'Assassin’s Creed Odyssey' Could Be Going to Ancient Greece, Without Bayek
If I can't kick someone down a well, I'll be very disappointed.
Take off your tinfoil hats, Assassin’s Creed fans. Speculations about where and when the series will go next have been circulating for months, but a new leak strongly suggests it will be set in Ancient Greece.
French gaming site JeuxVideo-Live reported that the upcoming game is titled Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, and they have a leaked promotional keychain to back it up. The keychain is a miniature of the famous Corinthian helmet associated with hoplites. These rumors have also been corroborated by several other outlets including Comic Book and Kotaku.
However, this possible confirmation still comes as a bit of a surprise. Ancient Greece has been floated by fans as a possible setting for the series for months, but many expected the next game to be set in the Roman Empire. The latest game in the franchise, Assassin’s Creed: Origins, is set in Ptolemaic Egypt, specifically during the reigns of Cleopatra (Philopator, the famous one they drew all those portraits and wrote all those stories about) and Ptolemy XIII. In Origins, Bayek and his wife Aya create a clandestine organization called the Hidden Ones, the ancestral precursor of the Assassin Order.
During the game, Aya travels to Rome and recruits 40 senators to join the Hidden Ones who go on to assassinate Julius Caeasr. This led many fans to believe that the next Assassin’s Creed game would follow the Roman branch of Hidden Ones established in Origins.
Further details on Odyssey are sparse, but sources speaking to Kotaku claim that the game will introduce speech options during dialogue scenes. You’ll also be able to choose between a male or female protagonist, though it’s unclear whether this (or these) protagonists have established backstories or not.
Sadly, that probably means Bayek and Aya won’t be returning. If Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey is fastidiously true to its name, then it’s set shortly after the conclusion of the Trojan War, which means Bayek and Aya won’t be born for another thousand years.
Personally, as a longtime fan of the series, I’m holding out for an Assassin’s Creed game set in Korea.
Ubisoft presents at E3 2018 on June 11, 2018
