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The original was posted on /r/games by /u/StrongAndPowerful on 2023-08-18 05:43:06+00:00.
Other than a casual free to play online game like Brawlhalla here and there, I usually play games where I can invest myself 100% into it and their world/story, and they're mostly single player, and I'll play them until I get the platinum or 100% trophies. But rarely Ubisoft titles, as I've come to find them pretty generic from the last decade onwards, the last one I actually beat being Far Cry 4. I've tried Far Cry 6 and holy shit, that was the most unenjoyable bloated mess of a game I've ever seen, invested like 3 hours in it and still kept getting introduced to new overcomplicated systems while dealing with those horrible menus and incentives to microtransactions.
Lately, I've just been having trouble to actually enjoy the games I've invested in, because I just don't have the time to relax and really enjoy them while paying attention as I would like to. So I needed a game I could play casually without too much stakes on it, but something that wasn't a quick online FTP. I've searched my friend's PSN library to find some of his games that I could maybe enjoy casually after installing it in the console, and the best thing I could find that could maybe fit my needs was Assassin's Creed Odyssey. I thought "what the hell, why not give it a try", while still not sure I wouldn't be bored to death and this would be yet another overwhelming Ubisoft MTX-fest with too much systems and little actual moments of action and fun gameplay. Well, the game is really rough around the edges, there is indeed a lot of monetization menus involved (they're really hideous BTW, why do we need to select everything with a pointer like it's a mouse?), and I get that this is an RPG but they could've really made these menus much smoother to navigate, more subtle and pleasant to the eye.
Anyway, my point is: after a few hours (4, I think?) I kinda loved it? It's another one from the Ubisoft assembly line throught and through, with kind of the same repetitive gameplay cycle and cutscenes, but the RPG element where you can choose your actions, customize your gear, and Cassandra herself, the blind exploration, are so endearing, that you kinda get used to it, and the missions to invade enemy outposts have the same old broken stealth to them, but are not half bad. The combat system, from the little I unlocked is kind of awesome for an Action RPG. Fighting the first bounty hunter at level 4 while not reaching his level 5 was a real challenging and fun workout!
The game's environment does look kind of dated even for a PS4 title, but it's not really a big deal. The bow and arrow are a little rough around the edges but are great for working around direct conflict. This is no highly polished first-party title, but I think I'll really enjoy getting lost in this ancient Greek world and exploring Cassandra's journey to relax in my spare time, even if it often won't be that exciting or impressive. The "big" games on my list can wait until I'm in the mood or on vacation, and that's okay. Just wanted to share this little tidbit that even though our taste for gaming might get too picky over the years, sometimes it feels good to step out of the comfort zone and just play something you'd otherwise think it's too generic or commercial. It took a few tries, of course (besides Far Cry 6 I also recently gave up on Genshin Impact, really not my thing with the live service format, would've been great in a single player offline campaign format, though), but I finally found something fun that will keep me entertained for a long time like back when I was young with a PS2 and not overall jaded by gaming
Edit: One thing I really missed though, was the option to interact with NPCs besides just killing them or stealing in front of them. I really wish I could just say hello or good morning to some of the citizens. Or pet an animal. Any docile animals. Anything. Instead, I'm just cautious to not accidentally attack them, cause that's probably the only interaction available unless it's a game quest. I know the old AC games didn't offer much NPC interaction either, but this one is barely an AC, and as an RPG it could just go a little extra mile to make us feel more immersed. Maybe a place for Cassandra to rest occasionally too, but I'm only in the beginning, there'll be a lot to discover