After 80 plus hours, I finally met the AC Odyssey end and watched the credits roll. It truly was an Odyssey of a game. There’s so many side missions behind me as I mentioned last time. Knocking those out really ensured the last part of the main game was action packed and story rich.
As I approached the end of the main story, I questioned whether this could edge out Black Flag for my favorite Assassin’s Creed. The main story is broken up into 3 Odysseyes. There’s the chain to find Kassandra’s family, another to take out he Cult of Kosmos and journey to seal the gates of Atlantis.
What a journey to finish all 3.
Reuniting the Family
I finished up the quests to find Kassandra’s mother and brother first of the 3. Tracking down and reuniting with Kassandra’s mother, Myrrine, was a whole game unto itself. I enjoyed tracking down the places she’d been and things that she did. Tracking down leads is a great part of every Assassin’s Creed game.
When they were finally reunited, watching their relationship unfold was one of the highlights of the game. Myrrine was an impressive Spartan women who moonlighted as a pirate for awhile before literally leading an island. Traveling with her to Sparta was a nice loop back from how the game opened with the 300 of Sparta. A fun place to visit, but too rigid and dark compared to the other more beautiful locations.
The search for her brother was a bit easier as it tied in nicely with the Cult of Kosmos thread. His path from favorite weapon of the Cult, to just part of the family did feel a bit forced. He slaughtered so many that I was sure I’d kill him before the game was over. That’s why it surprised me I was able to spare him and have him rejoin the family. Technically the whole family are killers, so why not?
I was happy I was able to tie up the family thread with everyone intact, thanks to my various in game choices. Even had the chance to add them to my crew. It was like a mini AC Odyssey end, then I realized that was just the end of the first of 3 main story threads.
Eliminating the Cult of Kosmos in AC Odyssey
Back when the game first introduced the Cult of Kosmos, I felt like it was just a set of side missions. I was wrong, the Cult is woven into the Greek islands society. Some are Athenian leaders, while others are Spartans. They have their hands in everything, so I enjoyed tracking them down and taking them out before the AC Odyssey end.
Killing Cult members and completing specific missions uncovered clues about the identity and location of other members. The concept of a kill list is more than fitting for an Assassin’s Creed game. It was often a nice bit of investigation to find remaining clues the higher up the chain I went.
It gave additional purpose to exploring certain location or completing tasks to lower a Nation’s power. Not super surprising that the leader of the Cult turned out to be ally at one point. I actually guessed that it could be one of two of early mission givers in Greece. It ended up being one of those people I had in mind. The reveal was still a nice touch.
I was very satisfied when I finally assassinated the leader as I laughed at their plans for the future. Not on my watch!
Closing the Gates of Atlantis
The final of the main story threads dug deep into the Isu technology that is vital to every Assassin’s Creed game. I’ve always liked that aspect of the games. Mythical people, items or places explained by advanced Isu technology is a nice touch.
On the menu this time was Atlantis. Probably the most universally known mythical place. I was sad to see Atlantis was just a tease as the mission at hand was to seal its gates. That quest giver was Pythagoras, of Pythagorean theorem fame. And with a twist, he was Kassandra’s real “father”. I use that term loosely, because he was a kind of a prick, just concerned with passing on his traces of Isu blood.
His task to retrieve artifacts took me in four different directions across the Greek islands. I battled some technology powered versions of creatures from Greek mythology. Still not sure if the Isu tech turned people into those monsters or if it was some Augmented Reality trick.
By the end of those tasks, I fought a versions of the Sphinx, Minotaur, Cyclops and Gorgon (think Medusa). All protected Isu artifacts required to seal the gates of Atlantis. The trip was more fun than the destination. Actually closing the gates of Atlantis was just a tease for the Atlantis DLC for later.
I did like the story of passing on the Staff of Hermes from one keeper to another. It seems it’s really a setup for the Atlantis DLC to close out the series and the true AC Odyssey End.
AC Odyssey is my New Favorite in the End
Even after closing out the 3 main story threads, there were no credits for me. It wasn’t until I took up the little vacation “mission” to Korfu that I truly reached the end of the main game. I originally wrote it off as just a bonus side mission, but serves as a bit of Epilogue. In fact, I probably should have saved it for after completing the DLCs. It definitely appears to come after them.
Things started out simple in Korfu, with Kassandra enjoying lounging around and drinking wine. All that until Barnabas and Herodotus interrupted her peace. What followed was a fake treasure hunt, turned into a real one with a side of rescue mission and Isu artifact craziness. Isu artifacts really cause a lot of havoc and make humans go insane.
Once I had all that under control, I finally saw glimpses of what lie ahead for Kassandra’s next adventure and the credits rolled. The title Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is the perfect name, because it was that long of a journey to the end. It has managed the huge task of replacing Black Flag as my favorite game in the series.
Thing is, this is just the end of the beginning. What lies ahead for me is the Legacy of the First Blade DLC. After that, I can finally wrap up the story with the Fate of Atlantis DLC. I’ve had fun so far despite way to many side missions, but Baldur’s Gate 3 is also calling to me.