Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Gaming)

by CruelLEGACEY , Toronto, Monday, December 31, 2018, 15:04 (2163 days ago) @ cheapLEY

So, I've played a little more, and it's growing on me.

I've done a few side missions on the first island that you start on, and I think about about to leave it. I'm on the mission to kill the Cyclops and presumably steal his ship.

Primarily, I think it was just a matter of adjusting from playing Red Dead Redemption II. Assassin's Creed Odyssey is like the complete opposite of how that game is designed. Down to simple things, like Arthur in RDR2 doesn't run unless you tap the sprint button--that game is slow! Kassandra goes from 0-60 immediately, and it felt all sorts of wrong for a while. Now that I've gotten in the groove of how Odyssey controls, it feels great, and it's nice to in a game that knows it's a video game again. I love RDR2 for it's deliberate pace and long animations and all that stuff, but it is also nice to be playing a game where you can basically loot shit as you run by it at full speed.

I do hope the character interactions get a bit better. Red Dead has set a new bar for that in video games, but I still think even Origins was better than Odyssey in that regard. But, again, I'm not very far yet, so there's still lots of potential there.

The gameplay is still fun, and the game is still gorgeous (although, again, I think Origins might have been better there--or maybe it's just because this style felt new the first time around? I think it seemed like it was bit more polished, somehow).

Thanks for making a post about it--I fully intended to just skip it, but now I'm glad I bought it. It's sort of exactly what I'm looking for right now.

I’m about 17 hours in at this point, and I feel like the primary plot has just started to open up.

So far, I haven’t seen anything in terms of character interactions that match Bayak and his relationship with Aya (sweet Moses, did that relationship develop in a way that was far more sophisticated and mature than I expect from a typical video game!). Most of the dramatic performances in Odyssey are serviceable, but I’m sad to say that the actor who plays the main antagonist makes me roll my eyes with every line.

Then there’s the little side-mission NPC interactions. I’ve grown to love them, usually because they’re hilariously rediculous. It’s like a B movie. Kassandra’s dialogue options include ham-fisted attempts to seduce half the characters you meet, and it’s always so blatantly out of place that I refuse to believe anyone at Ubisoft was taking it seriously. It’s just like “let’s bang, ok? No? Lol, whatever, I’ll go kill that guy...”

While the writing is laughable, I am finding the overall plot compelling, and I’m absolutely obsessed with the world itself. I actually find this game far more beautiful than Origins. Not surprising, since my favorite parts of Origins were the areas populated by Greek settlers, and the architecture featured in those locations. Plus I’m more familiar with Greek mythology and history, so all the different locations have more iconic appeal for me. Sailing along the coast and seeing the beaches of Marathon before rounding the bend and entering the port of Athens... I got goosebumps. And Athens itself is jaw-dropping for me.

So yeah, I’m enjoying it in a different way than I enjoyed Origins, which is pretty cool :)