After every Assassin’s Creed game I play, I tell myself that I probably shouldn’t play another one. Would I rather clear another outpost, or would I rather, you know, do anything else? Yet, Ubisoft keeps coming out with more Assassin’s Creed games and they go on sale almost immediately. And before you know it, in a moment of weakness, you have purchased yet another adventure.
After going through this cycle time and time again, I’m happy to say I’ve finally found an Assassin’s Creed that didn’t make me instantly regret buying it. Friends, now is the time to buy Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.
If you’re in a video game lull and you don’t feel like dying in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice anymore, Odyssey can be your sweet escape. Here’s why now is a good time to check it out:
50% XP Boost will set you free
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is one of those impossibly big games that will take you roughly the same amount of time to explore as it would to get a graduate degree. To dust off an old gem—ain’t nobody got time for that.
A map so big that it makes Witcher 3 seem small
If you’re anything like me, games that big are too overwhelming to ever finish. Many of us don’t have the time (or attention span) to grind through dozens of hours to hit the recommended level threshold for every new quest.
Enter the 50% XP boost. Suddenly, the game pacing feels quick and breezy (without sacrificing difficulty) and you’re off from one engaging mission to the next. No repetitive escort missions or fetch quests for you, no sir!
You can jump from interesting mission to interesting mission without having to spend precious hours liberating copy-and-paste encampments. Because of Assassin’s Creed‘s smart level-scaling system, you can rest assured you won’t massively outlevel the competition. You just have more options with what you want to do.
…But it will cost you an extra $10
Yes, we all know Ubisoft is guilty of pushing microtransactions, and the 50% XP Boost is indeed a microtransaction. Here’s how I justify it in my brain:
-I purchased Assassin’s Creed Odyssey for $24.99 from Best Buy,
-Then I paid an extra $10 to take the grind out of my life.
In essence, I paid $34.99 for a really good game, with really good pacing. Would I have paid $70 for this at launch? Heck no. But for $34.99, I’m having a very good time. If you’re experiencing a video game lull with nothing exciting coming out, Assassin’s Creed can fill the void.
Play through all the best content
Anyone who has played an Assassin’s Creed game knows that these games take forever to get started. Flashing the Assassins’ Creed logo after hours of gameplay is a flex that suggests you’re in for a long haul. It’s as if the developers are saying,”Yeah, you thought you were already a third through this baby? Think again!”
The issue with the slow pacing is the fact that the best content doesn’t arrive for many hours into the game. For example, a huge mechanic overruling the game is this idea of hunting down cultists. The first couple of cultists are fairly run-of-the-mill soldiers and politicians, but eventually, you work your way to bringing down the powers that be. Those supervillains are infinitely more interesting than the low-level grunts and the rewards are much more lucrative. Most players probably don’t even get to such high stakes due to the many hours that it takes to get there.
And that’s just the vanilla version of the game. If you want to get to the “Fate of Atlantis” and “Torment of Hades” DLC adventures, you’ll need to be sufficiently levelled. If you ever felt disappointed by the lack of Greek mythology mysticism in the core game, you’ll want to sink your Cerberus teeth into the DLC. Sadly, you’re going to get swallowed up in Hades if you don’t have the XP to get you through.
Do I need to get the drachmae boost as well?
No! You will be rolling in drachmae (the game’s currency) if you’re on top of your looting game. There are no limits to how many items you can carry, so loot everything in sight and just sell your goods to the nearest blacksmith. You should have more than enough to efficiently upgrade your ship and weapons.
For the record, the economy in Odyssey really works. Drachmae is valuable enough to matter even in the late stages of the game (namely with upgrading your favorite gear), but is also plentiful enough to make you feel like you’re getting richer the more you play.
There’s no time like the present
Beyond the massive price drops, part of the genius of waiting to buy games is the amount of stuff that gets patched. I’ve played over 50 hours of Odyssey (with the 50% XP boost), and have yet to experience any major glitches.
If you’re the type of gamer who wants to really commit to a game and spend hours exploring every nook and cranny, this is the game for you. The amount of enjoyable hours you can squeeze out of this lemon is pretty amazing. In terms of straight-up value, you would be hard-pressed to find a game that delivers as much sheer content as Odyssey.
If you want to get all the nitty-gritty details about the game, check out our full review.
