We have been impressed since the first announcement of Assassin's Creed Valhalla, the new title of the assassin series that will hit the market November 10 on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S e PS4, while for PS5 naturally we will have to wait for the day of the fateful release of the console, or November 19. The Ubisoft game comes to act as a watershed between the current and next generations of hardware, an arduous task but one that someone would still have to do. As was the case with Black Flag, the French company has once again accepted the challenge, aiming to create the most ambitious chapter of the series ever seen.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla takes us back to a time when Norse peoples made their way to conquer England, looking for a place to live and thrive. The tones that Ubisoft wanted to give to its production in this sense are much darker and gory, able to wisely mix with the blind fury of the Vikings, especially on the battlefields. In the game we will have to think mainly about the well-being of a people, with choices that will have really important repercussions as regards the drafting of the plot.
At the gates of a new life
The protagonist of the new Assassin's Creed Valhalla is called Eivor (you will decide the sex at the beginning of the game, but this will be irrelevant) and his task will be to bring his people to safety, from cold Norway to the simplest and most cultured England. However, the Vikings in a foreign land are not well received and for this we will be forced to make our way along the battlefields to obtain lands and materials useful for the prosperity of our people. The themes addressed in the game are not solely focused on war, Eivor will not be able to help its people alone, to do so he will need allies. Right from the start, the game marks this point well, since depending on the alliances you make you can participate in different story sections. However, not everyone has good intentions and indeed, often intrigues and betrayals will be on the agenda, thus winking at a socio-political component that is somewhat reminiscent of Game Of Thrones. In this sense we can see how much Ubisoft has committed itself in writing, not only characterizing every corner of England with unique architectural elements, but also in wanting to give the various characters their own distinctive and recognizable traits.
The plot therefore does its duty, also taking up the old Assassins left behind in Odissey. Assassin's Creed Valhalla takes advantage of the great foundations already created in the past to create a tale that will keep the user hooked from start to finish, with twists around every corner. Between main missions and secondary tasks, but we will return to these later, the Ubisoft title will be able to keep you hooked for a disproportionate number of hours, as well as his two previous games. The French company has created a disproportionate number of dialogues, with plots and subplots really well intertwined with each other. What is most shocking, however, is how they gave life to a series of characters who, in their own way, clearly bring out the difficulties of living in that era. Religion, the main contrast between Norse and Anglo-Saxons, will naturally be the background to all this. In this regard, the software house has marked less on mythology than the two previous productions, but we assure you that fans who have appreciated this type of opening of the saga will still be extremely satisfied with what they will find.
Discovering England
Exploration, as in all open worlds, is a key element that cannot be underestimated. England is a place full of hills, with thick vegetation, similar but at the same time totally different biomes. Among woods, swamps, perched monasteries and small villages, our Eivor will slowly meet its destiny. If you think of finding an open world like Odyssey or Origins you are wrong, because although they have some points in common, Assassin's Creed Valhalla offers a less dispersive but at the same time wide-ranging experience. The glance is something shocking, impossible not to be amazed; from the chromatic palette chosen to give life to the landscapes, to much more articulated and showy architectural structures, nothing has been left to chance, with particular care in the construction of the buildings that will be admired with great pleasure. Also do not think that what Ubisoft has done is solely and exclusively for aesthetics, as the game world is full of secrets and riches to discover and take.
When one explores one finds very familiar sensations, which makes the player feel immediately at home despite a shy, but inevitable, initial bewilderment. The aspect ratio of the game map, so to speak, they are a cross between Origins and Odyssey, but without the immense and infinite seas of the latter. England, in fact, is rich in rivers and inlets, and the Viking ships, which take the name of drakkar, will be the ideal boats to explore all the canals and shores of each region. To encourage a strong exploratory component, in addition to the inevitable fast travel, we find two other classics completely revisited: we are talking about the aforementioned ship and the horse. To call the boat, just stay near a river, Eivor will blow its horn and in the blink of an eye you will see your crew arrive with the boat on the horizon. While a minimum of suspension of disbelief is needed, we believe it was a wise choice, to allow for even more immediacy during exploration. The horse can now be improved, unlocking features that will certainly be useful to you during your journey.
The secondary missions this time will not guide you as in previous titles, since the whole system has been more revisited than ever. These are mainly divided into two branches, history and wealth events, both of which are clearly distinguishable. If as far as wealth is concerned it is obvious that the game itself will take you through an indicator to the relevant chest, where you can find materials, pieces of equipment and even skills, the story events are something special but at the same time profoundly successful. Arriving at the point of interest, you will talk to a character and, thanks to his words, you will be introduced to the heart of the quest. You can say goodbye to the classic beacons, in favor of a more narrative and intimate component, which in some cases will really give you a lot of satisfaction. We believe this aspect of the game is particularly successful, we see that the team has employed enormous creative energy to create these stories which, net of a few small slips, are always very interesting and short-lived, excellent for a bit of entertainment between one main quest and the other.
