I had not seen a conversation about this, not that I did anything but used the unbelievably bad forum search, so I thought I'd just post my thoughts on this game.

First, it's a great game if you have a method to play it then I heavily encourage it. I play it on Xbox, but there's the first problem.

On Xbox, and I am sure everywhere else, the game will not allow you to play unless you have a Ubisoft Connect account or disconnect from the internet. Well, that was a no brainer. That said, the Xbox One X and base are both finicky and sometimes do stupid things like won't let you play your games on fist attempt w/out internet, won't play ball with your captures, and other annoying things I have gotten used to.

Next, the controls are something I had to get used to. Remapping the controls is an exercise in futility, do not even bother and I mean it. For example, the sword attack is right bumper. That is a little awkward on Xbox, but R1 is fine for Playstation but not here. So, I remap it to X... but, there are many button combos like X + Left Bumper that make that impractical, besides X is the dodge/dash button. Oh well, I did manage to get past the odd controls.

Onto the good. The game, on Xbox One X anyway, looks absolutely fantastic. It is one of a few games I was impressed with on the 8th gen systems. Music is also very good. Same with the writing, for the most part. About half the jokes (and this is a jokey/lighthearted game) land pretty well and are funny, the other half range from meh to amusing. That said, that's actually not bad. The acting is also pretty much good all around. Worth pointing out, I think I am a little more than halfway through the game. Art style is really good, at least to me. Lots of popping colors and well handled character designs.

The way the game handles Greek Mythology is not anywhere near as dumb as God of War 2 or 3. The world feels like an amusement park of the mythology with areas dedicated to the different deities (Aphrodite, Athena, Ares, and Hephaistos with appearances by Zeus, Prometheus, and Hermes so far and I think that is all really since Typhon is not really a deity.). Speaking of game world, it really is a lot like Breath of the Wild, my favorite game of 2017 (and I played Witcher 3 that year. Also, BotW is my favorite game in a very long time on top of that.), which is a good thing. It is not so similar, if you ask me, as to be a copy as it is a little more streamlined in some ways (four potions mapped to the D-pad for healing, attack buffs, defense buffs, and stamina/mana if you will instead of a ton of food and elixirs and potions throughout pages of inventory). The combat is also very different, more like Kingdoms of Amalor except unlike either KoA or BotW the weapons are upgradable as classes and do not break. The action is actually pretty fast paced and while not too hard it can get difficult before it gets more and more manageable (I think the game is easier than BotW).

Exploration offers constant rewards to upgrade your capabilities or equipment with a constant stream of fresh enemy encounters or puzzles to be solved, challenges to be overcome, or just resources to be gathered. The game does not feel like a watered down RPG nor like an overburdened action adventure title like other RPGs tend to. It's a little hard to describe but it feels much better to me than any other Ubisoft game of the past decade or so (the last really good Ubi games I enjoyed I think were Red Steel 2 and Prince of Persia Forgotten Sands on Wii) such as Far Cry 3, Assassin's Creed Origins or Odyssey (which is too bad, I really was looking forward to that one but it just seems so tedious with the poor handling of RPG elements and progression.). I should point out that the difficulty in the game is manageable but is not holding you by the hand at the beginning either. There are lots of annoying pop up reminders about upgrades but it won't ever help you on a puzzle or give hints that would turn the light bulb on for you.

If anything else comes to mind or if my impressions change I'll post them but just know it is like BotW but does not feel like a re-hash or a clone and really is its own beast. On the other side, I keep forgetting Ubisoft made this game which is a very good thing to me. It is absolutely stable, I have had a single crash in 41hrs of gameplay which is bizarre for them. My brother is perpetually aggravated by Ghost Recon or AC because of poor progression management, poor level design, and most importantly technical SNAFUs (Watch Dogs, don't think I forgot you). None of the game world feels like filler, it all feels actually designed by someone making something fun to explore (the Witcher lacked for that in most the game world if you ask me) and nothing feels wasted, at least not yet.

