Went home for lunch and met the Amazon guy as he was walking up to the door to deliver my copy a day early!

Can't wait to break it open tonight!

I got 30 min of actual gameplay when I got home from work. I gotta say, my first impression was meh. It doesn't feel like an AC game at all. I didn't mind the new fight mechanics on ACO, but this is totally different. It feels like they've gone backwards with the graphics, Origins looked better than this. Maybe it will grow on me, but after a few minutes it lost all its excitement.

I got a couple hours in and have the same feelings on the graphics. Riding my horse up the mountain for one of the missions I turned on the cinematic camera and was pretty disappointed by the Northern Lights just being a stationary picture rather than dynamic like Origins' sky was but maybe that will change.

I felt the combat mechanics were pretty easy. I don't remember Odyssey that much but I like how the combat is and the locking on seems smoother...I just wish there was a way to flip 180 degrees to lock on someone behind you but I guess in real life you wouldn't know if someone was behind you in a melee(?).

I was mildly disappointed we didn't get a combat tutorial like Odyssey with Leonidas.

The story is a typical revenge arc so nothing that captivating but I immediately perked up when Sigurd came back from his journey with two assassins who were wearing their traditional white robes and the hidden blade sequence got me pretty excited too. I laughed at the joke about the assassins' accidents when Eivor decided to wear his on the outside of his arm

Overall I'm pretty excited since it feels like it's been forever since I've played an AC. I got bored pretty quickly with Odyssey I think because I spent all possible gaming time playing it instead of taking my time so I'll split this one with CoD still.

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I gotta say, my first impression was meh. It doesn't feel like an AC game at all.

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Pretty much exactly my thoughts as well. I've only played about 3-4 hours but I admit I'm a little disappointed. This far into Origins and Odyssey I was completely immersed. Plan to really get into it this evening and I expect to be pleasantly surprised.

Picked it up for PS4. I'll dedicate the evening to this and see how it goes. TBH, if the game isn't that great, it will make it easier to drop it in a month to play Cyberpunk (being optimistic about that release date)

Just bought it. You playing chick Viking, dude Viking or both?

Played for a few hours tonight. It seems perfectly fine, so far. However, my biggest complaint is during the larger fights. The camera zooms out so freaking far I can't see what the person I'm fighting is doing. Makes it so hard to block and dodge when I can't see their arm movements. I wish there was a way to keep the camera from zooming out so far.

I was really interested in this one for the Series X... 4K / 60 all day. Then I found out the campaign was 60+ hours long. Ain't nobody got time for that!

I got watch dogs instead...the ray tracing is pretty cool!

That's a feature, not a bug. Looooove how long AC games are.

Played a little last night. It seems like they have basically just made the Witcher with Vikings. Which I totally dig.

Feels nothing like an AC game.

I'm about 7-8 hours into the game now. Over into England and just starting to establish and grow Ravensthorpe and the game has grown on me immensely since starting.

The fighting style is different from past AC games and the switch from controller to MnK isn't nearly as intuitive for me yet, but the game is absolutely gorgeous on PC. The revamped looting and quest structuring is a definite plus and I've spent the majority of my time just roaming around synchronizing, treasure hunting, and mead guzzling.

Feels like I'm right at the top of the rollercoaster climb and am about to pitch over and start heading way down into the rabbit hole for hours and hours on this game. Can't wait!

Feels exactly like the last 2 games but slower paced

YNWA_AG said:

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Feels exactly like the last 2 games but slower paced

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Disagree. Loved the last two games. This feels more like the witcher than AC.

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This feels more like the witcher than AC.

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Definitely what the fighting feels like to me. Not sure how much of that is MnK versus controller on my end.

The fighting and movement definitely feels like there's more weight, ala the Witcher.

I still hate how it zooms out so far on larger fights. Hopefully, my incoming 85" TV will help with that.

Super duper slow burn, but honestly I'm enjoying it.

Yes, there's a lot of mindless fetch questing, but the game has so much freaking single player content. In the MOBA/BR world we live in, that's a positive rarity for me.

I just feel like the personal storylines in Origins and Odyssey were quicker in ratcheting up the stakes, while the personal story here what looks to be a growing distrust and jealousy between Eivor and Sigurd, though I could be off - I'm only as far as finishing Grantbridgescire is simmering at a slower pace. If it pays off, not gonna complain.

