Assassin's Creed Valhalla

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is an action-adventure game from a third-person perspective with RPG elements set in an open, well-developed, dynamically changing game world. The main action takes place in Eastern England. The main character is a Viking named Eivor (male or female, it doesn't matter).

The gameplay mechanics have been redesigned according to the era and popular historical representations of Vikings as fierce close-combat fighters. A gameplay innovation in Valhalla is the transfer of the blade from the wrist to the outer side of the arm and the ability to hold a blade or shield in each hand. Graphically, the game uses an updated version of the same engine as Assassin's Creed Odyssey.

Valhalla features a vast, handcrafted open world that includes parts of modern Eastern England and Norway, with special locations added, such as Kiev, where the player will find themselves in the storyline.

England occupies a large part of the game world and mirrors the landscape of its real prototype: dense forests and vast meadows, lowlands and hills, rivers and swamps, the coastline of the North Sea. The regional system has been abandoned, replaced by several large Kingdoms that are at war with each other, while the Viking settlers add a factor of global threat.

Human influence is already noticeable: agriculture and animal husbandry are actively developed, small villages and larger settlements are widespread, and there are a couple of major cities where trade and crafts take place. Fortresses have appeared — securely protected strongholds with many soldiers and bosses.

The size of the Valhalla world is comparable to that of Odyssey, but there is more land as Ubisoft showcases the Viking migration to the lands of England, and the world structure is freer and does not tie the player to the character's level. There are few activities at sea; the drakkar is mainly used for transporting the hero and companions, scouting, and surprise attacks, rather than fighting other ships.

The world of Valhalla also includes the northwest part of Scandinavia, with its harsh climate, steep mountains, and cold waters under the majestic northern lights. This part of the world is mainly used for storyline events.

The main character Eivor is a fictional character based on historical prototypes. He is a fierce Viking, raised on legends of great battles and warrior glory. At the time of the game's events, he is both a conquering warrior and the leader of his small clan.

Eivor's membership in the assassins is more formal: he shares common enemies with the brotherhood, he was given a cool blade, but he only partially understands the true purpose of his membership and is focused on personal interests.

Character development in Valhalla follows the spirit of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim: the more you use a skill, the better the character's skill level becomes. RPG elements in the game are more abundant, allowing the hero to develop in several directions and use equipment of varying quality levels. Each "item" is tied to a specific archetype — Raven, Bear, and Wolf, each with its own fighting style and skill tree.

Unlike Odyssey, Valhalla features a new quality system: each item can be upgraded to the tenth level, which solves the problem of loot balancing. Previously, weapons and armor dropped too frequently and took time for tedious management, but now there are fewer items, and they can be developed to suit personal preferences. To upgrade, numerous resources must be gathered.

As always, the events of Valhalla unfold in the past (9th century) and the present. The updated Animus will allow Layla Hassan, whose story began in Assassin's Creed: Origins and continued in Odyssey, to delve deeper into the history of the conflict between the assassins and the templars. The timeline of events in the present has been extended.

In the past, in the spirit of early feudalism, there is a fierce struggle for resources. From the cold and hungry Scandinavia, the migration of local tribes to warm and resource-rich England begins, where the struggle for power is already in full swing.

The settlers are met with caution and hatred by the warring Kingdoms, and the main hero must ensure the survival of his clan at any cost. By the will of the writers, Saxons and Vikings will meet as both friends and foes. An alliance must be formed with the former, while the latter will need to be fought against and forced into peace, so it should not be surprising that, uniting with the English, Eivor goes to war against his own Danes, who despise him for his unwillingness to conquer lands.

At the same time, the main antagonist — Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, who seeks to rule England alone — has called for the extermination of the northern peoples. Players will be able to prevent this by going through a whirlwind of events, during which they will visit all corners of the game world, unite with other clans and Kingdoms, and uncover more than one conspiracy that drives a wedge into the peaceful coexistence of peoples.

The story arcs of Valhalla are more substantial than before, and side quests have been almost eliminated (it would be strange if the foreigner Eivor started taking quests from peaceful villagers). Instead, Ubisoft uses "world events" that happen to Eivor while exploring the world, which connects the game to Red Dead Redemption 2, where some stories were not even displayed on the map.

The Templars play a significant role in igniting conflict in eastern England, so it will not be possible to stay out of the conflict between them and the assassins; over time, Eivor will find himself at its center.

The gameplay of Valhalla is closely tied to the development of one's own settlement through the construction of various buildings (barracks, forges, tattoo parlors, etc.) and their improvement over time. A lot of resources are needed for all this, which the player has very few of at the beginning, so they will have to raid settlements and fortresses. Looting the first ones is quite simple — break down the fortifications, burst into the settlement, and defeat the leader.

With fortresses, it won't be so easy — they are protected by strong walls, numerous soldiers, and several bosses, so their assault is large-scale, resembling sieges like Medieval: Total War and is divided into several stages. The player kills regular and elite enemies, protects allies, and helps them ram the gates, thus breaking through to the next levels of the fortress, to ultimately take down the boss. The player will receive more resources for such an assault, and the reward for Eivor will be better.

Another option is to form alliances and organize trade with local English settlements. But trust still needs to be earned, which is reflected in the Influence system (reputation), depending on completing quests and helping NPCs. Some tasks can only be completed by significantly strengthening influence.

In the new Viking location, players will face many enemies, so the combat system has been rethought. In battle, players will have to actively shield themselves, as well as chop through hordes of enemies left and right with dual axes/swords. Many equipment elements, such as weapons, have received a durability mechanic.

There are several types of weapons, and they can be upgraded with special runes for fire, cold, or lightning damage, which is characteristic of Scandinavian mythology. In battle, the player must use special abilities with different types of actions, of which they can take up to eight: four for ranged combat and four for melee.

The influence of Dark Souls has reached Assassin's Creed, with timings, parry times, player health levels, enemy attentiveness, and reaction speeds changing depending on the difficulty level.

There is no information about the possible appearance of a cooperative mode or competitive online modes in the spirit of the old Assassin's Creed.

The only likely addition is an item shop in the spirit of Odyssey, which does not affect gameplay.