The Assassin's Creed Odyssey Dilemma

Where do we draw the line? The line between influence, greed, and escapism? Do we allow gaming studios such as Ubisoft to continue nickeling and diming us over prestigious in-game tools/content? Do we allow their cultural, and political agendas to slip by in the guise of a "good game"? I ask all this as it should be asked. For if things like this go unchecked, and unchallenged who's to say someone, one day, will not choose to use this entertainment medium as pure propaganda to push undeniably harmful ideas, or at the very least ideas that are not widely accepted.

In the case of Ubisoft's latest entry in the Assassin's Creed growing lineage, or series (if you will) the developer does not shy away from stating that they are a culturally and sexually diverse development studio. They do not shy away from boldly displaying paid for store options at the main menu either. The boldness of these prideful agenda, and business based consumer directed broadcasts only serves as a red flag to what would otherwise be a decent action/stealth adventure. Why developers choose to step in the horse sh*t that is political correctness is beyond me. It is blatant audience targeting for agenda sake, and nothing less. A recently exposed Ubioft employee leak regarding diversity training in their ranks further points to this as being truth.

I've played a few hours into Kassandra's side of the Astergo linked story, and I could see two things going on. One thing was the obvious nods to feminism, and female empowerment. The lessening of male power over females, and a focus on belittling the patriarchy. Kassandra's father kneeling in front of her proclaiming her to be his pride, the goofy Markos being a using/abusing manipulator, and Zeus's pitiful pecker dangling from his statuesque depiction are what could be considered subtle jabs at men. Aside from that I found myself having fun killing targets as Kassandra, and felt the gameplay as a whole was refined in such a way as to be engaging. Thus is the double-edged sword. The whole dilemma that is "Assassin's Creed Odyssey". It's a good game by gameplay standards (perhaps even great), but at the same time there is a definite underlying message being pushed by the developers.

Again I ask, 'Where do we draw the line?". When do we call out a game for overstepping boundaries into real world influence? As far as I stand I am conflicted on the matter. I want to be able to enjoy the finer points this game has to offer (and it does have some), but at the same time I am put off by it's prideful foundation and real world intentions that could have been left out for everyone's sake. There's no doubt this game has a target audience, and that it aims to influence said audience with it's story. The question that remains is whether or not you will let that influence take hold as intended, or whether you'll view it free of influence as just another game to play through, and enjoy? As with the game's morally decisive moments you too must decide whether or not you take the moral high ground, the questionable low road, or the neutral stance between. Choose carefully as it will impact you, and possibly all of gaming. Just as it does in Assassin's Creed Odyssey.