Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s launch trailer puts a knife to fate’s throat

We’ve already seen enough footage of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey to fill several epic poems, but that hasn’t stopped Ubisoft from releasing a new trailer in anticipation of the game’s launch next week.

The video is framed around a rather literal confrontation between fate and choice, as protagonists Alexios/Kassandra bring their respective blades to the throat of a blind old prophet, as he waffles on about how the Gods have spoken and you’ll never leave your home and probably lots of other old person things like steam-trains. 

In terms of actual game footage, there’s not a whole lot in here that’s new, presumably because Ubisoft has already shown most of what it wants to. Instead the first half of the video mostly involves Alexios and Kassandra looking longingly into pleasant vistas, while the second half is all stabbing and doing “This is Sparta” style cliff-kicks.

I passed on Assassin’s Creed: Origins last year, because by that point I’d reached Mister Creosote levels of saturation with the franchise. Then it turned out to be the best game in the series since Black Flag, so I’m keen to rectify last year’s error and get stuck in with Ubisoft’s Grecian adventure.

Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey releases next Friday. Let’s hope its emphasis on choices and descent into myth proves sufficient to differentiate it from last year’s entry.