If Assassin's Creed Origins began the slow transition to a new era of gameplay and storytelling for the AAA Ubisoft franchise, then Assassin's Creed Odyssey turns up the speed and takes only the best parts of the original series with it into its brave new world. With the introduction of dialogue choices and the next evolution of combat and RPG mechanics for assassins, Odyssey cements itself as something entirely new for Ubisoft and Assassin's Creed. So, is that a good thing or not?

Assassin's Creed Odyssey starts out by allowing players to select between playing as Kassandra or Alexios, which is the first of many choices gamers will be making as they progress through the main and side quests. Ubisoft goes all in with the dialogue wheel and gives the player agency over both the protagonist's attitude and how they react to pivotal choices. Surprisingly, many of these have serious impacts, even when they don't seem like they might. Using compassion to allow a sick family to stay in their home or neglecting to Spartan kick an enemy off a ledge will alter the way that both the personal and grander stories play out down the road. The impact of player choice isn't just limited to decisions made with the dialogue tree either.

Whether the player takes a stealthy approach or goes in knives swinging can change the story, as well. For example, on occasion the player can anger a faction by revealing themselves with a flashy fight, which could lead to trouble for either them or the questgiver in the near future. This makes for a very interesting dynamic that helps make the ancient setting feel more alive and real than ever before. In general, the decision-making abilities work incredibly well and help increase immersion in the title, but there is a slight price for all that talking.

Although we love all of the chances to flirt, many portions of Odyssey feel plagued by lengthy cutscenes, which are made even longer by the back and forth between the player and the NPCs to get additional details about motives, location, etc. Some RPG fans are sure to love this addition, but it seems to channel BioWare more in a Star Wars: The Old Republic way than a Mass Effect or Dragon Age way. This problem is perhaps made slightly worse by playing in the new Exploration Mode. This option removes some markers from the map and forces players to chat more with NPCs to get clues about where a particular person or item is located. As expected, this leads to a lot more chatter, which may make the game's pace feel a little too slow for some fans. Luckily, players can easily switch back to Guided Mode in the menu, which will revert to a more traditional Assassin's Creed map and quest system.

Outside of cutscenes, the game's combat and leveling system take center stage. There are three talent trees, inventory, armor, and a combat boat to manage; which make the experience a bit of a dream for gamers who love to max out bars and upgrade everything possible. Although the core story can be finished in about 40 hours, players could spend dozens more completing bounties and additional challenges to earn the resources and Ability Points needed to get all of the best skills, armor, and upgrades.

In this sense, Odyssey feels more like an RPG than ever before. Players can spend time earning particular pieces of gear and then go to a Blacksmith and spend resources to engrave them for special perks and rewards. It's possible to fly through the main storyline and mostly ignore these features, but their inclusion is sure to adds hours of grind and enjoyment for players looking to stick with the game longer than the end credits.

Even the game's combat requires a bit more patience and study than the franchise usually encourages. The heavy armor and large shields that both Athenian and Spartan soldiers wield can't easily be button mashed through. Players need to take their time and master parries, blocks, and shield smashes in order to actually do any damage to enemies. This can be a little frustrating in the early hours of the game, especially before enough Ability points have been unlocked to gain some much-needed help, but in the long run makes for some very compelling and intense encounters.

On the other side of the coin, Odyssey has a lot going on and it's possible that the many different objectives and mechanics can become overwhelming. In addition to managing inventory and skills; players are also recruiting NPCs for their crew and tracking down down mercenaries from a menu that is reminiscent of the Shadow of War Nemesis system. In some ways it feels like a ton of different ingredients are being thrown into the pot in Odyssey, but for the most part, the end result is still surprisingly tasty.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey gets off to a bit of a slow start with a lengthy tutorial island that introduces the many mechanics and features to players. Gamers who manage to make it through that grind will discover a massive open-world map full of naval combat, treasures, and RPG gameplay loops. The best part of Odyssey is just how much it allows players to invest in their interests. Love to sneak? Stick to the Assassin talent tree and stay out of sight. Want to sail around recruiting soldiers and sinking enemy boats? There's a big ocean out there for you to explore, as well.

Fans who arrive at Odyssey expecting the Assassin's Creed experience they grew up with may be disappointed or confused, but gamers ready for a new era for the franchise should plan to be overwhelmed with opportunity.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey will release on October 5, 2018 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, with some pre-order versions available 3 days earlier. Game Rant was provided a PS4 code for this review.