Assassin's Creed Valhalla

 PC
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 3315 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,228 out of 3315
  2. Mixed: 395 out of 3315
  3. Negative: 692 out of 3315

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  1. tobyberg12
    Mar 19, 2021
    6
    If you liked Odyessy, you will most likely also enjoy this game. It takes what Odyessy did right and capitalizes on it while removing some of the more tedious side content and instead respects your time. Except for one overarching problem that both Odyssey and this game suffer from is the gigantic, open world filled with empty space. It just feels dead and after a long while of playing, IIf you liked Odyessy, you will most likely also enjoy this game. It takes what Odyessy did right and capitalizes on it while removing some of the more tedious side content and instead respects your time. Except for one overarching problem that both Odyssey and this game suffer from is the gigantic, open world filled with empty space. It just feels dead and after a long while of playing, I got tired of it. Even when going back to it months later, I can't get back into it. It isn't worth it to me and I hope Ubisoft can come up with a way to make their open worlds more interesting.… Expand
  2. Soullex
    Nov 15, 2022
    7
    Ulan yan görev yapması o kadar keyifli ki, tüm yan görevleri bitirdim neredeyse. Ana hikayede ilerlemek de bir o kadar sıkıcı, önemsiz uzun diyaloglar, saçma sapan görevler.
  3. hoanns
    May 8, 2021
    6
    Forgettable game. The world looks nice and the game is well made, but there is no depth at all to it. It kept me playing to then end, but at that point I wasn't having much enjoyment or fun, you just gonna carry out the same repetitive gameplay loops to some bland story elements.Conquer this region, climb this tower, attack this castle. It's not actively bad, but it lacks creativity andForgettable game. The world looks nice and the game is well made, but there is no depth at all to it. It kept me playing to then end, but at that point I wasn't having much enjoyment or fun, you just gonna carry out the same repetitive gameplay loops to some bland story elements.Conquer this region, climb this tower, attack this castle. It's not actively bad, but it lacks creativity and depth in gameplay.… Expand
  4. LironesAlviento
    May 13, 2021
    7
    Me pasa que desde un tiempo hacia aquí los Assasins los veo un poco sin alma, aun así tiene cosas muy entretenidas y este en concreto no es un mal juego de vikingos pero me falta un algo, tiene muchas cosas buenas pero no me he conseguido meter en la historia.
  5. EyesofWrath
    Nov 13, 2020
    6
    It struck me as interesting that 7/10 reviews have dozens of downvotes while a one-line 10/10 review has several dozen upvotes pushing it to the top. And given that the reviews labeled 'unhelpful' by corporate shills are uniformly the ones that match my own experience with the game, I've decided to write a substantive review that those treating the game like the second coming of Christ canIt struck me as interesting that 7/10 reviews have dozens of downvotes while a one-line 10/10 review has several dozen upvotes pushing it to the top. And given that the reviews labeled 'unhelpful' by corporate shills are uniformly the ones that match my own experience with the game, I've decided to write a substantive review that those treating the game like the second coming of Christ can band together and downvote to their heart's content. Because to a discerning buyer, that seems to be a tick of approval.

    In brief: if you liked Odyssey, then you'll likely like the skeleton of this game. It feeds from exactly the same trough, in typical Ubisoft fashion, and essentailly makes some small, less significant tweaks to the previous release that change the feeling of the game slightly, but unfortunately not enough to make it feel fresh. If you carry with you a sense of fatigue at the expansive and often-repetitive nature of Odyssey's content, then you might find yourself starting this game with that fatigue hanging over you as I did. To be clear - I loved Odyssey. It was the only AC game released in the last decade that didn't eventually bore me. But it was huge and tiring, there can be no skirting around that fact. So the understanding that you're not playing a fundamentally different game sets in very quickly, and so does the exhaustion that Odyssey eventually gave way to, despite how fun it was.

    Those feelings are more or less identical here - Valhalla is fun, and it's a tweaked version of its predecessor, but it never, ever diverges enough to feel like much other than the exact same formula, and while I find that formula less worn-out than that of, say, the formula of the later 'old-style' AC games like Syndicate or Unity, it's still worn-out nonetheless.

    Ubisoft is up to their old tricks, of course, and Valhalla feels like another step slightly too far down the same road. This is exactly why Syndicate tanked in sales and forced the company to revamp for Origins. But because we're 20-something games deep in the series, whatever minor changes Ubisoft make to their releases hold a far-more-quickly diminishing set of returns for long-time players.

    So while I was, for once, excited for what I thought might be something honestly different, Valhalla has ultimately been the game to convince me that the series has reached its natural end. It simply cannot be iterated anymore. Each new release needs to a wild revamp, because there's just not enough 'new' game here for a 90 dollar release. It's one of two dozen other games that all kind of feel the same, and one of three RPG-style games that already feel like they're being spat out of the Ubisoft-open-world-Build-O-Matic 2000 pipeline.

    Which, y'know, if you're not tired of the other games, might be appealing. I must admit that I like the safe and often mindless gameplay loop of the series, and Valhalla offers a beautiful new setting with some fairly engaging story and gory combat. Combat stamina has been introduced to remove the button-mashing of Odyssey, but the combat controls themselves are pretty clunky and lack the finesse needed to maintain a nice flow. You'll often find yourself getting struck simply because you hit the button one-too-many times. On lesser difficulties this is not so much a problem, but when you're one-shotted because you hit the attack button one single time too many it can be enraging. You can dodge to cancel actions, which gives the combat a welcome learning curve - you can get better in-game by improving as a player - but it isn't enough for the fighting to feel less shallow, and the aged engine struggles to meet the demands of the system they've designed. And honestly, that's a pretty good summation of the whole beast - what little they tried to change only works half as well as you'd hope, and it's very likely because the developers suffered horribly at the hands of company management during production.

