The harsh life of a Viking Warrior is a life that speaks to the imagination of many. Although most ordinary Vikings were farmers looking for new and better land, the Viking Warriors were considered one of the most brutal and merciless warriors that ever roamed the face of the earth. Needless to say, it’s an era that’s filled with conquest and epic loot… It’s an era a lot of Assassin’s Creed fans wanted to witness and with the arrival of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, it’s finally here. Time to live your life like a Viking!
Like a Viking
Our story kicks off in Norway, the mother of Vikings. Norway is a country of absolutes. It may nurture and shelter you or it may take your last breath with just one wrong step. It’s the land where you, Eivor grew up and became a true leader amongst the Vikings. Your life wasn’t always easy, losing your parents in a brutal raid, only to be attacked by wolves moments later… It’s not the best way to grow up as a young Viking child. And yet, you rose to the occasion, conquered all your enemies, and claimed your rightful name as Eivor The Wolf Kissed. Your clan respects you and sees you as one of the most essential Vikings of the Raven Clan, as you fought your way through life, guided by Odin himself. Although Norway taught you everything you know and cherish today, it’s time to leave the safe embrace of your mother and venture to unknown lands. It’s time to set sail for England.
England must become your new home. You arrive to build a new settlement for your clan, in the hope it will prosper and will one day be known throughout the entire Kingdom. You’ll meet local lords and rulers, you’ll try to forge alliances with them, often ending in betrayal. You will command your longboat together with your crew and raid the land in search of crucial wealth for your settlement… Or you’ll learn to appreciate the beauty of this foreign country by solving its mysteries. You’re there to make a name for yourself, your settlement, and your people. You’re there to fight beside the Vikings of legend and follow the path that was laid in front of you by Odin himself. Whatever you do, understand that there’s no right or wrong in this world, no black or white. Everything is up to you and eventually, you’ll be the architect of your own faith. Ninth century England is a stubborn master but one day, you’ll learn how to overpower it.
Ravensthorpe
You arrive in England to take control over an older settlement, created by the sons of the legendary Ragnar Lodbrok. The settlement clearly lost its former glory and is far from being an impressive Viking settlement. Throughout the game, it’s your responsibility to re-establish Raventhorpe and eventually make it one of the most renowned settlements in the Kingdom of England. Managing a settlement of this scale is one of Valhalla’s new and key gameplay mechanics. By upgrading certain buildings in your settlement, you’ll unlock new missions and new gear. If you, for example, upgrade the blacksmith and stable, you’ll get access to better weapons and better horses. Both needed to conquer the land surrounding you. In true Viking manner, you’ll need to gather resources in order to upgrade your settlement. Resources that are often claimed after successful raids. In between story missions and side missions, you’ll often return to your settlement in order to make it bigger and better. It’s never an obligation to do so, but if you ignore the settlement and its upgrades, you’ll miss out on a lot of extra missions and fun. If you, for example, don’t upgrade the Bureau of the Hidden Ones, you’ll never truly understand the connection between Eivor and the iconic Assassins.
Ravensthorpe is a welcomed addition to the Assassin’s Creed franchise as it really alters the pace of the game. If you want to build it out to its full potential, you’ll spend a lot of time talking to the people in the village and helping them out in numerous quests. Although most of those aren’t as epic or adrenaline-packed as the game’s main missions, they do offer the needed variation and fun. I found myself constantly returning to the settlement, always wanting it to become a better home for my people and myself. I really like the idea of building and maintaining a settlement of this size and I’m glad it’s such a crucial part of the game. It’s clear to see that Ubisoft truly understand the life of a Viking is far more than just combat. Without a wealthy settlement and Warriors that got your back, you wouldn’t stand a chance in the hostile kingdom. Taking care of your own settlement and people is the second nature of the Viking Warriors.
Invade England
And yet, peace and prosperity rarely come without blood. In order to build your settlement, you’ll need to conquer England and make it your own. Of course, that’s an impossible task for a sole Viking. Forging alliances is the key to success and during your adventure, you’ll meet and fight side by side with some famous and lesser famous Vikings. The story is filled with conquest and betrayal and will keep you hooked from start to finish. If I compare it with the stories of previous Assassin’s Creed games, I can honestly say this one captivated me the most. Perhaps because I adore the Viking era and its lore but definitely because of its superior pacing and variation. The game is constantly throwing surprise after surprise and you’ll need to quickly adapt if you want to stand a chance.
