The first of the two AC games I've dropped after putting dozens of hours in only to return years later to try power through and finish the story. If it isn't clear this game (and Valhalla) is long too long, the story itself took me around 30 hours but there's more to this being big and long than hours. The world is vast and largely empty of interesting content - after you've done your first couple open world zones, I opted for Kephallonia, Phokis, and Messaris, you've seen everything the game has to offer. This is no exaggeration the entire mediterranean world is brimming with the same three or four flavour of gameplay; Kill beast, Camps/Forts, Conquest, and Syncronization points. There's a fifth one regarding tombs but these amount to basic and repetitive corridors with an ability point for your troubles. All of this content is repetitive but I can ignore that because it's optional to an extent but side quests also follow a really uninteresting pattern. With all this killing in an Assassin's Creed game you'd think Assassinations would happen but a good 90% of combat deteriorates to open field brawling this works for a time roughly the first 5-10 hours it was good fun Spartan Kicking enemies off of ledges/cliffs and deftly using the hunter abilities to quickly eliminate smaller threats but it doesn't last and the enemy variety and skill is lacking to say the least. Moving away from the gameplay and into the story it's rough, there's essentially two stories at play and neither had enough power to string me along in direction. A cult with a rival sibling with little character and moments to express that Templar-esque evil that older games have done successfully, and a chosen one narrative for the protagonist male or female (though I recommend Kassandra.) Mission structure is extremely repetitive with little to no set piece moments to take advantage of the games gorgeous array of locations. It's pretty bad when the highlight of the game set in Ancient Greece is a short hour or so experience in a plague ridden Athens that lacks an emotional core. The best thing about this game and I hope the series uses to better the gameplay in future is the historical angle it takes. This was sort of present with Origins, but here in Odyssey the inclusion of historical locations and people is to great effect purely as an educational tool. While no, the story doesn't do anything with all this knowledge the game oozes it at every step in a city, it's an aspect that's almost perfect. I just wish the game itself pushed this to the front of the experience rather than stumbling around searching for the 44 cultists and ripping through the drawn out story. I haven't mentioned ship warfare because there's not much to mention it's basic it works but I never had the need or want to use my ship besides moving from point A to Island B usually an unreasonable distance away. This isn't AC Black Flag so of course these ships are historically more simple and less capable of destruction but it gets old really fast just using the same two attacks so understandably I only used it as required. More should've been done to make it more fun and interesting especially in the story missions but it's serviceable for fast travel. It's a seriously bloated game with nothing of substance, and a story that doesn't resolve anything for the (as per usual) dumb modern plot unless you pay for DLC and I won't entertain that which is disappointing I figured I could start AC Valhalla knowing full well where the story was from finishing the prior game but then this is a Ubisoft Original.

Were Origins, Odyssey, and Ragnarok somewhat blasphemous in terms of AC? Yes, but does it affect each individual game? No! These aren't traditional AC games. Is the storytelling great? Probably not. But does it provide a massive open world? Yes! Is the gameplay fun? Yes! If it's fun does it matter what the game is? I air on the side of no, I want to play fun games. Is this fun? Yes! I'd recommend it in a heartbeat. It is fun and I'd say 100% is a slog but at the same time gratifying. Maybe one of the experiences I'd say a gamer needs to have before the PS4 and PS5 generation collapses. A true experience one could not pass up.

Gameplay: 4
Art Style: 4.5
Story/Lore: 4
System: 4.5
Chracter: 3.5
Total: 4.1

Odyssey is a move away from AC's original roots with a push toward RPG gameplay. Supported by a gorgeous and varied representation of ancient greece that makes exploring fun and engaging.

AC:O gives the player choice in how to build their protagonist and the skills they will have. Allowing you to choose to play from stealth or go in swords swinging.

I chose to 100% the achievements on this game and DLC and found myself enjoying every minute. Some may think the gameplay is repetitive but I enjoy the combat and approaching different situations.

The narrative is engaging and you find yourself invest in Kassandra's story and quest to destory the cult whilst reuniting with the her family. Meeting histrorical figures was also a nice touch and provides a point of reference for those with some knowledge of history.

AC:O isn't everyones cup of tea but i certainly recommend it to anyone who loves historical locations and fun, mindless action RPG gameplay.