“Assassin Abilities” are arranged in a rudimentary tree system, but the skills themselves are all fun to employ. Armor is upgradeable as well, and as in previous titles, dressing your hero up in shiny, colorful, often ill-matching gear is a pleasure. There are seven weapon types, which feel unique in use, come with their own strengths and weaknesses, and can be leveled up and enhanced with “engravings,” which slightly boost stats. Related Article: No New Assassin’s Creed Game in 2019 Melee combat is a blast, with snappy action and a tight dodge and parrying system that is fast and responsive, but feels weighty, which is most noticeable when wielding some of the heavier weapons. In my experience, this is the first game in the franchise in which the combat is the most solid pillar of gameplay (this is fitting considering the setting, which is full of warring Athenians and Spartans, a Greek city-state almost exclusively associated with bloody violence and poor souls being cinematically kicked off of cliffs). There are at least a dozen cutscenes that elicit real, raw emotion, which is incredibly hard to do in a medium that bookends cinematic moments with spinning loading icons.Īnother thing that earns Odysseya spot in the ACPantheon is its well-balanced gameplay. Ubisoft Quebec, however, tells the central family’s story so well that it acts as a sort of narrative foundation on which all other things are built. This is, of course, a ubiquitous design approach in modern games, but more often than not these branching paths result in a story that doesn’t have the purity of vision of a linear game. Odyssey is customizable through and through, from the different pieces of weapons and gear you collect on your adventures to the special abilities you utilize in combat (melee and ranged) and stealth, to the way you treat the dozens of side characters you’ll meet as you explore the sprawling game world. Giving players the power of choice in a narrative is nothing new, but because the story is so well told and the drama is so juicy (plot twists abound), the dialogue system doesn’t feel like a cheap gimmick but rather an effective storytelling device. You choose who or who not to befriend, trust, forgive, and of course, kill. The campaign sees you trekking, climbing, and sailing across Greece to piece together the true nature of that fateful moment. A new dialogue system allows players to explore branching story paths, which adds an element of agency to the experience that, while featured in countless other action RPGs, feels like a breath of fresh air for this franchise.Īt its heart, the game is an epic family drama revolving around Kassandra, Alexio, and their parents, who they’re separated from at an early age in gut-wrenchingly tragic fashion. It’s a major decision that alters the game from top to bottom depending on who you choose, and it’s the first taste of Odyssey’s strong focus on choice. They’re siblings but unlike twins Jacob and Evie Frye in AC: Syndicate, you’ll only be able to play as one of them throughout the campaign. The game begins by asking you to choose your hero, either Kassandra or Alexios. The game world is vast and varied, and while stealth and parkour-style traversal remain the focus of the experience, combat and exploration receive major enhancements, making this one of the most well-rounded entries in the franchise’s history. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey transports players to ancient Greece, a rich milieu that developer Ubisoft Quebec harnesses to inspire new gameplay features that significantly change the classic AC formula. It’s easy to take a franchise like Assassin’s Creed for granted when a new title drops just about annually, but the long-running series continues to thrive over ten years after its debut. Release Date: OctoPlatform: PS4 (reviewed), XBO, PC Developer: Ubisoft Quebec Publisher: Ubisoft Genre: Action-Adventure
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