TL;DR its a No only as a counter to all the positive weight this has. There are good things about this game but the bloat is so bad it dilutes a lot of the enjoyable qualities.

Pros:
- Beautiful
- Greece feels well represented
- Small touches from previous games are present like Sea Shantys
- Voice acting in some places
- Some quests are really enjoyable to complete particularly the bonus creatures

Cons:
- Too much space, even using fast travel you'll spend solid minutes going some places
- Numerous pointless quests, landmarks, and other things just to fill time/space. Particularly avoid the timed and "blue dot" quests as I lost time before realizing they were all: Go there, and come back levels of depth. Just stick with gold ones and you'll be fine and bored in no time.
- Plot is meh at best, boring at worst. Like most AC games, present day is there just to take you out of the action but all the "Greek Figures" feel like name drops. There are small moments of actual connection with characters, but they are gone quickly so enjoy them when they happen.
- No "romance" scenes, maybe a pleasure groan but don't get excited when you see your first Heart next to a dialogue choice.

Nit Picky:
- Why do people pronounce the same words differently? Is it supposed to be a hint that they are from different regions? Did Sparta and Athens pronounce a lot of these words/gods differently? Honestly just came off as annoying.

Stream of thought (read in no particular order)
- Why am I doing this? Why do I care who wins the war? So many individual pieces that, had they been explored, could've been enjoyed, but get lost in the salad of this game. At the very beginning of getting into the whole Athens/Sparta conflict, I had no idea where my character would stand. As the game goes on, it ends up feeling like there was no point in caring.

- Why is there no nuance in any of these decisions? Should I let these people go or brutally murder them or, surprise third option, let someone else brutally murder them?

- Be careful, don't get caught stealing from this chest so you can check mark this random port town or you'll be hounded by another nameless pointless mercenary.

- By the end of this, I didn't care about any new abilities, what I had worked. I didn't need more sets of gear, what I had worked. But why the hell was my entire ship Epic level except my flag? Cmon, give me an epic flag for this ship i don't use anymore because I fast travel.

Look, if you love AC games, you'll probably like this. If you don't really finish games and just enjoy an occasional romp, I guess this is ok? If you want a first AC game, maybe get Black Flag instead. If you've already played a bunch of AC games, save your money and get something else.

TL;DR its a No only as a counter to all the positive weight this has. There are good things about this game but the bloat is so bad it dilutes a lot of the enjoyable qualities. Pros: - Beautiful - Greece feels well represented - Small touches from previous games are present like Sea Shantys - Voice acting in some places - Some quests are really enjoyable to complete particularly the bonus creatures Cons: - Too much space, even using fast travel you'll spend solid minutes going some places - Numerous pointless quests, landmarks, and other things just to fill time/space. Particularly avoid the timed and "blue dot" quests as I lost time before realizing they were all: Go there, and come back levels of depth. Just stick with gold ones and you'll be fine and bored in no time. - Plot is meh at best, boring at worst. Like most AC games, present day is there just to take you out of the action but all the "Greek Figures" feel like name drops. There are small moments of actual connection with characters, but they are gone quickly so enjoy them when they happen. - No "romance" scenes, maybe a pleasure groan but don't get excited when you see your first Heart next to a dialogue choice. Nit Picky: - Why do people pronounce the same words differently? Is it supposed to be a hint that they are from different regions? Did Sparta and Athens pronounce a lot of these words/gods differently? Honestly just came off as annoying. Stream of thought (read in no particular order) - Why am I doing this? Why do I care who wins the war? So many individual pieces that, had they been explored, could've been enjoyed, but get lost in the salad of this game. At the very beginning of getting into the whole Athens/Sparta conflict, I had no idea where my character would stand. As the game goes on, it ends up feeling like there was no point in caring. - Why is there no nuance in any of these decisions? Should I let these people go or brutally murder them or, surprise third option, let someone else brutally murder them? - Be careful, don't get caught stealing from this chest so you can check mark this random port town or you'll be hounded by another nameless pointless mercenary. - By the end of this, I didn't care about any new abilities, what I had worked. I didn't need more sets of gear, what I had worked. But why the hell was my entire ship Epic level except my flag? Cmon, give me an epic flag for this ship i don't use anymore because I fast travel. Look, if you love AC games, you'll probably like this. If you don't really finish games and just enjoy an occasional romp, I guess this is ok? If you want a first AC game, maybe get Black Flag instead. If you've already played a bunch of AC games, save your money and get something else.