Assassin’s Creed Odyssey presents extra participant freedom than every other game within the sequence, together with letting you steer your protagonist’s sexuality. As a characteristic, it was broadly praised, and Ubisoft have proudly marketed the game on how a lot it respects and reacts to participant freedom. Unfortunately, the newest chapter of the Legacy Of The First Blade DLC undermines this in favour of main the participant into an inescapable ‘canon’ heterosexual relationship. Understandably, some gamers are upset, to the purpose the place Ubisoft have issued an apology and a press release on the problem. Potential spoilers abound beneath.
While I’ll attempt to keep away from spoiling an excessive amount of (Eurogamer go into extra element here), in the course of the second episode of Legacy Of The First Blade, the game remembers that it’s bought that entire plot thread going about lineages and genetic reminiscence and even extraterrestrial bloodlines. In permitting Kassandra of Alexios to be as homosexual as they need, Ubisoft seem to have written themselves right into a nook, and their resolution is to your hero of option to cool down – albeit briefly – and have a child. That’s one heck of a twist, and a really main character alternative taken out of the participant’s arms.
Responding to Eurogamer’s questions on the problem, Ubisoft gave two statements, supplied right here collectively:
“We try to provide gamers alternative each time attainable in Odyssey and apologise to these stunned by the occasions on this episode. Without spoiling it, you’ll have interaction in an essential relationship as a part of a set story. The motivation behind this relationship is yours to discover in game and might be mirrored in your character’s story arc. There is one episode left in Legacy of the First Blade which can tie your character’s actions collectively.
We don’t wish to reveal an excessive amount of proper now, however we have now at all times tried to maintain the story inclusive of individuals of all sexual orientations, and gamers will be capable to select their motivations behind this explicit narrative relying on their sexual preferences. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey was developed by individuals of all sexual orientations, backgrounds, genders and beliefs, and we have now tried to mirror that throughout the game.”
While it’s good that they’ve acknowledged this revelation might have caught gamers unawares, I’m truthfully undecided what sort of quirk of writing might extricate them from between this rock and a tough place. The die is forged, and Alexios or Kassandra (whichever you performed) now has a baby. If their reply is that the kid was conceived totally out of necessity, that’s arguably even worse. Personally, I’d have resolved it with some historic cloning/gene-splicing gadget – voila, instantaneous child! If it’s adequate for Homestuck (I’m solely half joking), it’s adequate for Assassin’s Creed.
As Ubisoft say, there may be one other episode but to come back within the Legacy of The First Blade arc, adopted by a second three-episode run – The Fate Of Atlantis – to wrap issues up. Of course, that’s simply the paid DLC, included within the season move. Ubisoft’s free updates for the game have been impressive so far, together with a variety of new side-stories and several other mythic monsters to go searching.
