This article was originally a thread on social media, which is why it is formatted with lots of images and short responses.
The text is about the image below that paragraph.
I have a hate/love relationship with the AC franchise, they often make stunning worlds but not always with the same effort and the stories are pants, as in bad. Following review contains spoilers, me being annoying details, etc.
You’ve been warned.
As usual I start with sharing the trailer so you can get an idea of what it looks like;
Before I start a shocking revelation: I’m not that interested in Ancient Greece, the myths, the famous philosophers, the whole thing. I only want to know about their bathing and toilet habits. Also Greece is too hot and sunny for me. Sorry. Can this game change my mind?
If an AC game is good or bad depends on the passion the developers felt for the theme while working on it.
With some games you feel that some of the developers just didn’t care that much, the passion is lacking.
But within seconds you realise that this is not the case with Odyssey. A LOT of love has gone into it:
Anyway, let’s start with the story.
As usual the story is weird and silly, something time travel, fix the past, whatever. But at it’s core it’s about a child and the relationship with their family, bastard father and friends. It works.
I was excited to be able to choose a female character although I assumed later on in the game it would result in some scenes being a bit more unrealistic than they already were. But being a woman who is good at fighting to me made the game more fun, it made identifying with the protagonist a lot easier, especially because I used to be pretty strong and good at fighting, once upon a time, when I was much, much younger.
There’s also romance in the game, with both genders! Yes kids you can flirt, kiss and do hanky panky with quite a few people, men and women.
You don’t see actual bedroom athletics, but what was going on did make me blush a few times.
Then again, I’m an old prude.
Unlike with many AC games I actually pretty quickly care about the story, you’re a cute kid, you love your mum, dad tries to kill you, you know just a regular healthy family situation.
But eventually I lost track and interest in all the storylines, there was too much going on!
As always the game is 99% exploring and fighting.
And dear god, exploring is a joy here. As I mentioned, I have no particular interest or love for ancient Greece but I pretty soon fell in love with this world.
It is SO gorgeous and SO detailed. It feels alive!
I made hundreds of screenshots and often just stood still staring and drooling over the details. I guess not knowing that much about this subject made it easier for me to enjoy the game because I didn’t see many sloppy mistakes and… ORANGE CARROTS?!!
Although technically orange carrots existed long before the Dutch made them famous in the 16th century, you wouldn’t find a pile of them like this just laying about. Carrots back then came in many colours, mostly white, yellow, purple, a mix would have been better:
That was a bit sloppy, but I can imagine people not realising that the way our food looks has changed over the centuries and it’s something to keep in mind when researching games, films, tv, etc.:
Anyway, the story is pretty good, the characters come alive, you can’t help but like some of them and there are quite a few fun scenes, even though I did eventually lost interest in all the things going on:
Meeting some famous historical characters was exciting though!
I did drink too much:
So about the world.
Where to begin! You ride around Greece, visit towns and cities with many different looks, designs and they all have a different atmosphere. Which is unique in AC games that often feel a bit copy paste:
The place is also very colourful, buildings and statues are all painted, often looking a bit garish, which I reckon is pretty accurate:
Beautiful on the outside:
Stunning on the inside. The colours, the gold, shiny bits, drool:
I just stood still to admire the art way too often and way too long. It sometimes got me killed but goodness me this game is gorgeous:
Colour everywhere. It made me so happy:
But unlike many AC worlds, this one has history. You get to explore Minoan ruins!! This was very exciting and once more very rewarding. It all looked SO good:
In-between all this I was doing a lot of fighting will dressed like an eejit. A massive eejit. The armour is so silly:
Another weird thing I did spot though was that there were roofs, platforms like these without any actual access. No hatch, no stairs, no ladder.
Which is odd..Another weird thing I did spot though was that there were roofs, platforms like these without any actual access. No hatch, no stairs, no ladder.
Which is odd..
The world you visit feels really alive, you constantly hear people chatting, see them working, their lives continue while you do your daft quests.