I don't enjoy the fighting camera at all, though. Way too zoomed out for me. The mechanics themselves are solid though.

I've got 8 hrs in now, and the fighting is better, I guess I'm just really disappointed with the graphics. I was expecting something like Origins/Odyssey, but got AC3.

I guess I'm not seeing what others are seeing with graphics. I think they look great and would not put Odyssey over this one in that department...

Looking to see if there is improvement on PS5, when that arrives.

I'm with you. Maybe the early hours in Norway were a bit underwhelming being mainly desolate snow, but the scenery and everything in England is gorgeous.

Yeah, I was going to ask if the setting itself might be causing some of the graphics complaints. It's really just tough to beat the Med setting of Odyssey as far as picturesque-ness goes.

I think Norway is absolutely gorgeous, and loved the snow mechanics.

Last night, I just arrived in England. The water mechanics and scenery on the sail through the river was beautiful.

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The water mechanics and scenery on the sail through the river was beautiful.

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The first time my eye caught the little gust of wind rippling the topwater on the river, I got a little erect.

Yeah I noticed that running through snow ice builds up on Eivors legs, and was really impressed.

IJones23 said:

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I've got 8 hrs in now, and the fighting is better, I guess I'm just really disappointed with the graphics. I was expecting something like Origins/Odyssey, but got AC3.

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It looks incredible on my pc.

Have just over 11 hours logged and won my first ally.

So far, I can't see what people are thinking when they say it doesn't look amazing. I have nothing but good things to say about the looks of the game.

I still do not like how far the camera zooms out during combat. That makes it hard to see attacks when parrying, especially those dumbass spearmen. That is by far the most frustrating thing about this game and I hope they hear a lot of feedback on it to change it.

I really like the leveling system in this game. Instead of leveling up after a while and choosing a perk, you level up very fast and get 2 skill points each level. These trees are huge and each node on the 3 main skill trees adds a little bit of power in various attributes as you work your way to certain perks. This is the first time I've seen something like this, and I like it a lot. Allows you to feel like you are constantly getting better but it is not overbearing.

The movement and fighting definitely feels "heavier", to me. I like the combat and blocking mechanics because it makes each enemy an actual fight. Just fix the camera thing, and it would be good.

I am still trying to decide whether I like the fact that equipment is harder to find and it is more about upgrading equipment. I like that mechanic; however, I really enjoy finding loot. That was something I wasn't expecting when I started playing Odyssey for the first time and I loved the reveal. I just love finding random loot on enemies or in chests that can be upgrades.

Lastly, I love the skill "click-check" Assassinate mechanic on powerful enemies. I have the sneak setting where it is easier for enemies to spot me, so it is harder to sneak around. However, if you can manage to sneak up to a powerful enemy, it also allows you to one shot them. This is much more realistic and immersive, imo.

Just got my second alliance done. Really liking it so far, might surpass Black Flag as my favorite one.

Biggest dislike so far is I did have my first crash yesterday, which erased like an hour and a half of play I had gone through. I've been manually saving since then like crazy.

Anyone playing on the XB1? I was thinking of picking it up.

I haven't played any of the previous AC games but want something that looks great to play through on my Series X. Is this worth diving into if I don't have any of the background story from the previous installments?

Like all the recent AC games, the vast majority of the game is disconnected from previous entries. There is a small section that continues an overarching story but it's not likely critical to enjoying the game for most people (I say that as someone that loved the overarching story from the early days of the franchise and wish it hadn't taken such a small role).

WES2006AG said:

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I haven't played any of the previous AC games but want something that looks great to play through on my Series X. Is this worth diving into if I don't have any of the background story from the previous installments?

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Yes, you will probably like it more than those who have played most/all of the games.

Really enjoying it so far. Plays a lot like Odyssey IMO.

I got my 3rd alliance before leaving on vacation. Loving the game so far, still haven't been able to beat a zealot yet

For saying it feels like Witcher that makes me all the more intrigued about getting this! Is it really a Witcher feeling AC? Sounds like best of both worlds to me.

Yes, I'd go as far to say that the Witcher influences started back with AC Origins