Feels like ages since I put fingers to keys and wrote a review, but it is no surprise considering the length of Assassins Creed Odyssey. Like a moth to a flame I play all the Assassins Creed games even though I know the chances are that I am going to be left burnt. Be that as it may I saw a sale on some Ubisoft titles, low and behold there was Assassins Creed Odyssey for less than €20, what did I have to lose?
I like a bit of pasta from time to time, it's a great meal to have when you are feeling a little lazy. A handy one I get are the Jamie Oliver pasta dishes (see below). They are okay in a bind but honestly no matter how I cook them there always feels like there is too much and it does not always leave the most satisfying taste in my mouth but it's passable. Being honest, each time I finish it I am left thinking why did I get this again. Playing Assassins Creed Odyssey I found myself asking was this the perfect amount of pasta or too much and when all is said and done did I enjoy it.
Story
The story starts with a young boy named Alexios and his baby sister Kassandra on top of a mountain in Sparta. Present are their mother and father, priests say they must both die under Spartan Law, in a blink of eye both of them disappear into the abyss. A pretty dark start to the game, but luckily and by some miracle they survive.
The game gives you the choice to play as either Alexios or Kassandra. The story sees you work as mercenary and as time progresses you start focusing on getting back to Sparta and finding your family, while trying to find out why this all happened.
The game allows decision making in the game, sadly with most non-RPG games that try this, few of your decisions really make a difference until closer to the end of the game. It was a nice option but felt a little tacked on and with there being nine endings that is a lot of replaying.
While there are some interesting side missions (which there are plenty of) the main campaign felt overly long. Each main mission has sub missions, then even those can have sub missions. Everything feels way longer than it needs to be and the pay off just isn't worth it.
Ubisoft have really moved away from the Assassins and Templars story which is really disappointing, while there are some elements of it in the game they have to be hunted for, which seems wrong to me. For sometime now Assassins Creed games are released annually and while there are changes made it feels more about making a quick buck than making a high quality story driven game. Overall the are some fun elements in the story but there is a lot of fat that could have been trimmed.
Visuals
While the game certainly has its flaw the visuals are not one of them. The game looks vibrant, smooth and beautiful. The markets and streets you pass through look and feel alive. The ancients ruins and huge statues are awe inspiring and to date is the most visually stunning game in the series.
One of my favorite parts of the was actually any enemy strongholds, they feel more built up than before, yielding crates, clothes, animals and other miscellaneous items. Overall the visuals help create a very organic environment and help make it one of, if not the strongest element of the game.
Music
The soundtrack has a very Moroccan feel to it, this is not too surprising as the first few games in the series had this feel and as the game is set before many of the others in the series it feels like a call back to humble beginnings. The composers are UK Duo The Flight responsible for the scores of both Horizon Zero Dawn and the DLC Horizon Zero Dawn Frozen Horizons and Dark Futures.
The soundtrack offers over two hours of music, some of my favorite tracks included; Legend of Eagle Bearer, The 300, The Assassins Creed, Atlantis, and A Spartans Fight.
Overall not a bad soundtrack but no where near as good as some of the others in the series.
Gameplay
There is a lot to get into with the gameplay, so let's dive right in. The combat is very different to other Assassins Creed games and a lot more robust. The fighting is robust, feeling not too simplistic and not too tough. There is an array of weapons including swords, staffs, axes and bows, special shout to Ikaros. If you take on one to three enemies it is okay, anymore than that and things can go south quickly. To help combat that you can unlock special abilities which, apart from looking great when used, can help take down even the strongest of enemies. While using RPG elements were so-so the combat ones were great, level up your character, unlock new abilities and access to gear.
You can climb anywhere with ease, you can even climb a giant Greek statue and hang from his cheek - sadly his wiener is a no-hang area.
Leveling up is fun, killing an enemy, discovering a new area, building - like an RPG the game encourages and rewards exploration which is good as the world of Odyssey is massive. I finished the game at level fifty-two but you can now go all the way up to level ninety-nine. If you are willing to put it in a little effort you will level up pretty quick.
Each time you level up you are able to raise the level of your weapons and gear. Essentially if you love a weapon or some gear you can keep it for the whole game and just keep leveling it up. In my case I got the Ezio gear and kept leveling it up. Be warned it will cost you a ton of resources.
Similar to the last few games there are plenty of ship battles, meaning plenty of upgrading which to be fair can be a lot of fun. That being said it feels nowhere as fun as the Black Flag battles which is a shame.
There are; side missions, bounty missions and player story created missions. Side mission comprise of a lot fetch quests and assassinations which can usually be completed pretty quickly, especially if you have unlock a lot of fast travel points. Bounty missions are limited mission where you can unlock special materials for upgrading or purchasing weapons. Player created story missions are okay but the only ones I found useful were the ones aimed at farming for materials and experience points.
The biggest new feature in the game are the mercenaries, think of them like the stars in GTA, they can be paid off but leaving them at the highest bounty can be fun if not hard. Each tier you wipe out gives you added benefits so is worth spending a little time on them. A lot of them you will naturally run into while exploring, getting the drop on them later is definitely the way to go as fighting a few at the same time is like taking on an army.
Overall the gameplay is solid and there are some interesting additions that were not in previous games. A few minor issues with the gameplay but nothing crazy.
Final Thoughts
So, after fifty hours, which easily felt like a hundred, how did I feel? Relieved. The story is okay and while there were some interesting points the story was far too drawn out. The visuals were fantastic and helped dilute some of the not so great elements in the game. The music is okay but not the most memorable soundtrack to date. The gameplay is pretty solid and offers a lot for players, overall very few notable issues. Overall the game is a little lack luster, the story could have benefitted to be shorter, the visuals were amazing, soundtrack was okay and the gameplay was pretty good. Overall this one gets a not so exciting 3 out of 5
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