    It's devastating to know that you're playing a game that *feels* like it was made by overworked people. The reported crunch is worn on Valhalla's sleeve more clearly than ever in the bugs, the glitches, the slapdash animations, the lack of innovation, and the clunky mechanics. This game was forced out before Christmas and could easily have benefitted from, among other things, months of extra development time. But there's no saving a game made simply to make money by a company infamously cruel to its employees, with the tightest possible development schedule and the slimmest allowable window for innovation. It's a deep scar given context by a knowledge of how the game was produced.

    So why am I here? Because you may find yourself uncertain, or willing to compromise your stated values out of curiosity, or, like me, a long-standing enjoyment of the series. But honestly I don't think this product is worth the money. It's not that different from Odyssey, and all things considered, I honestly don't even think it's 'better'    … Expand
  6. sunstorm76
    Nov 19, 2020
    7
    I do not often comment on metacritic mostly because I’m happy with a game and just give the rating. . I’m not even close to the end but I tried a lot with this game and I played all AC’s so far. Not only did I play them, I finished them 100% which means collecting every feather or treasure out there. Yeah I’m a huge fan of the series. I got them both digital and as console version, justI do not often comment on metacritic mostly because I’m happy with a game and just give the rating. . I’m not even close to the end but I tried a lot with this game and I played all AC’s so far. Not only did I play them, I finished them 100% which means collecting every feather or treasure out there. Yeah I’m a huge fan of the series. I got them both digital and as console version, just to have something for my nerd shelf. So with this context given to you: I know all games in and out. I played it on pc.

    Of course you have to rate this game mostly against Origins and Odyssey because they seem to be very similar on first sight. But they are not and I will tell you why I’ve got issues with Valhalla. It seems I’m not the only one I checked some reviews (Skill Up, ACG, Gamestar etc. pp.) and read some reddit posts and also comments here on meta. My problem with metacritic: for most gamer it’s either top or flop. 0 or 10. Which seems to fit this generation of people but I’m Generation X (44) and have a more balanced view with pros and cons.

    Let’s start with the pink elephant in the room: the new combat system. A lot of people love it, a lot of people hate it. After playing and upgrading around with different sets and weapons (there are not many which is another problem for me) I have to say: I absolutely don’t like the combat. It’s way too slow and too clunky for my taste. I had the same issue with RDR2 (which also has the worst pacing ever). On the other side a Nioh 2 gameplay is perfect to me. And I liked the more fluid gameplay in Origins (160h with NG+) and Odyssey (403h with NG+) so much more! And that’s a big deal for me. Alongside the setting the gameplay is the most important part in every AC for me.

    PROS:
    - World Setting: as always it is absolutely georgous. I love Norway, England and the Vikings and the whole AC-series so what could go wrong?
    - Story: so far not that bad.
    - Dice game: I love it! Not as good as Gwent from Witcher 3 but it’s also very nice. Sadly you can’t get any money by playing it (at least so far I’m in the game)
    - Music: I hated the music in Odyssey but this one is great again
    - The world is huge: I love big open world games so I’m ok with that
    - Graphic settings: good job here Ubisoft
    - Side Missions: some of them are funny. And they are short which is good.

    CONS:
    - Combat System: as said above: I hate it. Even with 2x 2H weapons or other combinations (Dagger with shield, other weapon etc. pp) it feels clunky as hell. Not even near Odyssey and Origins I’m sorry. It’s way more boring. Slow. Clunky. Just not fun.
    - Slow fighting animations: the stomp f.e. takes forever and looks odd – and during that time you’re still vulnerable. Which is not a problem on normal but it’s annoying on the highest difficulty setting. Most animations are out of round. The look and feel is just bad!
    - Lack of Loot: yeah this is a big deal for me also. I know a lot of fans didn’t like the Diablo 3 loot system but I loved it. I love to play around with different sets and weapons and also the customization options which leads to:
    - Lack of Customization: there’s none. You either like your fav stats-set also visually or you’re screwed. In Odyssey you could manage your looks which I loved as RPG fan.
    - Lack of sorting items: yeah not possible you have to scroll and scroll and scroll through all tattoos….hair styles, ship skins etc. pp. it’s not good here
    - Arrows: different arrow types why? Hunter Bow’s quiver is limited and you cannot craft your own arrowas anymore – why??
    - Talent system: really Ubisoft? One of the worst “progression” systems I’ve ever seen in any videogame! You don’t know what 2.5 Headshot means – ist it percentage? Is it base damage? WTH? Same goes with almost every singe point in the tree. Also it’s all in the fog again when you reset all talent points once. Why? You cannot playn your way up. What were you thinking?! Odyssey was so much better! Hell even Syndicate was better.
    - Slow pace: one of the worst things from RDR2 they implemented here for no reason: walking like a snail while listening boring stories. Omg nothing kills my patience faster than this.
    - Draengr-Level: very hard. Really? It’s not even close to a dark souls or Nioh difficulty at any time. Yes of course when you go with power lvl 80 after a lvl 200 then it’s impossible but not when you level normally. Which means: very hard is not very hard at all.
    - Stealth-Kill-Animation: 10x slower than in any other AC so far. WHY?! Combinate this with master assassination (hardest level there) and you cannot even chain a second kill.
    - Instant-Stealth-Kill: you can switch a button in the menu I mean wtf again. I want to play a game like it’s meant to be played by the designers NOT “chose whatever you want – we don’t have any clue what WE want you to experience”.    … Expand
  7. fanfusuzi
    Jan 17, 2021
    5
    Bit Grinding, and not rewarding after you play for about 40hr. things start to get very repetitive.
    Also Ubisoft purposely make the game hard to level, so they can sell you the xp boost and gold boost. What a joke.
  8. muzmuz
    Apr 27, 2021
    5
    A decent viking simulator, but not a very good Assassin's Creed game nor a competitive RPG game. Ubisoft did bring the one-hit assassinations back which is a big thing for all the stealth fans out there, and the need for grind in this game is almost non-existent, if none at all, which I think was huge negative in the past two games. Unfortunately, the boring open world, quest structure andA decent viking simulator, but not a very good Assassin's Creed game nor a competitive RPG game. Ubisoft did bring the one-hit assassinations back which is a big thing for all the stealth fans out there, and the need for grind in this game is almost non-existent, if none at all, which I think was huge negative in the past two games. Unfortunately, the boring open world, quest structure and overall writing makes this game a bit more dull than we're used to.… Expand
  9. TunafishCowboy
    Nov 14, 2020
    5
    My interpretation of this game is going to be based on how it stacks against it's predecessor.
    TLDR; Wait for a sale.
    Most of this review is heavily negative so I'll list what I feel are positive values. Voice acting is well done for the most part. The voice actors for Eivor (male) and Sigurd were spot on. The game is absolutely gorgeous. Primary character models are textured and    My interpretation of this game is going to be based on how it stacks against it's predecessor.
    TLDR; Wait for a sale.
    Most of this review is heavily negative so I'll list what I feel are positive values.

