At E3 2018, Ubisoft closed its press conference off with a bang by officially announcing Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Not only did Ubisoft treat viewers to a sparkling cinematic video that introduces players to the game’s Greek setting, but the company also offered up a gameplay demo so that fans could see the game in all of its glory. Excitingly, this gameplay trailer offers players the first look at romance gameplay features.
At one point during the gameplay demo, player character Kassandra gets in a conversation with a male and female NPC who need her help. In this conversation and other conversations like these, players will have a selection of dialogue options. One of these options, as screenshotted in the image below, allows Kassandra to ask if the two NPCs are a couple and it’s this that has sparked discussion about whether Assassin’s Creed Odyssey will include romance gameplay. All three of the dialogue options on offer here have little icons next to them and the question about the NPCs being a couple has a small heart symbol next to it.
As fans began to speculate about whether or not the game will feature romance, previews of the game published shortly after the gameplay demo went live confirmed that love interests will be included in the game. The full scope of this romance gameplay has yet to be revealed, but Ubisoft has said that there will be multiple love interests for players to choose between.
The Assassin’s Creed franchise is no stranger to matters of the heart. Assassin’s Creed Origins featured several touching moments between protagonist Bayek and his wife Aya, and Ubisoft also expanded on their romantic bond in spin-off novel Assassin’s Creed: Desert Oath. As such, it would make some sense if Ubisoft decided to fully embrace that side of storytelling, but in Odyssey, instead of having a predefined spouse per the narrative, players will be able to forge their own romantic path.
If the popularity of games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age are anything to go by, gamers love it when games allow them to have love interests. Given that the next game from Mass Effect and Dragon Age developer BioWare, called Anthem, will not feature romance options it means that the market for games that let players fall in love is ripe for opportunity.
Moreover, it seems that Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is steering the game into full RPG territory (something also highlighted by those leaked screenshots). Offering up romance gameplay would only add to that RPG experience, so many fans will have their fingers crossed that Ubisoft is indeed going to include the feature.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey releases on October 5 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
