ODYSSEY: THE SEARCH FOR ULYSSES

At the request of Penelope, who has had no news of Ulysses for many years, Heritias sets off in search of his childhood friend. In the footsteps of Ulysses, Heritias goes first to Troy, the last place the leader of the Achaean troops was seen. Gathering clues about his friend little by little as he pursues his adventures, he travels the Islands of the Aegean Sea, crosses dream-like universes and descends into the Underworld.

Made to undergo dreadful trials, he will have to fight against terrifying creatures (the Cyclops, the Gorgon...). He will have to foil the manipulation of the gods, escape from the conspiracies of Poseidon's agents, and resist the charms of seductive enchantresses...

• Stunning action and adventure inspired by the most famous story of Antiquity.
• A universe faithful to Homer's tale, including its legendary characters (Poseidon, Zeus, Cerberus, the Cyclops...).
• An incredible voyage through magnificent lands (ancient temples, the beautiful landscapes of the Greek islands, mythical locations...).
• Outstanding graphic quality thanks to the new Cryogen engine, which allows the characters to move in real time 3D in pre-rendered environments.
• Bewitching music, combining oriental influences and contemporary rhythms.

~ from the back of the box

 

Cryo Interactive always seemed determined to make games that looked like a million drachmae, even when they played like the brainchild of a drunken philosophers' toga party. The French studio built an enviable reputation throughout the '90s for lavish adventures steeped in history and mythology, yet just as often became infamous for sloppy controls and unfinished releases. By the time Odyssey: The Search for Ulysses arrived in 2000, the company's fortunes were already beginning to drift off course. Thankfully, this retelling - or perhaps more accurately, reinterpretation - of Homer's legendary voyage is one of the sturdier vessels in Cryo's fleet. It's still unmistakably a Cryo game, mind you. That means gorgeous scenery, grand ambitions and frequent bouts of cursing at your keyboard.

Instead of stepping into the sandals of Odysseus himself (or Ulysses; he goes by his latinised name here), you play Heritias, the childhood friend of the King of Ithaca. With Odysseus long since missing following the Trojan War, the island has become vulnerable to opportunistic rivals and the ever-growing crowd of arrogant suitors vying for the hand of Odysseus' wife, Penelope. Hoping to restore order, Heritias embarks on a journey across the Aegean to discover what became of the legendary king. Along the way he encounters many of the familiar landmarks and personalities from Greek mythology, though often far from to Homer's work in plot. Beyond the Cyclops of the original, other mythological staples like the Gorgon also make an appearance. But rather than simply re-enacting the poem, the game patches together famous icons of Greek myth into its own untold side story occurring alongside the classic narrative. 

The inventory orb is functional, but it's weird design takes a little getting used to (left).

Some puzzles have you pay close attention to the inventory description. Knowing them will help solve this one (right).

Instead of fully 3D environments, Odyssey uses Cryo's go-to graphical style; pre-rendered backgrounds. You'll be exploring beautifully rendered panoramic scenes that stretch around the main character. Heritias himself is fully polygonal, and he often stands out in front of pixelated vistas. Movement is handled using tank controls - forward walks, left turns left and right turns right - while the space bar is your main interaction button. You'll use this to chat to the locals (also polygonal) and picking up items. Enter will contextually use that item if you have it in your hand, and more often than not, the context is "drop it". All other actions are tucked away in the first four function keys. F1 opens the inventory where you can hold one of what's in there with the spacebar, F2 puts the item your holding back there. F3 takes out your sword letting you swing it with the Enter key. It will also put it away again. The last one - F4 - pauses the game. It's not that many keys in all fairness but their clumsy, immovable placement is begging for a way to remap them. 

