Combat
This section is obviously spoiler safe.
Origins: Combat in Origins and Odyssey are quite similar, although there are some significant differences. Firstly, you can use shields in Origins, while in Odyssey you can't. In Origins bows are deadly, often allowing to one hit an enemy. I relied on bows heavily, even more than on stealth combat. I engaged in melee more in later stages of the game, where I got a bit weary with ranged on stealth combat. I also found horse combat a good way to fight with bounty hunters. Enemies in Origin does not scale with your level, so there are parts of the map where you will get your ass kicked and others where you will feel overpowered. I kind of like this approach more. What I didn't like is that the armour (or rather outfit) is purely cosmetic in Origins, there are no armour parts (like helmet, gauntlets, main armour or boots), but rather the full outfit, that doesn't have stats and is only a cosmetic thing.
Odyssey: There are three major differences for me in combat system versus Origins. Firstly, you cannot use shields. You can block with a secondary weapon, but I haven't use blocking at all, instead relying on dodging and dashing. Secondly, there is a good variety of combat abilities (which Origins had implemented marginally), that you can put to great use (Sparta Kick!). There is a part in one of the DLCs where you are locked out from using your combat skills, and this was one of the most difficult time I had in this game. Thirdly, Odyssey is more stealth oriented than Origins, in my opinion. Seeing the game statistics on Ubisoft Connect, my assassination ratio was much higher than in Origins, which speaks of the more fun I had killing enemies silently. Besides the fact, that bows are less deadly than in Valhalla in Origins, they work differently than in those two games. There you have 4 different types of bow, each working differently and with separate types of arrows. In Odyssey you have one type of bow, but through skills you unlock new ways to use a bow, akin to other types of bows in other games.
Valhalla: Combat in Valhalla is a different story. It's much more melee oriented, with its almost cinematic finishers and fast pacing. You can of course play stealthily, but it's much more difficult, with enemies tend to be more perceptive, harder to be taunted by whistling, and larger in numbers. While I usually prefer a stealthy approach, I must say that with melee combat done very solidly and the fact that I use stealth heavily in both Origins and (especially) Odyssey, I welcomed this change and enjoying melee combat immensely. There is a good number of different types of enemies, that requires using different combat tactics (archers, shield bearers, hulking brutes, pikeman, dual-wielding berserkers). There is a fair share of special combat abilities, that you can unlock by finding a special knowledge tomes around the map, which is on top of regular feats/skills you can take by levelling up. Ranged combat is deadly in Valhalla, even more deadly than in Origins. You can do wonders with bows, so much, that you don't really need stealth kills. Similarly to Origins, you can use different types of bow, with different properties and a way of shooting.
Overall verdict: Despite preferring stealth combat the most I must say, combat in Valhalla is superior. There is so much fun with killing enemies in melee or with arrows in this game, that it beats the fun of stealth combat in Odyssey for me. Combat in Origins is just slightly inferior version of Odyssey.
Exploration
No spoilers in this section either.
Origins: From the two games (Origins and Odyssey) I was looking forward to plundge into ancient Egypt more, simply because I knew less about Egypt than Greece, and wanted to learn as much as possible. And I must say, Ubisoft did the setting a justice. Although there are some parts of the map that consists of desert, where there are lack of map markers to explore, even exploring the desert can be fun, with desert storms and the feel of the sand under your horse's (or camel's) heel. The rest of the world is gorgeous, you can visit Alexandria, Memphis and other Egyptian sities of old. You can climb on top of a pyramid, take a good view of the land standing on the head of Great Sphinx. This was so great, intense experience. Even greater, since it was a fresh one. What I don't like is the constant reuse of assets and very few types of encounters. After time, exploration was becoming more and more tedious (with the exception of scenery, which was the main seller for me). There is a rudimentary naval battle system in Origins (very similar to Odyssey), but it's only in retrospected scenes. You can sail boats, though.
Odyssey: Antimatter once said, that playing Odyssey is like being on a vacation, and I wouldn't phrased it better. The setting is so chilling and beautiful, full of historical places and people, with lots of islands, each with different ecosystem (not the flora or fauna, but rather history, plot and poilitics) and heavily expanded naval battle system. I also like that the game tags the historical places, omn which you can reed about on your map screen. Similarly to Origins, you can visit many ancient cities (like Athens, Thebes, Korinth or Sparta). Unfortuntaely also Odyssey suffers from asset recycling, especially when it comes to forts, dungeons or ruins. Many of the have exactly the same design, which made me weary of exploring them at the end (unfortunatly my completionist approach denied me from skipping them).
Valhalla: Graphics in Valhalla is just fantastic. It was already great in both Origins and Odyssey, but Valhalla was able to up the bar quite a bit. Unfortunately the setting, the land is not as interesting as in Origins and Odyssey. Norway and France are simply not as interesting as ancient Greece or Egypt. Where Valhalla is major step forwrd, though, is the design of locations. There are of course reused assets, but in significantly less degree than in other games. Most locations are unique and there is a great deal of pleasure exploring them. Valhalla took completely different approach to exploration than Origins and Odyssey, though. Here, instead of picking up side missions accros the whole map, your main activity will be to hunt hidden treasure, solve mysteries you run into while exploring or find a hidden items. This lead a bit to a collectible simulator, to a degree, which is a bit problematic to me. It's not like it's some kind of a dealbreaker for me, but I'd prefer more organic exploration, with loot to be found during exploration, instead of exploraing to find a treasure.
Overall verdict: I'd say it's a tie. Both Origins and Odyssey have great settings, that I love to explore, while Valhalla is much more unique in location design, even if the terrain itself is not as fun as in other games.
Gameplay
No spoilers here.
Origins: Again, it's evident this was Ubisoft's first take on full RPG, because Origins lacks of many intresting gameplay features. You don't find many mini games or other special events, that are the great part of fun in Odyssey and Valhalla. The side content of Origins is not something that you would remember fondly.
Odyssey: This aspect of the game is a lot more fun that in Origins, although there are some features that I find completely unnecessary, like timed quests and Sparta/Athens conflict. Timed quests are boring, and except couple of conflict where there was a cult of Cosmos member to be killed, I havent really do conquest battles, since there is no difference from a story point of view if the region is in the hands of Athens or Sparta. I think this game mechanics is a wasted potential.
Valhalla: Ubisoft designers definitely looked closely to other games when designing Valhalla. there are many gameplay mechanics that have been seen in other games. You can experience various mini games (like driking comtest, a sort of dice game, or fleeting contest). You can have a sort of alliance system, where you need to do some questing to allied your clan with other regional leaders. And there is of course your settlement, which is the center of your activity (and quest givers) that you can expand with new buildings and new NPCs during the course of the game.
Overall verdict: Valhalla wins, with Odyssey on second place, and poor Origins last again.
. My choice fell on Origins, as I figured Odyssey has more advanced gameplay, and it would be more difficult for me to play it after a less sophisticated brother.
