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LTTP: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey—Era, why didn’t you tell me this is so good? (Or, I missed the Ubisoft formula, surprisingly enough)

Deleted member 249

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kassandra-3840x2160-assassins-creed-odyssey-4k-15456-920x518.jpg


I got Assassin's Creed Odyssey yesterday on a whim and started playing it, and I like it so much. It controls extremely well, the combat is surprisingly good, the loot system and RPG mechanics, as well as the metagames, add a layer of engagement beyond just the moment to moment gameplay, plus I am just surprised at how much I have missed the Ubisoft formula—over the last couple of years, most open worlds I have engaged with have categorically stepped away from the traditional Ubisoft template, such as RDR2 or BOTW.

So Odyssey marks my return to that style of game, and I missed it lol. I don't think every game needs to be like this (which is what caused burnout from the style for me in the first place), but right now I am enjoying it. There's a crap load of content, just good enough to be engaging beyond the surface level, but not so nuanced that playing the game can be an effort. It's a nice, gamified open world RPG, which I can kick back and relax for hours on end (like I just did!).

So yeah, Assassin's Creed Odyssey is actually really good (so far), and I'm surprised at how much Era tends to overlook it. I'll keep playing it and see if I change my mind on it later, but we're off to a good start.

P.S.: Kassandra is awesome.
 
nStruct

nStruct

The Fallen
Oct 26, 2017
3,134
Seattle, WA
It may be quite different from all other AC games but it's a fantastic open world RPG. I invested something like 80 hours into it and could have kept playing more.
 
Baccus

Baccus

Banned
Dec 4, 2018
5,307
It's a great game. The best Bioware game since Bioware stopped being themselves.

Play Origins too, I like it even more. It just feels different.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 249

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Mercador said:
Started this morning, it's difficult to return to this level of "generic" missions goals after RDR2...
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Conversely, I like the freedom of movement and approach that Odyssey offers relative to RDR2, as well as the dopamine rush from the loot grind it keeps going.
They're just very different kinds of experiences, I don't think they are directly comparable at all.
 
gaiadyne

gaiadyne

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
1,380
So glad I got to play this through Project Stream last year. Put over 70 hours in it and it was my GOTY.
 
8bit

8bit

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,390
The OT is full of praise, but someone will be along in a moment to tell you why they found it too grindly or something soon. (I'm over 200 hours and still loving hunting down mercenaries to the highest rank.)
 
Raidero

Raidero

Member
Mar 15, 2019
17
I never liked the older AC games, but I liked Origins and Odyssey quite a bit. They got rid of most of what I disliked about the older games like tailing missions and the awful combat system and made it completely different. The RPG elements are more fleshed out in Odyssey and that's a big reason why it's my favorite. Assassin's Creed embodies what I normally hate about western AAA games so it's incredible that they turned it into something that I like lol
 
RhaZo

RhaZo

Member
Oct 27, 2017
131
São Paulo, SP - Brazil
This is a very good game but after playing both Origins and Odyssey I would like to see a rest for the series. Probabily 2 or 3 years should be enough for new ideias and improvements on the formula.
 
semiconscious

semiconscious

Banned
Nov 10, 2017
2,140
checked out, after a couple dozen hours over-all, yesterday. i haven't experienced such a nicey-nice level of sheer blandness since animal crossing: new leaf. not to mention, the leveling/scaling mechanic is totally out of control. but it's a very pretty game, that's for sure :) ...
 
Baccus

Baccus

Banned
Dec 4, 2018
5,307
Master Chuuster said:
Yep, this is what surprised me the most about Odyssey. Combat in Assassin's Creed game has never been anything more than passable at best in my view, but Odyssey's combat is legitimately great. And it only keeps on getting better as you unlock more and more abilities.
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Origins' is better imo, way more strategic.
 
