Review: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey: The Fate of Atlantis – Episode 1

The fate of Númenor

Atlantis is pretty much a universally beloved myth: its splendor going back centuries at a time. The motif of an advanced civilization that flew too close to the sun (another Greek parable) is not only mysterious but relatable, as humanity often fears becoming victims of their own success and always enjoys a good cautionary tale. Stories of Atlantean origin have been adapted by pretty much every media arm in existence, from Warner Bros., to Disney, to Lord of the Rings author J. R. R. Tolkien.

You can also add Ubisoft to that lengthy list.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – The Fate of Atlantis: Fields of Elysium (PC, PS4, Xbox One [reviewed])
Developer: Ubisoft Quebec
Publisher: Ubisoft
Released: April 23, 2019
MSRP: $24.99 for all three chapters; $39.99 for the season pass

I’ll refrain from spoiling the main plot of Odyssey here, but suffice to say if you’re reading this and saw the title, you know that Atlantis exists in this world. The gist is that you’re meeting all of the pseudo-mytho concepts of the Assassin’s Creed series and actual scholars head-on in Elysium, a “simulation” of the real thing from Aletheia, an Isu (basically the Gods of the AC universe). Yes, it’s basically an Animus within an Animus.

Amazingly, you now have the chance to create-a-character and pick up at the DLC directly. I can’t stress how much of a quality-of-life upgrade this is, as I frequently ran into people who just wanted to jump into the first premium add-on, Legacy of the First Blade, and couldn’t until they fulfilled some semi-late-game requirements. Not only is this newly birthed character Atlantis-ready, but it’s high enough level (52) to knock out Legacy and most endgame content. Of course, you can use your character so long as you’ve finished the “Heir of Memories” questline. If you use the shortcut, don’t get too excited. The guy from the A-ha video isn’t going to immediately grab your hand and take you into the wild world of Elysium: you need to do some open-world work first.

Once you’re in, you’re in. Elysium is a paradise, a new hub to explore. Your magical horse can be summoned whenever you want as you traipse across a small, but full-of-life circular map. The first episode is a satisfying who’s who of Greek mythology, and you’ll have plenty of up-close and personal run-ins with famous Gods, humans, and beasts alike, in a thankfully non-hokey way. Your ultimate goal is to wrestle control of Elysium from its master through several open-ended objectives (killing overseers, taking down locations or objects) bookended by cutscenes.

It’s pretty much exactly the kind of thing I want from an Assassin’s Creed DLC. Give me a new sandbox to play around with, more toys, and extra puzzles to best, and I’m alright. Soldiers with magic powers and metal-men are a nice break from the tired enemy archetypes of Odyssey proper (which most of us have seen for around 100 hours so far, if you’ve done everything), and still maintain that measured, satisfying humanoid combat feel. The chance to open up four wacky magic powers also beats the hell out of the single ability (that may or may not even gel with your character’s build) doled out in the previous DLCs.

My only real hangup is that some best bits of Elysium are segmented by a teleportation device, which brings you up to an acropolis-like area towering above the rest of the map. But given that you can easily just jump down from them and back into the fray (read: it’s all still connected in the end) and there’s other underground locations thrown in the mix, it’s a small compromise.

Legacy of the First Blade was a fine questline, but often relied too heavily on nostalgia while making liberal use of the existing world map. Fate of Atlantis by comparison actually feels like a premium creation while forging its own identity: it requires no caveat, it builds on Odyssey. This isn’t something I’m cautiously optimistic for, I’m ready to dive into the rest with both feet.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}