This is by no means the sexy E3 pick. With a new mainline Assassin’s Creed game launching nine of the last eleven years, we’ve had no shortage of the Brotherhood over the last two console generations. Many fans have grown tired and left the series behind for new experiences. But with an extra year off Ubisoft Montreal injected new life into franchise with Assassin’s Creed Origins and succeeded in bringing many of us back. With a revitalized fan base, Ubisoft Quebec looks to pick up where Bayek left off in Origins and push the series closer to the true Assassin’s RPG we all want with Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.
Peloponnesian War
Origins took the series back as far as it ever has been with its 49-43 BCE time period in Ptolemaic Egypt. Odyssey is pushing the clock back even further – almost a full 400 years – as we parkour around and take control of a warring Greece. Fans have grown accustomed to a new setting with each new installment, but with the back drop of a Spartan vs. Athenian civil war, we’ve never seen one as potentially engrossing as this. Ubisoft had plenty to show of Odyssey at E3, and it demonstrated no shortage of ancient monuments, emerald seas, and rolling green hills. Anyone who complained of a limited sand based color palette in Origins will have those concerns addressed in Odyssey. And, while not yet announced, after the success of it’s predecessors “Discovery Tour,” Odyssey is sure to allow us to take in in-depth look at the period and places of Greece. Here’s hoping it’s a feature available at launch this time around.
A True RPG
Assassin’s Creed games have always tiptoed very close to being full blown role playing experiences, at least in modern terms. However, there was always something that separated the games from those like The Witcher. Ubisoft Quebec hopes to move the series as close as it’s ever been with the introduction of true player choice in Odyssey. Right off the bat, we’ll be given the choice between playing as a female character named Kassandra or a male named Alexios. Building on that, the game will allow us to choose between dialogue options having short and long term effects on the story and relationships with NPC’s and factions. Furthermore, as Kassandra and Alexios are mercenaries, we can even choose which belligerent of the war we choose to side with as either the Spartan Peloponnesian League, or the Athens Delian League. Oh, and of course there’s tons of sexy romance possibilities for us to aimlessly purse.
You’re Still An Assassin
While intrigued, I have to admit that with the full E3 reveal of Odyssey at Ubisoft’s conference I was left a bit confused. It just didn’t look like an Assassin’s Creed game. I didn’t see a whole lot of parkour, or stealth, or even a hidden blade. But rest assured, this is still part of the franchise and we will feel right at home (with our without the Brotherhood cloak). In an effort to ensure we didn’t see Odyssey and immediately say “it’s just Origins Part 2”, Ubisoft intentionally put on display more of the new additions such as the Peloponnesian War setting, RPG elements, and grand scale battles. A bit of digging for some additional footage shows that we are still assassins doing assassin things. Parkour and stealth are still central and we will even be getting the full naval combat system back into play that was such an integral part of Black Flag and Rogue. I can only expect that in order to appease those concerned fans, Ubisoft will focus on more of the traditional elements as they give us more coverage leading up to launch.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey has me very excited. This is the first time in years that I’m considering a pre-order of one of those idiotic collectors edition (that Spartan leap statue is pretty cool though). What we’ve been promised is the polish and variety of Origins with the role playing elements and player choice of Mass Effect. This game comes out in just over three months and, above all I saw from E3 2018, I cannot wait for Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.
