I haven’t played an Assassin’s Creed game since the original (I lie, I did load up Black Flag to check out the ships). I was on the hunt for a AAA single player title while I wait for some upcoming releases. Looking at you New World! Assassin’s Creed Odyssey turned out to be a great action RPG title that I look forward to playing to the end.
Overview
To be completely honest, I almost refunded this game 5 minutes in. I went in with the mindset of “this better not feel like a console game”. The intro cinematics and gameplay have console written all over them. I was so tempted to refund (I bought it on Steam just in case). After several hours and getting off the initial island, boy am I glad I didn’t. The eye-candy is a great start. I have a decent rig and I always end up playing these 8-bit indie games, so it felt great to really push my system. I did end up running it at 1080p to get 60+ fps, but it is still very nice to look at.
Gameplay & Combat
Going in I heard that there were RPG elements. I braced for the worst considering Assassin’s Creed is generally not known as an RPG, but more of an Action-Adventure type game. To my surprise, I found the equipment and skill trees to have enough depth to keep me interested. Mainly because I can spec in Bow & Arrow or Warrior, instead of going full Stealth mode. Stealth assassinations still have the coolest animations, but I really don’t enjoy sneaking around slowly and waiting to strike. Luckily the Bow & Arrow Hunter spec allows for some high damage surprise attacks, then when they get close I use brute force to take them down. The combat animations are fluid, and there is an optional lock-on system. Combat is relatively simple with parry and dodge, but there is a great variety of attacks and finishers between the different weapons. I hope later in the game the equipment becomes more unique and you get “legendary” type equipment, but I’ve gotten to try lots of different basic weapons already. The enjoyment of combat makes it worthwhile, and it does get difficult when you are ganged up on by multiple enemies, as it should. You can also tell that equipment is going to start looking more and more badass as you level up.
World & Environment
The first island is essentially a tutorial island. It gets you familiar with the basics of running quests, using the blacksmith, etc. There are other cool systems built in once you begin to open up the world. For example, there is a bounty system, where high-level named guys have a bounty to kill you, and you also have a bounty to kill some of them if you are high enough level. You get one of these fights on the tutorial island and he was one of the more difficult ones. I imagine these guys get pretty mean at higher level. The game also allows you to use a traditional quest system with markers, or if you are hardcore you can turn it off and openly explore the world. As in all open-world games, there are lots of optional side quests on the boat and on land. Once you get off the tutorial island the story also opens up. No spoilers, but despite the story being pretty simple, I am pretty amped to see it through (and get revenge!). Lastly, there are lots of quality of life systems with fast travel and horse travel, so it doesn’t feel tedious getting around.
Summary
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey feels like a well-built game. It runs well, it feels good, and there are several systems in place to cater to different types of players. This game would appeal to a broad group of players; open-worlders that have to finish every quest, people that want to blitz the main story line, pirate fanatics, and even history buffs. Despite it having a tinge of console feel, the enjoyment and eye-candy keeps me going on PC. I am even playing with mouse and keyboard instead of controller to stick to my PC roots.
Conclusion
Overall I have high praise for Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. I do prefer more character customization personally, but I understand games with a story like this make more sense by having characters (quick side note – you can also choose to play as a female character). My one significant gripe is the real money store attached to this game. It is a $60 title, yet there are lots of customization options available in the real-money store. There is also “time savers” that can boost your XP and in-game currency generation. Not cool. I ended up buying the game for 50% off so I ended up buying the XP boost for an additional $10 to plow through the game. I still feel dirty about it. I feel really bad knowing that people out there could be buying the more deluxe editions for $80+, then also buying cosmetic add-ons for $10 here and $10 there, plus time savers and more. Next thing you know you spent $150 on a game. Aside from the real-money store gripe, there isn’t much else negative to say about this title. I am genuinely having fun, and pleasantly surprised by everything really. The RPG elements are deep enough, and the combat is very satisfying (boat combat was way more fun than I expected as well). I would recommend this game at full-price or discounted if you plan to buy any add-ons. I’ll add some links below to current deals.
You can grab a copy of Assassin’s Creedy Odyssey for PC from:
Steam, Green Man Gaming, or Amazon
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Past Prime Gaming 