Assassin's Creed Odyssey is an action role-playing game released in 2018. It was created by Ubisoft Quebec and published by Ubisoft. This game is the eleventh major game in the Assassin's Creed series and follows Assassin's Creed Origins (2017). Like its predecessor, Odyssey includes a large open world and uses ideas from role-playing games, with more focus on combat and exploration than stealth. Naval battles from earlier games in the series are also an important part of Odyssey.
The game’s story is based on the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta from 431 to 422 BCE. Players control a Spartan mercenary who fights on both sides of the war to find their family and stop the mysterious Cult of Kosmos. The game continues the story of Layla Hassan, a character introduced in Origins, who uses the Animus device to relive the mercenary’s memories and search for a powerful artifact.
Development of Odyssey began after the release of Assassin's Creed Syndicate (2015). It helped change the Assassin's Creed series into action role-playing games by adding choices that affect the story. Compared to other games in the series, Odyssey focuses more on ancient myths and less on the conflict between the Assassins and Templars, which is a central theme in most Assassin's Creed games. The developers were inspired by other role-playing games, such as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and Fallout 4. The game’s music was composed by The Flight.
Odyssey was released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on October 5, 2018. Critics praised the game’s gameplay, graphics, characters, and world design but criticized its complexity, pacing, and use of microtransactions. Some people also had mixed feelings about the game’s focus on role-playing elements instead of traditional Assassin's Creed features. The game sold over 10 million copies worldwide by March 2020.
Ubisoft released additional content, including two story expansions: Legacy of the First Blade and The Fate of Atlantis. Odyssey was followed in November 2020 by Assassin's Creed Valhalla, which takes place in medieval England and Norway during the Viking era and finishes Layla Hassan’s story.
Gameplay
Assassin's Creed Odyssey is an action role-playing video game played from a third-person perspective. At the beginning of the game, players can choose to play as Alexios or Kassandra, who are Greek mercenaries and descendants of the Spartan king Leonidas I. In addition to completing the main story, players can explore a large open world set in ancient Greece on foot or on horseback. As players explore, they will meet non-playable characters (NPCs) who give side missions. They can also discover interesting locations, clear out fortresses and camps, explore tombs and shipwrecks, and collect hidden treasures. Synchronization points in famous landmarks in Greece can be unlocked to use as fast travel points. Players can collect special items and resources, such as iron ore, wood, leather, metal, and precious gems, through exploration and hunting. Other activities include competing in a gladiatorial arena and completing time-limited bounties and contracts. Unlike previous games in the series, Odyssey offers two gameplay modes: Guided mode shows players the locations of their goals using waypoints, while Exploration mode requires players to find locations themselves after receiving brief clues from NPCs.
The main story follows the mercenary as they reunite their family and stop the Cult of Kosmos. Additional quests involve defeating mystical creatures from Atlantis and defeating cultists. The game is set during the Peloponnesian War, when Athens and Sparta control parts of Greece. A region can be weakened by assassinating a leader, defeating soldiers, burning supplies, or stealing from chests. When a region is weakened, players can join a conquest battle to help either the attacking or defending side. Winning a battle gives players valuable loot, gear, and experience points. Joining the attacking team is harder but offers more rewards. If the player commits crimes like stealing or hurting someone in public, a bounty is placed on them. Mercenaries, which are NPCs, will hunt the player, who can either kill the mercenaries, pay the bounty, or assassinate the person who placed the bounty. Each area has a recommended level. Players may be overpowered if they enter an area too early, but the game adjusts difficulty based on the player's level. When talking to NPCs, players can choose dialogue options, including the chance to develop a romantic relationship with certain characters. At key moments in the story, players make choices that affect the story's outcome and lead to different endings.
There are two types of melee attacks: light attacks are fast but weak, while heavy attacks are slow but strong. Players can dodge or parry enemy attacks. The player can use weapons like spears, blunt weapons, daggers, swords, and bows to defeat enemies. Players can wear armor, boots, helmets, and gloves. The game has a system where each weapon and piece of armor has different stats and effects. These can be upgraded individually, with additional benefits added through engraving. The power of weapons depends on their level and rarity. Rarer weapons are stronger and cost more to upgrade. The player also controls a warship named Adrestia to explore the Aegean Sea. Players can attack enemy ships with arrows and javelins, destroy ships directly, or command the crew to prepare for attacks. When an enemy ship's health is nearly gone, the player can board it. Successfully boarding gives resources and restores the Adrestia's health. The ship can be upgraded by improving the hull, increasing rower stamina, and customizing the crew. While sailing, players may encounter Alpha ships, which are enemy bosses, or other mercenaries if their bounty is high.
