After a soft reboot with “Assassins Creed Origins,” Ubisoft has released its next title in the long-running “Assassin’s Creed” series. This time, the series goes even further back, to the age of ancient Greece, a time even before the titular assassins were formed. That might cause one to question what this game has to contribute to the long-running canon. Unfortunately, even the game does not seem to have an answer to that question. 

Taking the players to the lands of Athens and Sparta comes with some certain connotations. For starters, the quiet, stealthy, urban espionage tactics of the previous games would be out of place in a culture that took gleeful joy in tossing their enemies’ heads off mountains to appease the gods. In response to that, the stealth has been reworked from hiding in crowds and inside piles of hay in favor of hiding in tall grass. Despite this, the new version is serviceable, no doubt thanks to the many skills that the player can acquire.

Another new system added is an in-depth character customization system, which brings in various role-playing elements like specializing in stealth, combat or ranged combat. Another addition is the ability to choose the gender of one’s character. At the outset of the game, the player is asked to choose between Alexios or Kassandra, two descendants of Leonidas. While the two are not fairly interesting or captivating in their own way, they offer a good shell onto which any player can project themselves.

Sadly, the same cannot be said for some of the other characters, who suffer from awkward writing and voice work. This is most evident when the player is asked to step into the shoes of Layla Hassan in the modern day. While not a deal-breaker (her gameplay segments are very short), her sections drag the player away from the action to showcase a paper-thin storyline that is made worse by the abysmal voice acting by Chantel Riley.

Pacing would have to the be main problem with “Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.” While the addition of leveling up and specializing a build that works for each respective player is exciting, players will constantly find themselves pitted against enemies with higher levels. This means the player cannot stealth kill those enemies if they sneak up on them, and engaging in a duel will be an uphill battle. This can be remedied by investing in an ability that allows the stealth attack to do three times the normal damage. However, this can only be unlocked after roughly 10 hours of play time. In the meantime, the only recourse is to undertake side missions, as they provide the biggest amount of experience that makes players stronger (this still leaves the player grinding for hours on end). A cynical person might notice this in conjunction with the games that offer to double the players experience intake for a paltry $10.

Underneath the pacing and lackluster plot, there is still fun to be found. While not what players might be looking for in a game called “Assassin’s Creed,” the combat is deep and skillful, which can still be entertaining even after the player hits their 50th hour. Its attempts at reinvention do not fall completely flat; there is still some color in its cheeks again, and the role-playing elements add a certain degree of depth that audiences will find lacking in other releases this year.

Image from Ubisoft North America via YouTube