"Assassin's Creed Odyssey: we're on the right track
1.10.2018
Translation: machine translated
"Assassins Creed reinvented itself with Origins. "Odyssey" is the next logical step. Everything is bigger and smoother. Ubisoft seems to have struck a chord by strengthening the RPG aspect of the game, but all that glitters is not gold.
The very first "Assassins Creed" impressed with its artistic realisation. The Ezio trilogy had captivated gamers by relying heavily on the highly researched historical aspect and a complex storyline. After a minor skirmish with the Redcoats and Indians in "Assassins Creed 3", Ubisoft changed course for the fourth opus, which was a big hit. Unfortunately, "Unity" capsized the ship again, with pointless side quests and animation errors that are still the cause of many a nightmare today. The series continued with the disappointing "Syndicate" and "Rogue", then finally took a year's break and managed a masterly comeback with "Origins".
"Assassin's Creed Odyssey" attempts to ride this wave of popularity, but misses the roll.
Fewer deserts, more sea
At first glance, you might think that "Odyssey" is an add-on to "Origins". You quickly notice that many of the graphic elements have been reused. But the story takes place in Greece 400 years BC, not in ancient Egypt. The Greeks already had an important role in "Origins" and as the two games were released one after the other, the architecture is fairly similar, apart from the Acropolis which replaces the pyramids.
No great revolution in the gameplay either. You're once again faced with a huge world to explore freely, except that the vast stretches of desert have been replaced by the sea and islands, which you can actually go and explore with your trier. Everywhere you go, you'll have quests, ranging from simple hunting missions, to detective work on snake-murder cases, to attempts to manipulate naturalization. Don't try to complete all the quests from the start or you won't progress. I've only got one thing to say: leave the Hinterlands.
Even if you don't complete every quest, there's plenty to do. Around every corner, you'll come across camps to dispose of enemies, buried treasure to dig up, and bounty hunters to make sure you're never at peace. All of this is rewarded with xp points, so you can progress through the levels and build up your skill tree. During your adventures, you'll also find new equipment that you can improve at the blacksmith's. So, in theory, you can use the same spear from the beginning to the end of the game. It is now possible to add engravings conferring various bonuses to your weapons.
The choice of weapons has been greatly expanded and the combat system improved. If you dodge an attack at the right moment, time slows down and you can calmly strike back. Admittedly, there's only one strong and one weak blow, as well as one dodge and one parry, but as everything feels dynamic and fluid, every impact is a pure joy. What's more, you can still set up special skills when your adrenaline bar is full. This triggers special skills like the Spartan kick, which is incredibly satisfying (also works on wild boar, bear and elk). In this game, too, a bird accompanies you and lets you tag enemies and treasure to track them.
As much of the map is made up of water and islands, naval battle returns to the fore in "Odyssey". To sink enemy ships as effectively as possible, you have the option of upgrading your trier by adding weapons, a stronger hull or making it more manoeuvrable. You can also recruit lieutenants who will bring you a bonus on your voyages.
The storyline revolves around a family story, a mysterious cult and war between the various Greek kingdoms. I wasn't exactly thrilled. Partly because the countless side quests ended up making me forget what was going on in the main story. But also because it's not really that exciting. However, the main characters, especially Alexios and Kassandra, are portrayed in a very vivid and believable way. This allowed me to really get interested in their plight. At first, Alexios' (an English-speaking Greek) cut-throat accent got on my nerves, but over time I grew to appreciate this humorous loudmouth.
The engine, meanwhile, doesn't change an inch - in fact, it's starting to gather dust. "Assassin's Creed Odyssey" looks a bit like an antique, especially up close. The overall look with great lighting effects and sunrise and sunset, however, makes the game graphically very pleasing.
The metamorphosis into a role-playing game
The further the series moves away from the world of Abstergo and assassins, the more freedom it gains. The historical setting is still at the heart of the series, but the less you have to deal with all the machinations of the Templars and the shenanigans of the modern era, the more the world opens up to new things. For example, the shift from an early murder mystery to fantasy role-playing. Ancient Egypt and Greece were predestined for this.
