Assassin’s Creed Odyssey: First Impressions

I saw Assassin’s Creed Odyssey receive universal praise and suggested it to friends without experiencing it myself. I had mentioned previously that it was marked down in the Epic Games Store winter sale to a low price of $7.49, and I just couldn’t resist grabbing it. The last time I saw it go on sale for such a steal of a price, I was working at GameStop and saw it fly off the shelves when it hit a sale price of $20. I thought it was high time that I finally gave it a shot, so this week, I have been digging into it.

In mere hours, I was caught, hook, line and sinker. I’ve put countless hours into RPGs before, like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, but I didn’t expect a game in a previously-scandalous franchise to hold any glory. We all remember when Unity launched in a horrific state, warranting the end of the annual Assassin’s Creed game. The break paid off, as Origins was well-received and Odyssey even more so.

My exposure to Greek gaming is minimal, I had a blast with God of War but that’s about it. Still, the captivation of Alexios and the NPCs he interacts with is monumental. The light-hearted nature of the protagonist makes for plenty of comic relief, and you can see them emotionally react during conversations with ample expression in the smiles, frowns, and eye movements. It makes the moments out of combat just as entertaining.

Speaking of combat, it’s a pleasure. I’ve opted for a build that relies heavily on assassin damage so that I can quickly and quietly dispatch foes with devastating power. When I’m caught though, I favor the heavy weapons that deal large amounts of damage, but take some time to swing. Most encounters are not a breeze, I found sparring with a giant boar to be one of the most engaging moments of fighting in years. In another enemy base, I fought mercenary after mercenary for several minutes.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is surely derivative, but it expands on those elements enough to warrant it. It’s easy to compare the title to the aforementioned Witcher III when the protagonist engages in dialogue as much as they do combat, but Alexios is much more evocative than the emotionless Geralt. The weapon statistics, the vast exploration, etc. have all been done before, but Odyssey fine-tunes everything to engage me and keep me thinking “just one more location” before shutting off for the night.

In several threads I’ve read, the game extends for dozens and dozens of hours. Just now hitting level 17 after ~10 hours, I know I have a long way to go before the ending level of 50. Yet, one look at the map shows that there are tons of islands for me to reach. Taking it at my own slow pace as I fine-tooth comb every spot I reach means I’m going to sink a LOT of time into Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and when all is said and done, it might just be one of my favorite games of all time.