Another year, anotherAssassins Creed.
The series made a triumphant comeback from a year-long break in 2017 withOrigins.
Now its aiming to duplicate that success withOdyssey, yet another jaunt through Classical Antiquity starring a tragic hero.
The game is set in 5th century BC, four hundred years beforeOrigins.
It’s free, every week, in your inbox.
Actually, why are we even calling it Assassins Creed at this point?
Kassandra/Alexios… you know what, lets just call the two Alexandra from now on.
Its satisfying, and gives me a reason to do parts of the game Id otherwise ignore.
Just dont expect historical accuracy this time around.
Within the first two minutes of the game.
Okay, says I.
So thats the tone were going with.
There was one other thing I quite liked.
It feels more organic than any other game Ive seen thus far.
They know their actions have consequences and bear that burden with equanimity, just like the player.
So I liked them, truly.
The worst offenders are, by far, the romantic sidequests.
Now, I have no problem with sex, not even sex of the casual variety.
Were not talking sly hints, either.
Were talking full-on Why dont you get me out of this armor?
And this, by itself, isnt wrong, exactly.
It should be a sweet, resonant scene with emotional depth.
Wham, bam, thank you maam.
Well, Alexandra, I knew Ezio Auditore.
I played as Ezio Auditore for three games.
You, Alexandra, are no Ezio Auditore.
Yeah, that shit actually happened.
Odysseytries very hard to keep multiple different forms of gameplay spinning at once.
ToOdysseys credit, the combat is great fun the best of the series so far, Id say.
Kudos to you, Ubisoft.
But even the stealthy kills are bloody and over-the-top.
Its not thatOdysseyis bad at any of the things it tries to do, per se.
This is even the case for elements taken from otherAssassins Creedgames.
Take the sailing, for example.
You had to take into account wind speed and direction.
To use another example, take the killing of the Cult members who comprise the proto-Templar enemy group.
Their deaths meant something, if only as a means for Bayek to get revenge.
But here, cutting down Cult members doesnt feel meaningful.
I sliced through three or four of them who went down with as little fanfare as the basic enemies.
The Grecian isles and what they might have looked like at their best have never been so gorgeous.
The characters are also rendered beautifully.
The main character is vaguely drawn and zigzags between likable and sleazy at a moments notice.
The gameplay puts the truth to the saying Jack of all trades, master of none.
In short, its trying so hard to be other games that I cant find theAssassins Creedburied in there.
If thats all you want, then this is your game.
If you wanted something with a little more unique, you might be disappointed.
Story byRachel Kaser
Rachel is a writer and former game critic from Central Texas.
She enjoys gaming, writing mystery stories, streaming on Twitch, and horseback riding.
Check her Twitter for curmudgeonly criticisms.
