Note: This article contains spoilers further down the page. The first three paragraphs contain no spoilers.
The second episode of Assassin's Creed Odyssey: Legacy of the First Blade has launched, and many who have completed the latest DLC instalment aren't happy. As it turns out, Episode 2: Shadow Heritage potentially ignores your role-playing choices up to this point -- a key part of Odyssey -- and forces your character to do something significant for the sake of the plot.
Needless to say, the fan backlash is growing by the minute as this news spreads, but Ubisoft is yet to comment. Player choice was billed as a core component of Odyssey throughout the game's marketing campaign and beyond, and although Alexios and Kassandra are predetermined characters to some degree, you're still free to shape them in both subtle and not-so-subtle ways.
Having that choice suddenly torn away seems like a baffling decision on Ubisoft's part. Surely the company saw this backlash coming?
We're being vague because we don't want to spoil anything here in the main body of the article, but if you do want the full story, feel free to keep scrolling.
Are you sure you want spoilers?
Are you really sure?
Spoilers incoming!
Okay, so here's the deal. In this DLC series, your main character, Alexios or Kassandra, meets an old man named Darius and his daughter or son. The sex of his child is based on the character that you're playing, so Alexios players get a woman named Neema, while Kassandra players get a man named Natakas.
And guess what? At the end of this second DLC episode, Alexios has a baby with Neema, or Kassandra has a baby with Natakas -- and there's no way that you can avoid this. You can even decline the romantic advances of Neema or Natakas, but nothing will actually change -- you'll still end the episode as either a father or a mother.
Obviously this is a story that Ubisoft wants to tell, and that would be fine if not for the fact that the game has been built on the idea of player choice. Of course, the whole thing becomes even more questionable when you consider the fact that Odyssey lets you decide your character's sexuality. Both Alexios and Kassandra can be straight, gay, or bisexual, but even if they're not interested in the opposite sex, or sex in general, they'll still be forced to have a child. Again, how did Ubisoft not see players reacting badly to this?
At present it's unclear how this situation will unfold. We imagine that Ubisoft will acknowledge the issue at some point, but who knows whether it'll actually do anything about it. We immediately think back to Mass Effect 3 and BioWare updating the end of the game at the behest of fans, but given that this is the second episode of a three-part DLC series, the third and final episode is likely to feature your character's child.
It's a bit of a mess, isn't it? We'll have a full review of Shadow Heritage for you soon, but until then, let us know what you make of this in the comments section below.
Comments 96
so you mean that you have a set path just like in the older AC games
look i understand this may disappoint people BUT remember in AC your reliving memories so there are going to be moments where choice is taken away for the greater good of the plot and future game
Disgusting... Why Ubi why...
A number of gamers react badly to anything these days. It's all getting rather tiresome. My advice would be to take a deep breath, and get over yourselves.
@FullbringIchigo Which is fine, but Odyssey is a game largely built on player choice.
I don't think you can champion player choice like that AND have a story set in stone. I feel like you need to pick one or the other, and it's always felt like Ubisoft chose the former.
@ShogunRok and there in lies the problem, the whole ability to chose is the issue, the very nature of the AC games and the story it was telling would make player choice really hard to keep and still stick to the core of the series
while it's a great system for games to have it shouldn't be in a AC game because it goes against the very nature of the series
@FullbringIchigo I must admit, I'm kind of in the camp that wants Ubisoft to spin these RPG elements off into their own fantasy game, rather than keep them locked in Ass Creed.
@Kindaichi But that's not strictly true, is it? Games can have multiple endings that fundamentally change how the story comes to a close. The Witcher 3 and Fallout: New Vegas immediately spring to mind.
I get where you're coming from, though. This is clearly something that Ubisoft feels is super important to the story, and I get that, but it doesn't change the fact that players were at least led to believe that their choices truly mattered.
In my opinion it's definitely a bit of a bait and switch.
@ShogunRok Odyssey would have made a fantastic stand alone Fantasy RPG, it didn't need to be tied to Assassin's Creed series at all but you know Ubisoft, they have to tie everything into either AC or Far Cry because they think it's the name that sells the game not the game play
@FullbringIchigo Yep, there's some truth to that. But I wouldn't be at all surprised if Ubisoft announced a new IP based on the open world RPG mechanics of Origins and Odyssey. Just like it did with Skull & Bones via Black Flag's naval mechanics.