Baccus

Baccus

Banned
Dec 4, 2018
5,307
Phantom Thief said:
Too early to call, but Origins' passives never felt as fun as I already find the skills tree abilities in Odyssey.
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it's the typical "slow and visceral" vs "fast and flashy" debate haha. A bit like DS and BB.

It's ok, both games have lots to love. Here's hoping the rumored third current gen game mixes both.
 
Butterworth

Butterworth

Alt account
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Feb 5, 2019
465
The more I play this game, the more I grow to dislike it. Origins is superior overall imo.

Doesn't help that I was hit with a known progression stopping bug, that wasn't fixed for 5 months.
 

Deleted member 8791

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Oct 26, 2017
6,383
I've not even read a single thread focused on this game but even I know it was considered a gem for the franchise. I'd give it a go if the cloud streaming on Switch was for more than Japan.
 
Baccus

Baccus

Banned
Dec 4, 2018
5,307
Mercador said:
I guess I have to play more than 90 minutes (of which I lost 20 minutes looking for a chest into a lake)...
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The tutorial/initial zone is absolutely awful. The game doesn't really start until you reach Phokis/Delos (well over 4 hours of mainlining). It's a bit like TW3 and White Orchard in that regard.
 
LonestarZues

LonestarZues

Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,979
8bit said:
The OT is full of praise, but someone will be along in a moment to tell you why they found it too grindly or something soon. (I'm over 200 hours and still loving hunting down mercenaries to the highest rank.)
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And here I was ashamed of my 140 hours. :)

Great game if you haven't played Origins I recommend it as well.
 
NeoBob688

NeoBob688

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,635
The game is good not because of, but despite of, the UbiSoft formula. The character, setting, and audiovisual experience uplift the game. I actually used a save editor to eliminate the idiotic grind and poor gameplay decisions, and enjoyed the game more because of it.
 
Edgar

Edgar

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Oct 29, 2017
7,180
Im gonna continue where I left of one day. Its just I really like ubisoft open worlds for the most part and Origins was one of my fav games that year. But theres something with odyssey that never engaged me , it might be the weightlessness of character and movement or maybe less atmospheric setting compared to Origins . On paper it should be everything I like, but I dropped it after 30h and never came back
 
Prolepro

Prolepro

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Nov 6, 2017
7,310
It was in my top 3 last year. I absolutely loved it. I got maybe 10 hours into Origins before I dropped it but Odyssey kept me for all the ~80 hours I spent in it.
 
Becks'

Becks'

Member
Dec 7, 2017
7,432
Canada
It took me a 150 hours each for both Origins and Odyssey to finish them 100% and every minute was worth it. Odyssey gets even better once you unlock all of the objectives needed to finish the game. Assassin skill tree is the best in my opinion, I would deal like 300 thousand damage at max level and the later abilities were great. Put some points in Warrior as well because that one is really good once you are exposed or you need to finish an enemy quickly.
 
aerie

aerie

wonky
Administrator
Oct 25, 2017
8,030
I put about 160 hours into it and can't wait for more. It definitely has flaws and doesn't execute on all it's ideas and mechanics as well as it could, and the dialogue is poorly written for the most part, but I loved it so, so much. I wouldn't quite call it a must play game, but I think it does so much so well. Easily my favourite game in the franchise, and I hope its gameplay mechanics with its skills and character choice are the template moving forward. Also, Lalaia is one of the most beautiful little areas in any game. The art and design teams behind this out did themselves (though a few forts do repeat themselves a bit too much).

And yes, Kassandra is awesome (I do quite like Alexios too, but I think Kassandra is quite a bit more charismatic).

I recommend playing the game with quite a few of the HUD options turned off, at least once you're a little more comfortable, I can't quite remember what I had mine customized to, but it was really a bit too busy by default. I had over half the options turned off and found it quite a bit more immersive and I still had all the information I needed.
 
