So I picked up Assassin’s Creed Origins and Odyssey in the Steam Summer sale. I’ve been interested for a while ever since I saw a trailer on the TV. Seemed like just my kind of game being third person (first person makes me motion sick) and with the strong story. But they were so expensive that I wasn’t willing to chance it. Well 80% off persuaded me to have a go.

I’m utterly terrible at gaming.

I actually finished Jedi Fallen Order and got about 93% complete, (I keep meaning to go back and finish it off to actually 100% a game), but I did it on Story Mode and I still had trouble on occasion. I don’t know if it’s because I didn’t grow up with controller games but I struggle to remember the buttons. I am the textbook definition of button masher. It’s a bit weird as I manage Warcraft ok but that’s a keyboard/mouse I guess.

Anyway, so I’m trying out Origins and I have two main issues straight away:

1) the camera. It doesn’t stay behind my character like it does in Warcraft and doesn’t behave itself like it does in Fallen Order. I try and adjust it and a slight touch makes it swing round and point at the floor. What I’ve taken to doing is correcting it with the mouse every now and then but otherwise using the controller.

2) probably connected to the camera thing I can’t aim to use a bow. To ‘fix’ this I turned on full targeting support. I’m literally playing the easiest of easy modes.

Anyway going from Origins to Odyssey is a bit like going in between the Lego games. The buttons are mostly the same but a teeny bit different and I had trouble with that as I tried out Odyssey this morning and then went back to Origins this evening. I think Odyssey is slightly better with the camera and also I seem to kill what I stealth attack in Odyssey whereas they just roll around on the floor in Origins. I’m a bit confused like will they get back up again?

Right so back to origins and more of “Sam is utterly terrible at this” because I was level 4 and the next story quest was marked as level 5. So I was trying to level up and I went to this area which had the objective of “looting 3 treasures” and so I was running around killing guards (and utterly failing at finding the treasures) and then somehow I wound up doing the story quest that I thought I was avoiding ??? I’m still not at all sure how I managed that. I was very confused because I thought I died at one point because I couldn’t take out these soldiers but then I think I wasn’t supposed to be able to so it wasn’t my incompetence after all? I was tied up and in a cutscene after so probably not my fault.

This is definitely a “go slow” game with all the cutscenes and voice acting and (in Odyssey) conversations with dialogue options. I don’t mind that. I play Warcraft in a very “goal-orientated” way. I’m going after X achievement, or Y drop or I’m levelling Z character etc. This go slow approach is much more how I play Swtor (and man I’ve forgotten about that game again oops).

Despite having it on the easiest of easy modes I’m still confused about where I should put my points. I should probably google to make sure I’m not making life hard for myself. It was easier with Fallen Order as ultimately it didn’t matter as you can unlock them all whereas I don’t think that’s true in AC. Gear at least is easy enough, if it’s green ^ then I use it, if it’s red v then I stick with what I’m wearing. The quest system is still a bit ??? to me because there are these hostile areas on the map which appear when I enter them, and have objectives, but aren’t quests in my log.

There’s a day and night cycle which indicates time passing but I don’t know if that’s important. In Odyssey this character wants these bandits taken care of ‘today’ but I’m hoping that still means I can do it when I’m ready.

Basically I’m just bumbling about. I don’t quite understand how to use the eagle. I think I’m supposed to spot objectives with it but I’m not quite sure how. That would probably be useful to know because I never did find any of those treasures I was looking for when I accidentally the story quest /eyeroll. I just googled and apparently I turn in the direction of yellow until it all goes yellow and then focus. So I’ll try that!

Anyway it’s a very shiny game. I like the historical aspect. It’s a cool world to run around in. My incompetence sucks a bit because I don’t like feeling like I’m bumbling about, it detracts from the immersion. However, the real issue is my commitment. I’m great at starting games – terrible at finishing them. I have lots laying around unplayed for months at a time. The only game I play regularly is Warcraft and I guess that’s time investment enough on it’s own.

So I can’t guarantee when (or if) I’ll ever finish AC Origins or Odyssey but for the moment they are getting a thumbs up 🙂