Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is at a crossroads. Bursting at the seams with content and technical prowess, it may remind players of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, released at this same time seven years ago. A cheery, cavalier game, Black Flag butted heads with the coming end of the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 era and the introduction of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Valhalla, as you may have noticed, arrives around similar circumstances.

Though the pirate adventure clung to a tool set that took several iterations to refine, it also introduced a few staples still seen in current entries. Black Flag also tasked itself with detaching from the legacy of Ezio and the lukewarm reception of Assassin’s Creed III. Yet the game was forced to straddle two generations of consoles, as Ubisoft had to make it viable for two vastly different power thresholds.

Valhalla is much luckier. It comes as a bookend to a legacy that has been built over a decade, one that has shown incredible resistance but also incredible growth. It ties up the work began in Assassin’s Creed Origins, which saw an overhaul in combat and exploration. It continues the incredible path Assassin’s Creed Odyssey took, which gave players unprecedented freedom and choice. Because it seeks its own legacy, Valhalla becomes distinct while remaining familiar, evolving into a game that has something for every player.

Picking up after Odyssey‘s Fate of Atlantis DLC, Valhalla sees the modern day world in peril. Much like Desmond Miles contended with in the first chunk of Assassin’s Creed games, Layla Hassan has been exploring history through the Animus to search for answers to an ever-growing web of mysteries. The strange nuggets of intrigue players have been given since Origins come to a head but what players will come to realize is that Valhalla acts as convergence point for Assassin’s Creed as a whole.

The story has led Layla and her team to North America, the final resting place of a long-dead viking warrior, Eivor. Personally, I have always found the current day arc of Assassin’s Creed to be delightfully convoluted. I understand the calls for a complete focus on the historical action but the Animus has remained a fascinating way to tie the games together and give curious players deeper lore to digest. Valhalla is no different because it gives players an endpoint to their protagonist’s journey that they must slowly fill in the gaps of.

Eivor, like Kassandra or Alexios, is tailored by the desires of the player who can choose for Eivor to be male, female, or let the Animus decide at key points in the story. This RPG-like shift was one of the highlights of Odyssey, allowing players to feel more in control of how they shaped the world around them. But where Odyssey‘s protagonists initially were mercenaries with a questionable amount of honor, Eivor is a viking warrior built around the foundations of a code of honor and devoted to the spirituality of bloodshed.

Shaped by a tragic past, Eivor spends much of their time in Valhalla working to establish a home in a new world. The game begins with Eivor’s father sacrificing his honor by laying down his weapon to spare his village, despite the pleads of his wife to fight to the death like a true viking would. Eivor watches both their parents die and flees a certain death only to be cornered by wolves who tear at their throat. Picking up years later, Eivor bears the scar of the wolf encounter and is now called Wolf-Kissed among those who know of their reputation. Adopted by a clan their father sought to ally with, Eivor has found a brother in the ambitious Sigurd, whose father is king of a small portion of snowy Norway.

Depending on how much time players are willing to spend in the opening area of Valhalla, the story doesn’t truly kick into gear for a few hours, when events have inspired Eivor and Sigurd to set sail for England in hopes of establishing a new home for their small clan. The bulk of Valhalla follows Eivor’s exploits in an untamed England, hoping to ally pockets of viking forces against the country’s four realms. Initially the stakes are much more deliberate. Eivor works with Sigurd’s wife Ranvi in determining how alliances can be forged across the map.

Players will begin to discover that these quests for alliances are smaller, close-ended plots that typically begin and end after a few hours. It’s a stark change of pace to Odyssey and Origins, where the story stretched for hours and asked players to tackle large swaths of map. Alliance quests in Valhalla are often contained in a single region–which are still quite large, mind you–that allow a bulk of that part of the world to be explored. Once arriving in England and given my first instructions, I wandered off like I typically do and tackled an enemy base far from home. A valuable piece of treasure eluded me behind a door I could not get through and only after I neared the end of an alliance quest was I asked to come to this base for a mission which opened up that hidden area.

This is not to say that exploration is a waste of time in Valhalla. Going off the beaten path is necessary in finding unique gear and quests but here, players will feel well-traveled if they only follow the main quests.

Where Odyssey gave players a multitude of narrative and dialog choices that would ultimately impact the end of the game, Valhalla dials it back a significant amount. Main and side quests are stuffed with dialog choices that allow the personality of Eivor to be shaped even finer but often enough, they do not serve a greater purpose. The choices made inside of these alliance chapters usually dictate the end result of that thread and whether or not certain relationships will be soured. Some choices made will cause characters to join Eivor or not, color Sigurd’s opinion, or decide who lives and dies.

One may argue that the deluge of choices in Odyssey didn’t really matter except for a few moments in the critical path. And while that may be true, it’s an argument that can also be applied to Valhalla. However, in no way do I find it to be a flaw in storytelling that Ubisoft Montreal has done. Assassin’s Creed Origins showed a lot of influence from The Witcher 3, especially in CD Projekt Red’s goal of making even the smallest quests have a valuable tale to tell. That ideology lives on in Valhalla as players find small notes atop abandoned towers or paint splatters on a fence that have a story behind them. A main quest may ask players to identify a traitor or spare the life of an enemy, without a doubt the decision made will have an impact, it just won’t alter the fabric of the story entirely.