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Mercador

Mercador

Member
Nov 18, 2017
2,840
Quebec City
Baccus said:
The tutorial/initial zone is absolutely awful. The game doesn't really start until you reach Phokis/Delos (well over 4 hours of mainlining). It's a bit like TW3 and White Orchard in that regard.
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Ok, I'll try at least 5 hours to make an opinion. Though, I wonder if I should switch to PC (GTX1070), it seems that the PS4 got some difficulties to keep 30fps. I was hoping to still use my PS4 (and not having to have a UPlay account).
 
aerie

aerie

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Oct 25, 2017
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Mercador said:
I guess I have to play more than 90 minutes (of which I lost 20 minutes looking for a chest into a lake)...
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If you were having trouble finding the chest, remember to use Ikaros (your eagle) to scout item locations, it'll then highlight it on your HUD. It's a large gameplay mechanic.
 
Springy

Springy

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,213
I've wrung nearly two hundred hours out of Odyssey and I'm still logging on to do the daily and weekly quest while in a holding pattern for the next DLC drop.

I've never gotten this much out of AC. It's a really fantastic game. My 2018 GOTY.
 
OP
OP

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The Woods said:
I put about 160 hours into it and can't wait for more. It definitely has flaws and doesn't execute on all it's ideas and mechanics as well as it could, and the dialogue is poorly written for the most part, but I loved it so, so much. I wouldn't quite call it a must play game, but I think it does so much so well. Easily my favourite game in the franchise, and I hope its gameplay mechanics with its skills and character choice are the template moving forward. Also, Lalaia is one of the most beautiful little areas in any game. The art and design teams behind this out did themselves (though a few forts do repeat themselves a bit too much).

And yes, Kassandra is awesome (I do quite like Alexios too, but I think Kassandra is quite a bit more charismatic).

I recommend playing the game with quite a few of the HUD options turned off, at least once you're a little more comfortable, I can't quite remember what I had mine customized to, but it was really a bit too busy by default. I had over half the options turned off and found it quite a bit more immersive and I still had all the information I needed.
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Yeah, I will definitely probably end up disabling a lot of this. I think the compass is all the information I immediately need (along with the health and adrenaline bars).
 
Gizmo

Gizmo

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Oct 27, 2017
1,098
San Diego
I bought the gold edition of this game and it has sat in my backlog since it came out. I think it is time to start it.
 
UnluckyKate

UnluckyKate

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,529
I love the game but I hate how the end game feels. The scaling breaks the economy and the insentive to keep paying because simply doing so makes your epic gear wear obselete over time as the cost to keep it up to date scale at an insane and absurd rate
 
ShadowAUS

ShadowAUS

Member
Feb 20, 2019
2,106
Australia
My 2018 GOTY as well. I'm a completionist so I have an inherent bias towards the Ubisoft style open world collectathon formula. I'm waiting till all the DLC drops to go back to it though as I want to play through as Kass.
 
SiG

SiG

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,485
Nothing like punching and recruiting your way through a fortress full of guards under cover, before you eventually punch (and paralyze arrow) their leader into submission, before recruiting them.

"Befriending" would be a more approriate term.

NightLife said:
Origins and Odyssey are great games.

Odyssey is a GOTY contender in my book, wht a damn great game.
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Odyssey still has some problems (microtransactions, dependency on XP Levels/levelgating progress), but at least devs are listening for ways to stave off the "Ubisoft-itis" of their games, such as avoiding cloned subquests and whatnot.
 

Deleted member 2834

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Oct 25, 2017
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Yeah, it's fantastic. Makes me wonder if the Ubi hate nonsense. If this is the Ubi formula, then what's the problem lol? It's good as fuck.
 
thebigword

thebigword

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,326
The game is so good that I beat it on PS4, played what I could of the Project Stream version (even with the crappy compression), played some of the free PC version, and then bought the Ultimate Edition on sale for the X1X, which I'm playing through now, as Kassandra, again. I've never done this for an Ass Creed game, let alone an open world game (except Witcher 3). The game is just fun.
 
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