Assassin's Creed Valhalla

A hearty slice of Viking pie, goes great with a new console and a flagon of mead. Ubisoft have taken the Creed to a new level with their trip to the Nordic settlement of merry old England.

For a game that centres itself around the idea of settlements, negotiation, alignment and choice, Valhalla does an amazing job of making you feel like the spotlight is always on you. It redirects misconception around viking culture and remains an Assassin’s Creed game, though perhaps the lesser of all before it, for the betterment of the franchise. Game of Thrones’ Magnus Bruun is a shoe-in for best voice actor in a videogame this year but, more importantly, Valhalla is a game that will drag you along the Bifröst bridge and into the vision of Fenrir. How you handle all of this is up to you, but to boldly state in the positive, this is as anti Assassin’s Creed as we’ve yet played, and we love it all the more for it.

Assassin's Creed: Valhalla continues along the path started with Origins and gives us one of the best RPGs of the last several years. A world full of life, a system that fights brutally and hundreds of things to do make it a serious candidate for GOTY 2020.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is the best installment of the saga since its early days. After two years of hiatus the saga is back with a solid RPG that takes advantage of the Xbox Series X|S hardware enhancements.

With an engaging combination of combat, exploration, and crafted story content, this Viking legend is an epic with a little something for everyone.

Cut from the very best cloth of open world games, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is a pleasure from start to finish. Though overwhelming in its early hours, once you settle into Eivor’s shoes, exploring England is an exhilarating journey like no other. Try as you might to focus on the main missions, the lure of exploration is too strong, and you’ll find pleasure in every tiny discovery. Is this the best Assassin’s Creed game yet? That’s difficult to say – but it might just be. Especially if you enjoy the beauty of British countryside and the contrasting brutality of viking combat.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla sees the long-running franchise at an absolute high point. A much tighter, more refined and narrative-focused experience, it learns lessons from other recent open world efforts, removing much of the series' tedious open-world busywork and channelling its players through a genuinely excellent and intriguing adventure. There's still plenty of exploring, looting and collecting to be done here but it's so much more engaging, full of fun puzzles and atmospheric treasure hunts that make the downtime between story arcs all the more rewarding. This is Assassin's Creed looking and feeling better than ever.

Assassin's Creed: Valhalla is one of the best games in the series and a perfect choice to launch the new generation.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla offers an astonishing mix of all the formulas of the saga, managing to juggle phases of savage raids on one side and infiltration into the heart of the crowd on the other, without one of its sub-systems do not seem to really suffer from this multifaceted approach.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is the culmination of the new model for the saga that Origins established and Odyssey perfected.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is yet another impressive entry in Ubi's unstoppable franchise. The hidden blade is back and as lethal as it should be, combat remains a joy, and Eivor proves an immensely likeable lead in a glorious world of dizzying scope.

Since nearly all the various trinkets and relics and map markers have meaningful purpose, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is a rare open-world game where virtually every activity feels worth doing. Like Eivor scaling the snow-covered mountains of Norway, Valhalla achieves new heights for the RPG era of Assassin’s Creed, and I’ve never been more excited to see where the series goes next.

A saga for the ages, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is a breathtaking journey of discovery that has a cold charm to it. It is both serious and ludicrous in equal measure, an RPG that has added more than it has removed from its core experience while delivering a game that feels familiar and completely new at the same time. Skal!

With a sprawling world to conquer and gory combat but also the chance to use that iconic hidden blade, Assassin's Creed Valhalla brings a triumphant balance to the series.

Building on the strong foundations of Origins and Odyssey, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is in many ways a minor iteration of the proven formula. Yet, it’s also one of the biggest departures in the franchise’s 13-year history.

If you weren't a fan of the franchise, this game won't change your mind, but if you are a believer of the Creed, you'll find a gigantic, really engaging experience here. The vikings context fits like a glove.

There’s hours upon hours of entertainment here bolstered by satisfying combat and a story that will engage throughout, although the addictive nature of playing Valhalla often overwhelms the enjoyability – there are so many distractions and enhancements that make it a fully bolstered adventure that you’ll find yourself lost and entrenched in time and again. Valhalla swings for the fences and lands a satisfying and devastating blow that will certainly be felt by most players who experience it, just don’t go looking for a game-changer.

