Welcome to TechRadar's ongoing review of Assassin's Creed Odyssey: an open-world RPG and the eleventh part of the Assassin & Crease franchise, centered on the fictional story of the Peloponnesian War .
Given the large scale of the open world title – potentially more than 100 hours of play – we thought it would be best to split our review into several parts, with Vic Hood from TechRadar spending a week with the game, and recording his experience to give it a idea of what to expect and if it is worth your hard earned drachma.
Read below to begin our epic journey, or click on the box above to jump to Part II …
Part I
<img id = "LHXMDmKZrqr4VPiVdhuCE6" alt = "Assassin & # 39 ; s Creed Odyssey review [19659006] Full disclosure: the most Assassin's Creed I've experienced in my life was the three hours I spent playing the first game, before I made it too exaggerated and repetitive. that has happened since the launch of the original game, several additions to the franchise aroused my interest and tempted me to give it another chance: navigate the waters controlled by Black Flag pirates or ride a camel through the dunes of Egypt in Origen – but never It happened, so far.
What I'm trying to say is that I joined Assassin's Creed Odyssey as someone with little knowledge of the franchise and simply as someone who has a passion for RPGs and open-world history. If you are looking for someone to take the game at face value, then look no further than this review here.
Assassin's Creed Odyssey opens with the Battle of Thermopylae (more commonly known as the Battle of the 300) in which a small battle appears. The battalion of Greeks widely outnumbered rejected the Persian army invader. I threw myself into the epic battle like the Spartan King Leonidas, fighting to defend myself from the Persians with my remaining men and without a single Gerald Butler in sight.
At this point, you are already at a high level, with many unlocked abilities, such as the infamous Sparta kick. These special abilities are unlocked through the skill trees, gain a point each time you level up or complete a grave. Then, assign these skills to your equipment, allowing you to use them quickly (in the case of Xbox One) by pressing LB and A, X, Y or B. You can re-specify these abilities at any point by adding a drachmae.
Each skill tree corresponds to a specific game preference: hunter, warrior or murderer. Meanwhile, from the beginning you have basic skills such as murder, whistle and the Eye of Ikaros (to which I will return later). However, these skills also use a segment of adrenaline, so you can not walk with Spartan kicking all the time, as fun as it is.
I sail through the devastated battlefields, pounding and blasting my way through the infantrymen in search of the general. After a confrontation and some fight talks about what he plans to do with Sparta's children (it's not nice), I push him with my spear and Sparta pulls him off a cliff.
As the battle nears its end, the Spartan soldiers drag the infamous Ephialtes, the traitor, who has betrayed Greece and revealed a secret path behind the Greek forces that will leave them behind. Leonidas takes it well, pushes a spear directly through the head of Efialtes and prepares his men to march. As the enthusiastic historians will know (or anyone who has seen Zack Snyder & apos; s 300), Leonidas decides to send the majority of his army, leaving only 300 Spartans and 700 Thespians to face the Persians. But we do not see that bit.
Instead, we transported to modern times, where an archeology team has made a discovery (do not worry, there are no spoilers). The discovered object has two strands of DNA, and you must decide which buckle you want to synchronize with: Alexios macho or Kassandra female. Being the first entry of the main line where you can choose to play as a woman for the full game, I choose Kassandra.
You can then choose between scan mode or guidance mode. Ubisoft recommends the exploration mode, which does not provide a clear marker for the next mission objective, instead, they give you a series of clues like "south of Mount Ainos". However, the guided mode will tell you where to go. I chose the "exploration mode", but you can change during the game if you get too frustrated.
After establishing all preferences, I sync as Kassandra mercenary in 431 BCE Kephalonnia (Kefalonia as we know it) – the beginning of the Peloponnesian War . Immediately, while I am simply polishing my sword, a group of ruffians shouts at me about a great evil called Cyclops to which I owe money, a blow to the face and that is under way.
Without armor and in just one minute, I'm in a duel with the two bandits. I demolish the two and they present me with my first option: kill them or let them go. Being the kind and ruthless killer that I am, I free the thugs and send them back to Cyclops as a warning so they do not mess with me. Later I regret this when the same thugs ambush me on the road: do not be kind to strangers.
