You’ve spent eighty hours—maybe more—kicking Persians off cliffs and hunting down every last cultist in mainland Greece. You're tired. Your inventory is full of legendary swords you'll never use. Then you see the prompt for the AC Odyssey Fate of Atlantis DLC. It’s huge. It’s expensive. And honestly, after the somewhat grounded (for a Greek myth game) main story, the idea of jumping into literal heaven and hell feels like a massive leap. Is it just another Ubisoft grind, or is it the actual ending the game deserved?
It's weird.
Most people think of DLC as a side quest. But if you care about the overarching Assassin’s Creed lore—the modern-day stuff with Layla Hassan and the precursors known as the Isu—this isn't optional. It’s the spine of the narrative. Without it, the ending of the base game feels like a half-finished thought.
The Isu Problem and Why This Expansion Exists
Let’s be real: the Isu have always been the most confusing part of this franchise. They're these hyper-advanced beings who ruled Earth before a solar flare wiped them out, but in the early games, they were just glowing holograms speaking in riddles. AC Odyssey Fate of Atlantis changes that. It stops treating the Isu as ghosts and starts treating them as characters.
You play as Kassandra (or Alexios), but you're essentially inside a simulation. Aletheia, an Isu rebel of sorts, creates these "realms" to help the Eagle Bearer master the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus. It's a clever narrative trick. It allows Ubisoft to go full fantasy without breaking the "historical" rules of the Animus.
Elysium is a Golden Cage
The first episode takes you to Elysium. It’s stunning. Seriously, if your PC or console can handle it, the verticality of the Fields of Asphodel is a benchmark for open-world design. Flowers everywhere. Golden light. It looks like a postcard from paradise.
But it’s boring to play at first.
The gameplay loop in Elysium introduces these "Overseers." They’re basically regional leaders you have to weaken by destroying Isu statues (Tribute to Maiden statues) and clearing out outposts. It feels a bit like the base game’s conquest system, but with a supernatural skin. The enemies here, the Isu Soldiers, can freeze your adrenaline. That’s a massive shift. In the base game, you’re a god. In Elysium, these guys can take away your ability to use your best moves.
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Persephone is the ruler here, and she's written with a lot of nuance. She isn't a villain, really. She’s just a woman trying to keep order in a place where everyone wants to leave. You spend your time balancing the needs of Hermes, Hekate, and Adonis. It’s messy. You'll probably make a choice that pisses someone off, and that’s the point.
Crossing into the Underworld
If Elysium is about beauty and stifling order, the second episode—Torment of Hades—is the complete opposite. It’s grey. It’s dusty. It’s full of literal pits of despair.
I liked this one more.
Why? Because it’s a boss-rush mode disguised as an RPG. You immediately run into Cerberus. Yes, the three-headed dog. After you deal with him, Hades shows up. He’s sarcastic, cruel, and easily the best-acted character in the entire AC Odyssey Fate of Atlantis arc. He tells you that because you killed the "hound," the gates of the Underworld are open, and all the bad guys you killed in the main game are escaping.
- You have to hunt down the Fallen.
- These are basically the toughest mercenaries/bosses from the base game.
- You find people like the Cyclops or the Poisoner waiting for you.
- It provides a weird sense of closure.
There’s a specific questline involving Brasidas and Phoibe that will actually ruin your day emotionally. It’s rare for a massive AAA game to slow down and let you talk to the ghosts of the people you failed to save. It’s heavy. It works.
The Atlantis We Actually Wanted
Then there’s the third act: Judgment of Atlantis. This is the big one. It’s the sunken city before it actually sank. It’s a concentric circle of high-tech towers and waterways.
This is where the AC Odyssey Fate of Atlantis keyword finally pays off. You are appointed as a "Dikastes"—a judge. You literally decide the fate of Isu and humans living together. The gear here is the best in the game. You get to forge Isu weapons that have insane perks, like spreading assassin damage to nearby enemies.
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But the story gets dark. You realize the Isu weren't just "advanced." They were often monsters. They experimented on humans. They created the mythical creatures (the Minotaur, the Medusa) as biological weapons. It reframes the entire history of the world.
The Grind vs. The Reward
Is it too long? Probably.
Each episode takes about 8 to 12 hours. If you’re a completionist, you’re looking at 30+ hours of content just for this DLC. That’s longer than some entire games. The repetitive nature of the outposts can get to you. You’ll find yourself clearing the same looking Isu fort for the tenth time just to get enough "Isu Knowledge" to pass through a restricted door.
But the power creep is real. By the end of the third episode, your build will be unrecognizable. You’ll be teleporting through walls and calling down rain of arrows that explode on impact. It turns the game into a true power fantasy.
What Most Players Get Wrong About the Ending
People complain that the ending is "too sci-fi." They miss the point. Assassin’s Creed has always been sci-fi. It’s a story about a guy in a chair looking at DNA. AC Odyssey Fate of Atlantis just finally stops pretending it’s a history simulator and embraces the Ancient Aliens vibe it’s been flirting with since 2007.
If you stop at the end of the base game, you’re missing the actual transition that explains how the world gets to the state we see in AC Valhalla.
Actionable Tips for Playing The Fate of Atlantis
If you're about to jump in, don't just rush the main markers. You'll get crushed. The difficulty spike is significant.
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1. Fix your build before Elysium. The Isu soldiers can drain your adrenaline. If you rely on spamming "Hero Strike," you're going to die. A lot. Look for gear that increases "Adrenaline per Hit" or "Adrenaline per Dodge." You need a passive way to get your energy back because you can't rely on the skills themselves being available.
2. Don't ignore the Keeper's Insights.
These are hidden tablets scattered across the three realms. They don't just give you XP; they upgrade your existing abilities into "Enhanced" versions. For example, your "Ares Bull Charge" becomes a spectral bull that tramples everything in a straight line without you moving. These are game-changers. Find them early.
3. Choose Kassandra. This is subjective, but Melissanthi Mahut’s voice acting carries the emotional weight of the Underworld much better than Michael Antonakos. The grief feels more real.
4. Save your resources for the Forge of Atlantis.
In the third episode, you can craft three specific weapons (Mace, Spear, or Dagger). You need "Adamant Ingots" found in the world. Make sure you pick the weapon type that fits your playstyle because you can only make three. The Dagger is incredible for Assassin builds, while the Mace is a beast for Warrior setups.
5. Manage your "Isu Knowledge" early.
In the final episode, certain areas are locked behind your "Knowledge level." You increase this by scanning data caches and interacting with Isu monuments. If you skip these, you'll hit a wall in the main story and have to backtrack to scan random boxes. Scan everything you see from the moment you land in Atlantis.
The AC Odyssey Fate of Atlantis expansion is the most ambitious thing Ubisoft has done with the series' lore in a decade. It’s bloated, sure. It’s occasionally frustrating. But seeing the Isu civilization in its prime is a payoff that fans waited years for. It transforms the Eagle Bearer from a mercenary into a cosmic guardian.
If you want the full experience, don't just play for the loot. Pay attention to the notes left in the labs in Atlantis. They explain the "Olympos Project"—the lore reason why monsters exist in this universe. It ties every weird thing in the base game together into a single, cohesive, and slightly terrifying explanation of genetic engineering gone wrong.
Get the DLC on sale if you can. It goes for cheap during Ubisoft's seasonal events. Even at full price, the sheer volume of content is hard to argue with. You get three entirely new maps, a revamped skill tree, and a definitive end to the story of the Staff of Hermes. Just be prepared to spend another week of your life in the Animus. It's a long road, but the view from the top of Atlantis is worth the climb.