Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft, debuted alongside Microsoft’s Xbox Series X on November 10, 2020. The franchise returns after two years of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey holding the banner as its latest entry, with Valhalla bringing fans into the Viking era, complete with sharpened axes, greatswords, and the return of the Hidden Blade. Ubisoft worked hard to generate hype for a game that threads the needle, sewing the new gaming generation with that of the previous, delivering on many of the company’s promises while falling short with others. As the next entry in a franchise spanning over a decade, Valhalla delivers beautiful visuals, immersive gameplay, and a heart-pounding soundtrack, but misses the mark with a certain graphical misstep on Xbox Series X, suboptimal voice acting, and buggy quests.
Modern titles having impressive aesthetics is a foregone conclusion with the advancements made to technology. However, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla does not take advantage of the newest asset: ray tracing. The game shines in 4K with 60 frames per second on Xbox Series X, but after Ubisoft had to fix issues in Watch Dogs Legion—which was plagued by graphical mishaps and minor ray-tracing debacles—the multi-franchise publisher did well to avoid more pronounced visual conundrums in Valhalla by sidestepping ray tracing altogether, at least until the studio can work out the kinks.
Nevertheless, the franchise’s latest entry offers remarkable beauty, contrasting between the snowcapped peaks of Norway, and the rolling hills and bushy forests of England. Players will notice the long distances at which they can observe the game’s bright and colorful geography when synchronizing viewpoints, immersing themselves in a virtual tour of an ancient land.
Towns, villages, and small cities offer the quaint and squalid feel of a historical civilization, from differences in architecture between Nordic and English influences, to the varying styles of attire the two cultures prefer. Everything is crisp and smooth, standing out with similar quality artistry as Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, though, perhaps less awestriking as the romanticization of Ancient Greece’s architectural triumphs and the sea that surrounds its city-states.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla has not tackled the issue of character facial animations not matching the content of their words. It is difficult to feel invested in dialogue when expressions do not match the emotion characters are attempting to convey. The issue does not ruin the experience by any stretch of the imagination, but it does necessitate asking whether the problem’s existence is due to an oversight, incompetence, or a matter of prioritizing other aspects of the game.
Fans who are adamant about enjoying a title’s narrative tend to notice the minor flaws that can pull them out of their immersion. This trait carries over into films where the actors and actresses do a poor job of convincing viewers of their character’s state of mind with body language that does not reflect their utterances. Even novels ensure readers are aware of most characters’ facial expressions to convey emotions.
When compared with the likes of Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2—which had incredible facial animations where lips always matched words and expressions always matched emotions—the drawback becomes even more pronounced. Withal, Rockstar takes several years to develop its heavy hitters, whereas Ubisoft churns out a new Assassin’s Creed every year or two. This difference in development time could be a contributing factor to the divergent quality in terms of character facial expressions—Ubisoft gives itself less time to focus on such seemingly minor details.
The biggest criticism with Valhalla’s visuals is the cartoonish appearance of its fire. No matter the source of their manifestation—flaming swords, fire arrows, burning buildings, or torches—the game’s flames look like they belong in Minecraft on Xbox 360. Turning off HDR in the event it is a bizarre over-tuning of the feature also rendered no aid. Considering fire is such a pivotal part of the experience when raiding settlements or watching certain cutscenes, especially considering the narrative centers around Vikings, this shortcoming is disappointing.
Thwacking arrows, thudding shields, clattering spears, and clanging swords and axes make up the bulk of Valhalla’s combat sounds. Every entry in the franchise features its own spin on this aspect of the game, such as Assassin’s Creed III’s inclusion of flintlock rifles, Black Flag’s naval warfare and ship cannons, and Syndicate’s brass knuckle brawling. Valhalla continues the trend of Origins and Odyssey, focusing on the cacophony of melee combat. The battle raucous is neither revolutionary nor mundane, but contributes to the overall immersion, nevertheless.
Returning in another Assassin’s Creed installment are the sea shanties about which fans have raved since their franchise debut in 2013’s Black Flag. The shanties themselves deliver an ominous Viking ambiance when sailing down rivers and in more open water. The primary concern regarding these rhythms is it can be a little difficult to hear them when opening the mainsail on longer treks.
In Black Flag, the sea shanties could be heard above the game’s other sounds (unless players engaged in combat). In Valhalla, however, the shanties are difficult to hear when opening the mainsail, as other sounds do not muffle to facilitate listening to the shanties. The occurrence is not game-breaking but can be a little irritating to fans who want to hear the songs during longer voyages and do not want to spend an hour trying to reach their destination.
The orchestral score for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla matches the game and era’s general tone: somber yet blood-pumping. Jesper Kyd, Sarah Schachner, and Einar Selvik—the title’s composers—deliver an outstanding musical addition to the series. Each symphonic moment is masterful, blending well with a period in which Christianity, Norse Paganism, and a mingling of cultures both on the battlefield and off it was at a crucial boiling point in European history.
