Red Dead Redemption 2 vs. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey: Which Is Better?
Story
Assassin’s Creed’s science-fiction storyline has never been its most popular feature. In fact, story in general really hasn’t been its forte since perhaps the beloved Ezio trilogy. Last year, with Origins, Ubisoft was looking to solve the issue by hitting the reboot button on the modern-day storyline, and now Odyssey has taken things a step further. The Templar/Assassin narrative is out the window, with a new tale that only briefly grounds itself in the series’ wider lore.
Again, though, nobody outside of the hardcore fanbase is really going to be interested in the particular aspect of the story. Importantly, Odyssey’s actual historic storyline is really compelling, and both main characters are much better written than Origins. That quality of that writing permeates into all of its dozens of side quests and interactions beyond just the main story arc. That said, some of the character motivations change a little too suddenly for our tastes.
Despite the improvements to the series’ capacity for storytelling, however, it doesn’t measure up to Red Dead Redemption 2. Rockstar Games’ latest epic has impressed us immensely with its narrative qualities. The overall story is just so gripping, and we love how this prequel explores the backstories of characters previously alluded to or seen only in passing. In fact, there’s something to be said about how knowing how the gang ends up, and for that matter, the entire “Wild West,” almost makes the whole story more intriguing. Throughout the playthrough, we’re all just waiting for that downfall to begin, fascinated to see how it will come to pass.
In terms of the writing, it’s hard to think of a game with better and more convincing characters than Red Dead Redemption 2. This is Naughty Dog-levels of storytelling but spread across a giant, immersive sandbox. Yet that scale never upsets the pacing for too long.
Winner: Red Dead Redemption 2
