I’ve been playing Assassin’s Creed Odyssey almost exclusively for a month, and I’m addicted! The plot is very compelling, at least what I’ve completed so far, and the gameplay is fun and almost never annoying. The use of Ikaros, your eagle, to scout out enemies and lootable chests is great, and the ability to call your horse nearly anywhere puts it on par with Witcher 3 in that regard.
The game is huge! Not just the game world, which is amazingly huge and without loading screens (yes, entering certain locations will require loading screens, as does fast travel), so you can start at one end of Greece, jump on your ship, sail to the other end, then explore other islands seamlessly. The main story seems to have multiple parallel parts, each of which is substantial and I’ve maybe completed one of them, though I bet there are a few bits left of that even. The side quests are overwhelming. Even the story-related ones are incredible numerous, and the contracts and random pop-up quests add hundreds more. Most of the side quests are simple and quick, but some involve killing sharks or destroying ships, so some travel and searching is needed. I have no complaints about the quests, except if I were trying to complete every quest, I could never finish – this is not a game for hardcore completionists.
I’ve seem complaints about the fighting, with critics complaining that this isn’t an AssCreed game at all, because we get into big brawls, chipping away at huge health bars. Yes, there are some big melees, but I tend to be stabby where I can, and then use my bow for really hard enemies. It depends on what playstyle a player wants to use, but I like the stealth in this game way more than I liked the stealth in say Metal Gear Solid V. And with the abilities we acquire as we level, it can be very quick to take out 4 or 5 enemies from stealth. I think the combat is great fun!
The ship combat is also quite good. It seems about as fun as that of Black Flag, which I also enjoyed a lot, and even adds the ramming option to the ranged attacks (spears and arrows rather than cannons, this time). Once you unlock fire arrows, the fights become lots of fun. There’s also an exploitable mechanic that makes the fights easier: if you board a disabled ship (and kill the baddies), it automatically heals your ship fully, so if the battle isn’t going well, disable a weak ship, board it, and continue the fight with a fully-healed ship.
I have lots more to write about Odyssey, but that’s all for now. I think it is great and am thoroughly enjoying it. I bought the gold edition on sale and it is worth every penny.