It's bad writing more than anything. I don't think there's anything malicious here, just think they could have found another way around it — although I guess considering the lore it needs to be a direct blood descendent.
Hmmm, not sure what to think really.
@ShogunRok honestly i would be all over a game like that, Odyssey is a great game to play and a lot of fun but it's no Assassin's Creed
what i hope is they take the game play of Odyssey nut give us a more focused and complete story like the older games did for the next AC game
My general complaint with the game was that I tried as hard as I could to make Kassandra have moral values and I always chose to do whatever was right to do at any given moment, but as soon as the game regained control over the cutscenes Kassandra was always obsessed with money, because, you know, she's a f*cking misthios, a wealth obsessed goddamned mercenary.
But I could get past, that and I can get past this, too. So yeah, I kinda don't care. It doesn't worsen my opinion on the game, but if things were done differently and you could see they worked really really hard to take into account every possible outcome it'd have only improved my view on this game.
RDR2 does that in such a great fashion. Most realistic world I've ever played a game in. Every single action counts, be it in Story Missions or Side Missions. Every single moment is perfectly hand crafted. I've almost beaten AC Odyssey and I can safely say that while there were some nice additions to it, there's simply way too much copy paste. Also, why do they insist in every single game to have such deplorable voice actors for their NPCs? They are not even trying. They have to do the worst possible accents.
Looking over the game design choices in this game, I reckon the end of the series is quite near. I can see how in few years they'll murder the franchise by releasing an AC that's actually an online game as a service, with a huge open world and tons of grinding. Odyssey could have just been that for all I care.
I prefer games that tell a solid story and have no desire for player choice as it typically cheapens the experience. Take God of War as an example of just telling a solid story.
Just started Odyssey.
Not a big fan of the "choice" mechanics in games. I'll play it but rather have a good pre-set character development arc in the story
Fine if they do not use it in the DLC.
@OmegaStriver Exactly!
Lmao this isn't bad news this is comedy gold I''m on comments right now on ubi's twitter lmao the meltdown this could overtake the persona 5r announcment meltdown on neogaf 2.0.
The best one is You can take your heteronormativity and shove it up your @@@ what the hell is heternormativity lmao.
@sabaki08 Ubisoft did say a few years ago that story was not a priority but to create fun open environments.
I prefer good stories with games like this.
LOL classic example of bad writing where they failed to properly lay out the plot in advance. And so, Ubisoft deserves all the backlash coming their way.
the main campaign was the same, the choices were transparent at best.
what i don't get most of all is the main story forced you into same sex encounters (kassandra only had 2 options for a male relationship and they were cringeworthy at best, majority of encounters were female) and then there is this dlc that makes the character have a baby, that is what doesn't make any sense, this dlc feels out of place for the character imo.
@sabaki08 that is in summary the difference between a game that is perfected over 7+ years and a company throwing spewing a product out every year.
I liked the game, but I did get the fatigue that people mention after a while. And that's a shame, the world was beautiful and some of the characters were really interesting, but it felt quite generic at points, the moments themselves outside of the main campaign and the journeys from A to B got really boring after a while, most of the map didn't have much of a reason to keep you exploring it other than 100% the collections.
@Dubya75 yeah it does feel like the writing was placed together without much thought.
@huyi Yep, they are making it up as they go. This hardly ever ends well..
@huyi you know what it feels like, that the game was originally made without any of the choice options and then Ubisofts heads came in and said something like "QUICK we just found out people like to have choice options in some games so we need them PUT THEM IN NOW!"
probably why they had to release a book that has the proper story in it
i have said it before BUT the very nature of the AC series doesn't sit well with a player choice system and should have one ONE playable character and a focused story
That's unfortunate but I still plan on buying the base game.
I don't see what the big deal is if it's part of the story not every choice can change the entire game so it makes sense, but that's just me and maybe I'm not seeing something the others are
@FullbringIchigo
I think the players problem is in this statement;
‘Both Alexios and Kassandra can be straight, gay, or bisexual, but even if they're not interested in the opposite sex, or sex in general, they'll still be forced to have a child. Again, how did Ubisoft not see players reacting badly to this?’