Critical to any video game’s narrative is the voice acting. Delivering a believable lasting impression is what makes characters in any single-player title stand out from their competitors. Unfortunately, Valhalla’s voice acting leaves a lot to be desired, with characters sounding uncommitted to their roles.
The dialogue often sounds uninspired and emotionless, detracting from the story, as if the professionals behind the voices are reading their lines for the first time and are still trying to get a feel for the characters. There are moments where this more indifferent feel falls by the wayside and is replaced by something more convincing, but they are few and far between. Overall, the writing and dialogue are intriguing, with clear effort to create impactful characters and a memorable tale.
Players will only see this if they pay attention to what is being said and who is saying it instead of just how the delivery is made. The script is well-crafted, with characters having enough variation to prevent the story from becoming mundane. Regrettably, the subpar voice acting cheapens this excellence and degrades it to above average.
One of the biggest setbacks with Origins and Odyssey was the lack of focus on stealth mechanics. The Assassin’s Creed series is one of stealth, with open combat being a side dish to the main course. Inverting that structure made the “Assassin’s” portion of the franchise’s name feel more like an afterthought; an unfortunate turn given the importance of the hidden blade from the IP’s debut in 2007 through 2015 with Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. While Origins featured the unique weapon, it was not a core portion of the gameplay.
Valhalla takes a step back in the franchise’s original direction by giving players more options in terms of how they build their character. Stealth and open combat are equally viable options in most scenarios, but depending on what a fan prefers, stealth no longer feels like an inconvenience. With the hidden blade’s return—as well as the Hidden Ones (Assassins)—Valhalla makes the “Assassin’s” portion of the franchise’s name relevant again.
Stealth has the same general feel as Origins and Odyssey, with surrounding foliage providing a cloak through which players can sneak. Climbing buildings and rounding corners also enacts the line-of-sight mechanic, where gamers can use them to lose enemies after being spotted. However, a returning element to the game’s stealth is players’ ability to blend in with the crowd by sitting on a bench and wearing a hood and cloak to make guards less reactive prior to being discovered.
While the hood and cloak makes no realistic sense—that should make someone more noticeable when they’re the only one dressed in such a way—it is nice to have an option for navigating hostile territory with little cover to utilize. Moreover, being able to sit on benches with NPCs to evade detection is a welcome returning feature, giving gamers more options for remaining hidden. The stealth aspect of the game is not as in-depth as the original three main titles in the franchise, but it is an encouraging step.
Unfortunately, despite the idea that players’ hood and cloak should slow the rate at which enemies detect them, NPCs still become suspicious of the player-character (PC) at an alarming rate. Regardless, once players get accustomed to the way the AI’s detection range works, remaining anonymous becomes an accomplishable challenge.
Valhalla continues the fast-paced action introduced to the franchise by Origins and Odyssey. Players can choose between a variety of weapon setups, such as dual wielding daggers and axes, using a one-handed weapon and shield, or swinging a two-handed scimitar. However, wielding a dagger in one hand and another single-handed weapon in the other results in a rigid combo from the PC. Unless players have perfect timing with the button reserved for blocking, the PC will repeatedly thrust with the dagger in a boring, inefficient fashion.
Aside from that misfortune, melee encounters are relatively fluid. Dual wielding daggers sees players swiftly stabbing opponents several times, or charging with twin axes results in rapid swipes, chops, and cuts. The axe and shield combo is a more reserved fighting style, relying on knocking attacks aside and countering when enemies are staggered. Two-handed weapons, however, are slower but more powerful, giving players the impression they are a stalwart vanguard cleaving foes apart.
Each combat style is viable, and the continuation of the more fluid combat system introduced in Origins is fitting for an AC title centered around Vikings. Dodging, parrying, counterattacking, and overwhelming enemies with a furious flurry are all smooth and useful options. The AI, regrettably, is predictable, even on the harder difficulties. Proper timing is the only requirement for overcoming even the most demanding opponents. Remaining undetected when trying to stealth through a restricted area is more burdensome than the game’s combat.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla introduces a complete overhaul to skill point allocation. The general idea from Origins and Odyssey remains—there are three different schools into which players can allocate their skill points: Stealth, Melee, and Ranged. However, the number of slots into which gamers can spend their points is much more massive than previous installments. Moreover, sections of the grid are veiled by a fog that dissipates as players spend more points in a particular section.
Like the Sphere Grid in Final Fantasy X, the new skill grid in Valhalla allows fans to cater their character to their preferred playstyle. Eventually, every slot can be unlocked, with the PC becoming a living god who slaughters every foe in their path. Stealth afficionados can make their assassination techniques more deadly, combat pedagogues can become an unstoppable force, and bow savants can release the sharpest of arrows. Exploring the skill grid itself is almost as rewarding as the process of acquiring skill points.
