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Games

'Red Dead 2,' 'Assassin's Creed Odyssey,' and the Future of the Open World

With new features and grander scale than ever, the biggest games of the fall are trying to re-imagine a well-worn genre. Can they?
Header screenshot courtesy of Rockstar

Last week, a blast of new Red Dead Redemption 2 previews hit the web, digging into the game's focus on non-violent interaction, intense level of detail, and new methods of interactive storytelling. Today, a wave of reviews for Assassin's Creed Odyssey praised the game's beautiful setting and the series' ongoing slide towards open world RPG. Though both were in development before The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, in their own ways, both games feel like responses to Link's most recent adventure in Hyrule. They seek to answer the question "Where does the open world game go from here?"

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This week on Waypoint Radio, we dig into how they answer that question. Fresh off of 90 minutes of hands on time with Red Dead Redemption 2, Austin explains all the important things he learned about the game, like the new ways that it delivers story, its "death of the wild west" story, and, of course, your ability to study sheep. Meanwhile, Rob's time with Assassin's Creed Odyssey has him wondering: Is this the game we feared AC Origins would be? Patrick and Danielle top it all off a convo about the newly release Life is Strange 2 and a shout out to the Queerness and Games Conference.

To listen, just press play below.

Content warning: Discussion of bestiality and homophobia at 1:36:50 - 1:38:15

Discussed: Red Dead Redemption 2, Life is Strange 2, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Forza Horizon 4, Queerness and Games Conference

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