There is combat in this game, but more often than not it's entirely optional. That's probably a good thing too, and this engine isn't exactly the best for kinetic action. When you are forced to fight, they're entirely story-driven in their nature. The Gorgon, for example, is downed via an inventory puzzle instead of a frantic swing of the sword. These aren't the fumbling hoards of Resident Evil. Heritias is slow with his blade, but in an interesting fashion, almost all NPCs can be killed. At least the unimportant ones. Doing so adds to your sin, as does gambling or being plain rude. Acting with truth and compassion, however, reduces your sin. Where you fall changes the end game so its not entirely unutilised. Will you take the light path or the dark?

Gambling, along with murdering and sleeping with women takes you down the dark path and adds to your sin (left).

Death comes suddenly and unexpectedly, so save often (right).

Puzzles are where Odyssey feels most comfortable. Inventory management is straightforward, with collected objects displayed as detailed polygonal icons positioned around a impressive looking orb with dubious practicality. Conversations often reveal the next objective through of-the-era stilted dialogue, but the game rarely conjures up anything that will truly tax the brain. Ironically, the one place I got stuck was at the very beginning of the game. As soon as you reach the shores of a post-war Troy, you are forbidden from entering without proper identification. You may think to search for such a thing but the true answer is found by observing a worker carry sacks into the city. If you do exactly that, the two folks blocking your way will just ignore you. Other puzzles fare better, such as creating a lotus potion or answering riddles. 

One memorable sequence sees Heritias encountering not just one, but two Cyclops. The first is downed in a nifty call back to the lotus flowers, while the other is stabbed in the eye with a spike launched from a catapult that you have to build first. Nowhere close to the sheep-herding cave of the poem, but there are nods to it if you pay attention. It's less about lightning-fast reactions than recognising how each item contributes to the overall plan. There are occasional moments where the next step isn't immediately obvious, and wrestling with the controls is more difficult than solving some of them, but compared with several other Cryo productions, Odyssey is surprisingly decent in its puzzle design, rewarding observant players instead of clairvoyant ones.

My best attempt at getting the game to run - so far (left). Everything works, but the dialogue choices 

are a little unreadable depending on where you are. This is how it's supposed to look (right).

Ironically, the toughest puzzle isn't found anywhere in Ancient Greece - it's getting it to run on Windows 11. Left unchecked, the game in unplayably fast - an issue that even some previously reliable patches couldn't solve. dgVoodoo helped a little, as did ddrawcompat. In the end, I found the best combination was a pairing of ddrawcompat and DxWnd. The latter is used throttle the speed without affecting frame rate, though it's far from perfect. Cut-scenes become a touch choppy because they're slowed down alongside the gameplay (and the custom format used means the program cannot separate cinematics from gameplay), while a few cosmetic interface flourishes, such as the ornate dialogue border, disappear into the ether. Still, considering Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey had me itching to revisit Homer's world, I'll happily accept a few missing decorations if it means actually getting to play the thing.

Cryo rarely made perfect games. In truth, I'm not entirely convinced they even knew what one looked like. What they did make were fascinating ones, and Odyssey: The Search for Ulysses ranks among their better efforts (though that could be down to another spotty development company, In Utero, also having a hand in it). The setting is inviting, the story simple yet engrossing, and the gameplay lacks some of the more egregious design choices other games have made. The compatibility gremlins are entirely the fault of Father Time rather than Cryo's programmers, and once you've wrestled those into submission you'll find an adventure that's easy to recommend. Like Odysseus himself, getting there isn't always smooth sailing, but the journey is what makes it memorable.

As for the awesome music by Gilles Sivilotto, you can listen and purchase the soundtrack on Bandcamp.

To download the game, follow the link below. This is a custom installer exclusive to The Collection Chamber uses  DxWind and DDrawCompat to run on modern systems with IMGDrive Lite to handle CD-ISO mounting. US, European Manuals and French-language Artbook included. Read the ChamberNotes.txt for more detailed information. Tested on Windows 11.

File Size: 923 Mb.  Install Size: 1.18 Gb.  Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ

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Odyssey: The Search for Ulysses is © Cryo Interactive Entertainment & In Utero
Review, Cover Design and Installer created by me

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