Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – I give up

Oh Odyssey, why did it come to this?

It’s not uncommon for me to fail to see a game through to completion. Usually because I’m not hooked or because it just isn’t for me. I wouldn’t bother writing about them, though.

The thing is, I’ve invested plenty of time into Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, both in-game and on this site.

But I cannot bring myself to push through any more. 40 hours in, in any game, would see you well on the track of the main story lines, and feel like you were making good progress, right?

Sure, there might be a bit of a grind to level-up for a big boss battle or something. Or maybe you need to save currency to make a purchase in-game.

That’s not the case here, though. I’ve been hit with the ridiculous level-gating yet again. Being made to grind-out several levels just to continue the main story.

I wouldn’t even mind, but being forced to tackle hours and hours worth of side content just isn’t fun, 40+ hours in.

Close but no cigar?

I gather that I’m not too far from the end, in terms of the story. But the effort Odyssey is forcing me to put-in, to get there is too much right now.

My time is limited, and if I was 16 again, it wouldn’t be a problem. But I’m a parent to a 4-week old child, working full-time and trying to run a site as a hobby. Wasting time when I’m not girpped by a narrative, and I’ve had my fill of all the mechanics and the things the game has to offer, just isn’t sensible anymore.

I’m sad, and I’ll keep Odyssey installed for now, and perhaps change my mind when the fog of little-to-no sleep has lifted. Because, at it’s heart Odyssey is a great game.

I can’t say I haven’t had fun, nor can I say that I haven’t enjoyed some of the side quests. 80% of my time in Odyssey has been good, quality gaming time. Fun, even.

Knowing that I’m pretty close to finishing may well spur me on, with some rose-tinted glasses looking back in a month or two, but for now, Odyssey isn’t for me.

Reviewing an Odyssey…..

Giving Odyssey a review score seems unfair.

Until I finish the main story, I won’t give it a rating.

I’ve made it clear enough where the issues are, and where the strengths are. It’s a beautiful game, with so much to do and so much freedom.

I enjoy the stealth and the rpg elements, and all the bits pulled-over from Origins.

Little to no mention of assassins, incredibly frustrating level-gating and semi-aggressive in-game purchase prompting (I could always buy an XP boost for real money!).

I love the setting, I’ve had more than my money’s worth from the game and from that perspective, I can’t complain at all.

Odyssey, to me, is exactly that, an odyssey. And it’s one that really forces grind, and does it just a little too heavily.

If it had the voice acting of Origins, with the slightly-less grindy nature of hitting those levels, it would be stellar. Unfortunately it falls just short of the high bar that Origins set.

Odyssey is great, but it leaves a lot to be desired. For now at least.

Next up is Death Stranding, which lis likely to take a long time, too. Hopefully more interesting and less grindy, eh? It’ll certainly be weirder!

I’ve got a few more pieces going up over at fullsync.co.uk over the next week, so head over there and see what’s going on!

Goodbye Odyssey, it’s been a ride…..I sure had fun taking pictures, though!