BP 2 Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

The Assassin’s Creed franchise has become a household name due to the numerous quality games Ubisoft studios has released. Great gameplay, amazing world design, and a historically driven fantasy plot have made the game a permanent fixture in popular culture. The Assassin’s Creed franchise has even transcended the video game platform and appeared on the big screen. It makes sense that in a class focused on analyzing history through a gaming lens Assassin’s Creed would be apart of the course. In particular, this class chooses to analyze and play Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. In this particular installment of the series, the game’s story is set in 431 BCE, recounting the secret history of the Peloponnesian War. This war was fought between the city-states of ancient Greece. The protagonist is a mercenary named either Alexios or Kassandra who can choose to fight for either Athens and the Delian League or Sparta and Peloponnesian League. The part of the story that takes place in modern day is played by Layla Hassan. Admittedly I did not play much of this part of the game other than in the very beginning when you first enter the Animus. Another thing that surprised me immediately upon playing the game is the fact that you could choose between two characters. I never knew this was possible and honestly, I thought it was cool. I choose Alexios because he seemed like the character the game was focused around. The first couple of missions were fun and provided a nice look at the world. There was one mission, in particular, that was a pain to complete. The goal of the mission was to steal an eye from the Cyclops. It took about five tries, but I finally completed it. I found it interesting that in the game Spartans are portrayed drastically different than their historical truth. In the game, they are tempered down a lot compared to how harsh and warrior driven their society was. The readings discuss to creation and development of the Greek civilization and society. I thought it was interesting looking at the world of Assassin’s Creed and how it compares to that of Ancient Greek architecture. The game was interesting and fun to play.