Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

After enjoying Assassin’s Creed Origins, I was curious — what’s next? What surprises will Ubisoft have and what path has the series chosen? I decided to find out from my own experience. If you read my review of Origins, you know: I’m a long-time Assassin’s Creed fan. I won’t go into details about my love for the franchise again — everything has already been said there. In short: Origins was great, albeit not without flaws. I went through it up and down, spending 107.4 hours on it.

On May 2, 2020, inspired and in a good mood, I launched Assassin’s Creed Odyssey — full of enthusiasm and hope for something no less exciting. A year and a month have passed. It’s July 2, 2021 on the calendar, with 171.6 hours in the game behind me. And you know what? I didn’t close all the content, but I completed the walkthrough. I’m sitting in front of the screen – devastated, disappointed, with a bunch of questions and a feeling that something went completely wrong. But let’s take things in order…

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Free Steam Account

The plot in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is perhaps both the game’s strongest point and its most controversial element. Let me explain why. First, the developers decided to add role-playing elements. We are offered to choose one of two main characters — Alexios or Kassandra. This seems logical, because according to the plot, they are related. We have already seen something similar in Syndicate, only there we controlled both characters in turns. Here, the choice is made once — and for the entire game. But that’s not all. Now we can choose dialogue lines and influence the development of events. In theory, it sounds cool, in practice — ambiguous.

On the one hand, it’s nice that the game gives you freedom of choice. You decide how your character will behave — restrained, rude, or sarcastic. These choices appear not only in the main story, but also in side quests, which makes even secondary tasks more interesting. But on the other hand, this whole system breaks the fundamental idea of ​​Assassin’s Creed — as if we were observing the events of the past through the memory of our ancestors. And here it turns out that we are rewriting them to our taste. If you forget that this is an “assassin” at all, it is generally implemented well. But if you remember, it feels like the concept was simply thrown overboard.

Another problem: the main character turns out to be too faceless. Yes, he has a name, a history, even an appearance — but no character. He (or she) can be kind and fair in one scene, and in the next — suddenly cut everyone in a row, shouting “I am a god/goddess, bow down!” As a result, it feels like the game suffers from a split personality. Here you teach people to be honest, and 5 minutes later you rob these same people. Where is the logic? If you are creating a character with a name and history, be kind — think through the character so that he behaves adequately in cutscenes. An example is Geralt from The Witcher. There you can choose different approaches, but he always remains himself. And in Odyssey – complete schizophrenia.

Now about the structure of the story. It is surprisingly integral. The plot is divided into four major lines (if you take into account the DLC): three of them are intertwined, the fourth is a separate track. There are two types of side quests: some are plot-related, others are purely for farming. And due to this approach, it feels like you are not just going through the game, but really living a huge adventure.

Several important points help with this:

• A demigod protagonist whose actions and character are shaped by your decisions rather than a predetermined script.
• Regional level caps that guide your progression naturally without hindering your freedom of movement.
• Seamless integration of quests into the game world – side quests can be started or even completed randomly, creating the feeling of a living, responsive world.

But the DLC is a separate pain. The first addition is Legacy of the First Blade. It is supposed to tell about the first assassin and his fate. In fact, it is just a tracing of the storyline about the Cult of Kosmos. Plus a strange “dynasty of assassins” that appears regardless of your choice. Even if you play completely differently, the ending will still drag the desired ending by the ears – for the sake of connection with other parts of the series.

The second DLC – The Fate of Atlantis – generally takes the game into the fantasy genre. Gods, afterlifes, mythical creatures appear … In theory, this could be exciting. But in practice – a drawn-out grind for the sake of a dubious plot. You travel through worlds through portals, collect knowledge to reveal the power of the Issu artifact. And in a parallel storyline, Leila Hassan – the heroine in the present time – tries to subjugate the artifact to herself. The ending? Empty, meaningless, leaves the plot hanging in the air. Leila is also turned into a completely inadequate character. All this devalues ​​not only the hours spent on the add-ons, but also the entire main game. It feels like you were simply deceived.

The World of Odyssey: Beautiful, but Empty

I want to start with a description of the world – perhaps the most controversial part of the entire project. The game space is divided into large regions, each of which is designed for a certain level of character. Within the regions there are many small areas. All of them are ancient Greek cities with their own capitals and rulers. The events take place against the backdrop of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, and the developers have done their best: each area is literally stuffed with forts – at least four of them, and this is only in one zone. And there can be three or more such zones in a region.

You can join the side of one of the factions and capture territories in its interests. But you won’t be able to simply occupy the area – first you need to undermine the enemy’s position: clear out the forts, eliminate the captains and kill the local ruler. Only after that is the opportunity to participate in a military conflict activated, where you choose who you will fight for. To be honest, this mechanic is more about farming experience and loot than about the plot. The war doesn’t feel like a major part of the narrative, but rather a backdrop, a time period in which our hero exists.

Scattered throughout the Assassin’s Creed Odyssey map are numerous points of interest, marked with a question mark. Among them:

1. Synchronization points
2. Settlements and cities
3. Underwater treasures
4. Beast lairs
5. Forts with cultists, hunters, pagans, bandits, pirates
6. And, of course, forts of one of the warring parties – depending on who controls the region at the moment

To sum it all up, the player’s main occupation is to clear outposts. In the second expansion, there are even more of them, both in size and quantity. How exciting this is – we’ll talk separately when we get to the combat system.