When I realize that I should probably pay off my debt, I address myself to the man who owes me a drachma: Markos. According to my friend, Phoebe, Markos has recently purchased a vineyard. This is my first exploration mode experience: Markos is south of Mount Ainos, so I head in that direction, after putting on my armor, of course. I run along dirt roads and twisted pines towards the Markos vineyard.
As I approach my goal, I try for the first time the power of Ikaros: an eagle friend that the locals believe has been sent by the gods. Using the Ikaros Eye skill, you can see through Ikaros' eyes, detecting enemies, markers and treasures from above. I see Markos from above and I address him.
It turns out that Markos can not pay Kassandra because he just bought the vineyard, so you must go into debt and pick up your own drachma from a merchant in Sami. Standard. In exchange for all this running, I request a horse from Markos (more like the demand). It has three beauties in a row for me to choose, each one specialized in specific skills: racing, battles and navigation in mountainous terrain. I choose the most accustomed to the mountainous terrain; His name is Phobos.
At this point, I decide that a little more exploration is in order, once I get to Sami, a lot of side quests start to appear. They follow the typical formula of open world: missions like investigating a crime scene, killing bandits, skinning some wolves, finding an artifact. Fortunately, it does not take long, this game can not afford to spend more time and is quite simple, at least for now.
Also, it turns out that some bandits kidnapped little Phoebe, so it's a perfect time to practice my Stealth Assassin Skills. After arriving at the bandit camp, I sneak through the tall grass and rip them one by one, whistling to attract the attention of those beyond reach and quickly plunging my sword into their thorns. Actually, it's quite therapeutic. What is even better is that the enemies are men and women, with equal opportunity for murder.
After a sufficient amount of exploration and killing of bandits, I return to Sami to pick up Markos. (my) debt of a Weasley merchant named Druis. After he tells me a sob story about how Markos put the interest in his loan and how he has a family, I softened faster than butter in the sun and, obviously, I tell him to keep the money, like a cup . Fortunately, my act of kindness did not return to torment me, as it did with the ruffians at the beginning, but Druis gave me a charming ancient sword as thanks and tells me that Markos borrowed money from the Cyclops to buy his vineyard. I hasten to chase Markos, ready to push my new sword where the sun does not shine.
- Assassin's Creed Odyssey is the closest you can get to Greece without jumping on a plane
Part II
It turns out that the clever Markos borrowed money from the Cyclopes to buy their vineyard and put us the two in a world of problems. Obviously I am addressing him to give him a part of my mind.
Now we both owe money to the Cyclopes. So, what is the best way to return the money? To steal your obsidian eye, of course, then sell it and return the money. What could go wrong?
After following the tracks of the Cyclops & apos; Den, I send to Ikaros to explore the area and identify where the eye really is. This saves a lot of time wandering about looking for items, instead I can just sneak in and out, cutting through any bandit on my way and picking up any loose change.
Of course, after my courageous mission, we can not sell the eye or we will be caught. So instead, Markos & apos; The new crazy idea is to kill and rob some rich soldiers in an abandoned house near Sami. I feel that all this is getting very complicated, but Markos is quite charming and apparently has done a lot for Kassandra, so I guess we owe it to him.
After eliminating all the men in the abandoned house, a strange guy survives and offers me the job of getting Phoebe's Shroud for him from Odysseus & apos; temple. Drachmae is drachmae. So I agree, and I'm going to steal a small boat that will take me a short distance across the water to the temple.
At this point, maybe I should mention that a bounty hunter named Talos, the Stone Fist, has been hunting me for a while, due to confusion with the Cyclopes. Up to this point, I've been avoiding it, since my level was not high enough to face it (despite his heart condition). But tired of fleeing, and higher levels, I decide it is time to take it to recover the shroud.
The bounty hunters are looking for you continuously once you have a reward: you can see a small marker on your map that tells you where they are and warns when they are too close, which gives you the option to hide or flee. . But this time I decided that I would run to my death and face Talos.
When I see him in the distance, I decide that firing arrows at him first is perhaps a good idea (although by now I had forgotten his heart condition, which means he is vulnerable to murder). Clearly annoyed by my incessant archery, a man's bulge charges me, he hits hard but slow. I stop and dodge throughout our battle (which was much harder than expected), Sparta kicks and the bull charges when it is possible to break her shield, and then takes punches when her defense falls.
