When Assassin’s Creed Syndicate was announced as free to play for a limited period on the Epic Games store, it felt like a cry for attention. As I write, the Pokemon of the Year is yet to be announced, an action-packed Samurai Jack game teaser has been released (by Adult Swim – the same developers of the Rick and Morty games), and the Xbox Series X announced that it can magically resume games even after a reboot.
Amidst the din of all these discussable events in videogames this week, the one call I choose to respond to is from Assassin’s Creed.
This week I review Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Some might say “this is OLD NEWS, Anusha.” Yes. Maybe. But two years into the release of a mainstream game is when the prices are low, expectations even more so, and the sequel release date still speculative – the combination of these factors remove possibility of disappointment. With this thought in mind, I proceeded with caution to play the heavily RPG’ed version of a game series that I have long enjoyed.
The enjoyment primarily stems from the climbs to the scenic viewpoints, leaps of faith that have alleviated my fear of heights, and the beautifully animated water (which in my opinion looks and flows better than any real-world water). Odyssey does well in all these aspects giving it an easy 10/10 in my books. +1 since the terrain has more green in Greece than the sand and rocks in Egypt (from AC Origins).
Frustrated that Aya from Origins didn’t have the bulked up stats that I spent so much time on, I chose to play as Kassandra – the female Assassin character in Odyssey and max out her skill tree. Greece appears to have a lot more opportunity for adventure with its big map, and the NPC interactions are a pleasant addition.
The characters are still heavily accented and serious-sounding, but the real problem with Odyssey is that the dialogue scenes are not entirely skippable.
I find it quite annoying that gaming technology has allowed us to reach a level of customisability that makes me question my morals through the smallest of decisions made. Somehow, the decisions seem less impactful in “fun” games like GTA, but a little more chin-scratchy in AC.
I find myself pausing the game to wonder at the different ways in which my choice could bite me later. Still, wouldn’t mind scaling the same viewpoint again when Ragnarok releases!