Having now finished this game, I can say it's definitely my favorite game of last year and may end up being one of my favorite games of all time.
First, this game is really buggy, I never encountered anything game-breaking but the occasional moment of frustration isn't nice. The PS5 version is also not the best port, whilst the minimum amount of dualsense support is there and the loading screens are smooth as butter, it feels like it's just the ps4 version at a higher resolution. Next, like it's predecessor, this game suffers from 'fantasy name problem', except with historical names instead. There are so many characters and places and things with so many long and complex names over the course of this 50 hour story that you'll find yourself constantly saying 'who?' or 'where?' when people refer to characters in the story.
And that does it for weaknesses.
Well, there is one more weakness, but it also is a strength... I'll explain:
The older assassins creed games haven't aged great, the gameplay has quickly become outdated and very different from what the gamer audience wants and is used to now, the first game is veritably clunky.
So, they took some time out and came back with Origins, a real shake up for the series, with gameplay and UI that would never even make you think you're looking at the same series as the older games, but the story solidly tied it back to the Assassins Creed franchise. Next year, Odyssey came out, with a simmilar gameplay style with some interesting alterations to keep things fresh, but the story, whilst more interesting, had tentative links to the franchise to say the least. And on top of it all you can just go out and find places out of mythology, and creatures like the Minotaur or Medusa out in the world, and it's never adressed by the present day characters.
And in Valhalla it becomes even more pronounced, the assasin missions being relegated to one building in your camp and the occasional reference to the templars. Here the mythology stuff is achieved through mind-altering substances or pure hallucination, but it helps to keep it in the game, and even have much much more of it, whilst staying grounded.
But this increasing distance from the Story, and the unrecognisable gameplay really begs the question? Is this even Assassin's Creed anymore?
Well, I'm afraid the answer for me is; no, it's better.
And now onto the positives. Whilst references to the still increasingly silly story are still there, the new gameplay is a definite improvement, with so much more depth and fun. All of the stealth mechanics are still there, but with so much more depth, and so many more options for how to approach every scenario, and this game represents the most options of any game. From being able to go in stealthy by yourself to taking an entire army to any encounter, and then on top of that you have the ability to customise members of your team as well as the huge number of weapon options you have for yourself. Short swords, long swords, shields, hammers, axes, war axes, spears, and any of these can be wielded at the same time, including multiple heavy weapons, or a heavy weapon or a light weapon, there's so much choice here but it never feels overwhelming. The open world feels dense and highly-designed, the change from traditional side missions to random world events really helping the whole of england feel alive and bustling. The story is also one of the best, on par with Odyssey, with interesting characters that feel approprate to the setting, and that you really want to find out the fates of.
This, like Odyssey, and maybe even more than it, is a MUST PLAY, for fans of the series, and is a must play for anyone regardless, you'll definitely get your money's worth, even at full price.
First, this game is really buggy, I never encountered anything game-breaking but the occasional moment of frustration isn't nice. The PS5 version is also not the best port, whilst the minimum amount of dualsense support is there and the loading screens are smooth as butter, it feels like it's just the ps4 version at a higher resolution. Next, like it's predecessor, this game suffers from 'fantasy name problem', except with historical names instead. There are so many characters and places and things with so many long and complex names over the course of this 50 hour story that you'll find yourself constantly saying 'who?' or 'where?' when people refer to characters in the story.
And that does it for weaknesses.
Well, there is one more weakness, but it also is a strength... I'll explain:
The older assassins creed games haven't aged great, the gameplay has quickly become outdated and very different from what the gamer audience wants and is used to now, the first game is veritably clunky.
So, they took some time out and came back with Origins, a real shake up for the series, with gameplay and UI that would never even make you think you're looking at the same series as the older games, but the story solidly tied it back to the Assassins Creed franchise. Next year, Odyssey came out, with a simmilar gameplay style with some interesting alterations to keep things fresh, but the story, whilst more interesting, had tentative links to the franchise to say the least. And on top of it all you can just go out and find places out of mythology, and creatures like the Minotaur or Medusa out in the world, and it's never adressed by the present day characters.
And in Valhalla it becomes even more pronounced, the assasin missions being relegated to one building in your camp and the occasional reference to the templars. Here the mythology stuff is achieved through mind-altering substances or pure hallucination, but it helps to keep it in the game, and even have much much more of it, whilst staying grounded.
But this increasing distance from the Story, and the unrecognisable gameplay really begs the question? Is this even Assassin's Creed anymore?
Well, I'm afraid the answer for me is; no, it's better.
And now onto the positives. Whilst references to the still increasingly silly story are still there, the new gameplay is a definite improvement, with so much more depth and fun. All of the stealth mechanics are still there, but with so much more depth, and so many more options for how to approach every scenario, and this game represents the most options of any game. From being able to go in stealthy by yourself to taking an entire army to any encounter, and then on top of that you have the ability to customise members of your team as well as the huge number of weapon options you have for yourself. Short swords, long swords, shields, hammers, axes, war axes, spears, and any of these can be wielded at the same time, including multiple heavy weapons, or a heavy weapon or a light weapon, there's so much choice here but it never feels overwhelming. The open world feels dense and highly-designed, the change from traditional side missions to random world events really helping the whole of england feel alive and bustling. The story is also one of the best, on par with Odyssey, with interesting characters that feel approprate to the setting, and that you really want to find out the fates of.
This, like Odyssey, and maybe even more than it, is a MUST PLAY, for fans of the series, and is a must play for anyone regardless, you'll definitely get your money's worth, even at full price.