Ubisoft is the McDonalds of developers. All of their games are good, but never exciting. Occasionally they have a very good offering (Assassins Creed: Origins), but at the end of the day most of their products are very similar. This is generally fine, but I want something more out of them. I did not get something more with this press conference. But I did get to see a ton of games that I’ll probably enjoy playing, so I guess that’ll do.

Hold on just a second… As I typed that first little bit up, I realized that this show started with Beyond Good and Evil 2. THIS is what I wanted. I didn’t play the 1^st game, but boy do I want to play this. The trailer, which featured a massive space ship and a cast of detailed, zany characters was immediately entrancing. It was weird but not stupid, and the sense of expansiveness it invoked was genuinely powerful. Many discussions about outer space that I was a part of throughout the physics classes of my undergraduate degree evoked a very specific feeling – a twitchy anxiety because the sense of scale is truly impossible to comprehend. Very rarely do I see settings in games or movies that can evoke even a fraction of that feeling, but this trailer did just that. This narrative RPG (with coop possibilities) is something that I cannot wait to see more of, and the setting and aesthetic were extremely impressive to me.

I continue to be impressed by Ubisoft’s support of their existing titles. Rainbow Six: Siege, For Honor and Mario and Rabids all had significant stage time, and the new content they are introducing seems relevant and interesting. I really find it fascinating that two games that did poorly (at least in terms of perception) when released (in Siege and For Honor) seem to have dedicated, active communities. Super cool to see that Ubi’s outstanding support can raise games up to being far better than they have any right to be.

Skull and Bones looks beautiful. The ships look dingy and menacing, and the pirates themselves all have a distinct character to them. The customization of the ship’s sails, wheel and other facets was genuinely appealing to me. Being able to have a ship that is truly my own is enticing, and really makes you wonder “What were the Sea of Thieves devs doing?” I hated the ship combat in the Assassins Creed series, so I was skeptical about what it would fell like here. Ship combat generally feels unresponsive, sluggish and boring compared to faster paced shooters, and while perhaps it’s me, not them, it’s not something that I’m looking for out of games. Fortunately, Skull and Bones looked snappier, the targeting reticles moved quickly and there seemed to be a wide array of attacks. Hopefully I get my own ship, so I don’t need to rally 3 other friends just to set sail. Speaking of rallying friends, the Division 2 certainly looks like more of the Division! As Destiny, The Division, Ghost Recon and many more have all come out in rapid succession, my interest in playing coop loot shooters is basically zero. That said, there is something attractive about the Division 2 that makes me care more than I should. Perhaps it’s just the beautiful environments?

While Ubi talked about tons of other stuff (Star Link, Trials, Crew 2) it’s about time I just say it – ASSASSINS CREED ODYSSEY IS GONNA BE AMAZING. Origins is a very good game. The setting felt rich and fresh, the combat was decent, and the gameplay loop was addictive and enjoyable. Also had some of the best writing in the series. Odyssey appears to be very similar to Origins, but now has more RPG elements including dialogue options. This is exactly what I want from a new AC game. Greece is an iconic setting for the series to move to, and if Odyssey is literally just Greek Origins with dialogue choices, I will play and love it. It was so vibrant and colourful too, a delight to look at.

Ubisoft put on a fun show with musicals performances, stupid banter, a motorcycle and lots of games. And it was good.

Aidan(@aiomon)

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