Stealth and open combat are both effective for completing tasks. The player can use Leonidas' spear to silently assassinate enemies or knock them out to recruit them. Injured enemies can be hidden to avoid alerting others. The player can call Ikaros, a golden eagle companion, to scout areas by highlighting enemies and objects. The player can also whistle to draw enemy attention. Like other Assassin's Creed games, the player can climb nearly any structure. As players complete quests, they earn experience points (XP), which unlock new skills and abilities. There are three skill trees: "hunter" focuses on using a bow and arrow for ranged attacks, "warrior" focuses on weapon-based combat, and "assassin" focuses on stealth and silent attacks. Examples of skills include "Spartan Kick," which knocks enemies back, and "Rush Assassination," which lets the player throw Leonidas' spear from a distance. Some skills have cooldown times, and others can only be used when the player's adrenaline bar fills up. This happens by damaging enemies or dodging and parrying attacks.
Synopsis
The game Assassin's Creed Odyssey continues the story of the Assassin's Creed series, set in the modern day. The main character is Layla Hassan, an Assassin and former researcher for the company Abstergo, who was first introduced in Assassin's Creed Origins. With the help of other Assassins—Victoria Bibeau, Kiyoshi Takakura, and Alannah Ryan—Layla seeks to find the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus and the lost city of Atlantis. She uses a portable device called the Animus, which reveals a hidden history from the time of the Peloponnesian War, a conflict between Greek city-states that took place between 431 and 422 BC. This war happened 400 years before the events of Assassin's Creed Origins and the creation of the Hidden Ones, who were the ancestors of the Assassins.
The main story follows a character known as the Eagle Bearer, one of two siblings. As a child, the Eagle Bearer was exiled from Sparta after trying to stop a Spartan elder from throwing their younger sibling off Mount Taygetos. A prophet named the Pythia claimed the child’s survival could affect Sparta’s future. The Eagle Bearer’s father, Nikolaos, was forced by Spartan leaders to throw the child off the mountain, but the Eagle Bearer survived and was later cared for by a man named Markos in Kephallonia. As an adult, the Eagle Bearer works as a mercenary, fighting for both the Delian League (led by Athens) and the Peloponnesian League (led by Sparta). Alongside efforts to reunite their family, the story also involves stopping the Cult of Kosmos, a secret group, and discovering ancient Atlantean artifacts and creatures.
The game includes real and mythical Greek figures, such as Alkibiades, Aristophanes, and Socrates, as well as locations like the Agora of Athens and the statue of Zeus at Olympia. Mythical creatures like Medusa and the Minotaur appear as experiments created by the Isu, an ancient race that shaped humanity and many artifacts in the series.
The story begins in 480 BC, during the Battle of Thermopylae, where King Leonidas leads the Spartans against the Persians. Though the battle is won, Leonidas learns the Persians will surround the Spartans the next day. He chooses to fight to the death.
In 2018, Layla Hassan finds Leonidas’ spear and uses DNA from his grandchildren, Alexios and Kassandra, to locate the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus. The player chooses which sibling becomes the Eagle Bearer.
In 431 BC, the Eagle Bearer is hired by a merchant named Elpenor to kill the "Wolf of Sparta" in Megaris. After meeting a naval captain named Barnabas, the Eagle Bearer gains command of a ship, the Adrestia. In Megaris, they learn their father Nikolaos is not their biological parent and that their mother, Myrinne, left Sparta after the incident on Mount Taygetos. The Eagle Bearer confronts Elpenor, who reveals he is part of the Cult of Kosmos. After killing Elpenor, the Eagle Bearer infiltrates a Cult meeting in Delphi and discovers their younger sibling, Deimos, was manipulated by the Cult into becoming their champion. With Barnabas and Herodotos, the Eagle Bearer travels across Greece to reunite with Myrinne, who is now an oligarch named Phoenix in Naxos. Myrinne encourages the Eagle Bearer to restore their family’s citizenship in Sparta while working to stop the Cult.
At the Battle of Pylos, the Eagle Bearer fights Deimos and is captured by the Cult in Athens. With help from allies, they escape and join Spartan forces led by Brasidas at the Battle of Amphipolis. Both leaders die in the battle, ending the first part of the Peloponnesian War. The Eagle Bearer returns to Mount Taygetos to confront Deimos. Depending on player choices, the Eagle Bearer either redeems or kills Deimos, affecting their family’s fate.
