Ancient Greece hosts this iteration of the famous Assassin's Creed saga, with countless islands waiting to be explored and a plethora of illustrious characters to meet.

Simply put, if you played the CD Project Red game from 2015, you'll realize how similar Odyssey is, not only from a quest design perspective but in terms of gameplay as well. The combat, for example, resembles the "heavy/light" attack scheme of  the Witcher game. It's not necessarily a carbon copy, but, anyhow, you'll unquestionably detect certain patterns.

And this is, in my view, the biggest problem this game has. Assassin's Creed titles used to be their own game with their own distinctive traits and perks, but, as time passed, the devs began straying from the original framework, provoking the ire of the most hardcore AC fans. I'm not trying to argue that we should "return to tradition", but it's undeniable that some of the original identity was lost, which is a shame.

With that said, I celebrate some welcome additions. The dialogue options are very nice, as well as the branching paths and alternative endings. Regardless, when you notice that even the music style is reminiscent of the OST from the last Witcher, you begin to question the originality of the whole project.

At face value, this game is not, in the slightest, a bad game, but it bears repeating that some of the original AC magic was lost along the way in an effort to emulate the successful formula of other popular games. 

Anyways, enough ranting about "betrayals".

If you're a fan of the earlier games, you'll be glad to know that the original premise of the series is still somewhat intact. As is a constant in all AC games, you'll be shifting between the "present" and the past through a device called the Animus which was developed by Abstergo Industries, a fictional mega-corporation controlled by modern-day Templars. 

This is a no-spoilers review, so we won't be disclosing much of what transpires, but at least we can rest assured that this is an Assassin's Creed game on account of several plot points. You will not be identifying Assassins or Templars this time around, but this is explained away by the fact that, according to AC lore, they didn't fully exist at the time, or at least not in the way they came to be known later on.

Next, I find it imperative to talk about the game world. To put it in one word, it's gargantuan! Sure, a great part of it is water, and, while you may theoretically dunk in it, you'll be probably doing that sparingly. Nevertheless, it's roughly 6 times Skyrim's map and approximately 30% more than GTA V's map (water and landmass combined). 

The variety of the map is a debated topic among players and reviewers. Having a whopping 90.7 square miles at your disposal means that you're bound to find some repetition across the playable area. Of course, the cities are not too assorted in terms of architecture (which is a realistic expectation), though you'll encounter a bunch of interesting landmarks in your travels, as well as war-ravaged towns.

Surprisingly, you'll likewise stumble upon varied vegetation in several portions of the continent and a few sunbaked islands. There is also a snowy mountain range, albeit small. Sadly, you won't be able to visit Mount Olympus (or at least not for the time being), though it's visible from a distance.

Lastly, let's talk about graphics: 

Odyssey graces us with breathtaking sceneries and views, and character models look terrific, albeit you'll find that there is a lot of repetition of NPC models, to the point that some of these models are even used for named NPCs (those you interact with). It's a minor complaint, but it bears mentioning, nonetheless. 

Water physics, on the other hand, are a spectacle to behold, and it's apparent that developers went through a great deal of time and effort to make sure water looks and feels as real as possible. If you're immersed enough, you can even smell the sea! (Ok, that last part is not exactly true, but psychology is a complex discipline.)