    Voice acting is well done for the most part. The voice actors for Eivor (male) and Sigurd were spot on.
    The game is absolutely gorgeous. Primary character models are textured and designed well.
    The addition of 'Flyting' is a mechanic I did not expect would be fun.
    The praise ends there.
    Mediocre game at best not worth the price of entry. Ubisoft made it blatantly clear with Origin and Odyssey that they have little respect for their consumers with their cash-shop. Nothing has changed here. They've also delivered on continuing to show a lack of respect for your time by constantly wasting it on frivolous tasks ad tedium by marketing these events as 'Exploration' mechanics when it is nothing more than bloat. The UI HUD display for marked items is incredibly inaccurate and does not represent proper verticality. The HUD does not always display points of entry for well hidden items often requiring a significant time investment to locate marked items for even the most mundane category. Had these searches been limited to items of notable interest this would not be an issue but it is far too prevalent for simple resource caches.
    In almost every way this game is a step back from it's predecessor. The combat is disconnected, clunky and slow. The addition of a stamina bar generates extra complication where no additional complexity was needed. The skill tree system prevents players from truly creating a 'build' to compliment their vision of play. Locating abilities can be random and egregious if you are playing blind, adding an additional level of unwanted or unneeded complexity.
    In a franchise built around stealth mechanics, this title falls flat on it's face. Introducing the ability to 'Blend' into areas is a fan service with criminally poor execution.
    The Loot system while a step in the right direction, flounders without a substantial time commitment.
    Side Quests are short and sweet but also lacking context and direction in a few instances. Some are also bugged and incompletable.
    The parkour mechanics are not as tight and polished as they were in Odyssey making some collectibles a rage inducing practice in futility.

    This game is not a terrible game by any stretch of the imagination but it is far from good. It is clear that Ubisoft is attempting to milk player's time as much as they can in an effort to steer people towards their cash store which is clearly evident due to how much bloat is just beneath the surface of the core game. You can still play and enjoy this game without spending a penny, but the fact that time saver purchase-ables exist should be indicative of Ubisoft's endgame here.    … Expand
  10. ch33zu5
    Nov 13, 2020
    7
    So, It has all the usual Ubi launch day bugs, But we knew that was coming. I have been playing the series since the beginning and as good of a game as this is, It doesn't feel like an Assassins Creed game. If you were a fan of Odyssey, You will like this game........Probably not as much though.
  11. andrejS_de
    Apr 18, 2021
    7
    If you liked Odyessy, you will most likely also enjoy this game. It takes what Odyessy did right and capitalizes on it while removing some of the more tedious side content and instead respects your time. Except for one overarching problem that both Odyssey and this game suffer from is the gigantic, open world filled with empty space. It just feels dead and after a long while of playing, IIf you liked Odyessy, you will most likely also enjoy this game. It takes what Odyessy did right and capitalizes on it while removing some of the more tedious side content and instead respects your time. Except for one overarching problem that both Odyssey and this game suffer from is the gigantic, open world filled with empty space. It just feels dead and after a long while of playing, I got tired of it. Even when going back to it months later, I can't get back into it. It isn't worth it to me and I hope Ubisoft can come up with a way to make their open worlds more interesting.… Expand
  12. samstrummer90
    Nov 4, 2022
    7
    En realidad el juego es un 8. Pero como persona que disfruta y quiere completar los juegos al 100% he de quitar 2 puntos a AC Valhalla porque algún imbécil de Ubisoft pensó que hacer puzzles con cámara y controles de mierda con piedras que ha nadie importan un carajo era divertido. Esos puzzles asquerosos, mal programados y frustrantes me han hecho tener que rebajar la nota de este, por loEn realidad el juego es un 8. Pero como persona que disfruta y quiere completar los juegos al 100% he de quitar 2 puntos a AC Valhalla porque algún imbécil de Ubisoft pensó que hacer puzzles con cámara y controles de mierda con piedras que ha nadie importan un carajo era divertido. Esos puzzles asquerosos, mal programados y frustrantes me han hecho tener que rebajar la nota de este, por lo demás, magnifico juego.