Valhalla makes sure not to exhaust the player with these choices. Forging an alliance took me to a new area, contained my distractions to a chunk of the map, and gave plenty of opportunities to level up Eivor. Mainlining these quests can be done in a matter of three to five hours; pepper in a few distractions and players are looking to spread their time in Valhalla into at least 70 to 100 hours of things to do.

There will be some time spent riding, boating, or running across the map in search of synchronization points or ports to aid in fast travel but it does not feel as daunting as before. In fact, much of Valhalla acts as a testament to the constantly evolving formula that has been commonplace with Assassin’s Creed. Most minor and major gripes players may have had are addressed as Valhalla works for its own unique identity rather than being another “Ubisoft open world game.”

Equipment in the game has been retooled and no longer feels like “loot” in the traditional sense of a shared world game like Destiny. The current crop of games constantly rewarded players with varying colors of and types of gear. Dead bodies would be home to swords and bows and gloves in white and blue varieties while chests and secret vistas contained coveted exotic gear. While Valhalla has a decent roster of weapons and gear, it feels finite and purposeful. Equipment is limited to a small selection of sets that grant a unique bonus when all pieces are equipped. There are several types of weapons such as flails, axes, and spears but even the selection of those feels limited.

Players are now meant to pay more attention to upgrading their gear as a newly acquired piece won’t fade out of relevance in a half hour or so. The materials required to upgrade and improve an item are expensive and I found myself thinking harder about when to make those decisions. At its base level, an item will only have one perk, such as improved speed after successful light attacks. By spending leather and iron, the stats can be improved but only to a certain point. Players must then take that item to the smithy and spend rare ingots to upgrade the quality, which allows the item to be leveled up more, changes its appearances, and opens up a rune slot. Rune slots come in various levels and amounts based on the quality of the item and add small improvements to the item they are applied to. Status ailments, health buffs, and damage modifiers can be found on runes.

Though the system of upgrading items existed in Odyssey, it wasn’t as meaningful because items often dropped at a player’s level which changed as the game went on. Upgrading an early level item to an endgame character was a costly investment that never felt worth it. Valhalla‘s gear does not feel nearly as disposable. For the first 25 hours of the game I was never flush with the ingots required to upgrade the quality past the first level, let alone every item I owned. While I felt attached to these starting sets, I also gravitated towards different weapons and loadouts because I knew nothing I owned was significantly stronger than another piece.

It helps that Valhalla does not rely on its player level. Odyssey may have put level roadblocks in front of the player to keep them out of certain parts of the map, it was a point of contention that the main storyline required a bit of grinding to meet its level requirements. Valhalla‘s map has high level areas and difficult enemies that roam around but the game directs players in a way meant to build power fast.

At each level up, players are given skill points to invest into a massively branching skill tree. I had a weird joy seeing the skill tree stretch its branches almost like I was looking at the Sphere Grid from Final Fantasy X. One skill point unlocks one node which raises your power one point, simple as that. Nodes grant better resistances, more health, more damage, and passive skills. Initially, most of the branches are covered in fog and are only revealed when players unlock a node at the edge of one cluster. Do you tempt yourself and dive into the unknown, or further fill out the constellation-like sections? Though skills specialize in three areas–stealth, ranged, and combat–many of the upgrades are found across ever path. Certain equipment nodes that increase damage with a weapon type or improve stats on gear sets are special to certain parts of the tree.

For years, Assassin’s Creed struggled to make meaningful changes to its combat after Ezio’s brutal, rhythmic chain attacks. Bayek’s less agile, more active fury in Origins pivoted the series in a new direction that has gotten better with each game. Valhalla is the current pinnacle for combat in the series. It retains the ability to parry enemy attacks with precise timing and the diversity of different weapon types, a bow, and stealth. But key additions provide players new options to take out large groups of foes and boss enemies.

As a viking, Eivor’s thirst for blood is magnified in their ability to dual wield one-handed weapons. A full move set is available for the weapon in the main hand while special attacks open up for the left-handed weapon attack. Stamina also becomes a factor for Eivor and their enemies. Heavy attacks, missing a light attack, or dodging at the wrong moment will deplete Eivor’s stamina, inhibiting movement and attack capabilities. Even heavier armor has an impact on stamina. It may seem like a thoughtless addition, but in the midst of combat, it forces players to be more mindful of their choices because the game would simply be too easy if you could button-mash endlessly. Enemies also have their own stamina bar which gets shaved off when using heavy attacks or parrying. Players can target glowing weak points with their bow to significantly stagger a foe. Stun attacks usually instantly kill normal foes or cut off a boss health chunk.

