It's better than Odyssey, but that's not saying much. I thought the beginning, around half of the arcs, and ending was great, the modern day one especially makes me excited to see where it goes next, which is something which hasn't happened since AC3. I honestly think this new Assassin's Creed could be improved by cutting 90% of the fluff. I enjoyed arcs like Lincolnshire, and Glowcestreshire, but others were a forgettable. I wasn't bored while playing any arc, but at the end when your allies are gathered, I found myself asking who some of the people were when meeting up with them. I don't think this game is bad, but playing through it, I just think, did this game really need to be 91 hours long?

If you liked the weirdness of AC: Revelations and AC: Black Flag/Rogue, you're gonna love this game. This game does drag on for longer than I would like, and the Regions that you must complete end up feeling a little disjointed as you advance further in the game. I assume they assigned a dev team to each of the game's multiple regions, which is what causes this feeling of "some areas are better than others."

If you like the Sci-fi aspect of Assassin's Creed, and you actually give a shit about the Isu and Juno and Alethia, you will love this game. I still think the high watermark of the series is Origins, but Valhalla manages to recapture some of the magic the series had in the mid 2010s.

EDIT: Reduced my score from 4 to 3 because of how lackluster the content has been. Lazy "themed festivals," and a completely unrelated DLC in Wrath of the Druids. I am hopeful, after seeing Ubisoft Forward, that we will actually have some lore related DLC in Siege of Paris and whatever the third DLC is planned. Until that point, I won't be playing again and my rating won't be rising. Origins is still the best Creed game

69th game finished for this year!

1 star only for the Orlog dice game
Sigh... so where do I even begin. I'll be honest I thought this would be the first mainline Assassin's Creed game that I wouldn't be able to finish. As a huge fan of AC, heck I loved the hell out of Odyssey, I really wanted to like this game. And also my love surprised me with this game. Shout out to you my happy pill. Anyways. I tried, but really... Aside from the obvious setting and some quality of life improvements this is basically the same game since Origins. And Origins came out in 2017. We've all been playing the same game for the last 3 years. Valhalla was just too bloated and it dragged on. Bigger is not always better. I don't want a large world, I want a meaningful one. Bummer too because the settlement aspect I thought would harken back to AC Brotherhood but nope. It was just a let down

And also. Bring back the berserk darts!

it's genuinely insane how far this series plummeted from the heights of Origins. Valhalla is a bit less sprawling than the disgustingly bloated Odyssey, but it's somehow fifty times more boring. i'm glad they scaled back the loot shit from that game, at least. but it doesn't really help when the level-locked map regions still make the game brutally linear. what's the point of this being an open-world game at all anymore, if you're going to force players to approach each region and its questline in a strict order anyway? there is no reason at any point to explore, to get lost in the world. especially since this world is the most painfully dull in the series since the flat muddy townships of colonial america. i would trade the breadth of the newer titles in a heartbeat to go back to the breathtaking heights of the ezio trilogy. i want to jump off tall buildings again. and then i want to climb back up.

Playtime: 74 hours
While I’m still partial to Odyssey, Valhalla is an excellent entry to the series. Where Odyssey felt very bloated due to the sheer size of the map, Valhalla feels more contained and is easier to get a handle on. However, while the plot twists that occur towards the end of the story are exciting, it takes a bit too long to get there. I started feeling burnt out upon reaching the Jorvik section and realizing I still had 6 regions left to go before the game would be over (this was about 50 or so hours in). While I did not finish the Vinland quests or hunting down the Order members, I still had a lot of fun with this game and fully intend to finish it whenever DLC is released some time this year.

I had to put this game down since Google Stadia doesn’t work on my college wifi lmao, but from the 30 hours I played I’d say this is a pretty solid game. It's nothing crazy original or special, but it has an enjoyable enough story and a fun world to explore. It doesn't seem as overly long as I expected it to be based on how the game was progressing, but I haven't beat it yet so I could be wrong.