Also in a player choice game the article is saying shouldnt the option not to have a child been avaliable?
That said I full agree with you AC games are story based and are already ‘telling a story so why’ and it probably was the execs thinking it would sell extras
@Mince oh i completely understand that feeling but the problem is due to the very nature of the series, your viewing ancestral memories after all then at some point weather or not it was shown the main character (which according to the novel is Kassandra) HAS to have had a child it's why player choice, as fun as it can be SHOULDN'T have been in the game in the first place
there is no doubt Ubisoft messed it up, by adding a system that didn't fit in this particular series they have broken the very nature of the game, you can't have free choice if the story has already been written and if certain things HAVE to happen, this was something that HAD to happen for the story and future games and by doing it they have upset fans so they NEVER should have put it in in the first place
maybe this dlc was written all the way before they decided to have dialogue options and romance options?
this could indicate that they only went full on RPG after the success of origins instead of having it planned out as an RPG from the start.
or they heard the lore complaints about dialogue and romance options and dicided to have this story element be set in stone in a way to please the fans,but that is not a great idea when you do it in the same game.
Cry me a river.
A backlash over Ubisofts torrent of sh*t games would make more sense.
My Lesbian Kassandra is not ok with this. But I knew something like this would happen. You can't take a linear character driven narrative and turn it into a open player driven one without some in-congruent parts. I did kind of figure that given the reason that the Eagle Bearer was born would have lent to her employing similar tactics to begin to restore balance between the two factions (even if she didn't care for how the tactics were employed). (So potentially this could be an interesting choice for the overall plot, or just right hand not knowing what left hand is doing. I'll see how it plays out.)
I'm going to head canon that my Kassandra got really, really, REALLY drunk, pretended it was Daphnae and went on with her mission.
I still say that AC Odyessy is a fun game but a terrible AC game. They should have just created another series, the RPG elements really don't fit the framework of the AC series.
@Dubya75 As per community rules
Do not use profanity; Use of unsavoury language including profanity and swearing is not acceptable, please remember that this website has users of all ages.
So let's.watch the language,.ok.
Thanks for understanding
@Ryu_Niiyama what if it was some kind of arrangement in order to keep the bloodline going, it's not as strange as it may sound as there are many documented accounts of that kind of thing happening in real life especially in royal families
@FullbringIchigo That was what I was alluding to when I mentioned why the Eagle Bearer herself was born. I didn't feel like using spoiler tags. Either way for a Lesbian, a very large amount of alcohol is going to be required, and memories of a previous lover to carry her through.
It still negates player choice of course, but I'm trying to make it fit so its less annoying (and insulting). That's also why I preferred AC to remain a linear game but I'm the minority who also is interested in the meta storyline of the modern day and the Isu so I know that AC hasn't been made with me in mind for a very long time. This will be my last one anyway. As I said the game is fun but not a good AC game and my gripes preclude me buying another one at this point. I can youtube most of the player choices anyway, lol.
@Ryu_Niiyama yeah i feel the same, they should never have added the choice system in the first place
i even said when they announced it that it "breaks the lore of the series"
i enjoyed it enough though to at least give the next game a go (i also never do romance in games anyway so this isn't as big of an issue for my character, either of them, yes i did a playthough with both characters) but if the next one goes down the same route that will probably be my last one, i loved the lore of the series and really wanted the modern story to progress farther after Desmonds death and at least this did a little bit although Layla really needs to be improved because she is a REALLY bland character right now
@FullbringIchigo Yeah don't get me started on the lore hand waving at this point. I have a simple request. If you set rules and history in your game world...abide by them. That's it. I won't question why you can move things with your mind or dive 10 stories into a bale of hay and be fine or fly...I just need consistency. I only bought Odyssey because I love Greek mythology and history. But it is fine. I know Ubi has to make their coins... I don't begrudge them that but at this point short of a Japan setting I'll be over here waiting for a Prince of Persia reboot...again.
