At Gamescom 2018, we had our hands on Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. This new chapter within the world of Assassins takes us back to Ancient Greece and the idea of “playing an assassin in Ancient Greece” already gave me some feelings of excitement. Going to a place that’s been shaped by supernatural forces, is a great starting point to build an amazing game with an interesting storytelling that goes along with it. This new chapter will suit the franchise perfectly, as it’s a perfect blend of reality, mythology and the conspiracy ideas that the world of Assassin’s Creed has to offer.
The demo I got to play was one of the last missions of the story of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. The demo was an interesting one because I had to fight Medusa, one of the known figures within the Greek Mythology. This might be a bit weird to see in the main story of the Assassin’s Creed but it also makes a lot of sense. Don’t forget that Origins also had a couple of confrontations between the main protagonist of the game and the Egyptian Gods. These were released as extra challenging content to test the player’s skills. Now, we’ll be able to do so during the main story questline. Don’t forget, we’re getting closer to the “First Civilisation”, so it makes a lot of sense that the people, during those times, searched their fortune and riches in magical places that were often inhabited by mythical creatures.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey doesn’t bring anything new to the table but it extends and improves the features/ mechanics that the game already had during Assassin’s Creed Origins. AC Origins had a lot more RPG elements than previous Assassin’s Creeds and it helped the game improve so much because the series became a bit dull in the end. It was a great decision to wait a year before they would release another AC game. AC Odyssey will also focus a lot more on these RPG elements that are “very important” to the RPG genre, namely looting, equipping better gear and get some experience to level up your set of skills. These RPG elements were a blast to mess around with and this will be no different when you’re running around in Ancient Greek.
“AC Odyssey will also focus a lot more on these RPG elements that are “very important” to the RPG genre…”
The demo was long enough to explore a lot of the aspects that you’ll face during your first walkthrough. You start in a village on an island where a group of angry fanatics wants to blame non-believers for certain “happenings” in the village. The first conversation you’re having is already testing your personality. The game offers the players some choices that can influence the story or situations that are happening. After this first confrontation with the player’s choices, you’ll be sent out to explore the island for some additional information before you can tackle the main objective: finding the beloved partner of the woman that you just saved from the angry mob.
Before I move on to the next segment of the game’s playthrough, I’d like to mention some things about the combat in AC Odyssey. Since AC Origins, the game is a lot more action focused than the older AC games. This is definitely a big plus to keep the interest of a lot of gamers but this system takes away the core stealth mechanic that AC started with. The latest AC games are built around the different playstyles a gamer can have: offensive or defensive.
You can play stealthy or you can play a lot more hack and slash. The role that suits you best, will influence your playstyle. Even though I like the fighting mechanics, this new way of playing isn’t for everyone. The combat mechanics feel fluent as ever but I do have to mention that it was a bit getting used to the fact that you don’t have a shield anymore. AC Origins offered the player a shield which could block enemy attacks but in Odyssey, the shield disappears. You’ll have to take on a more offensively playstyle than you’re used to. This aggressive style also goes along with some amazing abilities, godlike or basic combat skills. All of these skills can, of course, be unlocked during your playthrough and you’ll see that these different skills are meant for different situations. Odyssey is making the game a bit more challenging by offering clever mobs that’ll flank you in any way they can. The skills that you’ve unlocked can be used to counter your enemies defenses or target multiple enemies with your AOE effects. These skills will definitely help you in getting the advantage over your enemies.
The skills I was using were one of the most powerful abilities in the game. The higher your level, the stronger you get. You can also approach a more stealthy way if you like the classic core mechanics. You can still hide in high grass, scouting the enemy’s stronghold with your eagle, climb upon walls to find the perfect way to assassinate your targets and become the ghost of Sparta. Right, different game! But you know what I mean. It’s still the same mechanic that AC players love or hate. Nothing has drastically changed.
After scouting the area, it was time to take my ship and sail on the Greek sea and enjoy the Mediterranean weather with my squad. The sailing mechanic has been a rebooted version of the sailing mechanic from AC Black Flag and I love it. It has been a great addition to the franchise and this will definitely spice things up in Odyssey. This feature just feels like it’s in the right place. The squad is chanting Greek songs and are following your every move while keeping the team’s spirit high. If you’re being attacked or you’re the attacker, you can command your archers to fire arrows towards the enemy. After a while, your squad can use fire arrows that’ll definitely change the battle in your favor. The mechanic of docking and going out in the sea has been done great and will keep your immersion level high enough to enjoy every last bit of it.
After some sailing and gathering information from a certain village, it was time to take the fight to Medusa’s lair. This battle was very well thought of and was very challenging to play. It had some great mechanics that kept your mind on the edge. The balance between human enemies and supernatural beings has been developed in a way that the fights would be convincing enough. It’s a normal feeling that Medusa feels a lot more powerful than a human enemy, it’s a simple but important detail that a lot of developers would overlook. The battle felt challenging enough to keep me interested and the encounter felt like it could come out of a Dark Souls kind of game. You had to watch your every move because one wrong move could drastically deplete your life. Some people will find these kinds of battles out of place but then again, they’re using the mythology from Greece to build up an interesting story. I’m convinced that this game would feel out of place if they didn’t give some attention to the mythology of Greece.
The game is coming out on the fifth of October and I’m really looking forward to it. Even though they aren’t doing anything new, it’s the change of scenery that got my attention. I love the fact that they’re using mythological creatures to boost that sense of adventure in the AC Universe. It has some flaws, like the outdated stealth mechanics and same kind of questing but the game runs fluently and still looks great thanks to the new engine that has been used for AC Origins. They’re using the same engine as they did before, and I believe It’s the right way to go. Hopefully, we can find a lot more references to the Greek Mythology, even though some people might dislike this game, but that’s just my two cents.
