PC Gamer

PREVIEW

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

Kassandra’s basic abilities can be

upgraded, too: if you jump from a

precariously high spot, you can hold down

A to not take any damage upon landing

with the right ability upgraded. You can

later level this up so your character stuns

enemies when they land.

The intention of having no shield but

extra powers is to create a more

aggressive fighting system, one that

reflects the style of combat in its setting.

“We wanted an agile character,” Dumont

says. “We didn’t want to be a defensive

character, but to be much more of a

powerhouse character that comes into

the fight – a bit more Spartan spirit. The

shield thing was something we discussed

quite a bit, but in the end, we felt that the

offensive abilities that we added that you

can map to the game was giving us a good

tempo in fighting. Once you get

accustomed to it, you’re actually balancing

crowd control with the abilities.”

I die a lot at the start of the demo

without the shield – I’m pretty used to

fighting that way in Origins, but those

partial to dual swords might pick the

rhythm up faster. The window to parry is

pretty tight, and Dumont says Ubisoft

Quebec wants to make it easier based on

the comments they’ve been getting. After

I have a strong coffee to quash my jet lag,

though, I get the hang of it. The game’s

adrenaline bar charges very quickly during

a battle, so the intention is you’re always

meant to be using these abilities to keep

crowds under control.

Even if Origins marked a big

improvement on Assassin’s Creed’s old

combat, I found it a little clunky, and I still

feel that way playing Odyssey. By the end

of the demo, I’m spamming the same

moves over and over again to win fights –

this is how I beat Podarkes, by setting my

sword on fire and repeating a heavy attack

move until he dies. That said, I like that

different scenarios challenge me to use

abilities based on the situation. There’s

little point in using a shield break on a

bear, for example, but firing a super

powerful arrow or restoring a chunk of

Kassandra’s health helped me win that

battle after a few failed attempts.

You’ll also be able to participate in giant

battles between the two sides, where the

screen will be absolutely filled with units.

My one encounter like this was simple,

though: I just killed captains to make the

other Athenian army’s health bar go down,

then dispatched a hero character when he

turned up. It was a pretty rote set of fights,

even if the scale of the fight is impressive.

‘EPIC LEGS’

Ubisoft is calling Odyssey a full RPG – the

Assassin’s Creed version of that, anyway.

Alongside narrative choices, ‘RPG’ means

more numbers. Ubisoft Quebec has

extended the stats and perks system of

weapons in the last game to armour, so

you’re constantly changing up individual

pieces for rarer ones. Helping Sparta

overcome the Athenians rewards

Kassandra with a rad-looking gold-plated

Spartan breastplate. At one point I get a

piece of leg armour that the game calls

‘epic legs’, which I find amusing.

If you enjoyed stealing loot in Origins,

you can’t do that as openly this time. A

bounty system exists in Odyssey, and if

you steal loot marked with red and get

caught doing so by an NPC, it’s possible

they’ll put a price on your head.

Mercenaries will then come after you, in

what seems like a similar system to the

Thylakes in Origins, although you can pay

off bounties in the menu screen if you’re

worried about it.

As with Egypt, I expect to be dazzled

by the world of Odyssey. These two

islands look gorgeous, with clean white

architecture, lots of ornate surfaces and

huge statues to climb. Ubisoft promises

everything from snowy peaks to deserts

across its version of Ancient Greece. On

the in-game map, locations include Attika,

Euboea, Arkadia, Lakonia and Lesbos, and

you’ll be able to navigate its many islands

with a ship, as naval combat once again

returns to the series. If you enjoyed

battling Egyptian gods last time, I’m pretty

convinced Greek mythology will form the

basis of some superbosses. “For now, let’s

keep it for later, but it’s Ancient Greece, so

we’ll see,” smiles Dumont when I ask

about the possibility.

Origins was the strongest Assassin’s

Creed in years for me, and I see plenty

here that reminds me why: decent quest

design, which nicely paces out the series’

icon-heavy filler, and a world that’s fun to

explore. Giving you narrative choices is

potentially the biggest change to the

series in years – at least, it could make me

invested in an Assassin’s Creed story in a

way that I haven’t been before.

Samuel Roberts

BY THE END OF THE DEMO, I’M

SPAMMING THE SAME MOVES

OVER AND OVER AGAIN

Leonidas’ tiny,
broken spear there.