Game Review: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
BY RICHARD CAWLEY
It’s time to be one of the pillage, people. And the latest Assassin’s Creed release is Norse-y but nice.
Okay, I promise I’ll leave the puns there.
For anyone was has previous played Ubisoft’s popular series, then you’ll know the drill.
And I’ve got no axe to grind about that. No, quite on the contrary, I need to sharpen it. And my dagger. And my spear.
Assassin’s Creed has jumped across history and this instalment is set in 873 AD and tells the fictional story of a Viking invasion of Britain.
It’s an open world third-person action game which you can plough some serious hours into without even really scratching the surface.
You get to choose if your character Eivor is male or female and you can individualise the look to a degree – with options on hairstyle, armour and tattoos.
There’s nothing massively new in terms of gameplay.
Performing side missions and progressing the main plot gain you XP, and that in turn can be used to unlock extra perks.
Some of the boss battles and combat can be challenging.
One skill I plumped for saw time slow for a split second once you had dodged an enemy’s attack – giving you a small window to launch a furious onslaught of your own. Hugely helpful.
Graphically, it’s pretty. But the AC games have always been impressive.
One staple has been ascending buildings or other tall landmarks – called viewpoints. Not only do they then act as fast travel options but the camera also does a 360-degree pan to show off the impressive scale.
The combat is decent too. Some weapons are a two-handed job. There’s also the option to dual-wield or go with a shield as a more defensive measure.
But a game of this scale isn’t without it’s bugs. In my case, that came in a quest called ‘Legend of Beowulf’.
The NPC – non-player character – accompanying me got stuck in the middle of a church and because of that there was no chance to progress.
That’s a minor complaint. What’s not to like about your viking longship raiding a settlement?
Crashing up on to a beach with sunbathing and chilling the last thing on your mind. You’re not going to steal my plunder.
Rating: 4/5
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