I just hit 20 hours playtime last night, and I'm at level 16. I have to say that I do feel this game is much more of a 'grind' than Origins (which I put about 120 hours into) ever was.
I don't rush these games. Just to be clear. I love taking my long slow time and exploring, but I honestly think I'm having to do far more in the way of the repetitive stuff like clearing forts and camps, in order to keep within the required level of the main story, and surprisingly I feel like there are actually less side quests in each of the areas of the map that I've visited, relative to Origins.
Also, the sheer amount of materials and coin needed to upgrade gear in Odyssey is simply overwhelming. I've given it up as a bad joke. I'm not upgrading anything until I hit the level cap, I'll just save all money and materials and scrap all useless gear until then. By contrast, in Origins I fully upgraded all of Bayek's gear and played around with levelling up different weapons throughout the game. It just doesn't feel possible here, and of course, it doesn't help that those same materials are needed to upgrade a ship this time, which I assume will pretty much be essential at a certain point, or I'll just get blown out of the water by enemy ships?
I don't know about this at all. The game is beautiful, huge and I like the characters and story. I want to lose myself in it, but it really does feel like I'd be having a much better time if I put my hand in my pocket again and paid for the XP and Drachmae boosters or material packs. In fact I'm tempted to do it for no other reason than curiosity, just to see if makes a noticeable difference.
I never felt this way with Origins, at all. Not once did I have a single thought along these lines. It was an incredible, fun experience from start to finish. To repeat, again, I don't rush these games. I explore. I do side quests first.
Odyssey just feels like it's holding me back, to be honest. It's quite disappointing.
