In my preview of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, I said that it’s trying to do a lot of things well. It wants to please fans of the OG stealth mechanics, while also offering more — like broadening its roleplaying with dialogue choice and branching paths.
Watch this video above, and you’ll see there’s a little bit of it all. Odyssey has everything from straightforward conquest battles with a hundred participants to the familiar stealth missions where you infiltrate enemy complexes.
I included an early mission that contains what appears to be a clear-cut choice. After I played through it, creative director Jonathan Dumont told me that the effects of my decision might come back 30 hours later — everything wasn’t as clearly wrapped up as I had believed.
Another amusing aspect of Odyssey that bit me in the ass multiple times during my playthrough was the mercenaries that hunt you. If you make enough waves in Ancient Greece, more bounties will be put on your head, and strong mercenaries will start stalking the streets looking for you.
I had a couple close calls where everything was going well in a mission, only for a mercenary to finally track me down and start a fight. I loved the chaotic way it played out, and clever, strong mercenaries are a nice contrast to the prototypical Assassin’s Creed NPC who forgets that you exist a minute after you jump in a haystack (or location-appropriate equivalent).
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey comes out on Oct. 5 for PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One. Make sure you read our preview for more in-depth discussion.