    Lo primero que he de decir es que para disfrutar este título se ha de jugar con todo a máxima dificultad excepto el combate, que si te cuesta puedes adaptarlo a tu nivel.

    La IA es bastante mala, los niveles no están preparados para el sigilo por lo que esta disciplina deja mucho que desear. La dificultad del combate es absurda y proviene únicamente de los proyectiles que te impactan de manera automática y de conceder invulnerabilidad temporal a ciertos enemigos.

    Dejando de lado eso, el juego es una pasada. Mundo bonito y divertido de explorar, gran narrativa y una jugabilidad que a mi me ha atrapado por más de cien horas.

    Como recomendación, no te obsesiones con el 100% del juego. Juega lo que te apetezca, si comienza a cansarte o abrumarte, déjalo por unos días y retorna luego.    … Expand
  13. tedy20000bg
    Apr 17, 2021
    5
    Graphics from 2010
    animations suck
    story is fine
    def not ac game just scrap it already if ur gonna do ac game do a **** ac game not random rpg which just uses the name
  14. jantjehofje
    May 1, 2021
    7
    Overall an OK game. Definitely not the best AC game, nor my favorite.

    The game just doesn't offer enough of a challenge, even on the hardest difficulty settings.
    This can make the game feel pretty repetitive and boring, and is ultimately why I stopped playing this game after around 50h or so.

    Still worth playing in my opinion, but just keep in mind there's better AC games out there.
  15. simplytenshi
    Jan 7, 2021
    7
    Before starting I should say that this is my first Assassin's Creed game that I have fully beaten. Now with that out the way I enjoyed my time with the game but I think the biggest problem with it for me was the length of it all. At first the story is pretty dang good. I loved going to parts of England and making alliances with all these different people but after maybe 20 hours I began toBefore starting I should say that this is my first Assassin's Creed game that I have fully beaten. Now with that out the way I enjoyed my time with the game but I think the biggest problem with it for me was the length of it all. At first the story is pretty dang good. I loved going to parts of England and making alliances with all these different people but after maybe 20 hours I began to become tired of it and started realizing that there was a pattern to it.

    1. You go to the region hoping to make an alliance only to realize that there is a problem that needs to be solved before you could make one
    2. You help the fellow people solve their issue (usually ending with an attack on a fort of some sort)
    3. You finally get your alliance and (usually) never see these people again

    I honestly wouldn't have a problem with these style of gameplay if it hadn't been for the fact that these alliances get in the way of the main story. In some cases the main story would come back into the game and this crazy event will take place leaving you on the edge of your seat wondering what is coming next only to realize that in order to get to the next part of the story you have to play through another 10 hrs of alliances. I enjoyed my time with AC Valhalla but near the end it felt like I was just going through the missions hoping that the next alliance I did either got me to the next part of the main story or got me to the ending of the game    … Expand
  16. dipanpathak
    Jan 21, 2022
    6
    too long game, this is not a first for this kind of game, boring repeating stuff to do
  17. Frisbiek
    Dec 31, 2020
    6
    Valhalla suffers from Ubisoft trying to fuse together old style AC games with the RPG focus of the last two, Origins and Odyssey. With game mechanics such as blending in with crowds, sitting down on benches, and luring drunks, it's clear Ubisoft is trying to make all sides happy with old school AC and RPG. Unfortunately, this is what brings it down. Ubisoft also limited gear, to theValhalla suffers from Ubisoft trying to fuse together old style AC games with the RPG focus of the last two, Origins and Odyssey. With game mechanics such as blending in with crowds, sitting down on benches, and luring drunks, it's clear Ubisoft is trying to make all sides happy with old school AC and RPG. Unfortunately, this is what brings it down. Ubisoft also limited gear, to the point where you have little to look forward to. As a reward for almost everything in the game, you get skill points. You get so many skill points, you are able to fill out the different skill trees half way through the game and become godlike. I bumped all of the game difficulty options to max, and it was still too easy. Add to that, Enemies almost always present themselves in an area with their backs facing you and never moving, almost as if saying, "please assassinate me."

    Zealots- Valhalla's version of mercenaries- just roam in a circle in their respective zone. They never hunt you, even though early in the game you're told they will come after you. The fights are very souls-like, which I would be ok with if given a reward but in most cases, you guest it- more skill points. Later in the game you may actually get some runes, but you will get so many of these and you are so overpowered you won't care.

    The Story is pretty good, and probably one of the highlights. There's no side quests really- instead a bunch of world events scattered throughout the game. A lot of these are actually entertaining. Most are pretty funny. Unfortunately, all you are ever rewarded with are.... more skill points. So after doing a few, there's really no draw to partake in these.

    Combat is much better in Valhalla- you can't just spam abilities and the Stamina bar encourages you to time your moves and abilities just right. I kind of like this- it provides a challenge. Timing your blocks, parry, and hits feels rewarding. Unfortunately, Ubisoft was lazy with the abilities, which are broken down in to ranged and melee. You find books to open up these abilities which is fine- but it's not long before you realize that a lot of abilities are just pointless, and some abilities do the exact same thing for ranged and melee. There's an axe throwing ability which does the same ranged as it does in melee. You also get a skill for poison and fire separate for ranged and melee. Why?