We cut heads
The gameplay of Assassin's Creed Valhalla has been slightly modified from the previous two chapters, while remaining faithful to it. Older players will still feel comfortable, although they will have to pay attention to the introduction of stamina. Now not only will you have to think about all the enemies, but also about your resistance, so as to avoid being exposed to attacks. This represents a huge novelty, but all in all it balances the gaming experience to a minimum. Unlike in the past, you will find fewer weapons and armor in the world, but these will affect your stats more. You can easily finish the game with the first armor available, gradually improving it by the blacksmith and making it more and more powerful, and the same goes for weapons; the equipment in general will also have a slot dedicated to runes that guarantee additional bonuses: an ax will improve the melee attack, an armor the resistance and so on. The choice of blade drastically changes the Eivor move set, and for the first time in the series it will be possible to choose whether to equip two different weapons at the same time. This gives life to a range of unprecedented possibilities, going to dampen the monotony that, in the long run, was inevitably felt.
Character level has been replaced by degree of power, now manageable more easily. Just increase your equipment and unlock talents, all in favor of rapid and effective progression. When you finish a mission you will get experience points, which will eventually convert into Talent points. These will be spent in the appropriate section, which draws fully on the classic spherography. Everything is divided into three major segments: stealth, melee and ranged. The three are strongly interconnected, so the sense of progression will still be quite homogeneous even if you decide to specialize only on one thing. The skills, by the way, you will not unlock them normally, but they will have to be found. Following the wealth missions, you will happen to beat yourself in some lecterns (especially in monasteries), you just need to get close to them and take the book resting on it to unlock a new skill. If in the past it took some time to recharge before you could use them, there will now be a dedicated adrenaline bar which, once used, will recharge by hitting and killing enemies. The treatment system has also been revised, now much more similar to that of Horizon Zero Dawn: Eivor will have a bag for healing berries, which it will quietly refill during the exploration phases.
What about Old-Gen?
Unlike the next-gen, however, Assassin's Creed Valhalla on the current consoles at a technical level is a bit of a struggle. The beauty of the glimpses is less, since you are unable to load all that amount of detail at the same time. However this does not affect an enjoyable experience, even if not "full" from an artistic point of view. In fact, the thing that is most penalized is the beauty of the landscapes, the glitter of the armor in the sunlight and all the other graphic effects that make the staging of Valhalla a real joy for the eyes.
If the pitched battles in Odyssey had thrilled you, in the new Assassin's Creed Valhalla the whole formula has been revised and enlarged. These activities are now called Raids and can only be triggered at specific points, more precisely near the coasts. Basically, you just need to get closer to the point of interest and, once you get in its proximity, you will be given the Raid command automatically. Just press a button to make Eivor blow his horn and set off with your army on the attack, destroying, burning, plundering and killing everything that comes your way, at least until you have obtained all the wealth of the place. Although the initial idea has truly remarkable potential, Ubisoft's implementation is not really that exciting; in fact, after a while you too will notice a certain repetitiveness that could tire quite easily. In short, we are talking about a particularly courageous introduction but where it takes a short time before the magic of battle disappears, leaving room only for yet another looting whose usefulness is solely linked to obtaining the materials for your outpost.
Last but not least, we cannot fail to mention the return of the hidden blade and stealth. On the latter front, the game seems to take a slight step backwards, going to draw more on the origins of the saga. In fact, there will be very familiar actions such as blending into the crowd or through dense vegetation, so as to come out behind your targets and sneak them out.
Home Sweet Home
Let's not turn around too much, Monteriggioni was one of the most popular HUBs of the saga, so much so that almost all the players have always wondered why this playful structure has not been reported in the other episodes. In Assassin's Creed Valhalla we have finally been satisfied, although the formula has rightly been expanded. Your outpost is literally your home, a place where we can improve and grow together. You will find the blacksmith to upgrade weapons and armor, the stable for horses and many other functions that we do not want to ruin you. Each structure you build will need construction materials, which you will find in the game world between exploration and above all raids. As you progress, you will unlock more and more features that will give you access to solutions that will greatly facilitate your stay in England.
Although at the time of Monteriggioni this solution worked great, for the times that today the outpost seemed a bit tight, as if the developers were almost afraid to overdo it. However, everything is balanced and cohesive with the gaming experience, so do not think that focusing immediately on the outpost will guarantee you excessive boosts in terms of power. Materials will be rare and difficult to obtain, requiring time and patience also because the most precious ones are well hidden and you will often have to solve simple but effective environmental puzzles.
A world of splendor
Assassin's Creed Valhalla, from a purely technical point of view, is something shocking; albeit devoid of raytracing, we are talking about a mammoth production, able to catch the eye at every slightest glimpse. We tested the game on the Xbox Series S and instant uploads also allowed us to enjoy super detailed and in some ways iconic environments. The title runs at 60fps, albeit a few drops which however do not undermine the experience. However, we are sure that the team will make the necessary improvements already with the first patches on the game. The music then mixes perfectly with the environment, composing an almost perfect picture. Ubisoft in every Assassin's Creed demonstrates an enviable strength in composing sounds that, we are sure, will also remain in this last chapter well impressed in the mind of every single player.
In conclusion we can say that this Assassin's Creed Valhalla is truly Ubisoft's most ambitious title and we strongly believe that a production of this thickness represents the right way to get the Next-Gen off to a good start. With even more mastery than what was done with Black Flag, the software house has accepted the challenge of ferrying a community from one console to another, succeeding optimally in the enterprise. We are probably talking about one of the most successful games in the saga, able to bring even new players closer to this gigantic world of possibilities. Net of some unavoidable bugs in an open world of this magnitude, and which do not compromise the experience in the least, we are sure that Assassin's Creed Valhalla is a new and very important step forward for the series.
