![]() It’s in these moments that Odyssey’s combat system really shines. It's a serious challenge made even more brutal if the opposing faction enlists a mercenary to ambush me. ![]() In these set-piece battles, hundreds of soldiers take the field at once in an all-out fray to see which side is the last standing. When a faction’s control of a region is all but lost, a Conquest Battle opens up and I can enlist to fight on either side in exchange for powerful gear. When one faction controls a zone, I can destabilize its grip on the region by killing soldiers, or burning and stealing supplies found in their heavily-guarded camps. It might sound like feature bloat, as if Ubisoft's open world games needed even more things to do, but each of these systems overlaps and influences the others in a way that makes Odyssey a lively and dynamic world.Įach of these systems overlaps and influences the others in a way that makes Odyssey a lively and dynamic world.Īcross most of the zones, for example, Spartan and Athenian armies clash for control of territory. The mercenary pecking order is just one of half a dozen secondary progression systems in Odyssey. When I saw Exekias the Legend, a level 50 merc, roaming around Delphi with his pet bear, I felt like I bumped into a celebrity. That’s still annoying-especially when I want to take on a new story quest but discover its level is beyond mine-but in the case of mercenaries I like how it establishes a food chain. Odyssey retains the same MMO-style leveling system of Origins, meaning enemies who outrank me by even a few levels will be practically invincible no matter how well I fight. But they do have distinct looks and a way of showing up when I’m already vulnerable, like Skiron, "The Crazy Lover," who had a sixth sense for sabotaging my stealthy infiltrations and getting me killed until I put an arrow through his weiner. These mercenaries remind me of Shadow of Mordor’s nemesis system, albeit without personalities that evolve with each encounter I have with them. ![]() Instead of just 10 ultra-tough enemies wandering the world trying to skewer me, there are 39 partially-procedural mercenaries who wander about and, if I cause too much trouble, will try to collect the bounty on my head. Then there’s the new Mercenary system, which is inspired by Origin’s Phylakes but, again, is bigger and better. I love the feeling of boarding the Adrestia and sailing the open waters, cleaving pirate triremes in half or pulling alongside to battle them hand to hand. Black Flag’s ship combat makes a return as a central feature, though it's slightly simplified to be less of a grind. I don't really mind that the story doesn't always work because Odyssey is an RPG that thrives thanks to its diverse and excellent activities. I didn't mind it, since all of those experiences are fun, but it will be annoying to anyone who wants to just focus on the main quest. One thing worth mentioning is that Odyssey's story features some pretty stiff level gaps that have to be overcome by diverting time to complete side quests and other activities. Even if certain revelations left me confused or rolling my eyes, I felt invested in what was happening. That's pretty standard for Assassin's Creed, but having agency in the story has done wonders for making me more attached to Kassandra’s journey. It's still an enjoyable tale, but The Witcher 3 this is not. This frantic pacing doesn't leave much time to really know or appreciate these characters, and the reasons I was pulled from one area to the next sometimes felt paper thin. It simply tries to do too much, whisking you from the backwater island of Kephalonnia to heights of Athenian society and then to audiences with Spartan Kings. True to Assassin's Creed, Odyssey tries to tell a story that sees Kassandra rub elbows with all of the biggest names in ancient Greece, but the end result is a story that has charm but often feels disjointed and confusing. No matter which of two siblings you pick, Kassandra or Alexios, there's a lot of heart in their journey to reunite their family. If there's one casualty of Odyssey's massive world, though, it's the main story. ![]()
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