I like the idea of Layla (a person who is walking both sides and will hopefully see that both are wrong) and hilariously enough for me the lack of a strong developed narrative for the Eagle Bearer made Layla a much more stand out character for me. But at the same time since Ubisoft is trying to shove the backbone of the AC series under a rug they don't give us much to work with.
@Ryu_Niiyama they would just make the next Prince of Persia reboot part of the AC franchise anyway
in fact i'm surprised they haven't retroactively made the PoP games part of the series already
''Player choice'' I expected they found a way to shoehorn in some terrible MTX into the DLC. Oh well, I'm not too bothered by this. The term ''player choice'' hardly means anything these days. Besides, it's not like Mass Effect where you got to create your own ugly-faced character, you're clearly given a choice between two people, with a backstory, a name, etc. So a big chunk of your character is already decided for you anyway. I get where people are coming from, but in the end, it's just a game, I think it's a bit silly to complain about TBF.
Wow isn't amazing how 1 thing makes gamers turn into ungrateful spoilt little children. There are loads of things in the game you CAN'T choose. Characters name, height, age, if your characters sibling could be male aswell as alexios just to name a few and yet one more decision gets decided for you and all hell breaks loose. Simple solution, if you don't like it don't play it, if it's dlc don't buy it, and if you are that petty you can even stop purchasing ac games in the future unless it gives you 100% control in the choices you can make. All the problems in the world today and people get angry about the raimi suit in spiderman and a character having a kid in ac. And if I've broken any community rules please feel free to ban me.
@FullbringIchigo Well they did nod to PoP kinda hard imo with the new armor and weapon set.
I would love to see a re-imagining of Sands of time with a palace that was about 4 or 5 times larger than the original... for reasons....and sand of course.
At this point I'll settle for the parkour getting fixed. It lost its sweet spot about 3-4 games ago. I feel like Kassandra has cement blocks for feet sometimes...
Given the fact that you're experiencing your ancestor's memories, it was certain that Alexios/Kassandra would have children.
Wasn't there two flirt options in episode 1? I flirted and made a choice as the episode 2 ended. There were several opportunities in dialogue choices regarding connection, simpler life etc. Darius even asks what you want.
I flirted, I wanted to make a connection and chose a simpler life. I don't think it was only choices made in episode 2 but based on choices in 1 and 2. Chances are they die in episode 3 so back to Alkibades with his goats and stress relief
@Athrum not in this case though,you get the protagonist's DNA via a spear he or she (depending on what gender you go with) used as a weapon. the game starts with layla the MD protagonist recovering the spear and using the DNA found on it as the memory trigger.
Ubisoft have painted themselves into a corner with this. Advertise your product as being forward-thinking, with the potential for a homosexual character, only to take that choice away late in the day, well of course you're going to annoy people.
It's crazy that not one single person in the meeting didn't put their hand up and say "hang on a minute..." It makes it all look like token gestures and proves that Ubisoft don't care about the players in the same way some developers do.
My advice would be to just play the main game your way and not buy the DLC in question, but some people will be so angry with Ubisoft they won't even do that, and I can't really blame them to be honest
@Tasuki He says, while ignoring the fact that this specific comment section is for a game rated M for mature...
@King-Noctis A games ratings has nothing to do with the community rules.
@Tasuki Well then the community rules are backwards if they don't account for the age rating of a game.
@King-Noctis Why should we account for the game ratings? That makes no sense. What one says has no bearings on the game what so ever.
Not quite sure what you are going at with this but ok then.
This is dlc ; so is it actually canon to the main story or a what if?
@johnny30 It's canon.
@ShogunRok ahh ok. Makes sense . Ive not touched the dlc yet but interesting to know how it all started . People can change their mind i guess lol
@Tasuki You don't want people to swear because kids might be on this page. I'm saying that's a stupid rule because the game being discussed is an m rated game.
@sabaki08 I fear you just described the plan ubisoft have for beyond good amd evil 2
@Athrum actually Ubisoft abandonded the genetic ancestor requirement several games ago. Abstergo only needed that because at the time using a person with a low amount of Isu DNA and not related to the historical figure they were tracking drove animus users insane (that was the issue of the Bleeding effect). As they gained access to more apples of eden and understood the Isu tech more they didn’t have to deal with that. Not to mention the improvements and jury rigging the assassins made. That’s why you could play each of the frye twins. When before the animus tracking followed the ancestor you were directly decended from.