After defeating the Cult, the Eagle Bearer finds the Cult’s artifact in Delphi and meets Aspasia, who was the Cult’s original leader. Aspasia helps the Eagle Bearer destroy the artifact, hoping its original goal of peace can be preserved. The Eagle Bearer also meets their biological father, Pythagoras, a descendant of the Isu, and inherits the Staff of Hermes, gaining immortality.
In the present, Layla meets the Eagle Bearer in Atlantis, who warns her that the world needs balance between the Assassins’ and Templars’ ideals. Layla learns she is the prophesied one to achieve this balance. The Eagle Bearer gives Layla the Staff before dying.
An expansion to the game focuses on the Eagle Bearer’s conflict with the Order of the Ancients, a group that preceded the Templars. The Order seeks to end the Eagle Bearer’s bloodline, believing it is too powerful. The Eagle Bearer is aided by Darius, a character from Assassin’s Creed II, and faces challenges in balancing their desire to settle down with their duty to stop the Order.
In 422 BC, after inheriting the Staff of Hermes from Pythagoras, the Eagle Bearer meets Aletheia, an Isu whose consciousness is inside the Staff. Aletheia explains that the Eagle Bearer must find three tombs with symbols to unlock the gate to Atlantis.
Development
Assassin's Creed Odyssey was created by Ubisoft Quebec. The game's development began shortly after the release of Assassin's Creed Syndicate in 2015. This game showed a change in the series, moving from an action-adventure stealth game to an action role-playing game. This change started with Assassin's Creed Origins in 2017, which was developed by Ubisoft Montreal, a long-time developer for the series. Origins introduced a larger open world and focused more on player progress, while Odyssey added role-playing elements and choices. Origins was released a year before Odyssey, which allowed the Quebec team to make changes based on player feedback. Like other Ubisoft games, many developers worldwide helped create the game. Ubisoft studios in Montreal, Bucharest, Montpellier, Singapore, Shanghai, Chengdu, Kyiv, and Pune co-developed the game. External studios, such as Spearsoft and Technicolor, also provided help. The game was declared "gold" on September 14, 2018, meaning it was ready for production and release.
Odyssey was inspired by history, as were other games in the series. Ancient Greece was a popular choice for fans, and the setting of the Peloponnesian War allowed the team to include historical figures like Socrates, Leonidas, and Hippocrates. The works of Herodotus, considered the first Western historian, influenced the game's world and story. To ensure historical accuracy, the team studied films, paintings, and other games about Ancient Greece. They also took a ten-day trip to Greece, visiting Sparta, Delphi, Olympia, and Athens. Three groups with historians took over 13,000 photos and videos during the trip. Later, the team used Google Street View to study Greek ruins. The game's art style avoided typical depictions of ancient Greece, using less colorful tones and unique visuals for each region. A world design team focused on historical accuracy, while a level design team focused on player enjoyment. Both teams were guided by Stéphanie-Anne Ruatta, an in-house historian at Ubisoft. The team also consulted historians in the UK, Canada, and Greece.
Some parts of the game differed from history. For example, real Spartans lived simply, but the team added landmarks and decorations to Spartan cities to make them look grander and more warrior-like. Since some locations no longer exist, the team created these buildings themselves. The game's setting in ancient Greece meant the team included Greek mythology, such as the Sphinx, Cyclops, Minotaur, and Medusa, as bosses. Ruatta noted that Greece's role as the birthplace of democracy and philosophy contrasted with landmarks based on gods and mystical figures, reflecting the series' theme of "chaos" versus "order."
According to world director Mel MacCoubrey, the game is an "epic Greek tragedy" with a story about a family torn apart. The two main characters, Alexios and Kassandra, are described as compassionate, strong-willed, and passionate. The story shows how they find their place in the world and become Greek heroes. Alexios and Kassandra were portrayed by Michael Antonakos and Melissanthi Mahut, who met in Quebec City to discuss their characters. The team looked for Greek actors or those with Greek ancestry. Elias Toufexis played both Leonidas and Nikolaos. During his audition, he read from The Godfather with a Greek accent instead of the game's script to prevent leaks. In 2020, a report suggested that plans for female leads in some games were reduced due to concerns about sales. Odyssey's team wanted Kassandra as the sole lead but was told it wasn't possible. The game also included optional romantic relationships, which were described as light-hearted and available regardless of the player's gender.