One big thing that could turn some people off is that it doesn’t really feel like an Assassin’s Creed game, to me at least. The game very much leans toward full on beating people the fuck up with an axe type of action. There is stealth, but I found myself in action battle sequences more often than stealth. This doesn’t really bother me though since I enjoyed the combat, and I’m not an AC purist since I’ve only played like 4 of the games. Overall I enjoyed myself and I’d recommend it on sale for like $40.

A lot of mixed opinions about this game, so time for a lengthy review.

First off, I'm going to start off by complaining about the bugs. I fucking swear I must've crashed over 100 times while playing like 70+ hours of this game, and it didn't end there - I encountered a fuckton of game breaking bugs like:
- Not being able to re-equip my cloak after completing the Glowecestrescire story line
- After fast traveling from a Trader in Lunden to Ravensthorpe, Eivor ended up not even leaving the store, and I would be stuck in an unrendered version of Lunden unable to move at all, requiring me to turn off the game again, only to witness another error crash
- Eivor getting stuck in a fucking small tree and eventually dying

Also a bunch of other bugs which just annoyed the fuck out of me, enough to make a YouTube supercut. Anyways, with that aside...

The story was okay, it was entertaining but it wasn't anything great. I felt like I had been promised a return to the roots of the franchise, and I didn't get it, I was cock teased instead, countless times. Every time the game felt like it was returning to the old roots of the series, it went away. Most of this game is just gaining alliances... for literally no reason in the end. What do the alliances gain? When the fuck do you even call on them besides once, and not even near the end of the game either? I'm assuming these are left for the DLC, but I have doubts. Besides that, the ending was pretty good, a good enough ending that's been long overdue since AC 4, I was satisfied with it and the cliff hanger left me baffled. I liked Eivor as a character more over both Bayek and Alexios/Kassandra, so ig that's a pro for the game as well. Still hated Layla tho, but it was fun to see Shaun and Rebecca again, even to hear Desmond's voice again through spoilers and literally seeing him again as The Reader. Having the hidden blade back was awesome too.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed by the costume choices. I wanted to look like a Viking, and I only got that feeling with two armour sets. I then wanted to look like an assassin, still only got that with 2 - 3 armour sets, and one of the sets I worked hard for looked like ass. In the end, I resorted to actually spending money on Helix credits to look like a Viking. The combat was really good tho, a lot more fun than Origins/Odyssey, and the brutal, unique deaths were pretty cool. Flyting was fun, and this game also included the only in-game mini-game I actively played, which was Orlog.

The attention to detail was pretty cool, I loved how Eivor didn't know how to perform a leap of faith until later in the game, and a lot of the things they added to the gameplay felt new and refreshing for the franchise. I'm a sucker for RPG games, so the RPG elements didn't bother me too much.

My final verdict; it's better than Origins and Odyssey for sure, in my opinion, but it still hasn't topped anything from the AC - AC4 era of the franchise. I'm hoping with the cliff hanger we got, it will fully return to it's roots, since William Miles is fully being introduced at this point again I assume, and the ending just seems to hard to fuck up or underwhelm people over in the next game. But Ubisoft has done that before.
Definitely play this game if you're into Vikings, because you'll love it - pillaging is definitely a fun past time, but just be aware of the bugs and prepare for never ending crashes.

I’ve been a longtime fan of the AC series, dating back to the original in 2007. The first few games are amazing and I enjoyed each different setting the series took us. We’ve gone from the holy crusades, to the Italian reananictnse, the American revolution, the industrial revolution. I was there when the series took a step back and went into more of a RPG oriented game. We went back in time to ancient Egypt, Greece, and now we’ve made it to the age of vikings, and the early stages of Christianity in AC Valhalla.

The game follows our newest assassin, Evior, as he/she and her brother leaves her native land of Norway to new frontiers in England. They aim to pacify England but forming alliances with the many factions/cities across the land. Along the way you meet a wonderful cast of colorful characters, beautifully imagined environments of the land at the time, and a story that goes pretty deep at times. It’s easily the best AC game in a very long time. Being a viking is absolutely exhilarating and powerful. Combat is excellent, although the stealth aspect does slack at times.