Level design

But the level design is a disaster. In fact, it just… disappeared. Convenient routes? Almost never. Most roads lead around, especially in mountainous areas, where the path doubles. At some point, I just gave up and started using the horse skin with wings (which, fortunately, was given away for free in the Ubisoft Store at one time). I climbed to the tops, summoned a steed and “dived” towards the goal – this simply shortened the path.

You can also forget about parkour. In the cities, there are practically no well-developed routes to run on roofs or use elements of the environment. Except in the first episode of the add-on “The Fate of Atlantis” – in Elysium. There, thanks to the verticality of the location, movement is made convenient. But in the final part of the same DLC, in Atlantis, everything returns to normal: endless stairs, inconvenient climbs and no pleasure from movement – neither on foot nor on horseback.

A full-fledged “explorer mode” has appeared, and this is perhaps one of the most interesting gameplay innovations. The point is that when you receive a task, a mark on the map does not appear. To get to the goal, you need to question the NPC, collect landmarks and independently determine the desired area by them. Then, with the help of Icarus (our eagle), you can find the point of interest. If desired, this mode can be easily turned off – both at the beginning and during the game.

Now a few words about the graphics – here I will have a purely personal opinion, and it is unlikely that anyone will convince me otherwise. Yes, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey can produce very beautiful landscapes. Some cities and regions look simply stunning. But in general, the visual appearance of the world leaves much to be desired. The sea is a complete emptiness. There are no whales, no dolphins, no seagulls, not even a hint of a storm – just smooth water and a ship. On land, the situation is no better: the textures of the grass and trees are mediocre, the environment often looks dead. Huge spaces feel empty and lifeless. Audio accompaniment? At sea – only the singing of the team. If you turn it off – only the splash of the waves remains. In the cities and ports, everything is deaf, as if the world has died out. No voices, no sounds of trade, no street noise. In the forests – the same: no birds, no animals, only silence. The atmosphere does not resemble a “living world”, but rather a theatrical set.

Combat and Enemies in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

With the release of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, the combat mechanics have undergone significant changes compared to the first part of the new trilogy. I’ll start with leveling up the character — without this, it’s hard to fully understand how the combat system works. Skills are now divided into active and passive. Passives provide standard bonuses like increased damage, but active skills are the basis of your combat style. If earlier we could use all open abilities at once without restrictions, now they are distributed among slots: four on two panels for close combat and one more for long-range. You can switch between panels at any time.

Equipment also plays an important role. Thanks to a variety of equipment effects and a build system, you can customize your character to suit your play style. Plus, there are up to five preset sets of equipment and skills, between which you can freely switch, adapting to the situation. Abilities consume energy, and it is replenished in battle: successful attacks, stealth kills and some abilities help to restore it.

The battles themselves have become a little more dynamic. The block was removed, the focus was on parrying and dodging. The problem of “sticky” enemy strikes, when attacks somehow still reached you, even if you retreated, was finally fixed – thanks to Ubisoft. But stealth has become noticeably weaker. Without a well-thought-out build with the right perks and gear, it is not a fact that even an ordinary enemy can be eliminated with one stealth strike. But with proper character setup, even the toughest enemies go down quickly. The behavior of enemies during a stealthy approach has become more logical – miraculous teleports and blindness are almost not noticed.

Enemies in the game are divided into several categories:

• regular enemies (soldiers, pirates, bandits, captains and leaders);
• animals (including story bosses);
• mercenaries (mini-bosses that drop resources, equipment and money);
• cultists (important story targets);
• mythical creatures (serious bosses within quests).

Each enemy type is also divided into classes: swordsmen, shield bearers, tanks, agility, archers, poisoners, arsonists. These classes can be combined, so you can easily encounter, for example, a dexterous swordsman or an arsonist archer. Stronger enemies, especially bosses, have their own vulnerabilities: some are afraid of poison, others – fire, someone is vulnerable to stealth attacks. However, the hero has the same story. In the second add-on, active skills are added to enemies, and a new type appears among them – colossi, something like mini-bosses.

But there are still some problems. Some quick attacks of enemies are simply not displayed in the animation, and you can understand that you have received damage only by the empty HP scale. Sometimes this leads to annoying deaths. On the other hand, enemies almost do not react to your blows – as if you were hitting a wooden board. And since most enemies are “fat” at any difficulty level, battles sometimes turn into endless clicking, especially if you suddenly run out of energy to use abilities. Another pain is fighting animals. They have terrible hitboxes: attacks go through dodges, and boars, for example, can hit from over the horizon.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey System Requirements

How to play Assassin’s Creed Odyssey for free on Steam via VpeSports

Want to escape the hustle and bustle and dive headfirst into the world of ancient gods, epic battles, and real adventures? Assassin’s Creed Odyssey seems to be made for this. Here you can live the life of a real mercenary from the times of Ancient Greece — choose your destiny, fight mythical creatures, and explore the vast expanses of the Aegean Sea. And here’s what’s cool — you don’t have to pay to start playing. Everything is really simple. At VpeSports, we’ve come up with a handy thing — access to shared Steam accounts with already installed games. You can register in just a couple of minutes. After that, look in the free steam account section and find Odyssey — it’s definitely there. We’ll explain everything on the description page: step by step, without complications, without unnecessary expenses. No magic — just a working scheme.

We really want to hear what you think. After you try the game, go to the review page and leave a few lines. Write how you liked the atmosphere, did you like the characters, who did you play as — Alexei or Kassandra? After the moderator approves the comment, an email with a login and password will be sent to the email specified during registration. Simple and humane.

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