Rating of
4.5/5
A Game That Lives Up to Its Title
Chris Kavan - wrote on 06/14/25
I fully admit that I have never played an Assassin's Creed game before Odyssey. But when Ubisoft pivoted from stealth and action to more open-world sandbox style, I knew it was only a matter of time before I jumped in. Given that two Melted Joystick friends highly-rated this, I just had to pick a time when I wanted to play what I figured was going to be a long journey. This was the year and I certainly got my money's worth out of this one - in fact, according to Steam this is my fourth longest-played game (and would have probably moved into 3rd if not for an issue - more on that below) and I truly enjoyed (almost) every aspect of it.
Looks and Stuff: For a game that came out back in 2018, this game is a visual treat. It even ran pretty well on my old computer - though it could take a fair bit of time to load in. The setting of ancient Greece means you get to see some amazing sights - towering statues, familiar locations (not in ruins) and some familiar faces as well. Creatures of myth show up from time-to-time and the DLC even sends you straight to heaven and hell (or their Greek equivalents anyway). The game has A LOT of story to tell as well, and the voice acting is great. Melissanthi Mahut (or Michael Antonakos if you choose a male) does the heaviest lifting as Kassandra but there are plenty of other side characters who do plenty of work. While some games may hire a few big names to bolster their roster, Odyssey seems to have employed pretty much voice-over artists over big-name actors and I think it was a great choice as somehow it just feels more organic. I also like how background conversations the world over are actually in Greek - give it an authentic feel.
The music is also really good and while it still may not be something I would want to listen to out of the game - it does a fine job of setting the tone throughout. But incidentals - from bear roars to spear stabs to stormy seas - all the background sounds just make the whole game feel that more alive. In fact, one of the reasons I think I wound up spending so much time in this game is that I almost universally ignored riding my horse and instead walked (or ran) everywhere - that's how much I loved the environment (and, yes, I did fast travel when I could). The faces look pretty amazing for an older game as well - not too uncanny valley with plenty of expressions to go around.
The game only ever crashed on me once (and I think that was due to my computer) but luckily the game employs a sensible auto-save feature... but I found this to be a detriment when it came to the one glaring issue that left the end on a sour note. After nearly completing the final quests of the Atlantic DLC, I started a mission, but after running about completing a separate mission, I noticed there was no other mission to complete. And I was also locked out of fast travel. So, unable to complete my mission (I tried) and unable to travel back to Greece (so I also couldn't complete the final chapter of the OTHER DLC), I essentially had to give up prematurely. I only found a couple of instances where other people had this problem - and no resolution and though I do occasionally make a regular save, most of the time I just overwrite and don't keep multiple manual saves on hand. The only one I had was as the end of the regular game - about 30 hours behind - before I started either DLC so, no, I guess those last few achievements will remain sadly unachieved. The game also has plenty of Ubisoft jank - things glitching through things - but I figure that's pretty much par for the course for any open-world game no matter how nice things get.
Story: A great epic, worthy of Homer... okay, at least in video game form. Kassandra (or Alexios if you want to go the male route) is descended from the great Spartan leader/warrior Leonidas (as in the 300 Spartans) and has his spear to prove it. That also means she has his blood running in her veins - and this blood is critical to the story. After witnessing her baby brother being sacrificed in the Spartan tradition of throwing a child over a huge cliff, she herself is thrown over said cliff by her own father after making a sacrifice of her own. But she survives and washes up on the short of Kephallonia where a kindly grifter named Marcus takes her in and raises her to be a misthios (aka a Greek mercenary). This island is the "tutorial" area of the game - but you'll still spend a lot of time here. You also become a somewhat unwilling mentor to a young spitfire named Phoebe and are known as The Eagle Bearer as you have your trusty Ikaros to fly around and scout for you. Two events cause you to leave your corner of the world - first, you rescue a ship captain kept by the island's resident chief thug known as The Cyclops and two, a wealthy stranger offers you a job to kill a Spartan known as The Wolf. The captains leads you to his ship, the Adrestai and with that, you can finally sail the high seas and make your way to the game proper.
The Wolf, it turns out, is not just a high-ranking Spartan general - he also happens to be your father. Kill him or spare him - it's up to you, but it turns out your benefactor is hiding something sinister - he is a member of The Cult of Kosmos - a group that seeks to control the Greek world and bend it to their will and, not only that, but your brother (the one who was supposedly sacrificed) is still alive and a key member of this group - and now goes by Diemos. At a secret meeting you see the group interact with a strange object of power - one that seems to resonate with you - and this is where you royal blood comes into play. The cult has members spread far and wide - and as this takes place during the Peloponnesian War (where Athens and Sparta clashed) - they have members deeply embedded on both sides of this conflict. While hunting down the members of the cult is the main focus of the game, it offers plenty of other content. Side quests can be dramatic, humorous and even horrific. You'll meet the philosopher Socrates, the great medical marvel Hippokrates and the amorous Alkibiades to name just a few of the familiar names to pop up during your game. You can take down bases, explore caves, take on fearsome beasts of legend and much, much, much more should you choose. The game has no shortage of just stuff - it even has some historical points of interest all over - and it's so accurate I hear even some college professors use the game as an instructional tool.
The DLC just adds more to an already great game - Bloodlines is about securing yours, from a group of deadly Persian assassin's - and ties into the other Creed games while the Atlantic DLC is far more out there going from Elysium to Hades to Atlantis itself as you interact with the gods - while also taking place in the present day where the Assassin's Creed lore comes into play (something with simulations vs reality and a race of advanced aliens or something controlling all of it).
Gameplay: Do you like being a walking tank or a stealthy killer - because you can be both. I preferred to dispatch most enemies quietly if I could but sometimes you just have to all-out fight and, should you choose, you can turn your bow into a one-hit killing machine and not bother with either. The game provides a versatile list of skills you can unlock, weapons to use (bows, swords, daggers, spears, blunt, staffs), armor to adorn (head, chest, arms, waist and legs) and even pet companions should you want. Since this is a sandbox game, the world is your oyster though, early on, you will be locked into certain regions as other are much higher levels than you in the beginning. And it's no joke - I remember trying to kill a lowly boar in an over-leveled area and getting absolutely destroyed - lesson learned. Many areas require you to do certain things to "complete" them - killing high-ranking enemies, opening chests, burning supplies - you can also find Ainigmata Ostraka - riddles that lead you to a certain place that give you slight increases to abilities. The game is also LOUSY with upgrade material - iron and olive wood being the most common, but also obsidian, gems and ancient tablets. You'll also get plenty of spending money (drachmae) along with plenty of random stuff (everything from fresh fish and barley to jewelry and soiled rags) that you can sell for more monies. You might think picking up all this stuff if worthless but believe me, upgrading your ship is paramount to bringing down anything on the sea and if you find a weapon/armor set you really like it is worth it to spend money to upgrade them down the line. Likewise, you can use material to engrave all your stuff to make it even better in the long run. The game has no shortage of giving you something to do - and you don't HAVE to do everything, but I had fun doing most of the stuff anyway and never felt bored, that's for sure.
Replay value: The game offers you a new game+ on completion but, GOD, given how long I played it - despite the fact I really liked it - I cannot see going back a second time to do it again. The DLC is more than enough to satiate any "I want more" feelings.
Final Verdict: Practically perfect in every way - game-breaking bug not withstanding.
Presentation: 5/5
Story: 5/5
Gameplay: 4/5
Replay: 3/5
Overall (not an average): 4.5/5
Hours Played: 239.2
Cheevos: 90% (84/93)