I pretended not to listen to these two lovers flirting:
These folks played some cracking tunes and I did a little dance:
A potter working on some pot:
More cracking tunes:
This chap is selling some slaves:
Stunning fabrics sold at the market while a woman is doing some weaving:
Kids learning to fight. More people dancing and having fun:
At a cemetery people are mourning and comforting each other while elsewhere some are milling grains:
Some women chatting, a man repairing a wall. This is what I mean, there’s so much to see, so much happening, the place feels alive, it feels real. My quest is just happening on the side, but life goes on.
I love it:
When you enjoy exploring the world created for the game and you sort of forget about what you were supposed to be doing, someone did a really good job. Oh look, a painted statue!
Oh look they do sports stuff here!
While stuff is loading the game shares some interesting facts with the player. Are they all true?
Greece is of course an island state so you also get to do some sailing and it is brilliant. Not only does it look stunning, you also get to bash into other ships and do some piracy:
This game is so beautiful it’s getting a bit ridiculous. Remember I’m from the generation that grew up with Pong and Pacman… and now we get this!
You also get to go to the theatre and see some plays, they’re a lot of fun and it’s quite the experience!
I had a great time at the play:
Ooooh aaaah he’s behind you!
I also rather enjoyed all the pottery, there was so much of it and all over the place. No idea if it’s all correct but it sure looked good:
I got genuinely excited when I spotted one of these cooking range thingies!
I’ve seen one of those before:
I wish the game let me cook with one. Here’s a photo that shows a real one at the Archaeological museum of Delos:
AND BATHS! Look at that lovely bath tub:
And some real ones:
In the game and in reality! I love this so much:
There’s also a lot of evidence of industry in this game, you see people working on all sorts of things and it was fascinating:
There’s so much happening!
Well I don’t know much about art but I know what I like:
Just me hiding in some bushes. They’ll never find me…
Wax writing tablets! You even get to see some kids doing homework on them:
Here’s a great temple, people buy clay body parts to then place on the altar, these objects probably represented the part of their body that was hurting and hopefully the gods would help sort that problem out:
I literally gasped when I saw this mosaic floor:
I know you kids are used to this but this ancient gamer still gets excited when my character leaves actual footprints in the sand:
What is he doing? Oh… OH!
Dear gods man, don’t be a filthy boy!
OH COME ON!
Is she insulting future archaeologists? 😉
Normal gamer: run, fight, achieve, explore, win!
History addict gamer: interesting pipe, sewer perhaps?
Oh look, that chap is using a strigil!
They were dead before I got here, honest:
That was all already on fire when I got here, honest:
Oh look open sewers and someone drinking from water near a dead animal. If they do it in fancy pansy cultural highly civilised Greece everybody is fine with it but when the medieval folk do it suddenly they’re dirty, filthy & dark agey ey?!! 😉
Greek fire?
Cute kid, he’ll make something of himself one day:
A sleeping dog by a stone with a dog on top of it.
A gravestone?
Awwwww.
Anyway, something something, philosophers, orgies, fighting mythical creatures, battles, family problems, etc.
There’s a lot happening besides just looking at cool stuff:
Not sure what happened, lost the plot hours ago but I think I won:
This is one of the best AC games I’ve ever played.
And that is 99% down to the world created for it. The developers love Ancient Greece SO much more than the Viking era…
You really sense that in all the research & love poured into this game.
Or maybe just a bigger budget?
Anyway, I loved it, maybe because I don’t see all the bad stuff experts would notice. And yes, I’m now more interested in Ancient Greece, well done game!
BUT you can also get the Assassin’s Creed Odyssey: Discovery Tour, which lets you explore the whole game world but has none of the game stuff, which makes it LOT cheaper.
Looks like a great educational tour:
If AC makes their next games more like this one, I’d be very happy. Wandering around this world was an absolute joy:
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Fake History Hunter 