Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will be featuring a larger map, overhauled mechanics, and story but will it hold up against the last title, AC: Odyssey. Ubisoft Montreal found common ground to improve AC: Valhalla while retaining the good parts of Odyssey.
AC: Valhalla dropped on November 10, and many players like me already preloaded the game files to play on release day. The new title takes players into the Viking Era, as the clan establishes a foothold in Europe.
As the Assassin’s Creed franchise went through a transition period a few releases back, it is not the same stealth-based game but a polished RPG at this point. Not that the players are complaining, but they sure wonder how much better or worse is Valhalla than the last release.
1. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Better or Worse Than Odyssey?
Ubisoft Montreal finally went all-in with AC: Valhalla as they go in for the serious RPG game mechanics rather than a stealth-based game. Valhalla also takes the decision-based storyline a step further than Odyssey, in which frankly, the decisions were nothing more than a formality.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is more focused, albeit a griding game than AC: Odyssey, be it the combat, storyline, or the overall game mechanics.
Valhalla combines the best parts from Origins and Odyssey while refining the RPG mechanics and graphics. Given that Valhalla feels lifeless in the initial plays, once you let it grow on you, there is plenty to enjoy.
This is not to say that Assassin’s Creed Odyssey had nothing to show for itself, undoubtedly it added a lot of stuff as Ubisoft transitioned from stealth to open RPG mechanics.
2. What did Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Got Right?
The best thing about AC: Odyssey is debatable as, on one hand, half the people praise Odyssey for it while the other half detest it. It is how densely the universe is filled with combat, naval missions, quests, or mythological stories.
It appealed to be a fantasy game, while for some, it was a beacon for hope. While some of us (me included) thought it deserved a different title altogether rather than being part of the assassin’s creed series.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey was another title in Ubisoft’s transition to RPG mechanics; it had beautiful graphics and action-packed quests. Tons and literally tons of things to do, ranging from naval quests, regular combat, engaging storyline, and gripping protagonists and antagonists.
The developers took cues from fan reactions and feedback from both Origins and Odyssey while releasing Valhalla, and it was supposed to be the best of both worlds. While it succeeds on some fronts, it falls on a few of the others.
3. Where Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Shines
AC: Valhalla feels like a native RPG game compared to its predecessors, as if Ubisoft finally nailed the formulae it was testing over the last tiles.
The decision-based storyline feels like you are in charge, not just as if the decisions were a formality-faced facade. The combat is more focused on the Viking strength rather than mythical force, making it more grounded than before with the introduction of instant kills.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla finally ties in all the RPG elements with a more grounded combat system. The storyline is more refined as the decision you make in-game affect the outcome. Both the female/ male version of Eivor make the game more enjoyable with their inherent traits.
4. Where Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Falls Short
Many players feel that the transition to RPG game mechanics has somewhat made the series forget its roots. Ironically, AC: Valhalla doesn’t feature much of the Creed or Assassins in general.
This has been the trend from the last two titles, unlike the original games in the series, which heavily focused on the struggle between the Templars and Assassins.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla departs from the stealth-based gameplay mechanics in favor of more open RPG based elements. Eivor also fails to grip the players (at least in the initial run), as Kassandra did in Odyssey.
There are a lot of exciting things that are improved in Valhalla. Though, If the bloated storyline from Odyssey will carry over to Valhalla’s DLC is still to be seen.
5. Get Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
6. About Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Developed and Published by Ubisoft, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is the latest instalment in the Assasin’s Creed series launched in November 2020. The action-adventure, role-playing video game is available to play on Playstation 5/4, Xbox One/ Series X/S and PC.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla takes players back to the Vikings’ glory days around the 9th century through the eyes of a Viking invader from Norway named Eivor. By playing as Eivor, gamers must represent the clan and help fellow warriors in the battle against Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms. The game brims with phenomenal main quests along with noteworthy side quests. AC Valhalla will also embrace many new features like dual-wielding of various weapons and armours.
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