Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Review/Critique/Whatever

Spoilers below.

Finally sitting down and writing something up for Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla. My personal overall game of the year. This might be long and rambly, But I think the context of the game excuses it. As Darby McDevitt, The Narrative Director of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Valhalla is “a decentralized tapestry of themes and ideas in a world worth exploring.” And I think that perfectly sums up the game well.

Narrative/Story: 8/10:

I always like to start with Narrative, because that’s where I draw the most enjoyment from video game’s. The story and the narrative be that the story and narrative being told in the game or the narrative the game’s tools allow me to create.

Assassin’s Creed provided me with both those things. I played through the game using male Eivor and will play the game again through the allow the Animus to Choose (canon) approach once the two DLC’s are out and the game has been patched fully but I have watched a few video’s to see how that would have affected my experience and while I think the Male Eivor Voice actor gives a better performance I would say that letting the animus choose is the “ideal” way to play the narrative.

I was optimistic with Darby McDevitt at the head of the narrative, He had already had two of my favorite Assassin’s Creed narrative’s under his belt with both Black Flag and Revelations. This far exceeded my expectations, Espically after how disappointed I was with Odyssey. While I could probably break every arc down I think I’ll focus on some of the major narrative beats in the game that I really enjoyed.

Eivor: Eivor’s journey was one I enjoyed more than any other game this year. The character progressions were subtle and enjoyable. Their slow unraveling of their belief in the god’s and Valhalla. I can’t praise the narrative direction enough with Eivor. The absolute brilliance in the boss fight with Odin where you are in an never ending battle against Odin where neither person can die, A perfect representation of what Eivor may have considered their own Valhalla at the beginning now tarnished with the feeling of desperation to get away and back to Sigurd and Ravensthorpe. Having to put your weapon away and walk away from Odin and what would have been Eivor’s own ideal fate at the beginning was a perfect way to summarize how much Eivor had changed within the narrative and while I may have liked to see this done in more gameplay terms as the game progressed I appreciate the efforts such as being able to focus on building Ravensthorpe I would have liked to see perhaps more story focused segments without combat and perhaps more mechanics like trade as an alternative to raiding.

Sigurd: Sigurd’s journey can change quite a bit depending on some choices you decide through the game. Despite sleeping with his wife and punching one of his friend’s I found out later that I still managed to stay within one point of gaining the “good” ending for Sigurd. I enjoyed watching Sigurd evolve and change throughout the game and coming to learn his motives and the happenings to him throughout the narrative.

Basim: Everything about him.

The Assassin’s Brotherhood: Another part of the game I found rather enthralling was how Eivor and the Brotherhood interracted. While never joining the Brotherhood, Over the course of the game Eivor’s path and motive’s aligned and pushed him towards working for the order, Unknowingly pretty much creating a English Assassin’s Brotherhood chapter with Ereke and Stowe which I hope they expand on in post launch content. I also wish this was expanded upon in the dialogue with Hytham in particular. Things such as Hytham and Eivor arguing about the idea of glory and the the disregard for both Eivor’s own life and the lives of others, It would have been a way to further show that Eivor was re-considering their philosophy, Similar to the way Altiar and Al Mualim’s discussion furthered the story of Assassin’s Creed 1. While I think Hytham was underutilized I hope this is because they plan to use him heavily in post launch.

Gameplay: 7/10:

I will admit that I played the game on easy for most of the run time in my first playthrough, As I said above I do enjoy gaming more for the narrative I found Valhalla’s combat the most interesting when I did bump up the difficulty and thus in my second playthrough will probably play on normal or even higher.

Combat: I found combat interesting enough to keep me going, Wish there was a little less of it at the best of times but I understand why there was so much of it in a AAA game. I might update this when I decide on what was the ideal difficulty to play through on for the most enjoyment I get from the combat system.

Exploration: I tried both having the HUD on and off for exploration and while I had it on for the significant portion of the game I had more fun when it was off, Just exploring the world, Seeing all the little stories the world had to tell, Seeing the views and seeing what I could loot from raid’s and houses. (There are a tonne of persian rugs for 873 England.)

Side Questing/World Events: I thoroughly enjoyed the side content the game had to offer and one thing I always did turn the difficulty up a notch for was the Sister’s of Lerion Sidequest because those boss fights were some of the best I’ve played in an RPG outside of perhaps the Gravedigger in the Witcher 3.

Graphics: 9/10

Absolutely stunning game visually, Some of the most impressive visuals, vista’s. I can’t wait to see what Ubisoft can do with a game built from the ground up for new gen systems. Not much more I can say here other than just to take your time and enjoy the views the game has to offer.

Overall: 9/10

My personal Game of The Year and a product that I enjoyed start to finish and an exciting start to what might be the future of Assassin’s Creed Series. It slots firmly within some of my favorite in the series and of the year.