When Altair sired his son that desmond was decended from the animus could no longer track him. That is why revelations had to use a different method (Altair figured out how to record his own genetic memory). That’s also why Ubisoft/abstergo in the game made an animus game console and marketed genetic memories as videogames (that were edited from the historical accuracy of the genetic memory for propaganda purposes). That’s also what breaks the character choice in AC Odyessy as well as even with “corrupted” dna there should have been no way to alter the story.
Kassandra and alexios lived very different lives the animus technically by lore should not have been able to toss ones face and life onto the other. Since Kassandra is canon it should not have been possible to play Alexios as the eagle bearer. Ubisoft breaks their own lore to sell gameplay mechanics and then breaks that again to reinstate lore by forcing a child. It’s silly.
Layla isn’t even related to the assassins of orgins or odyessy. Her portable animus bypasses all the old rules. She just needs some dna. No matter how small (hence the explanation for turning AC into a RPG like). Also given the eagle bearer’s role in history she doesn’t have to have children. Being ageless helps with that. Now one could say that she wanted a backup plan like her parents did in creating her, and that technically doesn’t negate sexuality narrative in game as a woman can get pregnant even when physically repulsed(sadly happens all the time). If Ubi says that it will be trite but won’t negate player choice entirely.
Folks are asking for consistency.
Like I said fun game. Terrible AC game.
@Tasuki
Omg get over yourself. Isn't it enough to just get your panties in a wad over Assassin's Creed DLC?
@King-Noctis Doesn't mean anything. Anyway if you have a problem with the community rules then I suggest using a contact form.
Thanks for understanding
I love the game but I do think the choice mechanic is half baked and not needed. I'm not sure all the venom over this situation is needed though. What would bother me more is that the real AC part of this game in the franchise is locked behind a $40 pay wall. Granted you get lots of content for the money but still.
Oh my god summer is coming. What the hell are all you snowflakes going to do then? Less than 1 in 10 people can complain about this and of them regardless of there preference there is still no other way of having a baby.
So all these "people" that are outraged are just millennial snowflakes.
Find something else to be outraged about. It's only 7 o'clock, I'm sure you can find at least 20 things before 8.
To be honest, I don't take these things too seriously but this one really made me mad. My Kassandra is gay, I never ever let her get close a male NPC, just because I wanted to play it that way.
And of course, I let Darius and Natakas sail off towards the sunset only for them to magically reappear out of nowhere and then to top all that, they're having a baby. dafuq? THE HATE, really.
Really? This hypersensibility is just becoming more annoying every day.. So what? Maybe this players aren't happy because they could not be transexuals. Ok, so it does not fit exactly your character.. Is this really the first time that it happens in a game that you liked? This is a game, better, this is a dlc. Players are not happy? Play another game..
@LowTech Or maybe you're just trolling because you don't understand the R-part in RPG.
@SMKpaladin My character could not swim and had boat sickness. Imagine my disappointment when I found out that he was kinda Captian Blackbeard Phelps..
Btw, all the players just assumed that they could choose the sexual orientation. BUT WHAT IF they have been, from the start, simply bisexual? And they only have the option to interact, or not to, in a specific way with other characters?
@Ryu_Niiyama I'm grateful for your personal perspective on what it may take for a gay Kassandra to get pregnant but, as a gay man, I can assure you that no amount of alcohol will "make it work" with a woman. I genuinely cannot see how anybody wanting to play Alexios as homosexual can justify having a child in Ancient Greece, where there weren't exactly surrogacy clinics in every town.
My best friend (who's a gay woman and huge fan of the series) has been in love with Odyssey because of Kassandra and the player choice element, and she's devastated; for me, who isn't a fan but was considering getting into the series because it's become more RPG and choice-driven, I just feel like this is a bone-headed decision made by straight people who don't understand how things work.
It feels like Mass Effect Andromeda's launch all over again. "Oh, you want your male Ryder to be gay? Sure, you can romance this guy (who demands you become a father with him, pushing the age-old criticism that gay couples are selfish for not contributing to the next generation), or this guy (who turns out to be a villain, a jerk and murderer who then disappears for the rest of the game). If you want the trophy for three romances, you'll have to sleep with a woman. Enjoy!"