    The Settlement portion was a neat idea, but again very lackluster. I read several interviews where this was supposed to make you care about your settelment inhabitants by improving their respective shelter. What I found was, the only one that mattered was the trading post, the blacksmith, and the hunting lodge. The rest seemed pointless. After upgrading a building, you might get a quest from who lives there, but it's one and done. The barracks is probably the most disappointing- it allows you to customize your own viking guard to go on your boat, but it's pointless. It behaves no different going on raids than the ones already on your boat. You can hire custom made Vikings throughout the game from other players, but again pointless- they do nothing more than the ones already provided.

    Speaking of raids, this seems great at first. But they become boring when you realize there's no urgency. It tries to make it feel like you need to get in, pillage, and get out. But you can actually take your time trying to figure out the never ending "every building requires a puzzle to solve to get in (ugh)." To improve, there should be a limited time until some sort of reinforcements arrive and you are forced to retreat with what you have. Ubisoft should also make it to where your viking crew can die, making custom made viking units a little more valuable.

    The graphics are of course amazing. Playing on an i7 9700k 2070 super setup at 1440P, everything looks great, particularly distant landscapes. There are a few annoying spots in large settlements where FPS drops- and it's frustrating that Ubisoft hasn't figured this out yet.

    I must have replayed Odyssey a dozen times so far. I don't think I will replay Valhalla much because there's not much to bring me back.    … Expand
  18. kayudin78
    Dec 19, 2020
    7
    Assassin’s creed valhalla latest patches ruin balance.The best game in the series start destroing.
  19. TragicShow
    Dec 20, 2020
    6
    This game would be a lot better if the developers bothered to fix the constant bugs before releasing it, or by fixing them at all. We are currently over 1 month into the game's release, and it is still plagued with constant game-breaking glitches and crashes. Here is a short list of my experience:

    -Game crashes on average about every 8 hours. Frequent autosave helps this system from    This game would be a lot better if the developers bothered to fix the constant bugs before releasing it, or by fixing them at all. We are currently over 1 month into the game's release, and it is still plagued with constant game-breaking glitches and crashes. Here is a short list of my experience:

    -Game crashes on average about every 8 hours. Frequent autosave helps this system from being even more annoying than it already is though.

    -Item wouldn't drop from defeating enemy (x2)

    -Died randomly from riding my horse on completely flat terrain

    -Died from an enemy phasing through me

    -Died from getting stuck in the terrain (x3)

    -Quest npcs despawned, forcing me to restart (x3)

    - Destructible barrier respawned while I was still inside a building, trapping me inside.

    -Tied up npc could no longer be picked up, forcing me to restart the mission

    -Quest character wouldn't spawn

    -Escort npc stopped moving (x2)

    -Npc I was escorting stopped following me

    These are just the glitches that forced me to restart, but there were plenty more that weren't as extreme.

    The story is okay. The gameplay is similar to Odyssey. I like the weapon choices and dual wield options, although not having a single one-handed sword in a time period where almost everyone had one-handed swords is stupid. I also like the more meaningful armor and being able to upgrade it. Without the glitches, I'd give the game a 7. But overall REVIEW HAS ENCOUNTERED ERROR    … Expand
  20. donanja
    Oct 10, 2021
    7
    I've only played this game for a handful of hours, but I've yet to be blown away like I was with the previous two titles. It's an enjoyable game and the graphics are second to none if that's important to you, but I feel as though the game lacks a lot of the breath-taking views that Origins and Odyssey had.

    I feel as though we don't spend enough time in Scandinavia, which are known to    I've only played this game for a handful of hours, but I've yet to be blown away like I was with the previous two titles. It's an enjoyable game and the graphics are second to none if that's important to you, but I feel as though the game lacks a lot of the breath-taking views that Origins and Odyssey had.

    I feel as though we don't spend enough time in Scandinavia, which are known to have gorgeous sights in real life. But the version of Scandinavia we get in this game is a harsh, frozen land with a few rundown harbor-towns and empty mountains. There's nothing. And before you know it, you're on a boat headed to England where the majority of the game takes place.

    Raiding outside of their homeland was a huge part of Viking history, but I had hoped that there would be more of a focus on what the Viking life was like back home, when they weren't raiding. England in this game also looks painfully plain compared to the sights of Odyssey and Origin; it's just grass, hills, and trees. Nature is pretty, but I can go outside right now and see these same sights. There's nothing too exciting about it to me.

