One of the biggest games from 2018 was Assassins Creed Odyssey, with its vast array of islands, cities, and nature to explore. Even the main quest line leaves most of the map undiscovered. That being said, Kassandra or Alexios visits many places in their travels but some are more memorable than others.
Let’s take a look at some of the best and worst locations in the game. This is based on uniqueness, how fun they are to explore, and how they look. Keep in mind that this game is huge that some favorites may not make it on the list.
10 Best: Korinthia
The Temple of Aphrodite overlooks a gorgeous city of Korinth, a place filled with serene pink trees. It’s something special to be walking around Korinth with Aphrodite constantly looking over you from the peak above. One of the best parts of Odyssey is the enormous statues that can be found throughout the world. Korinthia features a beg Medusa head and Poseidon raising his trident out of the water. It’s also a good mix of city and nature with few barren areas. So take a hike through Korinthia and have Aphrodite watching over you. Hopefully some stupid soldiers won’t decide to interrupt your serenity.
9 Terrible: Keos
Keos is a lawless pirate island. Sometimes a governing body is necessary to build valuable cities and locations because Keos has nothing. There is one run-down village, but it is not very big or unique. It’s like a wannabe Assassin’s Creed Black Flag location. Keos does have a lion statue atop a mountain, but it’s not big enough to be a worthy spectacle. Don’t worry — if you want to explore an enemy camp with one tent and a few destroyed buildings, then Keos is for you. The hanging corpses make for a nice welcoming party as well.
8 Best: Phokis
The small city of Lalaia, hidden in the mountains, is an ideal meditation spot. It exudes peacefulness. There is a massive waterfall that creates numerous ponds of water and a steady river that flows throughout the city. The Sanctuary of Delphi is another great location within Phokis that is overrun by statues of soldiers and features a nice looking amphitheater.
The wonders of Phokis don’t end in the cities, though; there is a lot of wildland to explore. Some of the places to discover are in the Valley of the Snakes where you’ll find the skeleton remains of a giant snake and the giant tomb of Tityos. Phokis truly has everything.
7 Terrible: Malis
Malis features an endless supply of trees and one fishing village. That’s about it. The location is largely empty with very little landmarks. There is a lot of wildlife and some warriors who live off the wilderness. They like to use bow and arrows and befriend animals but are mostly a nuisance. The most fun you’ll have is getting your horse stuck on some trees. There might be some stone pillars to look at along the way. There is not much else to do.
6 Best: Lesbos
We are done with the beautiful places. Lesbos is an ugly place, at least in the game, but that’s what makes it so unique. The draw of Lesbos is its creepy atmosphere and the monster skulking on the island.
Everyone on Lesbos is afraid of the Petrified Temple, where people are forced to live a life encased in stone. It’s a place filled with fire, burnt down trees, and the stench of death. Of course, Medusa resides inside this dark place. Lesbos is a place unlike any other in Odyssey, where the island’s lore drives the exploration.
5 Terrible: Chios
Chios is like a filler episode. It doesn’t offer anything new in terms of exploration. It is the average Odyssey offering of small villages, some wilderness, small mountains, and empty beaches. There is not much to say because the island does not give a lot. Chios is an example of Odyssey’s overdependence of quantity over quality. It adds another location to explore but the content is not fun. The island’s only quality is making the map bigger, which isn’t necessarily a good thing.
4 Best: Messara
Messara is a callback to Assassin’s Creed Origins. It’s one of the only locations that has a dessert environment, which is refreshing when most of the game is filled with forest-like settings. Its uniqueness, when compared to the rest of the game, gives it some credit. The Labyrinth of Lost Souls, hidden within an abandoned village, makes Messara even better. This village is destroyed but calls out for exploration. It’s similar to an ancient village from a game like Uncharted — you just know it has many secrets.
3 Terrible: Makedonia
Makedonia suffers for many of the same reasons as Malis. It’s a large area of nothingness. It has three peninsulas that have nothing on them except for one viewpoint. There are no camps to take over, no small villages, and no one to talk to. When you first get to Makedonia, you would expect to find something at the end of the peninsulas. Nope, you just waste time traveling down them. Makedonia simply offers one destroyed village without any history. The one nice part about it is getting on a tall mountain to look over the peninsulas. It’s a great example of the graphical powerhouse that is Odyssey.
2 Best: Attika
Attica is home to Athens, one of the most historically popular locations, and the game does the famous city justice. The Acropolis is a marvel to look at in real life and in the game. It overlooks Athens and is simply jaw-dropping both up close and far away. Athens is also the biggest city in Assassin’s Creed and the accurate portrayal would make any history major proud. The city is alive and bustling with numerous NPCs doing their daily tasks. This is definitely one location that had to be done right (for a game about ancient Greece) and Ubisoft nailed it.
1 Terrible: Lakonia
Lakonia or Sparta is discussed throughout the game. Players see Sparta’s presence throughout the world and its influence is massive. Events at Sparta are also the foundation for the story. This location was built up throughout the whole game but players don’t reach it until near the end of the main story. It would be a decent location if it didn’t have so much to live up to.
It epitomizes the ideals of Sparta well with massive statues of soldiers and NPCs training in the background. It may be a somewhat accurate portrayal but is ultimately disappointing with how small the location actually is. It was like finally reaching New Vegas in Fallout: New Vegas only to have one strip with a couple of buildings to explore. The location is not outright bad but it did not live up to the hype as Athens did.
