Assassin's Creed Odyssey The Fate of Atlantis Xbox One X Review

Assassin Creed Odyssey's first expansion, Legacy of the First Blade, delivered an adequate campaign with new characters while also connecting Alexios/Kassandra to the entire franchise. But the DLC was criticized for using the same areas already explored in the core campaign with little variety. The Fate of Atlantis does the opposite, providing 3 new worlds to explore teeming with rewards, unique boss encounters, and actual Gods. All leading up to a great ending for either Alexios or Kassandra but leaving Layla's journey unfulfilling. The Fate of Atlantis is an incredible journey through unique lands as you learn more about the Staff of Atlantis.

The Fate of Atlantis has Alexios heading into the afterlife in search of answers about the Staff of Atlantis. Aletheia, a god-like being known as an Isu, decides to provide context about the Staff for both Layla and Alexios through visions. Each one taking Alexios to a different realm where he'll interact with gods to learn about the Staff's powers, his destiny, and maybe see some old friends.

The narratives for each episode has a specific theme such as order, chaos, and judgment. With a central figure pushing the story forward and Alexios caught in the middle. These narratives each have branching paths that yield different results but most of the decisions are isolated to that specific episode. Some characters will bring up your past arrangements in future episodes but the consequences of those choices never manifest.

Most of the missions throughout each of the episodes play out similar to the core campaign. You'll kill key targets, take on errands, and perform busy work in the way of gathering points to progress the story. What reduces the frustration of these types of missions is the locations. Whether its flowery fields of Elysium, the sulfur pits of the Underworld, or massive city of Atlantis. Each realm has a distinct environment that amplifies the tone of the episode. Exploring and uncovering secrets of each area are encouraged as it yields special weapons and gear.

What truly shines in The Fate of Atlantis is the boss battles. Most of the boss encounters are recycled enemies with increased health and damage but the unique fights stand out. Whether it's facing Ceberuos in Torment of Hades or a god in Fields of Elysium. These encounters are not for the faint of heart and will test the player's preparation, loadout, and combat skills.

The traditional set of enemies you'll encounter are not copy and pasted from the core campaign. Here, you'll fight a wide selection of new enemies capable of shooting beams of light, draining your Adrenaline, and much more. These new enemies provide an extra challenge, especially in large encounters. 

The biggest vexation with The Fate of Atlantis comes in the modern period. During specific sections, you'll play Layla as she relives this period and interacts with her comrades. The events that play out start strong and slowly build-up to the point you expect a great cliffhanger but it never happens. Instead, Layla's story fumbles and takes a nosedive at the end of the adventure. Whereas Alexios gets the answers he wants, Layla's journey will leave you annoyed.

The Fate of Atlantis is a great improvement from Legacy of the First Blade. Providing a varied selection of areas to explore, items to earn, and enemies to defeat. With each episode adding 2-hours worth of story content alone and about 1-hour of optional missions. You'll leave The Fate of Atlantis with more powerful items and a better understanding of Alexios' heritage but Layla won't have the same treatment. With her adventure feeling painfully underwhelming after building up for something big.
 

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
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