    I'm a huge fan of all things related to Norse mythology, Vikings, etc. so this has been a bit of a letdown for me so far, compared to the previous titles at least. I hope it will grow on me over time, but so far I've yet to be blown away.    … Expand
  21. Midgetelf0585
    Dec 24, 2020
    7
    This game is solid, with really fun gameplay, good raids, a compelling main character background and closest relationships... BUT it's way too long.  It starts off very strong, with the background about why you're in England.  Gets stronger with the base building, lots of fun little world events, but soon becomes a slog of repetition.  Then about 15 hours in, it becomes compelling again.This game is solid, with really fun gameplay, good raids, a compelling main character background and closest relationships... BUT it's way too long.  It starts off very strong, with the background about why you're in England.  Gets stronger with the base building, lots of fun little world events, but soon becomes a slog of repetition.  Then about 15 hours in, it becomes compelling again. Then 5 hours after that, a slog.  You get the picture.  If they wouldn't have as much "forced filler" (just make some of those alliances clearly voluntary), it would serve the main plot and make it feel much more powerful and urgent.  Also the leveling is too fast.  It removes any feeling of accomplishment. So yeah, solid game, fun combat, good core story when you get to it, but to bogged down with fluff.… Expand
  22. Xemnuz
    Nov 19, 2020
    7
    When I started the game in Norway, I was borderlined depressed of how grey and plain the landscape and graphics were, how terrible the ship animations and how dull combat was. The voiceacting in Norway especially, is nausiating. But when I got to England (which is really not that long unless you walk around looting everything like me), then the game became much better. When you get toWhen I started the game in Norway, I was borderlined depressed of how grey and plain the landscape and graphics were, how terrible the ship animations and how dull combat was. The voiceacting in Norway especially, is nausiating. But when I got to England (which is really not that long unless you walk around looting everything like me), then the game became much better. When you get to England it's like they have changed the graphics engine, but at the same time it feels like just he graphics it was like 8 years ago in Black Flag, which is odd, but it's the same graphics engine only updated it seems. I really-really enjoyed Origins, and enjoyed Odyssey, and this seems pretty even to those (I'm prolly 50% done). But I feel as this is the viking age they could have done so much more with it, make it really feel special which they haven't, but I enjoy it nonetheless. I think it's time to stop the Abstergo/real world stuff going on in these games, absolutely no one cares and when you get thrown out of the world the game is in it just makes you annoyed. The main character is actually cool which I liked about Bajek and Edward as well, though he seems very small compared to others? Sigurd on the other hand appears to be a spanish/orange viking which I don't understand really. And for the love of air, why must they always make it 50/50 gender, there weren't raid boats half full of women, women simply cant fight men. Sure there could have been shieldmaidens, but you wouldnt have half your boat of women depending on your life in the fight against full grown men. It's like they are trying so hard for equality, but when you make "bosses" 2.10 meter tall women it's just silly and makes no sense. But as said, enjoy it so far, but for sure some things that could be better, probably no closer to 8 than it's to a 6, but it truly is immense which helps with the score.… Expand
  23. fnkrjnkie
    Dec 31, 2020
    5
    Quit the game after 17hours... I just can't take anymore. This game is boring aF. The Characters are not interesting. I had no interest in the story. There main quests are all the exact same thing... go to a place, kill everyone and repeat. The locked door/hidden entrance thing was cool at first but it became tiresome after a while trying to find a way into one place to find a way intoQuit the game after 17hours... I just can't take anymore. This game is boring aF. The Characters are not interesting. I had no interest in the story. There main quests are all the exact same thing... go to a place, kill everyone and repeat. The locked door/hidden entrance thing was cool at first but it became tiresome after a while trying to find a way into one place to find a way into another all for some meaningless loot. The game gives you no reason to keep switching between armor sets/weapons. You can get a good set and just upgrade it most of the game. The fighting in the game is terrible. it's not smooth at all. character constantly bugs out. animations take too long and it's the same damn thing over and over. I really wanted to atleast beat the game to get some of my moneys worth but I really couldn't stand playing any longer.

    The game world did look nice but nothing really stood out. Everything looked almost the same everywhere you went. The game is very forgettable. Also liked that they took off the grinding/level gating that ruined odyssey for me. Origins is still one of the best imo.    … Expand
  24. iartaza91
    Nov 19, 2020
    7
    So far I've played 5 hours. The game itself is beautyfull and the world is absolutely filed with thins and places and stories, but there is an ENORMOUS But... The AI. Oh God, enemies they virtually don't exist, even in the ultimate difficulty. And of course there are plenty of bugs. Is a shame, this could have been a masterpiece
  25. connorasmith
    Jan 23, 2021
    7
    As a long time Assassins Creed fan, AC Valhalla fell flat for me. By the end of the game, I found myself just wanting it to be over, as if playing the game had been a full-time job and the slog finally came to an end. Overall, Valhalla was an ambitious game, but it's poorly paced and filled so full of repetitive fluff, and so anti-climatic in it's story moments, that I enjoyed only a smallAs a long time Assassins Creed fan, AC Valhalla fell flat for me. By the end of the game, I found myself just wanting it to be over, as if playing the game had been a full-time job and the slog finally came to an end. Overall, Valhalla was an ambitious game, but it's poorly paced and filled so full of repetitive fluff, and so anti-climatic in it's story moments, that I enjoyed only a small portion of the 90 hours I played.

    I'll start with the good: The world of AC Valhalla is absolutely beautiful, with plenty to explore. The world is filled with diverse biomes, with terrain ranging from open fields to mountainous landscapes. This world is filled with short "world events" that, honestly, were my favorite part of the game. As mini-sidequests, they had a much lighter and more playful tone than the story, and many of them were actually hilarious. I think the best writing in the game can be found in these world events, and I always looked forward to reaching and experiencing every single one.

    Starting to get into what I didn't like: The world is also filled with an encumbering amount of collectibles, that are often hidden behind the same generic puzzle (sometimes even the exact same), to the point where solving and collecting the item just becomes tedious. To make matters worse, you can't see what the collectible is before getting near it, so trying to actually grab any meaningful wealth items or collectibles feels almost like a lootbox with little pay-off, with their sole purpose to just take up your time.

    I felt that way throughout the game, even with the main story. That so much of Valhalla just existed to drag out my experience, and force me to commit as many hours as possible in the illusion of it being a "massive" game. Truly, I felt like most of the game was just filler, with key story moments being rushed over and anticlimactic, while random arcs that very well should've been optional were forced on me and got more screentime than what should've been dramatic and critical plot moments. Similarly, the pacing of the story was awful, it felt like every time I started getting interesting in the main story, it would throw more (not optional) filler at me until I lost interest again. By the end, I had put 90 hours in Valhalla, but probably only actually enjoyed about 10 of those hours.

