/r/GirlGamers Review: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
When Valhalla was announced, I was cautiously optimistic. I felt that Ubisoft had made a lot of meaningful improvements with Odyssey, but after some questionable decisions in Odyssey’s DLCs I needed to learn more before I felt comfortable being fully excited. The announcement had a few major wins for me: a playable female Viking as an option for the lead again, as well as a setting that seemed new and full of adventure.
I know I’m not alone when I say that Kassandra in Odyssey (which we reviewed here) had a large impact on me. I had grown up playing Assassin’s Creed games, always loving the setting and story but always wanting to see myself in the main character. Kassandra was the first full-time glimpse into what a female lead could be in the franchise, and I loved every second of it. Most importantly, I loved that the game played the same as it would have with an Alexios lead. I’m happy to share that Eivor functions in the same way; in fact, you can switch between male/female Eivor throughout the game as you see fit. I think that feature will open even more doors for players who want to experience the game from different perspectives, and I hope it’s something they continue to keep for the franchise. Based on my experiences with Eivor as a female lead, I will be continuing this review with she/her pronouns as that is the gameplay I experienced.
Eivor is a powerful fighter with a tough attitude to match. Her choices and decisions have consequences, and the dialogue options give you the opportunity to shape her how you imagine her to be. The skill tree is expansive and changeable at any time, giving you the chance to play the combat scenarios as you see fit. As you complete the ‘star map’ of each skill, new ones appear and unlock, making the skill-up process a bit more imaginative and fun than just a standard talent tree. I used my playthrough to mostly go the Wolf route, which focuses on ranged abilities. I’ve found the various abilities you can move into to be fun, and discovery the different branches helped keep my interest in following certain skill trees.
I will note that I was keeping a close eye on all of these things after recent Ubisoft news. With the outing of sexual abusers within the company (many which took far too long in my opinion) and with the rise of the AC Sisterhood, I’m hopeful that future AC games continue to offer diverse lead options and work towards having a diverse and inclusive dev team behind those characters.
Combat is pretty standard for Assassin’s Creed. There was some bugginess to the fights, which is something I also felt in Odyssey. Most of the time when I went to aim with my bow there was input lag and I wouldn’t be able to move my mouse for a second. Some of the abilities you battle against from elites and more intense enemies seemed to lag pretty intensely (I was being tossed around by a large animal in a way I could not figure out how to dodge). None of it was a deal breaker or made any fight impossible, but it did occasionally annoy me when it would repeatedly happen. There are some fun kill animations when killing elite enemies, and there are many options for adrenaline-based skills that do extra damage (both ranged and melee versions). All in all, the combat is fun but continues along the same path as previous games. Nothing wrong with that, but if you were looking for big changes I don’t have a ton to report there.
This game also offers the option of choosing what weapons you wield; are you a 2-axe kind of gal, will you carry a spear, or would you like a shield? You can switch in and out as much as you like depending on the playstyle you want for various combat scenarios. I personally found the dual-axe set up to be pretty satisfying and also made my Eivor look super badass. You can also hide any piece of gear you wear, which allows you to show off any tattoo choices you make for Eivor.
The lore of the game is excellent, with extra details being provided through an in-game codex. I didn’t know much about Norse culture prior to this game, but there was plenty of factual details presented through dialogue, the codex, and vocabulary of the characters (which is translated in the subtitles, which I found very helpful). Without spoiling the story, I so far have really enjoyed the characters, interactions, and choices the game gives you to make. As I noted earlier, I feel like I am able to shape the Eivor I want to be by the dialogue options I’m given. I’m looking forward to chatting plot details once the game comes out tomorrow :)
The setting is again expansive and beautiful. The expanded open world that the most recent AC games has is continued in this game. From the sprawling mountains of Norway to the autumnal fog of England, there is so much to explore and do. I’ve logged almost 20 hours of gameplay during this early access and have only touched the surface of what the game has to offer. Each location has three objectives to look for: wealth, artifacts, and mysteries. Mysteries are quests or experiences that can be found in the world, and many are amusing and give humanity to the game. Wealth obviously adds material goods (such as supplies to build your settlement), and artifacts give more cosmetic options (tattoos, hair styles, designs for your settlement). You can again change your settings for how much the map will show you, from the map giving you every objective to the map showing you nothing. I personally enjoy the map showing nothing (as I love exploring every nook and cranny), but giving players the options allows you to decide how you’d like to explore the world.
The game continues the tradition of a flying companion to help scout areas, but it doesn’t feel as precise as Kassandra’s hawk did in Odyssey. I’m not sure if I’m misremembering what the hawk was like, but the raven of Valhalla doesn’t feel like it can pinpoint the map as easily. The raven does show open world collectibles like leather and materials, but I wish it felt simpler to use for combat scenarios (marking enemies, finding quest targets, etc.).
The map is explored on foot, in a longship or on a mount. There are mount options and skills to level up, and there is the opportunity to design the longship to your liking. The longship has a ‘cinematic’ mode that allows you to auto-path to your destination while watching the game cinematically (sort of like Red Dead Redemption 2 had). My screenshot above was from that mode, and it was one of my favorite things to do while travelling. It gave a really lovely view of the world around you, and also allowed for a break from the UI to fully experience the open world.
While on the longship, you can raid enemy camps or settlements for loot and glory. These raids are pretty fun and break up constant sailing, but my crew was just okay and looting and pillaging. Oftentimes enemies would aggro onto me no matter what my allies were doing, which didn’t allow me much of a chance to be stealthy or fight from ranged. I’d prefer that my raiding party be able to hold their own, instead of just being background noise while the enemy focuses all their attention towards me. You also need to rely on your raiding party for some tasks, like opening large doors or massive chests. I like this aspect for having the party feel like a team, but it was sometimes buggy for how long it would take an ally to come to my side to assist with the task.
The settlement building is a new experience in the game that I really enjoyed. There isn’t a ton of personal choices to make in designing the settlement (buildings have set locations), but building up a ‘home base’ helps the story feel a bit more immersive to me. Eivor is in a new land without a place to be, so starting with a few merchants in tents and growing over time into a bustling society gave me a sense of pride for what Eivor had accomplished in the game. You are able to add decorative features throughout and can design your own jomsviking that other players can use for battle. Larger settlements you visit also have mini-games to play: you can trade words in a flyting battle (sort of like a rap battle), have a mead chugging fight against locals, or play the dice mini game ‘Orlog’. I usually hate games within games, but Orlog was surprisingly fun.
So, should you get Assassin’s Creed Valhalla? If you liked Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, then you’ll probably enjoy this game too. There are certain aspects that give the game new life (such as skill tree expansion, more focus on the ‘assassin’ idea, building a settlement and new lore), which make up for where the game didn’t change as much (combat feeling stagnant, a ‘meh’ raven companion, and some buggy gameplay). Ubisoft has hit the nail on the head yet again at creating a world based on history that leaves you wanting more. The world is beautiful and full of some much to do, and for me this has been a nice break from current reality and a stressful world outside. Is the game groundbreaking? No. Is it tons of fun? Very much yes.
Disclaimer: We were provided with a PC review code from Ubisoft.
~iLuffhomer