To give players more choices, the team created over 30 hours of interactive cutscenes. They were influenced by games like The Witcher 3, Skyrim, and Fallout, which offer freedom to players. However, these choices did not change major historical events, such as the Plague of Athens, which would occur regardless of player actions. The role-playing journey was inspired by Homer's Odyssey, and the dialogue system was inspired by Plato's dialogues. The game is set 400 years before Origins, avoiding overlap with that game's events and giving players more freedom. The world responded to player actions, such as mercenaries hunting players after harming innocent NPCs. This system, similar to Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, allowed mercenaries to have unique routines and traits. The team believed this kept the game challenging. Players would not be told when they made important choices, and consequences might not appear immediately. A feature that tracked player choices was removed before release.
The development team made changes to gameplay based on feedback from Origins.
Release
The game was leaked in May 2018 when a French website named JeuxVideoLive received a keychain with the name "Assassin's Creed Odyssey" on it. The game was officially announced at E3 2018. Google worked with Ubisoft to promote its streaming service, Stadia (then called "Project Stream"). Players who tested the game on Stadia for one hour received a free PC copy of the game. The game was released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on October 5, 2018. A version for Nintendo Switch was announced during a September 2018 Nintendo Direct event in Japan. This version was a cloud-based game that launched on the same day as other platforms but only in Japan. The game includes reversible cover art, allowing players to choose between two playable characters. Special editions of the game with bonus content and items were also released.
A novelization of the game, focusing on the character Kassandra, was written by Gordon Doherty and released on October 5, 2018. In May 2019, Ubisoft launched "Beyond Medusa’s Gate," a virtual reality experience in 100 locations across Europe and North America. Positive reviews of Odyssey led Ubisoft to create Immortals Fenyx Rising, a game featuring Greek gods and monsters.
Although Odyssey is a single-player game, Ubisoft used a "game as a service" model, adding content after its release. The team was divided into three groups: one focused on quality-of-life changes, another on free content, and the third on two paid story expansions. The release schedule for new content was inspired by other Ubisoft games like For Honor, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, and Tom Clancy's The Division.
The game's season pass includes two downloadable story content (DLC) and remastered versions of Assassin's Creed III and Assassin's Creed Liberation. The two paid expansions, Legacy of the First Blade (released from December 2018 to March 2019) and The Fate of Atlantis (released from April to July 2019), explore themes from the Assassin's Creed series and Greek mythology. Legacy of the First Blade connects Odyssey to the larger franchise by exploring conflicts with the Order of the Ancients and the history of the Hidden Blade. The Fate of Atlantis introduces new regions like Elysium, Hades, and Atlantis, each offering unique abilities and trials.
In addition to paid content, Ubisoft released free story missions called "Lost Tales of Greece." A feature called "Visual Customization" allowed players to change their character's appearance in November 2018. A New Game Plus mode was added in February 2019. Free updates included new costumes and ship lieutenants based on previous characters like Ezio Auditore, Evie Frye, and Bayek. Quality-of-life changes, such as adjusting difficulty and mastery levels, were also introduced. A story creator mode, letting players design quests, was released in June 2019. An educational mode called Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece was added in September 2019, offering guided tours of ancient Greece led by historians.
The game supports UHD resolution on the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X. In August 2021, Ubisoft updated the game to run at 60fps on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Critics on Metacritic gave the game "generally favorable" reviews, noting it successfully shifted the series from stealth to action role-playing games. The open world was praised for its design and exploration opportunities. Some critics felt the game’s world was large and detailed, while others noted some features were underdeveloped. The story was described as engaging but criticized for pacing issues and overambition. Gameplay was generally well-received, with praise for combat systems and variety of weapons. However, some reviewers felt the game became repetitive or too similar to other open-world games.
Sequel
A sequel called Assassin's Creed Valhalla, which takes place during the time when Vikings were expanding across Europe, was released in November 2020. It is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and Series S. An important update for Odyssey and Valhalla was released on December 14, 2021, offering free downloadable content (DLC) for both games. The first part of this content, titled "Those Who Are Treasured," is included in Odyssey and serves as a final story section that concludes the journey of the Eagle Bearer during the time of Classical Greece. The second part, titled "A Fated Encounter," is a special mission in Valhalla that explores the connection between the game's main character, Eivor Varinsdottir, and Kassandra, who is the official Eagle Bearer from Odyssey, following the events of "Those Who Are Treasured."