    Don't get me wrong - some of the story is great, especially toward the end, but those moments are so few and far between that it's hard to appreciate them at all (especially when the whole main story arc is so tonally inconsistent, and constantly feels like it alternates between comedy and drama).

    Though I don't usually complain too much about bugs, I did hit a few progression-blockers that really annoyed me. I can't even get to the game's epilogue now after finishing everything in the world, and a specific sidequest remains blocked by a known-issue that I'm just hoping will be fixed in a future update. Also, the bow (my favorite weapon in the game) has a quiver bug that results in me always having a lower arrow capacity I should, which was pretty annoying.

    I loved AC Odyssey and it's world, and to-date, I think it's still my Assassins Creed game. Maybe the Viking setting just didn't interest me enough, or maybe story just wasn't the priority for this game, but if there was anything I could change, I'd wish for a more condensed version of Valhalla that focuses on what it does best, and eliminates the mediocre filler.    … Expand
  26. Molercunart
    Dec 22, 2020
    7
    Assassin's Creed Valhalla is a game that makes the brand identity crisis more obvious than ever. This game has a passionate team behind it. The writing, especially towards the end may be the best the franchise has seen in a long time. The revival of the modern day and First Civ story are a welcome addition and tie in a lot of open questions that previous entries never cared to answer.Assassin's Creed Valhalla is a game that makes the brand identity crisis more obvious than ever. This game has a passionate team behind it. The writing, especially towards the end may be the best the franchise has seen in a long time. The revival of the modern day and First Civ story are a welcome addition and tie in a lot of open questions that previous entries never cared to answer.

    However, many of the issues that plague the franchise since Origins and became even more obvious in Odyssey are still there and don't seem like they are going to be solved in the near future. Valhalla continues the RPG route and leaves oldschool fans like me unsatisfied again. Just like in Origins and Odyssey, you are greeted with various different RPG mechanics, skills, tons of unimportant side content and a massive world to explore (I don't mean this in a good way). The bloat that especially plagued Odyssey returns again, but is handled a little better since Valhalla tries very hard to tie every little side activity into your main story and the growth of your settlement. Side stories are mostly non existent since all major narrative quests are part of the various main story arcs. Everything else on the map comes down to a bunch of different collectibles, skills, gear and little world events that don't really make an impact whatsoever.

    Theoretically, this doesn't sound so bad, but in reality it just shifts one issue into another location. Yes, it's true that there is no need to do side quests in order to have a high enough skill-level to continue the main story anymore. But the reason for that is that the side content basically became main content and is now mandatory. There are tons of different story arcs in Valhalla. One half is actually amazing, really engaging and makes you want more. The other half however, is often quite pointless and feels like massive filler. Don't get me wrong, they are still well written, but they really damage the quality of the main narrative. Everytime when the story feels engaging and makes you want more, it stops and the game forces you to finish one or two of the filler arcs before you can continue the really interesting arcs. Therefore, the main story never truly picks up until the very end.

    Also, since Origins the AC games don't really have a clear ending anymore. There is no real climax and a satisfying credit roll. Instead, it's just another finished quest and after a short "congratulations!" you are being thrown back into the open world. Part of that probably has to do with the fact that Ubisoft wants to continue the story in future DLC. A practice that I'm not really the biggest fan of. Valhalla with it's sheer size often feels like work, rather than a fun experience. If a game demands so much time and attention, I feel like it needs to earn this right. Games like The Witcher 3 or Red Dead Redemption 2 do this by really pushing forward story-driven open-world games and not releasing regularly. Valhalla, just like Odyssey before it, doesn't. This is just more of the classic Ubisoft content. Nothing that allows it to be as long as it is.

    Overall, Valhalla tries to make the best out of a bad situation. Assassin's Creed has become an RPG franchise now, whether you like it or not. Odyssey embraced this and made very clear that it doesn't want to appeal to the older generation of fans. Valhalla is in a different situation, because it really tries to appeal to both sides. There is quite a lot of lore about Assassins / Hidden Ones, Templars / Order of the Ancients and First Civilization and almost everything of it is really good. In the bigger cities the game tries to emulate the feeling of older titles by including social stealth and blending in with the crowds. But in the end, it still is mostly a Viking fantasy with Assassin's Creed elements and fanservice added into it, never reaching the potential of older titles. It's still better than nothing though (looking at you Odyssey).

    Apart from that, Valhalla often feels clunky and unpolished. There are a lot of bugs and glitches and the presentation at times may be a franchise low. Especially cutscenes, which for a long time were a prime discipline of AC with its fully mocap animations, are mostly nothing more than okay. The reason for that is because they now use AI animation presets to do most of the work, apart from a few mocap scenes.

