Assassin's Creed Odyssey Review (lambtron)
TLDR:
Recommended - this game is loads of fun, with plenty of customizations for those wishing for an easier or a tougher experience. The main campaign is interesting, making use of various immersive historical aspects of ancient Greece. The open world map is enormous, but as a result, the majority of the camps are built off the same pattern and enemies do get pretty repetitive. Replayability is pretty much infinite, given that its impossible to collect all abilities or all legendary weapons within your first playthrough. Kassandra slightly edges out Alexios as the better voice actor.
Microtransactions:
If you intend to purchase only one item from the store, get the one giving you the 50% XP boost. That will be an enormous time saver while leveling up, and its effects are permanent for all future playthroughs. By the time you reach Level 99, you would have collected enough drachmae and raw materials to max out your ship and other items, so XP is really the one important aspect to speed up.
Other than that you can ignore all other microtransactions, except for maybe the Orichalcum map if you intend to be a 100% completionist.
Ten best parts of the game:
1. The visuals are absolutely stunning. There are several peaks where you can just stop and gaze at the vista stretched in front. They have added weather effects so you get the occasional thunderstorm too, its just beautiful
2. The mythical creatures are extremely well set up and the boss fights are a worthy payoff. Their rewards, not so much
3. The mercenary system is well done too, and your first experience with mercenaries who track you down, will be amazing. Be warned that melee is generally tough, and sometimes being a backstabber is the only prudent option
4. The locations are entirely open from almost the start of the game, and its possible to visit almost all of them very soon after the first chapter. However, some areas will be difficulty-locked (during your first playthrough). The DLC areas are locked till a major part of the main campaign is over.
5. The main campaign has some hilarious characters and subplots, though overall it maintains a consistent level of seriousness and immersion. A couple of NPC deaths really hit you in the feels.
6. Tracking down individual cult members is a pretty unique experience and embedded nicely in the campaign
7. Combat has a lot of alternatives and you dont need to git gud to be successful. Constantly moving to avoid attack patterns, and aiming for headshots with death arrows, will usually get you far
8. Given you can save up to 5 builds, its recommended to keep collecting random loot and over time, perfecting your outfit and weapon combination for different playstyles. You dont need to consciously grind for it, or even pay to level up your weapons, you will find plenty of higher level loot as you progress
9. You can reset your abilities to free up previously assigned ability points, by paying a negligible amount of drachmae
10. The Fate of Atlantis is an incredible DLC, almost worth it as a standalone AAA game. Choices, especially in its first installment, actually matter a LOT (more than in the main campaign)
Ten issues I have with the game:
1. The temporary quests (procedurally generated and marked with an hourglass sign) are extremely mundane and nothing more than A-to-B fetch quests. Removing them entirely would take exactly nothing away from the game
2. After a few hours, you can start to tell when a camp is designed exactly the same as a previous one you cleared out, which gets a bit jarring
3. Dem goddamn boars. You can be a Level 99 Demi God who flooded Atlantis, and still be knocked down again and again by a puny boar
4. You would definitely need to be grinding to raise your level, during your first playthrough. On the other hand, NG+ is extremely easy and requires no grinding
5. 90% of the abilities are too weak to ever consider using. A certain hunter-related ability however, is way more overpowered than it should be
6. Your eagle makes it extremely easy to tag every single enemy (even the ones outside your line of sight, such as deep underground) and every single location objective. This makes scouting almost too easy (unlike in other Ubisoft games like Far Cry where you need to either wait or position yourself to tag enemies as they enter your line of sight)
7. Stealth as a way to clear out camps, becomes almost too easy after you gain a certain ability during the first DLC (Legend of the First Blade). On the other hand, trying to bulldoze your way through a Spartan or Athenian fort would lead to you getting flagged for 'murder' with a bounty set on your head
8. Still, bounties have literally zero impact on your character, as they can be directly paid off from the main menu without having to take a single step. Its infinitely more fun however to wait them through (let them gradually disappear), as trying to avoid a mercenary who is tracking you, while stealth-clearing a fort is quite a fun experience
9. Though there are multiple endings, there is only one place mid way through the game, during a conversation, which is of any real consequence in terms of choices. All the other endings are based on obvious choices of kill/don't kill
10. As someone who has not played the previous games in the Assassin's Creed series, the 'present day' parts with Layla were utterly dreary and could have been removed altogether.