The game clearly reaches its full potential during the bigger raids. As said before, you’ll often raid smaller villages or monasteries for wealth but in order to push the story forward, you’ll need to raid and conquer entire strongholds as well. As you’ll quickly learn, Vikings want to rule the lands of England by overthrowing its leaders and replacing them by leaders they can trust. You’ll often find yourself outside of a stronghold, waiting to start your attack. These attacks are some of the most brutal and overwhelming action scenes that ever appeared in an Assassin’s Creed game and I loved every second of them. From storming the gate with a battering ram to taking out the leader of the stronghold, it’s all extremely high-paced and if you don’t pay attention, it will quickly mean the end of your adventure. Just like the more recent Assassin’s Creed games, you’re vulnerable to damage and you won’t be able to take out hordes of enemies on your own. In order to survive, you’ll need to time your attacks and defenses precisely right and you’ll need to count on the skills of your allies on the battlefield. Conquering a stronghold truly feels like a life or death situation which results in a lot of adrenaline during the raid and a feeling of gratitude when you made it out alive. During these scenes, you’ll truly feel connected to the brutal life of a Viking Warrior.
Explore England
Even though invading and raiding is a big part of Valhalla’s gameplay, it doesn’t really stop there. Just like in previous Assassin’s Creed games, the team gave it their all to create an interesting world for you to explore. Compared with the world of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, the world feels a bit smaller but that’s a positive thing if you ask me. Due to its easy to understand layout and countless rivers, England is an easy to navigate world. Making it a lot easier for you to fully explore these mysterious new lands. You can discover a lot of secrets and mysteries and all are worth investigating. The lands are filled with hidden treasures and extra storylines for those willing to seek them. With the help of your trusted Raven, you can scout the lands from the sky, searching for a new pathway to secrets and mysteries.
Just like the other Assassin’s Creed games, the game rewards those who dare to leave the path of the main story. Certainly, you can clear the game without exploring too much but that’s not how the creators intended it to be. If you search for mythical weapons and hidden treasure, you’re in for a couple of surprises in Valhalla. I adore the fact that the team really went all out in making this one of the more rewarding and yet most easily accessible open worlds ever featured in the franchise. With just a push of the button you can call in your horse or longboat to cover as much land as needed. It’s also great to see that Ubisoft once again allows your longboat to automatically travel to a setpoint you indicated on the map, leaving you more time to explore your surrounding, thus giving you an extra opportunity to spot one of the many secrets hiding in plain sight. The world of Valhalla is an interesting one and it’s just the right size to offer enough secrets without ever being too overwhelming.
Your path, your choices
It’s clear to see that everything about Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is created to benefit the experience of the player in control. Every choice you make has a consequence and those can truly alter your playthrough. As if this wasn’t enough already, Valhalla also enables you to create the Viking Warrior of your dreams thanks to its impressive skill tree. The amount of skills and extra unlockable abilities is extremely high and you can always reset the skill tree to match your current playstyle most. Thanks to this you can go for an aggressive Viking approach, a stealthy Assassin style, or something in between. The options are virtually endless and I’m pretty sure everyone playing this will eventually end up with a completely different Eivor. As if skills weren’t impressive already, the number of weapons and hidden abilities even surpasses the skill tree, giving you even more room to create the Viking Warrior of your dreams. It’s clear that freedom of choice is an important factor here and it’s great to see the team really managed to implement as much freedom as possible.
This freedom also leaves an echo in the options of the game where you can alter a lot of critical settings to mold the game to your own preferences. You can select the amount of information on your mini-map or compass, you can alter the level of difficulties, or you can even censor the violence. I won’t bore you with the full list of customizable options but believe me when I say it’s a lot. This really is your journey and it’s great to see that the team did everything possible to make it feel that way.
Conclusion:
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is a true work of art and one of the best Assassin’s Creed games in the franchise. It takes you on a journey throughout England and gives you the opportunity to live the life of a true Viking Warrior. Everything depends on your choices and those choices will affect the future of England and the future of your own Viking Clan. Set in a world filled with mysteries and treasures, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla takes home the crown. If you’re looking for the next big open-world game, Valhalla is waiting for you. Skål!
