Published , by Bill Lavoy
Published , by Bill Lavoy
There was a time when open-world games often went with the bigger is better mentality. The size of the map was a pre-release selling point. Ubisoft embraced this mentality on several occasions, but quality will always win over quantity and, with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Ubisoft dialed back the former and poured more focus into the world and gameplay systems. It was a move that paid off repeatedly in their latest installment of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, but not all Viking warriors go to Valhalla.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla kicks off with players meeting a young version of the main playable character, Eivor, whom they'll get to know better as they experience the game. Eivor is celebrating a Viking alliance with family and friends of the Raven Clan, but after things go south and Eivor’s family is betrayed, the young Viking is attacked by a wolf. This is where players can choose between a male and female Eivor, or if they want Valhalla to decide based on current circumstances at any given time. The decision of whether to play as a female or male Eivor can be changed throughout the experience, which is a nice move by Ubisoft.
Fast forward several years and players are in control of Eivor as an adult and must play through a prologue with some tutorial moments scattered in. The first hour showcases Eivor’s Raven Clan life, plus systems like sailing, raiding, gear management and acquisition, the skill tree, and more. The story pushes forward during this time, with Eivor and her adopted brother, Sigurd, seeking revenge on the Viking that betrayed her family years ago. When this business is handled, Eivor, Sigurd, and the Raven Clan set sail for England to build a new settlement for their people.
Valhalla really gets going once Eivor arrives in England and the game’s systems start to open up. The clan’s settlement is started, and players must secure resources to build additions and upgrade the living situation for everyone. Just about every part of Valhalla runs through the settlement, which gives it a real sense of home and helps keep all systems connected through this hub. Building Gunnar’s Forge gives Eivor a place to enhance weapons and armor. The Trading Post is a spot to buy or sell items. The Barracks allows for the creation of a Jomsviking and crew management. Customizing the longship can be done in the Shipyard. There’s even a Hunter’s Hut for managing all the Legendary Animals, and a Hidden Ones Bureau to track the Order of the Ancients, a similar system to the cults from Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. There are more buildings, several of which enhance the Feast buff. A Raven Clan Feast will give Eivor some boosted stats when out in the world.
The settlement isn’t just about function, though. As new buildings are added the aesthetic changes, giving the vibe of an established community that’s thriving. There’s a sense of accomplishment in building up the settlement, and because it’s connected to so many other aspects of the game, it made me want to get out into the world and swing my axe. Ravensthorpe – my settlement – was a great launching point for my adventures, and it was never far from my mind.
Once the settlement was established it was time to head out and gather supplies to build it up further. I hopped in my longboat, asked my crew to sing a song, and enjoyed the peacefulness as we sailed along England’s narrow rivers looking for trouble. In this case, trouble meant a raid, an event in Valhalla where Eivor and her crew can attack a monastery, or several other types of settlements.
It’s a lot of fun to raid with a full Viking crew. It provides a unique gameplay experience to attack with a hoard of warriors. If a member of Eivor’s crew falls, they can be revived, and they are needed to help force open doors and chests. Opening chests during a raid is how supplies are acquired to build the settlement. It’s a frantic experience that serves as a reminder that Vikings aren’t often friendly to strangers, although it stops short of encouraging players to kill unarmed priests.
Raiding isn’t the only activity, obviously. Most of my time was spent at least toying with the idea of pushing the story forward in Valhalla. I would go where the quests led, but the pull to explore was greater here than it was in Odyssey for me. While the overall narrative in Valhalla was fine, it was never the primary force pushing my decisions on what to do next. The exception to this was a series of quests centered around Eivor's destiny, which I won’t detail in the interest of avoiding spoilers. Generally, though, I was more focused on tracking down collectibles and exploring hidden areas.
Valhalla is full of unique places to explore and fun things to do. There are random world events that can be hit or miss. A mini game called Dice or a sort of Viking rap battle known as Flyting are solid distractions. Legendary Animals are there to hunt, Zealots roam the land looking for a fight, and Flying Paper with cosmetic designs floating through the air can be snatched up using Eivor's parkour skills. Many more activities riddle the land and offer meaningful rewards, ensuring players won't get bored in Valhalla.
While the main story never really pulled me in, I quite enjoyed some of the characters and nods to Viking lore and Norse mythology. Some quests had me genuinely invested in spending time with the NPCs featured in them, and I think anyone with even a bit of interest in Norse mythology or current Viking pop culture will enjoy Valhalla.