Finally, I finish it, passing my sword through his head and taking his mercenary classification. That is a nuisance out of the way. Also, I receive an invitation to the Arena for killing Talos. But I'm about 20 levels to be able to do it right now.
I go to the docks of Sami and steal a small boat, without anyone seeing it, and sail the short distance to Odysseus and apos; Temple – which is overcome by the bad guys. I'm not the most patient person in the world, so I hack them and make my way through them instead of stealthily murdering them. It turns out they have a captive, so I grab the shroud and release it.
The captive tells me that her name is Odessa and that she is a descendant of Odysseus. Yes, of course … She asks me to accompany her to the royal temple, so I agree and decide that this is the perfect time to test my flirting skills: you will know when you can prove when your dialogue options have little heart to the side from them. While initially I start to attract him, I accidentally start insulting him and immediately ruin any romantic opportunity he has. With the tail between my legs, I head back to the creepy man who asked for the shroud, doing everything possible to make sure no shark ate me on my way back (that's a real concern).
I return the shroud to the strange The man who requested it, but it turns out that he was just trying me out. What he really wants is for him to kill the wolf of Sparta. That means I have to sail east to Megaris, and a small boat did not cut it, so this time I need a boat and a crew.
But apparently the boats are super expensive. Always the worst idea of the master of the worst in the world, Kassandra hears that the Cyclops has just docked in Kephalonia and decides to steal his ship and kill him in one fell swoop.
Realizing that I probably will not be here for long, I head across the island raising all the forgotten looting chests and completing all my incomplete locations. I also take the opportunity to visit the blacksmith and see what the engravings are about.
Engravings are essentially like raises, and add benefits to your team or weapon in exchange for a certain amount of drachmas and materials. In addition, you can improve the weapons and equipment that you like (I am a fan of the original mercenary skin), sell items you do not need or buy materials you make.
Having improved my equipment and thoroughly explored, I head to where Cyclops is docked, only to find him trying to drown his sea captain by referring to him as "nickname" of Cyclops & apos ;. Apparently, he's not a fan of the nickname, or the fact that I stole his obsidian eye and stuck it in a goat's ass. Cyclops is a bit delicate.
After fighting with the great man and his men (some of whom had poisonous arrows), I rescued the captain, who offers his crew and the ship as thanks. Excellent. As soon as he's ready, I meet him at Sami's dock and say goodbye to my home island, though not without Markos and Phoebe seeing me. The Odyssey has really started now.
Directing a ship's crew is difficult, especially in hostile waters and even more so when you have a small idea of where you're heading. Thanks scanning mode. As the ship's commander, you can make your crew accelerate, slow down or shoot at enemy ships (and there are some of them). There is also the option to improve the resistance, the damage of the weapons and the arsenal of your ship, as well as add new cosmetics and heads of figures.
I often found that my ship was attacked by pirates, and I immediately had to embark on a naval battle, firing innumerable arrows at the enemy ship until it was destroyed enough to board, which meant to climb and kill (Sparta kicking in the sea) each member of the rival crew and then steal their loot.
My captain informs me that we should probably recruit more crew members than the ones he brought. Fortunately, he meets a boy on Pirate Island, he sounds welcoming, who will join if we persuade him & apos; persuade & apos; he. In this case, & apos; persuade & apos; means to tear down and drag the ship, which is what I did to my new archer friend as soon as I found it.
The difficulty of the exploration mode becomes much more frequent when sailing through the sea, and after approximately ten minutes of backward navigation and in search of the Pirate Island (and how to get off the ship) I became sick of the sea of My crew Shanties and the cute dolphins jumping next to our boat. "I hate Flipper!" I scream at my TV, but they do not care. Hopefully, a shark will arrive soon.
- Assassin's Creed Odyssey is the closest thing to Greece that you can get to without jumping on a plane
Part III
It's day three and I'll be honest, I'm fighting a bit. Although I have not dedicated all the waking moments to the Odyssey, I still spent about nine hours to achieve the start of my trip (possibly because I cleaned all the areas I could in Kephallonia).
Either way, it feels like fighting in an uphill battle, where I know I've hardly made a dent in the monolith game and that there are many, many hours left. It is intimidating. When will I have time to finish this game? I'm enjoying it, but is there any point where the chances of it completing are slim?