The AC series has certainly had its ups and downs. The last couple games have been whatever, but this was a breath of fresh air. Is this game perfect? No, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it.

System: PlayStation 5
Rating: 7/10
Playtime: ~95 Hours

Valhalla gave me a new appreciation for what this style of game is best at. Go through the story and pay attention along the way, but it's perfect to use as a background while listening to music, podcasts, etc. The way that the story is told is interesting, and I enjoyed it more than the three paths that Odyssey took. The game does have it's bugs, but nothing game breaking came up for me during my playthrough.

While the game is a bit of a slog at times(I seriously thought it ended 2-3 times before it actually did) it brought me into the world moreso then either of the two previous ones did. Combat is fun if generally straight forward however once you unlocked the stealth tree clearing out outposts became quite the fun time. Underrated part of this game was the boss fights, to me that is when the combat shined the most. Story is still AC Nonsense but for the most part takes a back seat to exploring old England. Skal!

Una aventura INMENSA, tanto para bien como para mal. Hay un nivel de cuidado y trabajo en cada detalle del mundo que no se ve en muchos juegos de mundo abierto. Cada puntito del mapa es una miniaventura en sí mismo y explorar se vuelve en una parte casi fundamental de la experiencia a raíz de eso.

Sin embargo, hay DEMASIADAS cosas. No me malinterpretéis, siempre está bien tener mucho contenido, pero tras las casi 130 horas que me ha llevado limpiar el mapa entero, estaba casi rogando que se acabara ya.

La historia está bastante bien, aunque queda un poco inconexa al estar dividida en tramas más pequeñitas por cada territorio. Eivor es una protagonista fantástica y hay muchos personajes muy memorables que hacen que el conjunto sea mucho más potente a pesar de esa sensación de "esto no importa demasiado" que deja a veces la trama.

Visualmente es PRECIOSO. Hay regiones en las que me paraba muy a menudo a mirar el paisaje. La iluminación es fantástica y el mundo está recreado con tanto detalle que da gusto moverse por él.

Jugablemente es más de lo mismo. Odyssey con un sistema de combate más depurado, mejor sigilo (aunque sigue siendo bastante mediocre) y mucha mejor exploración.

Me ha gustado mucho, aunque creo que se beneficiaría de durar unas cuantas decenas de horas menos.

Ah, y esperad muchos bugs y muy frecuentes. Ninguno me ha roto realmente la experiencia, pero algunos sí son bastante molestos y estropean un poco el conjunto.

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A HUGE adventure, for better or for worse. There's an amount of care and work in every detail of the world you don't see in many open world games. Each little dot on your map is a tiny adventure on itself and exploring becomes almost a fundamental part of the experience because of it.

However, there's TOO MUCH stuff. Don't get me wrong, I always enjoy having a lot of content, but after almost 130 hours it took me to clear the whole map, I was almost begging for it to be over.

The story is pretty good, although it's a bit disjointed because of it being split between smaller plotlines for each region. Eivor is a fantastic protagonist and there are many memorable characters that make the whole much better despite that feeling of "this doesn't matter that much" the plot leaves behind sometimes.

Visually, it's GORGEOUS. I've stopped on my tracks in several regions just to look at the landscape. The illumination is fantastic and the world is recreated with so much detail it's a joy to move around it.

Gameplay-wise, it's more of the same. Odyssey with a more polished battle system, better stealth (although it's still quite mediocre) and much better exploration.

I enjoyed it quite a lot, although I think it'd be better off if it were a few tens of hours shorter.

Oh, and you better expect some very frequent bugs. None of them has really ruined my experience, but some of them are quite annoying and they do make the game look a bit worse.

This is most likely one of the best Assassin's Creed games ever, but it's way too long for my taste.

Update: I shelved it for now. After almost 40 hours I haven't felt any progress and there is no red line to follow along. It's an awesome game, but with 1/3 less of content it could have been so much better.

