Five Things You Should Know Before Buying Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey takes the franchise to Ancient Greece, and to the war between Athens and Sparta.

It’s a beautiful game with a huge variety of choices, whether they’re based in dialogue decisions or upgradable customisation.

But before you buy Assassin’s Creed Odyssey there’s five important facts you should know about the latest entry in the Assassin’s Creed series.

There’s over 60 hours of gameplay

Your journey to Ancient Greece will certainly be a long odyssey. There’s much to see and do in the sandbox of Ancient Greece, and the majority of it will keep your attention. Upgrading and customisation is a big part of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, and it’s almost an endless search for the perfect weapons and armour.

Sadly, there is some filler though. The main story, despite its compelling protagonists, does include a few too many meaningless missions. These dilute what is a brilliant story, and sadly take some importance out of some quests, even if overall the story is compelling.

Ancient Greece is also huge, with so many hidden secrets and mysteries. A lot of the map is ocean though, which does somewhat lessen how impressive the map’s size is. The sea looks beautiful, and also hides many treasures, but it’s not as full of life as the land in Ancient Greece. Each city feels unique, and the NPCs are seen to be going about their daily lives. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey brings Ancient Greece to life in a way that few games can.

Kassandra and Alexios are very similar

Much has been made of the chance to choose your protagonist from the beginning of the game. Unlike Syndicate, which allowed you to play as both Evie and Jacob Frye, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey makes you choose just one. It feels like a big choice, and it is, but don’t expect it to change your story too much.

The story doesn’t really change based on which protagonist you choose. Even the dialogue choices and cut scenes are pretty similar, which is quite disappointing. A lot was made of being able to choose either character, but sadly it doesn’t offer the different options lots of fans were hoping for.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey allows you to build the character in the way you want. The skill trees are the same for both characters, which means they even play in a similar fashion. Unlike Jacob and Evie who had clearly different play styles, both Kassandra and Alexis can be upgraded in the way you want. That’s awesome, in a way, but it would have been nice to see a bit more difference between the two.

Most decisions won’t impact the story

Ubisoft presented Assassin’s Creed Odyssey as a full RPG with a levelling system, customisation and choice. Sadly, a lot of the dialogue choices won’t impact the story that much. Some cut-scenes even turn out the same no matter which option you choose. It’s not quite the RPG world some fans expected.

However, some choices have meaningful consequences in the main story. These could be more frequent in the game, but are done really well when included. You can form your own story based on these options, and they will impact how the story develops.

Likewise, choices outside the main story can have consequences. If you commit too many crimes you’ll trigger the notoriety system to send mercenaries after you. It’s a fun system, but it does get very annoying when they turn up as you try to complete a stealth mission. It feels like they shouldn’t be able to interrupt the main quests.

There are three skill trees to build

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s skill system is built on three categories: Warrior, Hunter, and Assassin. This allows you to add skills to your character based on how you want to play. It’s a system which works really well, and levelling up never feels like a chore.

The Warrior skill tree is built around melee combat. It feels smooth and realistic in Odyssey. It’s perfect for the player who wants to run head first into fights. Hunter is for those who want to perfect their archery skills, and this, again, works very well within the game. Assassin is for those who value stealth, and allows the opportunity to pick off higher levelled enemies in one sneak attack.

Combat is built around the strong attack and fast attack dynamic. Although it’s perhaps not as satisfying as the original Assassin’s Creed games, it feels authentic and more challenging. Mastering all three skill trees is recommended for Odyssey.

Naval combat is back

Ship to ship combat is back, and it’s better than ever. Ramming is much more damaging to opponents, and firing a barrage of arrows, or fire arrows, causes real damage. With the huge ocean to explore in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, there’s always potential enemy ships to find and loot.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey also never lets you forget that there’s a sea-faring option. You can recruit new officers and fighters when on land, and there’s always the option to customise your ship, the Ardestia. Upgrading means that your ship can become unstoppable, and capable of taking out enemy ships at a higher level than yourself.

Sailing feels awesome, and the ability to recruit new crew is highly addictive. Naval combat is a part of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey that will take up a huge chunk of your time.