Enemy variety is also dialed way up to make battles more interesting. Traditional foes with melee weapons will attempt to get in close and surround Eivor but they are supported by other classes. Some enemies will throw mud and obscure the screen. Certain types will throw axes instead of shooting arrows. And players will have to be wary when an enemy with a yellow name enters the fray. Berserkers, standard bearers, polemen and others are more efficient at blocking or have expanded move sets meant to be studied and anticipated.

These new skills will be put to the test when players engage in raids against enemy outposts. Along the many rivers of England are locations players can attack with their crew to earn resources and equipment. Taking the direct approach, raids will have a few dozen enemies and friendlies attacking each other across a base while you steal and burn and kill. Only when all the enemies are dead and important items claimed will a raid be over. At higher levels, more difficult enemies appear in camps to make life harder.

Random raids along the river aren’t as exiting as the ones done in story missions because they often lack the flair of buildings already on fire or storming the gates of a fortress with a battering ram. Still, it’s empowering that Valhalla‘s gory and violent finishing moves are dialed up when killing about 20 other soldiers in a violent rage. Flashy special attacks also return that consume a bar of adrenaline to deal massive or creative damage. Up to four ranged and four melee abilities can be applied to the face buttons. Players find new abilities when discovering books of knowledge in the world and are upgraded to be more efficient when a second book of the same skill is found. Slowing down time to fire hard-hitting arrows or throwing axes at multiple enemies are a few “get out of jail free” cards that special abilities open up. Thankfully, they aren’t held back by the skill tree.

While the combat in Valhalla feels entirely new, many parts of the game are quite familiar. With the return of the hidden blade, quick assassinations are back in Ubisoft Montreal’s attempt to bring back the stealth component not really seen since Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. The game does an admirable job at toeing the line between complete freedom, difficulty gating, and one-shot kills. Passive skills that deal enhanced damage on assassinations or chain assassinations make stealth even more rewarding.

More interesting, however, are the social stealth options that are reintroduced after being virtually nonexistent for several entries. In certain towns, guards will become immediately suspicious of Eivor. Donning a hood, blending in with priests, sitting on a bench, or luring away a drunk are ways that players must navigate dense zones while looking for a target to take out. It’s a choice that hearkens back to the earliest days of the series.

In fact, much of Valhalla speaks to me as a longtime Assassin’s Creed devotee. Chasing down tattoo schematics that blew in the air took me back to running across rum islands to nab a sea shanty. Building out Eivor’s settlement was one of my favorite parts of Assassin’s Creed III. In England, that central hub not only serves as a home away from home, it’s a one-stop shop for the numerous collectibles dotted around the map. Legendary animals and Roman artifacts will be on display once you build their respective spots in the settlement. Players will trade fish and pelts or create a viking that others online can use during raids.

The Hidden Ones and the Order of the Ancients, the precursors to the Assassins and Templars, are back. Players have an extensive list of targets in the Order they can hunt down, making sure one of my favorite additions in Odyssey was not lost. Mercenaries are gone but Zealots will hunt you down if the circumstances are right.

Even the approach to exploration is given a loving pass. The map is no longer drowned in markers, instead represented by small glowing lights. Wealth, which represents resources and equipment, is dotted in gold. Mysteries, which are usually side quests are often quick missions that represent an emotional spectrum. There are sincere mysteries like aiding a girl who is waiting for her father to come back. Two quarreling brothers end their fight over barley after Eivor sets both their houses on fire. A nudist asks you to steal the clothes of the colony who banned him. I found myself laughing at the right moments and feeling heavy at others. There are countless moments like this tucked away in the expansive world of Valhalla. Heck, there’s even a dice game that left me as engaged as Gwent did!

The game also features a few puzzles that range from simple to complex. I found the decision to block access to treasure by putting up destructible barriers had diminishing returns, especially when players might break wood over a well and simply fall to the bottom to grab an item. However, Animus Anomaly disturbances brought back one of my favorite moments of Assassin’s Creed II and even the strange puzzles of Revelations.

Like many Ubisoft games, Valhalla has a lot of moving parts, creating some of the best synergy the game has ever had. No task felt overly pointless, rather a fun box to eventually check when I found the time. Eventually, Eivor’s journey brings them to the realm of the mystical, giving definition to their visions encountered across the game. Players will uncover the mysterious of Eivor’s long journey, solve questions behind the Isu and Odin, and, perhaps, save the world again. These multiple threads weave back and forth, touching on every entry in the Assassin’s Creed franchise and paying them justice.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is a game not held back by a generational shift. More importantly, it signals anticipation for what comes next. In the hours and days to come, players will have a variety of options for where they can play this massive, game. Unfortunately, I encountered a fair share of technical problems before launch. Quest objectives often wouldn’t activate, NPCs would get stuck in a cutscene, and graphical hitches reared their head. Regardless, they never stifled my enjoyment, not even the long load times encountered on last gen systems. Ultimately, there are few issues that could detract from Assassin’s Creed Valhalla‘s numerous triumphs. It closes the chapter on a long legacy but ensures the journey is not done. By taking what made the series work and improving upon it, Ubisoft has created one of this year’s most memorable games, and an open, breathtaking world that must be experienced.