I have to rewind my rating to 3/5, sadly.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla continues the so-called "Mythology Trilogy" of AC games with more open world exploration and rpg elements to mostly good results.

The open world this time is technically smaller though its new orb-based system of marking things to do on the map means each area is far more densely packed than ever. These activites range from the dreadful (fuck Cairns) to the wonderful (Secrets of England and the various optional bosses for the most part), but if you were looking for a less bloated experience than Odyssey, you'll be disappointed.

This is all accompanied by a combat system that feels better than ever due to its added weight and a bafflingly dumb progression system that hands out Skill Points like candy.

Overall, I had the most fun playing along with the mostly well-written story, exploring the beautiful open world for the more fun activities, and raiding various locales with my customizable (to a point) crew. Unfortunately, the biggest thing that brings AC Valhalla down is its copious amount of bugs. My game crashed many times, there was a terrible bug where any respawn or reload of a save would leave Eivor drunk (funny at first, not so much in combat), loads of visual glitches, and even a portion of the game where my Fast Travelling was disabled for no reason. Were it not so constantly buggy, I may have given this game a slightly higher score.

Having now finished this game, I can say it's definitely my favorite game of last year and may end up being one of my favorite games of all time.

First, this game is really buggy, I never encountered anything game-breaking but the occasional moment of frustration isn't nice. The PS5 version is also not the best port, whilst the minimum amount of dualsense support is there and the loading screens are smooth as butter, it feels like it's just the ps4 version at a higher resolution. Next, like it's predecessor, this game suffers from 'fantasy name problem', except with historical names instead. There are so many characters and places and things with so many long and complex names over the course of this 50 hour story that you'll find yourself constantly saying 'who?' or 'where?' when people refer to characters in the story.
And that does it for weaknesses.

Well, there is one more weakness, but it also is a strength... I'll explain:
The older assassins creed games haven't aged great, the gameplay has quickly become outdated and very different from what the gamer audience wants and is used to now, the first game is veritably clunky.
So, they took some time out and came back with Origins, a real shake up for the series, with gameplay and UI that would never even make you think you're looking at the same series as the older games, but the story solidly tied it back to the Assassins Creed franchise. Next year, Odyssey came out, with a simmilar gameplay style with some interesting alterations to keep things fresh, but the story, whilst more interesting, had tentative links to the franchise to say the least. And on top of it all you can just go out and find places out of mythology, and creatures like the Minotaur or Medusa out in the world, and it's never adressed by the present day characters.
And in Valhalla it becomes even more pronounced, the assasin missions being relegated to one building in your camp and the occasional reference to the templars. Here the mythology stuff is achieved through mind-altering substances or pure hallucination, but it helps to keep it in the game, and even have much much more of it, whilst staying grounded.
But this increasing distance from the Story, and the unrecognisable gameplay really begs the question? Is this even Assassin's Creed anymore?
Well, I'm afraid the answer for me is; no, it's better.

And now onto the positives. Whilst references to the still increasingly silly story are still there, the new gameplay is a definite improvement, with so much more depth and fun. All of the stealth mechanics are still there, but with so much more depth, and so many more options for how to approach every scenario, and this game represents the most options of any game. From being able to go in stealthy by yourself to taking an entire army to any encounter, and then on top of that you have the ability to customise members of your team as well as the huge number of weapon options you have for yourself. Short swords, long swords, shields, hammers, axes, war axes, spears, and any of these can be wielded at the same time, including multiple heavy weapons, or a heavy weapon or a light weapon, there's so much choice here but it never feels overwhelming. The open world feels dense and highly-designed, the change from traditional side missions to random world events really helping the whole of england feel alive and bustling. The story is also one of the best, on par with Odyssey, with interesting characters that feel approprate to the setting, and that you really want to find out the fates of.

This, like Odyssey, and maybe even more than it, is a MUST PLAY, for fans of the series, and is a must play for anyone regardless, you'll definitely get your money's worth, even at full price.