Momentum might not be important to the AC series anymore thanks to its shift towards RPG-lite but its other original key pillar, history, is utilised better than ever here. Not the specifics of what once happened, but the depiction of life elsewhere, elsewhen, and how well that is incorporated into core gameplay loops. With a clearer, more deliberate focus on the past in Valhalla, the series' future is bright.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla brings the third party to next-gen and a party it is. Take on the story of Eivor and travel to Brittania to conquer the land piece by piece. The game looks amazing and contains new RPG-elements like building your settlement, pillaging, and a huge new skill tree to strengthen yourself. The story is compelling at that, but the action pushes the assassination to the background. The game suffers from a few minor bugs, but nothing too serious. This is simply a must-play from day one.

In many aspects Valhalla resembles most of Ubisoft’s games, but fortunately progression feels a lot more natural this time around. The game’s not perfect but I had lots of fun conquering new territories, plundering churches, and pillaging coastal villages while following a mature story and enjoying gorgeous, believable medieval Britain. [13/2020, p.26]

The franchise’s famous environment traversal mechanics — essentially parkour — are similarly streamlined yet no less satisfying, thanks largely to the undeniable compulsion the game instills in players to keep moving to see what lies beyond the next ridge or river. Exploration is a driving force.And, of course, it looks phenomenal and runs smooth as an oil slick on next-generation hardware. Players looking for a substantial game that shows off the graphical capabilities of their new systems that will keep them busy well into next year won’t be disappointed in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla further refines the RPG style of Origins and Odyssey and their enormous worlds. Addictive progression and an engaging story tie everything together in meaningful ways, but the bloated length almost ruins the impact of the story, while lackluster AI causes combat to wear thin. Still, England and Norway are breathtakingly beautiful with an outrageous amount of things to discover and unique tales to tell.

A strong Assassin’s Creed episode, a motivating open-world-game.: Eivors adventure is not faultless, but delivers an always entertaining mixture of exploration, story, battles and estate development – while looking gorgeous throughout.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is a good game and remains in line with the previous ones with the addition of only a few new features in the combat system besides the colony that brings a very nice RPG touch. Moreover, the return of the secret blade and infiltration possibilities add to the interest of the gameplay. However, despite a neat atmosphere and a story that holds in breath, the game remains quite classic in its mechanics. In addition, some visual details are a bit old: the faces in particular are still sorely lacking in life even if an effort has been made on this side, not to mention perfectible AI… A good Assassin’s Creed but one which would have benefited by more risk-taking.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is a very good game even though it is far from perfect. It is possible that a little more development time would have favored it. It has its defects, especially technical issues, but, as if it were a Hollywood blockbuster, the whole is fun, and it is what really matters.

Even if Assassin's Creed : Valhalla isn't as groundbreaking as Origins, we welcome some new content, and the comeback of the secret blade for instant kills. The historical aspect is also a nice aspect of the game, which separates it even more from purely fictional titles like God Of War. Overall a great experience.

Assassins creed Valhalla is a great game to start the new generation with. The world is impressive, loading times are fast and gameplay experience is great and smooth with 60 frames per second.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is well executed on several levels, sans the bugs that I ran into. It is a true AAA title that is a worthy playthrough for fans of the game old and new. It is a tale of fate, loyalty, glory and morality. Eivor must make tough decisions as to how to grow their settlement and how they navigate relationships in the world. The decisions you make will change components of the story, so you are in charge of your own destiny.

It is highly satisfying completing a story arc or traversing the world and finding things that you felt that other players might not have stumbled across due to the nature of the open world and its use of way finders. The lack of load times on Xbox Series S is truly impressive given the nature of environments, landscape, and elements that are present on screen. There were a few issues from characters floating in mid-air, bizarre enemy AI, and straight up freezes, although these were far and few between given the scope of it all. Intuitive and varied combat help keep things fresh, even if it does take a fair few hours of gameplay to really get going. Assassin's Creed Valhalla is a thoroughly enjoyable, open-world RPG that is an absolute must for Xbox owners.

