Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla is Actually Pretty Great
The view after 15 hours
After beating a series of shorter titles, I knew it was time to pick up a big game. As much as I love the under 10 hour experience, there is nothing like falling into a rabbit hole of digital bliss. Some of my favorite gaming experiences are from those mammoth games (Persona 5, The Witcher 3, Skyrim) that take you half a year to complete. So I went spelunking into the bottomless pit that is my Back Log to find the perfect game.
After some deliberation, I had my choice.
Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla is the third title in the new AC trilogy, a series of games that I have enjoyed immensely. Before Origins was released, Black Flag was my favorite AC game. That’s where we saw the first hints of the formula to come. The larger open world, the naval focus, and the slight update to combat. It felt like a dry run in a way that Syndicate and Unity did not. While those games had their moments, I didn’t find them particularly fun to play. The formula had grown stale, and the settings were doing the heavy lifting. Stale gameplay is a death curse, and it was for everyone’s benefit that Ubisoft changed course.
Listen: Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla is addicting. Because I’m only fifteen hours in, I feel like I’m not able to capture the game’s true focus. Not yet. But what I’ve seen so far is an excellent reminder of why I continue to play the Assassin’s Creed.
The Combat is Wacky
I loved Spartan Kicking enemies off of cliffs in Odyssey. Sniping fools with a predator bow in Origins never got old. Valhalla has those moments, and so many more. As you explore old England, you unlock skills that correspond with your bow and weapons. The first one I earned was a running tackle that turned into a ground pound. The most recent one I found was a javelin that allowed me to throw an enemy from a distance. Yetting Saxons is a perfect use of my or anyone’s time.
The update to AC’s core combat in Valhalla makes it have a different feel. You have a stamina bar that drains quickly during fights. Light attacks build it back up the quickest, which points to an aggressive system that a Viking would have approved of. Weapon variety is also here, though it’s minimized in comparion to the last two games. Gone is the endless weapon and armor loot, which I don’t like as much. I’ll be interested to see how it plays after another dozen hours.
The World Remains Open
You can see The Witcher 3’s design DNA in Valhalla very framework. Valhalla is nowhere near as excellent, but the adoption of some of the techniques from that game are a welcome thievery. Exploring the world on horse back remains the best way to go, hopping off to fight a wolf or a group of enemies as you go.
There are little optional quests, but they tend to have more in common with the Yakuza franchise’s quests than they do with The Witcher’s powerful moments. To give you an example: I collected viper eggs for a woman in a sewer. She scarfed them down and preceeded to laugh like a Hammer witch while she filled the sewer with green farts. It’s stupid, but it’s endearing. These quests aren’t always interesting, but there is something worth seeing in many of them.
A Region at War
The first major storyline I undertook revolved around the disposition of a king. It was a plot as only Vikings can hatch: filled with raids and strong arm tactics. But the AC franchise’s full commitment to a look and aesthetic remains surprising for a company as terrible as Ubisoft. Granted, the game Store exists and is constantly pushed on you. I can hop into it and buy a skeleton wolf to ride, but I won’t disparage them too much for letting me have cool things. I know what I’m about.
Synchronized
A last few words: Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla is a fantastically fun action RPG. It may have too much, but sometimes that’s what you need from a game. I like being a Viking, even if Viking violence is a little icky. Just saying.
(This was a shorter article this month, but I’m working on a massive piece for a game I’ve been playing nearly all year. More to come!)