With "Assassin's Creed IV", Ubisoft had already departed from its signature recipe and the game was for many one of the best. It was "Origins" that introduced the biggest novelty: the RPG aspect. With or without the fantasy aspect, Ubisoft should bank everything on those three magic letters.
It doesn't take much more, with the appearance of choices in dialogue we're taking a step in the right direction. Admittedly, most of the changes are relatively superficial, but they do help to put you in the character's shoes and stop you feeling like a mere spectator. What's more, the fact that certain choices can influence the course of the story is also a positive factor. Similarly, players can choose which side they want to fight for. Once you have weakened one of the two sides sufficiently through acts of sabotage, a major battle will begin. If you manage to emerge victorious, the balance of power will be reversed in the territory concerned. The only downside is that the game gives us almost no reason to fight for one side or the other: neither side is particularly good or bad, and Alexios doesn't seem to be affected by the conflict.
Quests usually tell an interesting story. It often happens that a seemingly simple story turns into a multi-stage adventure. But strictly speaking, most quests follow the same pattern: get to a specific spot on the map, kill everyone and, optionally, collect stuff, finally finish the quest and cash in the loot. Ubisoft would have done better to focus on quality rather than quantity here.
The loot system has been improved, however. While in the last game, legendary items were legion, here they regain their distinctiveness. Different weapons allow you to adopt different fighting styles, and the customisation system lets you invent your own style of play.
The skill tree has been improved, too.
The skill tree has also changed for the better. It now includes active and passive skills. You can only equip a limited number of active skills, and they're even more interesting than in "Origins", where I tended to spread the points around half-heartedly. In "Odyssey", the problem was choice, with each skill being better than the last.
The weight of the past
The previous opus already had a lot of similarities with "The Witcher 3", mainly in the quest structure and the open-world concept. And now "Assassin's Creed" is also borrowing from the game's soundscape to the white-haired sorcerer. And I got confirmation that all this wasn't just going on in my head when my wife asked me if I was playing 'The Witcher 3' just before entering the living room. And why was that? The music and some of the sound effects, especially as you level up, sound very similar to those in the Polish game. So I looked to see if one and the same composer had worked on both projects: the answer is no.
I won't throw stones at Ubisoft for taking inspiration from "The Witcher 3". For me, the latter is one of the best, if not THE best, open-world role-playing game. I therefore hope that Ubisoft will do everything in its power to transform 'Assassin's Creed' into a real RPG in the few years it has allowed itself (the next release is scheduled for 2020). A few old legacies from past games are still holding the game back. For example, the graphics, which, as we said earlier, are starting to show a few signs of age. The animation of the faces sometimes reminded me of "Mass Effect Andromeda" and made me shudder.
Ubisoft should also get rid of all this modern-age nonsense: Abstergo, Animus... Spare us all that. Every minute the game takes me away from my real adventure is pure waste of time.
For me, the side quests are the aspect of the game that needs to be completely overhauled as a priority. It's here that you can feel the lingering effects of the previous games the most. The world is certainly huge, detailed and full of tasks to complete, but it lacks coherence. At times, you get the impression that Ubisoft has emptied a bag full of quests, treasures and forts and scattered them haphazardly across the map. Ancient Greece doesn't feel like a whole, especially when the quests aren't connected to each other at all. To return to "The Witcher 3": the world is conceived as a single living entity from start to finish. "Assassin's Creed Odyssey gives more of an impression of a large playground. Ubisoft should try to vary the quests even more, so that we're not reduced to running, searching, killing and collecting at every turn. Right now, if you ask me what my favourite quest was, I'd be hard pressed to name one.
"Assassin's Creed Odyssey" is far from being a bad game, quite the opposite in fact. But Ubisoft doesn't exploit its potential enough. The vibrant open world, motivating gameplay, spectacular combat and compelling stories will ensure you have a great time playing. But I know Ubisoft can do better. Maybe the next opus will surprise me.
I tested the Xbox-One version on loan from Ubisoft. The game is also available on PS4 and PC.
The game is available on PS4 and PC.
Philipp Rüegg
Senior Editor
Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.chBeing the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur.
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