Assassin’s Creed Odyssey: 5 Things We Want To See

After an online leak involving a new piece of Assassin’s Creed merchandise, followed by an official reveal from Ubisoft, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey has officially taken the internet by storm. No doubt one of the biggest pre-E3 reveals, AC Odyssey takes players to a locale we honestly weren’t expecting to visit: Ancient Greece.

Though it doesn’t exactly sound like the next popular vacation spot for stealthy assassins (like say, Feudal Japan or the Dark Ages), there’s no doubt that after the reception of Assassin’s Creed Origins that Assassins can live all over the globe.

With AC Odyssey being officially revealed, many are speculating what new things Ubisoft plans to bring to the table with it. After Origins gave the franchise a bit of a fresh new start in terms of setting and certain gameplay mechanics, we aren’t sure entirely what to expect from a new AC venture; aside from the usual franchise mainstays of hiding in bushes or stacks of hay and waiting for an unlucky guard to walk merrily by.

That being said, here are five things we want to see in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.

 

1. The Origins Combat System

Most entries in the Assassin’s Creed franchise had a particular combat system to them. The combat relied heavily on paired animations, with the player pressing a button and the AI reacting in a very scripted way. AC Origins completely did away with this and introduced the hit-box system to the franchise.

The hitbox system gives the player more control over the way a battle ensues and concludes. Origins really did a lot for the AC fighting system, making battles more rewarding when you land a hit and defeat an enemy, and giving players a reason to hone their skills after completely missing their opponent and coming face-to-sharp edge with a spear. As a fan of the hitbox system in Origins, I’m seriously hoping that Odyssey decides to keep it.

 

2. Multiple Assassins

Another trend with recent AC games: multiple playable Assassins. We’re not talking about the several characters you could play as in the online modes available in games like Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. No, we’re talking about multiple characters playable in the main story of an AC game, like Aya and Bayek in Origins, or Jacob and Evie Fry in Syndicate.

These characters each come with their own unique playstyle and perspective on the story of the game. This allows for multiple playthroughs, and options for completing the game’s story. A little variety never hurt, and with Odyssey tackling a huge era in time like Ancient Greek history, it would definitely help to have at least two different Assassins to choose from when tackling the game’s campaign.

 

3. Historic Greek Figures

The world of Assassin’s Creed has always slightly mirrored our own. Sure, the game does have its moments of fantasy, such as the whole idea of a machine that allows you take control of a virtual representation of your ancestors and go on a quest to recover advanced technological artifacts created by the first civilization on earth. However, there are some aspects of Assassin’s Creed that are grounded in reality as well as historical accuracy.

The AC titles always take place at a certain point in mankind’s history, and while the games take quite a few liberties, they always try to keep certain things accurate; such as the presence of historical figures. Cesare Borgia in AC: Brotherhood, Leonardo Da Vinci in Assassin’s Creed II, and Jack the Ripper in AC: Syndicate are just a few real-life characters who come to mind. With Odyssey being set in Ancient Greece, we’re bound to see some historical Grecian legends on our missions. Judging by the nearly ‘300-esque’ teaser for Odyssey, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to expect to see King Leonidas. Hopefully he won’t be a target.

 

4. The Greco-Persian War

Aside from historical figures, the Assassin’s Creed titles are also usually centered around actual historical events, such as the American Revolution or the Third Crusade. With that in mind, it’s likely that Assassin’s Creed Odyssey will at least take place during an historic Ancient Greek event. Whether that event largely affects the overall story of the game is yet to be determined.

If Odyssey were to base itself around a real life event in history however, the Greco-Persian war would be a great choice. The Greco-Persian war, as the name suggests, was a war between Greece and Persia, brought about by the two nations constantly invading one another for land, power, and presumably bragging rights. You may have heard of one of the war’s most important and famous battles, the Battle of Thermopylae, from the film 300. The Greco-Persian war would certainly draw players in to Odyssey with promises of a full scale battle between two of the deadliest nations at the time.

 

5. A Return To The Open Seas

Assassin’s Creed III introduced a brand new feature to the AC franchise; naval warfare. For the first in the series, players could control their own ship, sailing it on water and engaging in epic battles with enemy ships. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag took this idea and managed to make it even grander, with larger ships, a much larger open sea landscape, and even more epic ship battles to make you feel like a true pirate. This feature was so good that Ubisoft literally greenlit an entire video game idea because of it.

Naval warfare made a bit of a return in AC Origins, but it was nowhere near the scale it was in III or Black Flag. Luckily, with Odyssey set in Ancient Greece, there’s a chance that we’ll be able to assassinate our targets out at sea once more. Ancient Greek warriors were mainly known for their prowess on land, with swords, shields, and various large and pointy things. However, they were still incredibly dangerous on the water. Greek warships were packed with soldiers, catapults and sharp projectile launching machines called ballistas. If Ubisoft wanted to bring naval combat back to the AC franchise, it certainly would not be out of place in Odyssey.