The real strength of Valhalla, however, is in the focus that has gone into the world and the systems within it. Valhalla feels much smaller than Odyssey, but there’s less dead space. There’s a good pace to moving around and finding places to explore. It’s a breathtaking game on the highest PC settings – as is expected after Odyssey – and the entire world is enhanced by a beautiful soundtrack that never feels overpowering but always manages to complement the moment perfectly. While I wouldn’t say Valhalla is on the same level as some open-world superstars, it’s a massive upgrade over the hollowness that was felt in Odyssey.
As I explored the world, I began to find gear and collectibles, unlocking abilities and skill points to craft my perfect Viking build. Every one of these systems works better in Valhalla than the last few Assassin’s Creed games.
There is much less gear in Valhalla than Odyssey, but that gear is far more meaningful. For starters, it all drops near the same base level, but the ability to enhance it and upgrade it is improved. Enhancing gear at a forge can improve its appearance, add slots for runes, and expand its potential to be upgraded. Upgrading gear or adding runes is done from the inventory. What this means is that gear found early in the game can be upgraded and maintained throughout the entire journey, instead of having to replace a weapon every five minutes when picking up a new one.
Valhalla has also re-worked how skills and abilities are handled. Abilities, which are generally devastating moves used in battle, are now found by locating a Book of Knowledge in the world, which are often hidden away in caves and behind small puzzles. The skill tree now features both stat nodes and passive fighting moves, but not abilities. Players will now earn skill points in the world and, when spent in the skill tree, will improve their overall power, and allow them to take on more difficult challenges. The skill tree itself is presented as an astronomy map, and never once did I find it tedious to explore or build out my skills. The skill tree's fluidity in use is driven home by that fact that it's free to re-spec Evior’s skills at any time, or even take back single nodes without penalty to spend those points on different upgrades.
The gameplay core concerning the skill tree, weapons and armor, abilities, and power feels great. It pushes the player to get into the world and discover what’s on offer, while at the same time allowing for wild build experimentation without punishment. The focus, not unlike in God of War, is on the world and the things to do in it, not on the grind.
Unfortunately, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla has it issues, and some are more prominent than others. The big one for me was the game’s performance on PC. According to Ubisoft’s own specs guide, I could easily run the game on Enthusiast, but my experience was riddled with massive frame drops that at times rendered it unplayable. Ubisoft deployed a patch that seemed to have cleared up most – if not all – of the issues, but PC buyers should do their homework before diving in.
I wouldn’t call it a weak point, but the combat in Valhalla didn’t do much for me. Dual wielding weapons is cool, as are some fighting moves and abilities, but combat was always just something I had to endure to push the story forward or allow me to explore the area for collectibles and loot. It’s not bad, and even has a few shining moments, but I also wouldn’t say it’s a step forward from Odyssey. The stealth gameplay remains strong and fun, but the nature of Viking warriors means there’s less sneaking and more yelling than previous games.
Rounding out my concerns are the instances where I was annoyed by the writing and voice acting. Early in the game I found a world event that was supposed to be funny in a sexual way, but played out as crude and poorly executed. I was also referred to as if I was male on several occasions, even though my Eivor was female. I enjoyed the performance by Cecilie Stenspil as the female Eivor, but some characters from the supporting cast were poorly portrayed. There’s an art to putting humor into games that fit a darker tone, and I don’t think Valhalla pulled it off with consistency here. Most of these issues were scattered about, but when they pop up it can pull a player from their immersion.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla took a lot of great steps with its gameplay systems and fresh focus on a more robust open world. It hooked me on building my perfect Eivor through meaningful gear and by connecting the gameplay loop to character evolution in a fluid manner. The smaller world feels fuller thanks to better pacing and spacing. The plethora of unique and fun things to do while on the path generally tie into the Raven Clan’s settlement, which helps to keep the experience fluid and connected most of the time.
It’s a shame that more care wasn’t taken to remove some of the silliness in the writing or to improve on the hit or miss voice acting. The combat doesn't feel like it's taken a step forward and, in fact, combat in Odyssey felt tighter. I'm still worried that the PC performance issues aren't entirely behind me, but I suspect those will get addressed in future updates. Ubisoft is known for their fun open worlds, but it appears that experience and previous stumbles have seen them take big steps forward, making Valhalla one of their best Assassin's Creed games in recent memory.
This review is based on a PC digital download code provided by Ubisoft. Assassin's Creed Valhalla will be available on November 10, 2020.