This kind of attitude just isn't okay.
@FullbringIchigo The issue is choice was a massive selling point of the game. It matters a lot more to people who are LGBT because they typically never get to roleplay an LGBT character - it's super rare, even now. So of course we all bought the game and delighted in playing our characters as gay for once...
... Only for them to then end up in a forced hetero pairing? Can you imagine the outcry if this were reversed? The main demographic is straight men, right? What if Alexios ended up in a forced male-male pairing? Imagine the outcry.
It's kind of disgusting, especially if you role play Kassandra as a lesbian - because the achievement "growing up" is super distasteful - after all, all we heard growing up was "it's just a phase" and "we will grow out of it."
The child thing is also problematic - moreso for women to whom this trope is far too common (a woman is not worthy or complete until she has borne a child and gives up everything for them). But, that's a lesser problem to the forced het pairing. The child could still have been born with same sex endings, there is such a thing as surrogates.
@LowTech Even bisexual people have preferences - they might enjoy opposite sex but want to live and grow old with same sex for example. Not uncommon at all.
@LowTech mmHmm - and would you say the same if, let's say, Alexios were forced into a male-male pairing as a set in stone ending despite you playing him straight?
@Athrum having children != sexuality
@silkpush like i said i understand the backlash and i'm not arguing the reasons and all of what you said is valid, the issue is that the series wasn't built for a choice system, it breaks the very foundation of the lore so it never should have had them in the first place because something like this was bound to happen because it has too for the sake of future games
i know people say "but it's an RPG" thing is it didn't start as an RPG, it was an action adventure with a linear, focused story but Ubisoft saw games like The Witcher 3 doing so well they went "LETS DO THAT" and just slapped the AC branding on it
both Origins and Odyssey SHOULDN'T have been AC games, they would have been able to stand on their own as historical RPG's because they are loads of fun to play but Ubisoft seem to think that their games wont sell unless it's either an Assassin's Creed game or a Far Cry game
again i understand, "i made my character this and now it's all for nought", you and others put a lot of time into making your version of Kassandra/Alexios and now you feel cheated but the sad thing is your version, my version or anybody's version was always going to be "non-canon" because there is a larger narrative going on and this has to not only tie in with previous games but also future games, it's why they had to release a book with the "true" story in it and this DLC is obviously following that story because it has too to tie in with future games
again like i said, the game should NEVER have had a choice system in the first place
@silkpush I'm just saying that is not that a big deal. I'm not blind and I can see that people don't like the incoerence.. But, really, "Ubisoft Faces Fan Backlash" is just to harsh..
Skyrim is a great RPG, so vegans now can state that they have all this choices but can not choose not to kill the dragons..
This is a stupid example, but I think if we go this way, this would be a valid point. and it isn't. Games allways have to start from some premises..
@silkpush "The child could still have been born with same sex endings, there is such a thing as surrogates". I think I didn't understand.. How could a child still be born from your character and have same sex endings? Is the hetero emotional relation being forced in the story?
I didn't play the dlc so I don't fully understand the story.
@LowTech Kass could have had a wife and used surrogate sperm (my lesbian friends in real life have done this). Alexios in a gay relationship could have used a surrogate mother. Assuming a child is mandatory, that is.
@LowTech And yes, the ending is completely, mandatory hetero, even if you reject the person and don't want a relationship with them.
@LowTech Mhhh. you must be playing another AC:O than me then. I had no options to define these "traits/perks".
Sorry mate, but you still seem to be trolling in my book. We're not talking about traits/perks you made up in your mind. We're talking about player decisions that are being totally ignored, which renders those choice options completely obsolete. To top that, you only have a limited timeframe to chose your answer when they're about to leave.
@silkpush Sooo, gay people cannot have children?
@Athrum they can adopt, or they might be trans, or they can use surrogates. That's the three ways they can, that I'm aware of.
@SMKpaladin @silkpush
I'm not trolling, just being honest here. But if the "emotional relationship" is being forced you are right in the way that it is not coherent to the rest of the choices you made.
They made a bad work.
