This was the very first game experience on my new xbox series x console and what a roller coaster of an experience it was
Just to give some context I’m a HUGE fan of the Assassins Creed series. Especially the Ezio trilogy.
Since then after AC 4: Black Flag the series has been kinda rocky. The series has gone from hiding in the shadows to a full fledged combat and battle focused experience.
That’s the angle I especially experienced in AC: Vallhalla
So that being said I was already on the fence about this game, BUT I was super excited to see how this bad boy would play on the series x.
Story
- Modern Day elements
- Viking Era
- Eivors quest
- Battles for control, build alliances
So in we went to start our journey as Eivor the Viking!
So the basics of the story go like this:
We start the game as an androgynous looking kid in the setting of a traditional viking celebration in a longhouse. We walk through the area taking part in the festivities
However during the celebration the clan is attacked by a rival warring clan. Chaos ensues and your character watches hopelessly as the entire village is overrun, losing everything and everyone he cares about.
Luckily a young boy a bit older than our character named Sigurd is able to grab our character and whisk him away quickly on his horse as they attempt to escape.
However just before they clear the perimeter their horse is struck by an arrow and we are ejected onto unstable ice covering a small body of water.
While trying to scramble away we are stacked by a wolf that bites us right below the neck. As this happens we see glitchy effects as were told the simulation is unstable by an outside voice. This is to remind us that we are playing through a memory using the Animus similar to the past AC games.
The simulation is unstable because the player needs to choose the gender they want to play as before the story can unfold. Male version or female version. I chose the male version named Eivor.
We jump to a point about 20 years later as an adult. We take control of Eivor as we escape a bandit camp. After this happens Eivor and the crew of fellow Raven Clan vikings set sail back home to the village.
During this time we learn a few things.
1) Eivor has been having visions that he may at some point betray his “brother” Sigurd yet the specifics are unclear.
2) The rival clan that attacked Eivors village are nearby and Eivor finally has an opportunity to reclaim his honor.
3) Sigurd is returning home after a long journey of forming alliances and seeking resources for the village
4) Sigurd is next in line to be king of the Raven clan as his Father is the current ruler
After we get acquainted with the village a plan is set in motion to attack the rivals settlement. As they arrive to battle they are greeted by a nearby fellow king named Harold who is accompanied by a small platoon of soldiers.
Harold says that the soldiers are there to help them achieve their goal as he gives command of them to the Raven Clan. AT this time his motives are unclear.
After the big battle it’s revealed that the King of the Raven Clan had actually relinquished his power to this King Harold who is making a push for control of more territory. It was either this or have the village destroyed to take it.
Sigurd hears this and is FURIOUS. He sees it as a betrayal as he wasn’t consulted about it and now his birthright to become the next king is ripped away from hime. He sees his father’s actions as weakness.
We return to the village and King Harolds men are now occupying the village to oversee the transition. During this time Sigurd starts rallying the remaining villagers with a plan to start brand new in the land of England.
Many of the Raven Clan members are on board with the program and decide to join in, starting new without resources.
This is where the main storyline of the game really kicks off. Your goal is to help grow the settlement and influence of the Raven clan by collecting resources through raiding local settlements and building alliances with neighboring cities.
Performance + Graphics
First Impression right off the bat that this game was smooooth. It was so cool to be able to have my character move and control the camera in such a fluid way where s before the movements felt very janky and stutter most times on xbox one.
The graphics looked really nice but I couldn’t help but feel like it wasn’t the massive jump I thought it would be. I kinda anticipated this since most early titles for a new console aren’t fully optimized until further along in a consoles life cycle.
I noticed early on something kind of cool is that in the snow areas the snow will actually move and get slushed around while you’re walking through it, I thought that was a nice touch.
As your’e traveling on foot or by horse you’ll notice you can see much of the world from wherever you are, the loading speeds are incredibly fast in comparison to previous consoles.
Gameplay
The game starts you off in a snowy area learning how to fight and collect items like “rations”. Rations are basically ways to fill up your health bar. This is a new addition since the other AC games just had a self replenishing health bar.
I thought it was a cool concept early on but as I progressed it made the game much easier the more rations you have because you can just keep replenishing your health right away against the tougher enemies
The game gives you lots of options to choose your play styles. Weapons from axes, dual axes, spears, longswords, different bows even as well as the hidden blade for assassinations.
There is also a skill tree involved that will raise your “Power Level” as you gain and allocate these stat points.
Depending on the way you want to play you can allocate these points to enhance certain weapons, health capacity, melee strength , defense and can even unlock new skills.
Side quests are ABUNDANT in this game, they range from mini quests, to collectibles, to puzzles, hidden temples and trials difficult enemies that you can challenge when you have a higher power level.
Final Thoughts
I really enjoyed getting to experience this game on the Series X. The super short loading times caught me off guard in the best way. Fast travel really felt like fast travel
Battle was enjoyable because there are lots of different finishers when you defeat enemies. Most of this were very gory and it felt perfectly accurate for a blood thirsty viking to be relentlessly tearing enemies apart.
On the downside… The story REALLY DRAGGED, the pace just lagged and I remember hitting a halfway point where it no longer felt fun to go to another village and more or less do the cycle of talking to people, doing missions and fighting in the next inevitable big battle.
In the background though we are treated to a glimpse of what’s happening in the modern world of Assassins Creed, this definitely left more questions than answers but I enjoyed seeing that Ubisoft is still leading that overarching story somewhere.
So if your’e looking to have some battle fun and explore a massive world fighting and pillaging as a viking than I don’t see it being disappointing at all.
Go into it with a long term mentality and I’m sure if you just want to chip away at it over time you’ll have a blast