During their time exploring Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s beautiful rendition of England and Norway, players will encounter Artifacts, Mysteries, and Wealth. Unlike Origins and Odyssey, players (mainly completionists) will not have to visit every question mark on the map to discover if there is any worthwhile loot. Instead, Valhalla tells players where the most worthwhile items are on the map from the beginning.
Gold and silver blots on the world map indicate Artifacts, Wealth, and Mysteries, and only the larger blots are paramount to discovering all the relevant loot in an area. Smaller blots are randomly generated periodically and are not crucial for completionists. Artifacts include Skill Books that unlock new abilities for the PC, Mysteries include World Events that function as side quests, and Wealth includes weapons, armor, and other loot players can either use, sell, or deconstruct for crafting materials.
With a finite amount of relevant loot available in each region, and a lack of arbitrary question marks on the map, exploration feels much less daunting and more rewarding. Players will no longer be lulled into a false sense of satisfaction by believing they’ve explored the entire map, only to discover an unexplored question mark lurking on the other side of the game world.
Players will notice, however, that World Events bug out often. The primary issue plaguing these missions is the quest giver becomes impossible with which to interact. This makes finishing the side quest impossible and can sometimes only be fixed by loading a previous save or restarting the game altogether. Hopefully, Ubisoft will resolve this problem in a future update, such as the one they plan to release to fix the bugged main quest where players cannot progress after they acquire the hidden blade.
Upgradeable weapons and armor return, though, players will not be stuck in an eternal grind for better equipment as their character’s power grows. Once a weapon or piece of armor has been fully upgraded, it can last the PC through the rest of the game and beyond. This severely cuts down on the potential to be underequipped compared to the AI as the PC’s level increases. However, getting enough materials to upgrade items to their highest possible quality can be time-consuming, unless players utilize Ubisoft’s microtransactions for crafting materials.
Harkening back to the days of Assassin’s Creed II and III, Valhalla brings back the settlement system. Players will construct buildings to improve their settlement’s renown and efficiency. They will also gather resources by raiding Saxon locations around England, such as forts and villages.
Raiding is an interesting addition to Assassin’s Creed, and Ubisoft does a decent job of integrating this activity with the PC’s need to acquire resources to improve their people’s position in a new land. However, like any gameplay mechanic that functions as a necessary path forward, raiding can become stale and repetitive, despite the increasing difficulty of enemy settlements in various territories. The feature is fun for the first several endeavors, but it eventually starts to feel like a chore.
Regardless, the settlement system that relies on raiding brings a nice wave of nostalgia to Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, offering veteran fans a doorway to past franchise installments. Constructing and upgrading settlement buildings, thus adding new NPCs and passives to the PC’s new home, makes the game feel more alive, doing well to immerse fans in some semblance of a Viking lifestyle.
Sounding the battle horn as the PC’s ship floats ashore and a band of Vikings floods the enemy location and steals its loot gives an adrenaline rush and gives even stealthier gamers an excuse to engage in open combat.
Despite the game not taking advantage of the newly popular ray tracing technology, it offers a crisp 4K graphics at a smooth 60 frames per second, even if the fire appears cartoonish and outdated. Moreover, facial animations could have been improved, with character expressions not often matching the tone of their voice or their utterances. For this, the developer could have taken some tips from Rockstar and Red Dead Redemption 2.
Ubisoft appears to have gone back to the drawing board with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. The game maintains the same gameplay vibes introduced in Origins and Odyssey through fluid open combat and vast exploration, but also harkens back to classic franchise titles such as Assassin’s Creed II and III through the implementation of the settlement system.
The game’s combat audio brings nothing new to the table. However, the soundtrack is masterful and shines on its own; the composers are a testament to the talent and skill available in the entertainment industry. Unfortunately, the voice acting leaves a lot to be desired. Despite well-written dialogue, the voices behind the characters do not offer a convincing performance.
A robust skill grid allows players to cater their character to their preferred playstyle, and upgradeable weapons and armor no longer become irrelevant as the PC’s level increases. Players can become master assassins, brutal bloodthirsty berserkers, or efficient hunters. However, this sense of godliness can be undermined by the overly predictable AI, even on harder difficulties.
With Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Ubisoft took a step in the right direction, bringing back missed features, such as the hidden blade, while capitalizing on the franchise’s mechanical overhaul introduced in Odyssey. The game has its flaws, from buggy side quests to some repetitive gameplay, but it is by far a superior title compared to its two most recent predecessors. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla brings the franchise back to its roots while remaining innovative and is worthy of being the first Ubisoft title released for the new console generation.