If you like Ancient Greece or Greek Mythology games my favorites include Titan Quest, Age of Mythology, and Fires of War (Mount & Blade mod). Other good ones include Rome Total War (obviously, Rome eclipses Greece), Rise of the Argonauts, and the original God of War.

It's pretty much the only new Ubi game in years that has any appeal to me. Too bad I absolutely loath their shit UPlay service to which the game is tied.

I played the free demo on Stadia. It looks and plays nice but not my cup of tea.

Since I said in that opening post that if anything else comes to mind I would make a post about it, so I am.

Since I have access to a Series X I threw this game in (which is mercifully small compared to most other games on the system) to see if it was different. Yes, it is in that the performance is better and the resolution, details, and clarity are either the same or better. Not enough over the One X, if you ask me, to justify the upgrade if this game is a prime consideration for such a decision. If, however, you wanted one anyway then it's a good game to throw on there. The game still is not the flashiest game but I think that what it does do visually is better than if it tried too hard with more realistic visuals or cramming even more fancy tricks on screen.

The only true gripe I have for the final hours of the game (the final five or so I spent almost exclusively on the final area) are wasted somewhat on a limiting and unfun snow capped mountain. It limits your abilities due to the constant presence of cold spots which zaps you stamina if you wander too far off, or before you prepare a torch or brazier or something. It's not ugly scenery, per se, in this area, but it is the worst in the game and the narrative takes a bit of a crawl due to the slog of trekking up the mountain.

If I think of anything else I'll try to post it but in the end the game is fantastic and was perhaps the best game released in 2020, which was not hard to do if you ask me. The final area is a pain but not enough to harm the overall impression I have of the game.

this is a very good game , yeah easily one of the best of the last year
quests are different even if there are 3-4 categories they fall into , but they usually require puzzle solving some are really smartly done
the fight is good too plenty of move times to chose from

the narration is good too , yeah it has the typical goofyness of current decade , but it has not activism in it , so no lame lefty slogans that ruin most of the movie series lately, and no token characters , very good choice from the devs

just buy it i think it is on sale atm

Ubisoft ......

The game certainly piqued an interest, but the whole Ubisoft connection was too strong to ultimately consider a purchase.
(Kena, Bridge of Spirits has in that regard a far better chance of ending up in my library at a certain point)

Your comment about 'best game of 2020' made me look through the 2020 purchases and, it seems, i find it hard to recommend any. 2020 seemed to be more of a tactics/strategy year,at least to me, let's not forget about the big titles such as Horizon and Cyberpunk though. 2019 is in the action/rpg department far more interesting with titles such as Operancia or Wildermyth, EA faring strong with Jedi, Fallen Order, Anthem and Heat. Anthem might be something nice to try if you can get the game discounted, i had a lot of fun playing solo through the storyline and seems to be a nice match with an XboX.

The purchase of an (extra) console, to play the more action minded titles in stunning 2k, has crossed my mind but it seems my own *coughs* adult gaming behavior votes against such a purchase. Both in 2019 and 2020 a Total War game ended on top the list most hours spend and 2021 seems to be no different with indie titles such as Himeko Sutori or Star Sector taking up a lot of time. It seems i'm better off with a RTX 4060 at decent msrp somewhere to be bought in the following three years then creating another dust gathering point on the desk.

and to end back on topic.
Canadians are just to advanced for the rest of the world, hence the gathering of all those studio's in Canada so, I would recommend anyone who's not pursuing a professional life in the gaming sector to keep away from Canadian developed games even, and i mean even! if those offers seem to be an exact match for you, or yours truly.

Not sure we needed a topic about a game which will never come here. But anyways, yes it is a good game, Assassins Creed aimed at a younger market. The end I agree is just a slog and annoying which is a shame. I did encounter one major issue, when I rescued the phoenix (which I didn’t do until well into the game), after that it started to crash regularly. Otherwise yes a good game sadly destroyed on pc by uplay (which you don’t get on PS) like all Ubisoft games.

The game looks nice and the combat looks sweet but I just know that the many puzzles in the game would annoy me to no end so I think I will pass. But nice to see Ubi try something new and a little different.