This game was released in the previous gen, and Rockstar never marketed the game as the next gen absolute immersive experience. But the funny thing is that this ‘’previous gen game’’ is the best example of what a next gen game is supposed to be. The world, the graphics, the NPC interactions, the soundtrack, the gameplay, the characters, the amount of content, the story (and the list goes on) are insanely good, I have never experienced something like this. The game is years ahead of its time and to be honest, I am scared and also excited to see what the next game of Rockstar will be like.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla has one of the stronger protagonists in the series. Playing as the canon female Eivor, she comes across as brave, empathetic, confident, and genuinely badass. Her troubled past and gradual character development give her real emotional weight, and some of the game’s best moments revolve around her relationship with Basim and Sigurd. Unfortunately, the main story is heavily bloated. Much of it revolves around conquering regions in England by dethroning rulers and installing allies, a structure that repeats far too often. While grounded, many of these arcs feel hollow, with forgettable characters and stories that struggle to stay engaging. The interesting narrative threads are buried under hours of filler, making the pacing bad and slow.

https://v1.steam.hlxgame.cc/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3629186047
STORY SPOILERS: The ISU storyline and reincarnation concept is truly brilliant in paper. Experiencing ISU memories through Norse mythology with Odin (Eivor), Tyr (Sigurd) and Loki (Basim) filtered through Eivor’s worldview is a fantastic idea. But sadly, the execution falls flat. The Asgard sections are surprisingly boring (yeah dont ask me how they did it), and Dawn of Ragnarök avoids fully exploring the Great Catastrophe, despite teasing it constantly. The payoff simply isn’t there. Some DLCs are better, especially the Kassandra crossover and the France expansion, which show a more mature, reflective side of Eivor and add meaningful depth.

https://v1.steam.hlxgame.cc/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3653724116
Gameplay is solid overall. Combat starts off slow and clunky but improves significantly as you level up, feeling brutal and demanding for most of the game if you don’t do side content early. But by the end you become extremely powerful, to the point where difficulty largely disappears. Weapon variety is limited, with few unique weapons found through exploration rather than enemy drops, which can feel restrictive. While the open world is packed with side content and collectibles, the game never forces you to grind and doing a small portion of optional content is more than enough to progress smoothly. Lastly, the game is visually beautiful, offering diverse environments across Norway, England, Ireland, France, and beyond. Performance was excellent during my playthrough, with no frame drops or bugs encountered. The soundtrack is also excelent, perfectly capturing the Viking atmosphere and elevating the experience.

https://v1.steam.hlxgame.cc/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3659878140
The game takes far too many hours to complete, and what it offers doesn’t always justify the level of time commitment it asks from the player. By the time you reach the end, it also underdelivers, which is frustrating considering how much potential the game clearly has and how well some of its ideas work. That said, despite the slow pacing and an ending that isn’t as satisfying as it should be, I can’t say I didn’t enjoy my time with it. There are definitely better open world games out there, and this isn’t something I’d recommend at full price. But as a package, it’s still a decent experience. If you pick it up on a deep sale and go in with tempered expectations, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy it, flaws and all. So yeah a hard recommendation. It has plenty of room for improvement, but there’s still fun to be had if you know what you’re getting into.