman.” I would definitely agree and second this statement.
The characters felt pretty real and alive. She displayed emotions in a great range, she was funny, and several times I felt the dialogue was specifically tailored to her sex, which to me was refreshing. A friend of mine played through the game as Alexios so I got to hear some of the dialogue and the way people talk to him. There is definitely a difference in the way the NPCs address the main character depending on their sex. It added a nice touch of realism that helped to immerse me in the world that much more.
Some of the Dialogue is kinda cheesy and after spending so much time in the game you start to see the limitations of your choices and effects but The game is Massive and their are so many interesting tid-bits of lore and story, I rarely felt bored and logged over a hundred hours in the game. Better yet I have yet to see any added content so I know I will spend even more time in this gorgeous world. I like how the tale dipped into the legend of Leonidas and the 300 soldiers who fought against the Persian Empire. Some of that kinda gets lost in the story because it is so long, but I was happy with their depiction none-the-less.
The games graphics look very similar to AC Origins. Which I am not complaining about. Origins was a breathtaking game, and Odyssey is no different. I think Origins was a little bit more solid and fluid but Odyssey is larger by a fair degree. Altogether the small glitches and rough spots were easily overlooked next to the beauty and detail everywhere else in the game. I also appreciated the music. As I explored the gorgeous scenery between objectives beautiful female voices echo and twangy sting instruments play serene little riffs that took me to the rolling hills of the Mediterranean.
There were a couple of glaring little things that kinda made me chuckle or were kinda annoying but these ended up being kinda charming, such as the glitchyness of Skyrim. None of these things are game breaking but hard not to notice.
The NPCs dive directly into my horse when I am riding through populated areas. I feel like people stayed more out of the way of my horse in Origins.. but maybe it was just as bad. It’s not a terrible glitch it’s just funny when people are yelling at you to “watch where you are going” as they dive into your horse as it passes them. It happens a lot too.. not just every now and again. I think there is some small timing or spacial issue but I don’t know anything about the technical side of bugs or glitches..
I thought the inventory Menus are kinda clunky as well. I think there should be some kind of fast dismantle option or a way to highlight and sell all of your junk weapons and armor with one button press instead of Ka-chunking through every single piece of worthless armor you collect throughout the game, and you collect a lot, so I found this kinda annoying.
I felt like sneaking and being stealthy was easier than it has ever been. Especially once you power up some of your assassination perks, you can quite literally skip through some of the bases without ever alerting anyone. This is cool and all but I feel like the Enemy AI could have been a little bit better in the hearing and noticing disturbances department. Otherwise I liked how the game kinda levels up with you so when I went back to do missions that I had long passed they were still somewhat difficult and not just a waste of time. I felt like the pacing of the game was pretty good overall.
Lastly, I thought the story was a little bit Convoluted. I ultimately got everything and understood everything but there were some twists that were kinda random and some times in the game where I was like WTF? I feel like they should have gated a couple of the Cultists of Kosmos so that when I got to a certain place, I hadn’t already killed the leader and thus make all of the missions in that area pointless.. This game is so massive that it would be impossible to make it flow without a couple snags. It’s worth noting that most AC games are a little weird when they try to explain themselves.. so it wasn’t too hard to overlook the strangeness of some of the events or pacing issues.
All in all I feel that this is a strong game in the Assassins Creed franchise. I really enjoyed it. It was refreshing to have some RPG elements combined with the glorious action and stealth in the Assassins Creed style. Overall this is a great game for anyone who enjoys big open worlds and lots of exploration. The game was engaging throughout and I still have more to return too and I will. I played a lot of video games this past Holiday season and am just barely now getting to the reviews.
You may not like this game if you dislike long games with Massive and complex stories. There is lots to read and do and can get distracting from the main missions. There is also a degree of grindyness to this game that may turn off some gamers. I don’t mind a bit or repetitive grinding, as I said earlier they give you so many options that the game can only be boring if you play the same way for the whole time.
Definitely recommend Assassins Creed Odyssey.
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