The only thing that I'm bothered is that it's just already being used by the LGBT community as an excuse to say that they are once again being "attacked" or whatever..
Yes, ubisoft did not make a very good job in this dlc. and that's it. (Sorry, I just needed to get out of the system.lol)
You are right in prety much everything you say.
But I just think that some people just put to much value in things that really don't matter. It's a game. Don't like it? don't buy it. (Don't take me wrong, i'm not saying this to you, I'm saying it in general)
It reminds me the Kingdom Come racist accusations because there are no black people in the game (because the game is prety much historically correct.. there were no black people in the Kingdom of Bohemia, now Czech Republic.)
@LowTech I didn't mean to offend you, it just felt that way to me.
In regards to "don't like it, don't buy it": I already bought it, I already paid for it and until yesterday I was absolutely totally fanboy-ish pro AC:O. I still love this game, I just didn't want THAT to happen, that's all.
When I'm home, I'll revert to a save game prior to that quest step and just leave it be.
@SMKpaladin Maybe I didn't explained well, but I was not offended. Not at all. I actually think you have a point.
Yap, I tottaly understand you. But still, it won't be the last time you'll get a little bit disapointed with a game... Not the same kind of disapontment but I still remember how I felt like when I finish S.T.A.L.K.E.R.. such a good game, such a terrible ending..
@LowTech The main issue is they advertised the fact that the game was LGBT friendly / inclusive / open to player choice, pulled in a gay audience, and then effectively betrayed them.
@FullbringIchigo I'm not sure I agree - they got the choice system (which they promoted big time) bang on in the entire main storyline. Why did they suddenly lose their imagination for the DLC? It would not have been a technical challenge to give a player two choices for their "final" love interest, especially when two love interests already exist in the game (female for Alexios, male for Kass). The baby could have come from whichever love interest they didn't pursue as a friend/surrogate, or been optional (since the spear can carry the DNA anyway)
None of this is a massive stretch of the imagination, nor does it involve game breaking or major changes.
To be honest most people are scratching their heads over this apparent lack of effort all of a sudden.
@silkpush it's because the game isn't the "canon" it's the book and at some point someone at Ubisoft remembered that the franchise has a story and that the player choice system, while a good game system had to be ignored in order to further that story, obviously this child is important to the story otherwise they wouldn't have done it, could they have done it differently, absolutely and the day they even announced that the game would have a choice system i saw something like this coming a mile off because of the very nature of the series
it's why they NEVER should have put in a choice system in long running, narrative driven game series in first place
Ugh. Well I will not be buying the DLC. From what I've seen there are multiple levels of problems here: Forcing the character to be straight and also forcing the character to have these interactions even if they say "No". It is problematic on many levels.
@RogerRoger Oh I never said there was anything that would make it work in the sense of it being enjoyable/desirable. But at least if she was lit to her ears and thinking of someone else she could lay there and let Nakata do his business. She wouldn't enjoy it but she wouldn't beat the tar out of him at least. Goodness knows if I had to do that I'd have to fight vomiting the whole time.
But people do have arranged marriages and sex with unwanted partners (even when uncoerced) all the time in hetero land. So I am in no way implying or trying to imply that a lesbian would ever enjoy/seek/desire having any type of sexual or romantic relationship with a male, as that is kinda the point of female homosexuality. I absolute loathe the narrative that there is no such thing as a true female homosexual that seems to be cropping up in modern thought as of late as if the right guy or a male feels like a woman on the inside somehow negates physical reality. I'm just trying to make sense of the plot that Ubisoft is handing us.
I mean after all Kassandra herself is essentially a bioweapon (just because her mother loved her doesn't change why she was conceived) bred to balance the sides so I could see her taking a page out of her parents book for the overall chess game she is going to be playing over the next several centuries. I'm really hoping that it comes out that the Eagle Bearer is kind of a shadow puppet master for both sides, trying desperately to keep humans from self destructing as they blindly commit to "order" (templars) or "chaos" (assassins) after all we have had a lot of side switching in the series as is.
