Assassin's Creed Odyssey will finally let you tinker with its auto-levelling
January brings two free quests, a new boss, and Aya.
The enormous and brilliant Assassin's Creed Odyssey will get even bigger this month via another round of free missions, another chapter of paid DLC, and some long-requested new features.
Those new features include the ability to tinker with the game's level scaling for the first time - the degree to which Odyssey levels up quests and enemies alongside you.
Odyssey is a vast RPG with hundreds of missions that can be tackled in any order - and which get tougher alongside you so they don't become out-levelled and worthless. But keeping everything challenging can slow the game and make it harder to feel the difference when you level up.
As of tomorrow (10th January), a new title update will add four options so you can vary level scaling to different degrees - with the caveats that things may become too easy, and rewards may drop at lower levels.
Other new features include fresh mercenary tiers and rewards, and a legendary blacksmith who can upgrade gear with two new levels of engravings. Fancy!
Onto the freebies - which include two new Lost Tales of Greece quests, a new Cyclops boss and Origins' fan-favourite Aya as an Adrestia lieutenant.
The next Lost Tales mission, Daughters of Lalaia, sees Kassandra (or Alexios, I suppose) training up a village whose menfolk have already left for battle. Ubisoft has dubbed it as a Greek version of the Seven Samurai, where your choices determine the fate of the village.
Later in the month you'll get A Poet's Legacy, where you can join in with a bard's risqué performances. Sounds like fun.
Another Cyclops boss - this one lives in a volcano - is on the way. He's level 50, so an end-game challenge, but beating him will reward you with his legendary hammer weapon.
And then there's Aya, available later this month as a free reward via Ubisoft Club. Her appearance means you can now reunite her and Bayek on board your ship - together again at last, sniff.
Paid-for things? There's some of that too. A couple of new cosmetic packs arrive in January, including the Dionysos pack (available now) which includes a ridable bull.
And most notable of all - the second story chapter in the Odyssey season pass: The Legacy of the First Blade - Episode 2: Shadow Heritage. It sounds like this one will focus more on naval gameplay, as you fight against an Order of the Ancient threat named The Tempest.
I found initial Legacy of the First Blade chapter enjoyable enough, although I'm waiting for its story to really kick into gear this episode with more of the relationship between Kassandra and Darius' son (or Alexios and Darius' daughter, I suppose) revealed.