10 Most Overrated Video Games Of The Decade (So Far)

5. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Ubisoft

The follow-up to 2018’s Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, 2020’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla essentially applies Ubisoft’s tried-and-true open-world approach to a couple of new backdrops – Norway and England – and a couple of new frameworks (Norse mythology and Viking conquests).

By and large, it’s still a winning recipe for those who’ve not grown completely tired of the developer’s well-worn formula, particularly because of its well-crafted narrative, player agency, visceral (though uncharacteristic) combat, and beautiful landscapes. 

As balanced and worthy of some worship as it may be, however, Valhalla is significantly buggier and more bloated than many diehard defenders like to admit.

Sure, the glitches are occasionally amusing, but before long, they just become irritating and disruptive (to the point that large portions of progress may go unsaved). Furthermore, Valhalla can take upwards of 100 hours to finish – due in part to having nearly 800 collectibles to find – thereby taking Ubisoft’s knack for overstuffing their games to new heights.

There’s also the generally useless raven companion, as well as the horrendous microtransactions, uneven pacing, padded out settings, and a sense of anticlimax when all’s said and done.

As good as it is, Valhalla is prime example of why quality is better than quantity.

 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Hey there! Outside of WhatCulture, I'm a former editor at PopMatters and a contributor to Kerrang!, Consequence, PROG, Metal Injection, Loudwire, and more. I've written books about Jethro Tull, Opeth, and Dream Theater and I run a creative arts journal called The Bookends Review. Oh, and I live in Philadelphia and teach academic/creative writing courses at a few colleges/universities.