What could have been an elephants' graveyard of forgotten ideas instead feels like a series-wide victory lap. [Issue#353, p.96]

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is yet another great entry in the series marred by some side steps and technical issues. I am sure the latter will be ironed out with time. I really have enjoyed all three of the latest games in the series with Odyssey continuing to be my top pick. Valhalla has a truly fantastic story mixed with visceral combat and base management. I hope they iron out the technical issues as 60fps is truly a game-changer for the franchise.

Playing Viking detective was not something I expected to do during Valhalla, but it is a game that --while following much of its traditional template-- is capable of surprise.

If you like what Assassin’s Creed has become, then you’ll enjoy Valhalla. It’s fun, big and beautiful, but it’s also repetitive and predictable.

The Xbox Series X version of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla takes advantage of the extra horsepower, showcasing a native 4K resolution while running at a targeted 60fps. It will sometimes dip below that, and there aren’t too many other next generation features present, like Raytracing, but otherwise it’s the best way to play the open-world title. Taken on its own and judged on its own merits, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is an enjoyable opportunity to vicariously raid and pillage the English countryside.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla succeeds in improving the light-RPG formula initiated by Origins, by correcting some of the excesses spotted on Odyssey: with an upgraded exploration, a less generous loot and fights that go more to the essentials, Ubisoft Montreal is clearly on the right track. However, despite all their efforts to make the progression more digestible and enjoyable, many bugs have ruined the experience. Too bad, especially since in this Xbox Series X version, the game is absolutely magnificent and manages to hold its 60 frames per second in (almost) all circumstances.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla promised to return to the series’ roots after two big steps away from them in Origins and Odyssey, but what it attempts to rekindle ends up holding it back, and what it does best is what makes it decidedly very un-Assassin’s Creed. Those willing to embrace Valhalla for what it is will find a compelling and satisfying action RPG.

With Assasin's Creed Valhalla, Ubisoft tries to synthesize a decade-long series, thanks to clever adjustments on its RPG rhythm. With a brilliant lightning, the game visually stands out on Xbox Series X, and offers a more flexible adventure as well as a real stable narrative. Rich, dense, but also time-consuming, Assassin's Creed Valhalla still is a good run, thanks to its historical setting and beautiful landscapes.

Despite its strong connection to past games, Assassin's Creed Valhalla is more than capable of standing on its own. It takes a little while to build momentum, but when it hits its stride, Valhalla is a confident Assassin's Creed title that takes a few narrative risks which, as a whole, pay off. Eivor is a good hero with an identity that drives the mystery behind the main narrative, and she shines in the self-contained arc structure of Valhalla's story. The supporting cast may not shine as brightly, but it's easy to forgive that when exploring England and discovering new nuggets of worldbuilding is so rewarding.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is a massive, beautiful open-world fueled by brutal living and the dirty work of conquerors. It's a lot buggier than it should be but also impressive on multiple levels.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is far from being a perfect game, still it’s one of the most evolved and complete chapters of the series, and one of the most interesting titles to play this month.

Rather than continuing to build on its predecessors, Assassin's Creed Valhalla takes a more streamlined approach to the open world RPG design, for better or worse. It encourages exploration more than ever, and the new setting is initially exciting, but bland characters and underwhelming presentation don't exactly make it a must-have game for your new next-gen console.

The game is fairly dedicated to correcting many of the worst creative decisions made across the lifespan of the Assassin’s Creed series.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla's vision of ninth-century England is a beautiful place to explore, populated with a great cast of characters who make up for the bland new protagonist, Eivor. Nevertheless, the tired overarching story of Templars and Assassins, and a design ethos that overstuffs the setting with side activities, add unnecessary bloat and distractions to the experience. Valhalla's a solid action-adventure game that does well to capture the turmoil of its historical era, but it's weighed down by the increasingly ponderous legacy of the series it represents.

Valhalla is a giant step backwards for Assassin's Creed, which is pretty to look at, but feels soulless and fun-free.