It’s been one month since Assassin’s Creed Odyssey released, allowing players around the world to live out their lifelong fantasies of fighting sharks and hunting down cultists. Between issues of microtransactions, canceled live events, and new quests, the game continues to generate discussion and grow bigger with each passing day. Here’s what’s happened since release.
- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey releases officially on October 5, and folks mostly enjoy it. Our own review complimented the game’s vivid world and intricate gameplay systems. But some players are immediately taken aback by the inclusion of certain items within the in-game store. Most notably, concerns arise over a purchasable experience booster that grants a permanent bonus to experience gain. Some players are enraged, believing that the game is intentionally unbalanced in order to force players to buy the boost. Other players, including many here at Kotaku, say they never felt tempted to pick up a boost.
- Google’s ‘Project Stream’ begins testing around the same time, using Assassin’s Creed Odyssey as its first game. The impressive streaming service allows players to open up a browser tab and almost instantly play a streamed version of the game with next to no lag.
- YouTube channel “How Big Is The Map?” travels from one end of Odyssey’s world to the other. In all, it took 2:27:54 for them to get from one end of Ancient Greece to the other.
- Speaking to Kotaku on October 9, Ubisoft outlines more information about Odyssey’s microtransactions. They explain that the odds of Olympian Gift lootboxes are more favorable to the player than Origins’ Heka Chests, and that time-saving maps largely pay out more rewards (in loot or orichalcum) than their monetary value. The transparency does help to explain the microtransaction situation, but many players remain disappointed.
- On October 11, Ubisoft sneaks a very helpful addition into the game: a small chest on the Adrestia that allows players to stow excess loot. Players rejoice at the fact they their cluttered inventories can finally be cleaned out.
- A week after release, I take some time to remind folks that some of the game’s best content isn’t tied to the main quest to reunite Kassandra’s family. I’m mentioning it here again because, for real, some of the game’s stranger and best stuff is on the fringes.
- Live events, which were meant to launch on October 16th, don’t arrive at the expected time. The problem centers on the first legendary mercenary: Damais the Indifferent A Ubisoft representative tells Kotaku that the development team is looking for a fix to whatever is preventing his arrival in game.
- One week after the first failed live event release, Ubisoft is still unable to add legendary mercenaries to the game. Instead, the game’s first legendary ship, the Black Wind, is added for players to battle. All things considered, it’s an exciting fight that shows how promising live events can be.
- At the same time, Origins’ hero Bayek is added as an Ubisoft Club reward. Players can spend their in-game points to unlock him as a lieutenant for their ship.
- On October 25, Kotaku staff writer Gita Jackson embarks on her quest to be extremely gay and kiss all the ladies in game. Time will tell if she succeeds.
- Patch 1.0.6 drops on October 31 and brings numerous quality of life improvements with it. An in-depth player stats screen is added and cadded an option to auto-craft arrows. The patch also grants greater rewards for taking down enemy mercenaries and decreases the cost for upgrading gear.
- The new patch also adds the first “Lost Tale of Greece” to the game. In it, the player must help put on (or screw up) one of Thespis’ plays. It’s a surprisingly lengthy side-quest with fun character moments that players definitely shouldn’t miss.
- On November 3, Ubisoft finally announces that legendary mercenary events have been put on hold. The content was apparently only appearing for a small portion of players. Ubisoft says it hopes to implement a fix “this month” and announces weekly legendary ship battles in the meantime.
- Talk of Odyssey’s difficulty continues on official forums and elsewhere. On Ubisoft’s forums, an official confirms that “an option for the Auto enemy scaling is part of our post-launch content roadmap.”
- Today, Ubisoft outlined more additions coming to the game including the ability to toggle XP boosters on and off, new outfit customizations, and a battle (available November 13) against a new monster: Steropes the Cyclops.
And that’s where we are. Odyssey’s first month was a mixture of growing pains and attentive new additions and features. This is a game that Ubisoft plans to update for a long time. Players can look forward to more Lost Tales of Greece, mythical creature fights, and the Legacy of the First Blade DLC which is aimed for a December release.