Category: Reviews

Haven’t completed your epic journey yet? Check out our Greek Sea Odyssey Island Guide!

Hello, Poptropicans!

With the recent release of Poptropica Worlds’ third island adventure, Greek Sea Odyssey, we wanted to share what we thought of it and, in the comments, open the discussion to all of you as well. So here it is: our comprehensive review of Greek Sea Odyssey Island! We’ll cover story, mechanics, visuals, and more. Let’s set sail!

Be warned: This review contains spoilers!

Storyline & Characters

Let’s begin with a quick overview of the island: You arrive in Athens to discover that the tyrannical god, Zeus, won’t leave the citizens alone as they try to develop the world’s first democracy right here in ancient Greece. Athena, the goddess of wisdom, embarks you on a journey by sending you on a sea voyage, alongside Theseus, to collect three sacred items to topple Zeus.

Undoubtedly, we collect all three of the sacred items and get to encounter many cool Greek mythological figures along the way, like Daedalus as Disastrous Daddy, Dionysius as Drunken Party Ruiner, and Hippolyta as I’ve-Had-Enough Matriarch — all new to Poptropica! Though each character (and creatures like the Cyclops and Gryphon) brought something unique to the adventure, the most interesting character was probably Icarus, who was given a modern spin as emo teenager mixed with his mythological roots of hardcore harp, all while sulking at his petty father.

Meeting lots of new characters was a plus. The premise was also interesting, and well executed: a sea odyssey in search of powerful items inspired by several Greek tales. And, it took a different turn from what we were expecting (we had speculated a remake for Mythology Island from Poptropica Original)—but a good one.

Gameplay

Greek Sea Odyssey seemed a little short, with less challenging tasks in comparison to islands from Poptropica Original, a lament voiced by many players in the community. (An example of a less challenging task would be the rock-paper-scissors game with Cyclops, who’s daft enough to have only one move! But maybe that’s just his character. One part that could’ve been difficult, the Gryphon chase, allows you to skip over the challenge if you fall too many times and just choose to “go ahead” in the game.)

On the one hand, it’s kind of nice to have the difficulty toned down, since challenging puzzles could get frustrating on Poptropica Original. On the other hand, the challenge aspect now feels almost too dialed back, leaving us with not much to test our wits or maneuvering abilities. Even in the ending, it wasn’t too hard to skip over some orbs, and once we got to the top, Zeus relinquished his throne without another duel—not even with words (well, there was a little exchange, but nothing dependent on the player).

For the amount of time it took to wait for this new island release (over 7 months since 24 Carrot Island, and 4 months if we’re counting Dr. Hare’s Revenge), we were expecting to have a greater adventure to go on—and for it to end with a more climactic boss battle than it did.

There’s also been some funny business at the final showdown with Zeus. When players were struck by one of the electric orbs, it was like a never-ending death strike that took you all the way down to the bottom, forcing you to start over. We’re not sure if this is a glitch or not, but it’s not exactly a fun challenge either way.

On a more positive note, the audio experience of the adventure, engineered by Creator Kyle Fox, was well-crafted. Not only was there ambient music that matched moods at various scenes, but even down in the Minotaur’s labyrinth as we plodded through sludge to get to the Cyclops, we could hear the effects of our footsteps sloshing their way through. Now that’s attention to detail!

Visuals

The different scenes in this island are absolutely captivating. From the details in the Minotaur’s labyrinth to the stunning background scenery, you can tell that a lot of thought and work went into every visual. The Athena statue in the Parthenon was especially breathtaking! Check out some of the designs in the gallery below.

Whether you noticed them or not, there were numerous cultural references and interactive bits throughout the island. Some of these include Wonder Woman’s cameo in Themiscyra, The Bolt sword from Legendary Swords in the labyrinth, the unicorn in the bushes, and probably the most notable, the Sound of Silence song reference from Snakehead. Many Poptropicans found these quite enjoyable — we did too!

Verdict

All things considered—from the unique storyline mashing many Greek legends, to well-crafted characters, to not-so-challenging puzzles, to gorgeous Grecian scenes with witty references—our final rating for Greek Sea Odyssey is…

The wait for this island was excruciating for many players, especially since we barely saw any sneak peeks for what was to come (too little, to be honest).

We were pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn’t simply a remake of the popular Mythology Island on Poptropica Original, but rather a whole new story with lots of new faces along the way. Greek Sea Odyssey turned out to be a wonderful ride, albeit on the short end compared to other Poptropica islands (though about the same length as other Worlds islands, so this may be a pattern that sticks around). The challenges could have been amped up a notch or two as well. On the whole, though, there’s lots to love.

With its interweaving of Greek legends, fun details, excellent audio/visuals, and more, we’ve decided to award Greek Sea Odyssey 4/5 Grecian urns. Here’s to more odysseys in the near future for Poptropica!

Thanks for reading our review of Greek Sea Odyssey Island! How do you think this adventure compared to its sort-of prequel, Mythology Island? Do you agree with our verdict? Share your opinions in the comments below!

– the PHB team –