Also note I am a Lesbian (you know the actual female homosexual kind) and while I find the idea of Kassandra having to lay with a male for any reason abhorrent I know that the world doesn't often actually accommodate the wishes of homosexuals (despite what some non homosexuals like to scream about "pandering"). And unfortunately if Kassandra needed a child for whatever reason (bioweapon, personal desire, whatever Ubi is cooking up) then she would have to let a dude impregnate her. Which again is why I wish Ubi had put away the fake sense of choice and just wrote the character they wanted. Or if they had actually built the series to be about gamer choice in the first place. Changing genres halfway through the series was a terrible idea.
@Ryu_Niiyama I apologise if my comment wasn't clear. In no way was I disputing your perspective as a gay woman; I was just talking about my own issue as a gay man, in that there's no possible way that I could get a woman pregnant through natural conception because my... let's say "equipment" simply wouldn't function. Although my understanding is limited, I believe it would be possible for a woman to get pregnant without being emotionally connected to the act (or, terrifyingly, be even willing to participate) whereas the man's role is somewhat more, er... "urgent" and I guarantee, that's literally impossible to force.
In other words, if I were Alexios for real, I couldn't conceive a child with anybody, even if I wanted to, the demands of history be damned.
That's the problem; if Alexios and Kassandra were pre-determined, fixed characters with no player choice inputs, then we couldn't complain about them suddenly wanting to have a child, but they are and were specifically marketed as such. And our long posts desperately trying to make sense of all this just highlights what a terrible job Ubisoft have done in writing this DLC's story.
Are you serious? You can't understand why ubisoft would want to tell a story about genetic memory that spans multiple generations by DARING to portray a traditional sexual relationship between a man and a woman, the only way that procreation actually occurred at the time the game was set. This world has gone mad. For all LBQT community members out there that are disgusted by this just remember, if your parents weren't straight you wouldn't exist.
@AyeHaley SERIOUS? DISUSTING HOW?
Let me speak for ubisoft. Its obvious really but it seems these days common sense ain't so common no more. There is one major difference between this game and every other game that offers choice of sexual partners, the birth of a child. The game is set in ancient Greece. There are only two ways children were concieved in ancient Greece. Traditional sex between a man and a woman, and when zeus turned into a swan to seduce beautiful young women. Ubisoft went with the former.
@silkpush are you joking??????
@Kindaichi how is it that only you and I are intelligent enough to work this out??? Have you read some of these comments??????? Theres one guy talking about how the main character could have got pregnant using sperm donation, or even using a surrogate mother. IN ANCIENT GREECE!!!!!! I'm seriously worried about the survival of our species.
@RogerRoger she's devastated... devastated because of a game? Damn, if that where my worst problems in life..
It always amuses me how extreme people can be xD.
@Sanquine Actually, her life is incredibly difficult. Games are kinda the only good thing going for her at times, and she forms strong emotional connections with them as a result, especially those which promote player choice and personal decision input. Her adventures with Kassandra have quite literally saved her life over a particularly rough holiday season.
So I'd say "devastated" is an understatement but hey, who needs to worry about that when there's a sarcastic comment to be made, right?
Thanks for summing up the problem with this DLC so perfectly.
@RogerRoger
Yeah, sorry for that than (the sarcastic remark). I was just sick of outrages.. but im looking things from my perspective which is wrong i know. The biggest problem i have is a 70 hour week job
@Sanquine That's okay, but thanks all the same. You and I agree, outrage for the sake of outrage is an unfortunate element of today's internet, so I don't blame you for maintaining a skeptical perspective. If this were Spider-Man's "Puddlegate" controversy, I'd be right there with you, piling on the sarcasm.
Sorry for reacting so defensively, though. Your hours sound rough, so I'm glad you've got gaming to keep you sane.
@RogerRoger To be fair i dont mind its keeps me busy. I dont game much i enjoy being on pushsquare a lot more than gaming. And again sorry for being a jerk i cant imagine how harsh people being to gay people.
@Sanquine No worries, really.
And yeah, PushSquare is a pretty neat place to hang around. It's one of the nicer corners of the internet (as you've proven in your last couple replies, so thanks).
@Sanquine As per community rules
Do not use profanity; Use of unsavoury language including profanity and swearing is not acceptable, please remember that this website has users of all ages.
So let's watch the language ok
Thanks for understanding
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