Assassin's Creed: Valhalla Review - 7 Ups & 4 Downs

Whenever an Assassin's Creed game is announced, it feels like we all immediately count down to release.

Going with Viking history was immediately appealing due to its all-out brutal nature, merciless raiding of foreign lands and the badass look of Vikings themselves, and with all things considered, everything was set for the game to be a great success. The only concern was:

How do you make a game in the vicious world of the Vikings, without losing the Assassin's Creed identity?

Surprisingly, Valhalla has all the usual components of the franchise, but contains new additions that add a different spin to the game. The story is solid as usual but with games such as this, it is about so much more than that.

Now, for this review I've bitten my tongue and not included the fact that Eivor is the most flammable person of all time, in my lists of downs. AC Valhalla is a phenomenal game and a credit to the franchise, but there are problems that need addressing.

Shock, an Assassin's Creed game that doesn’t deliver on all fronts, who would have thought?

One of the best new additions to the game is the strangely addictive world of settlement building. It is a brilliant new concept for the game and it is most certainly an Up.

You arrive in England and immediately create a settlement known as Ravensthorpe, this will become the central hub for the game and where you pick up the main story missions. It initially starts as a small settlement and eventually develops over time into a town. It can be improved and levelled up by going on raids (which I'll touch on later in the article).

It sounds strange but the settlement genuinely feels like home and returning there after a long mission is satisfying. It becomes something you are transfixed with as you become desperate to build the next available option, be that a tattoo parlour or a hunters lodge. Most importantly is the personalisation you can place upon the settlement, choosing which buildings you want and also with decorations you can purchase or unlock.

It is only a small part of the game but when you find yourself spending coins on a new tree decoration rather than on weapons, you know how important your settlement is to you.