In any case, I continue, establishing the course of our ship for Megaris and destroying the Athenian blockade that obstructs the port. Yoink, Yoink, Yoink – I take all the loot from the debris of their ships and I order my crew to go.
Megaris is still a very active and bloody battlefield. Athenian and Spartan soldiers are strung across the crimson beach. Yoink – they're not going to need their loot anymore. When I arrive, the Sparta Wolf (the guy we're here to murder, remember) is celebrating his last victory. Kassandra has a history with the clever bastard but, to avoid the spoilers, I can not tell her anything about it. I just know that she is not a fan.
The Spartan soldiers are impressed by the way I tore down the Athenian blockade, with the right hand of the wolf promising a meeting with the enigmatic leader if I help Sparta to conquer Megaris. They are very confident. Essentially, because Kassandra is a mercenary, and not technically a Spartan or Athenian, she can move through hostile territory without being noticed.
So, how to conquer a nation? Well, in Assassins & apos; s Creed Odyssey is quite simple: you must weaken the power of a nation enough to trigger a battle of conquest. A bar at the bottom right of the screen tells you how much power a nation currently has, this decreases when you complete activities such as killing the nation's leader, completing strongholds, killing enemy soldiers, looting or burning war supplies.
This part seemed too simple and a bit strange. I completed a couple of side quests and a couple of fortresses, then headed to assassinate a national leader. Killing the leader and completing these forts did not seem like a challenge at all, I did all these activities in a very short time, however, the nation weakened enough to start a battle of conquest by Megaris.
The battles of conquest take a similar form to the battle of 300 at the beginning of the game. They transport you to a battlefield, where each side (in this case, Sparta and Athens) has a bar that shows how strong they are currently. To weaken your enemy's bar, you must kill the enemy captains, as many soldiers as possible, and, as an additional measure, the enemy hero. It is a welcome challenge (captains are not too easy to kill) and maneuvering through a live battlefield is extremely immersive. The only insect I had was the Athenian henchmen who felt the need to jump in my duels with enemy captains or heroes when I accidentally hit them. It was comparable to being approached by a wasp during a family picnic. It was not a massive deal, but annoying.
Having killed the Athenian captains, minions and heroes, Sparta reigned victorious. Winning a battle of conquest like this means that the location you are fighting for is by your side, so in this case, Megaris is now on the side of Sparta. There are also some sweet gears.
As promised, taking Sparta to victory meant that I was honored with an audience with the Wolf. The next scene reveals even more about Kassandra's background and her relationship with the wolf.
Again, Ubisoft has requested that we not deliver anything, but there are many twists and turns in the main story. Unfortunately, it feels like they're in a hurry and we're getting a dramatic lash, almost like a soap opera. The main story feels like we are too busy in a very short time, when in fact it needs space to breathe and for players to invest more in the characters before these moments of amazement and amazement occur. It feels superficial.
Your meeting with the Wolf causes another decision that will change the game, one that will have a direct impact on the main path of the story, so choose wisely.
I'll be honest, I planned to write a whole-week newspaper in Assassin & apos; s Believe but, at this point, it is quite difficult. Not because there is not enough content, but because I do not want to spoil any of the main arguments (and Ubisoft did not leave us).
For the sake of time, I tried to progress as much as possible throughout the main story throughout the week, since I felt that it was potentially the most efficient way to spend my time. Although I am not released to tell you what happens after your interaction with the Wolf, what I can say is that this is the point at which things start to animate and Odyssey begins to find its rhythm. Even if it took about eight hours to get there.
As you advance, layers of history begin to take off, revealing something that is not based solely on dramatic twists but on a well-researched representation of Ancient Greece, its history and mythology.
Verdict: Play Now
While the large volume of content on Odyssey can be extremely overwhelming and intimidating, it's really a beautiful game that captures the turbulent, superstitious but captivating times of ancient Greece along with the stealth action that we have come to expect from the Assassins franchise & apos; s Believe.
Exploring the lands of man and myths has been occasionally exhausting, but always intriguing. Keep in mind that, if you plan to face the Odyssey, you better be prepared for the long term.
- Assassins Creed Odyssey is as close to Greece as you can get without jumping on a plane