    But why is that? It's simple: Time. These RPG ACs are massive in every way. And with a development time of 2 1/2 years, the developers had to cut things short in order to deliver such a massive title. Quantity over quality in that case. Therefore, one can only hope that the next-gen AC will return the franchise to its roots. Delivering a smaller, but more thought out world, better cutscenes and a more streamlined story with an actual Assassin vs Templar conflict in the center. If you were looking for any of this in Valhalla, you will be disappointed.    … Expand
  27. Ankthepot
    Jan 1, 2021
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Although improvements are made over the AC Odyssey. There were so many crashes, bugs such as getting stuck, flying cows, NPCs are not following you, sudden teleportation etc.. These issues prevented me enjoying the game itself. Disappointing for me.… Expand
  28. Yotsuhirasaka
    Nov 10, 2021
    6
    It's a decent step-up from Odyssey, which leaned too far into the Modern Games' RPG Mechanics with a far too non-standard deviation from the classic series' abilities.
    Unfortunately, that is all I can say. I truly desire for when we can receive a perfect Modern AC Game, but it seems unlikely as of writing this.
    As in Odyssey, buildings and parkour is absolutely shunned in-favor of the    It's a decent step-up from Odyssey, which leaned too far into the Modern Games' RPG Mechanics with a far too non-standard deviation from the classic series' abilities.
    Unfortunately, that is all I can say. I truly desire for when we can receive a perfect Modern AC Game, but it seems unlikely as of writing this.

    As in Odyssey, buildings and parkour is absolutely shunned in-favor of the combat system. Don't mistake me, combat in the modern games is quite fun, but it's not what should be leaned on in a game about assassination, or at least supposed to be...
    Aside from this, it is a decent game as a modern Lite-RPG Hell-scape. The story and quests are slightly padded but overall does not entirely overstay it's welcome.

    The Wrath of the Druids DLC is better than the base game, but not by much. I wouldn't recommend the DLC if you don't like the base game.
    The Siege of Paris (DLC) dragged on to little benefit, truly strengthened my distaste for the game as a whole. Recommend playing it before Druids so you have a decent taste in your mouth on finishing.    … Expand
  29. SouthpawSaint
    Nov 14, 2021
    5
    climbing is not smooth parkor is trash you get stuck on so many 1ft ledges and a simple plank of wood has been the end of me too many times to count simply because i could not dodge over it and stopped at it...the people eating this trash game up and giving it 10 need to stop playing games and ruining this for the rest of us....this game is not even hot garbage its cold garbage reheated inclimbing is not smooth parkor is trash you get stuck on so many 1ft ledges and a simple plank of wood has been the end of me too many times to count simply because i could not dodge over it and stopped at it...the people eating this trash game up and giving it 10 need to stop playing games and ruining this for the rest of us....this game is not even hot garbage its cold garbage reheated in a microwave. the systems are ALL buggy the only fun thing I have found is river raids and that does not even take place on the main map so you have no horse no raven and your stuck on the river you can take shortcuts as they are all blocked legit just the river and maybe 40ft past any buildings that are there it sad because I was really excited about this game and the time period as well as how they would integrate such opposing forms of combat and they simply tried to mash them together and failed miserably as well as some how making the 99% accurate systems of climbing and parkour as well as the all important combat system feel both sluggish (no matter the weapon type) the bow does massive damage but has like zero range for that amount of dmg and then i keep finding places that I want to raid but o wait I die like 100 times because they are so stupidly over leveled I can barely take a single hit without going to zero and this is maybe 100 yards from your first settlement for examples of this i will post my twitch link but i doubt it will work thanks to all the fkn spammers https://www.twitch.tv/southpawpablo/videos?filter=all&sort=time… Expand
  30. Szymko7
    Jan 27, 2022
    7
    Spent 170 hours on Valhalla. This game is very solid. It has to be one of the best open worlds ever created. It is beautiful, stunning at times. Music and score is nice, really immersive. I must say Ubisoft is trying to listen to the critics, because I see some improvements within the franchise. Quests are a little better, dialogs don't seem as stupid as it used to be in Odyssey. Game is aSpent 170 hours on Valhalla. This game is very solid. It has to be one of the best open worlds ever created. It is beautiful, stunning at times. Music and score is nice, really immersive. I must say Ubisoft is trying to listen to the critics, because I see some improvements within the franchise. Quests are a little better, dialogs don't seem as stupid as it used to be in Odyssey. Game is a little bit more RPGish now, but is still has a lot of flaws. I liked how different weapons create different combat feeling, but crafting system in general felt odd. I literally levelled up first random set I found and kept it for the entire game. This is how unnecessary crafting was. I liked the blue mysteries on the map. These unique stories were a great idea to fill the map with content. The number of alliances to form was a madness though. I finished this game a week ago, and I can remember maybe two plots of these regional quests. Halfdan in Donecaestre and maybe crimes of Lunden. I never thought I would ever say, that game can be too big, but Valhalla clearly is. It makes you tired. And repetition kills all the brilliance of it. I would be happy to give it a score of 9 if Ubisoft made it around 20% smaller, and made the story stand out a little more.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

42
#42 Best PC Game of 2020
5
#5 Most Discussed PC Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 31 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 31
  3. Negative: 0 out of 31
  1. RPG Site
    Apr 5, 2021
    60
    Assassin's Creed Valhalla is a great-looking open-world game with impressive landscapes and cinematography. However, the checklist collectible open-world still needs some work to feel truly engaging, and combat is too tedious and too frequent to be compelling. As a lapsed fan of Assassin's Creed trying to see if I can click with the series once again, Valhalla didn't quite hook me as I was hoping it would.
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  2. Game Debate
    Jan 11, 2021
    80
    Assassins Creed Valhalla is a lot of fun and easy to sink dozens of hours into. It is the best entry in the more recent trilogy and genuinely elevates the gameplay mechanics. Content could be considered somewhat bloated still, but it is diverse enough and the setting and story is solid most of the way through.
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  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 4, 2021
    80
    Sneaking is fun, fighting is fun, walking through the great outdoors is so much fun. Sightseeing too! Valhalla is free minded and could be innovative, but lacks skills to persuade its players about that. [Issue#308]
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