First off I must say I have never been a fan of AC games - I have played them all and mostly given up within a couple of hours through frustartion or boredom. That said AC Valhalla is something completely new and unique. It doesn't feel like playing a game but really being in an interactive historical documentary. This low fantasy viking saga is very slow paced and quite strategy driven with very basic combat with puzzles along the way. This is a massive very long game which I believe to be over 200 hours. I typically find games these days to be far too long, but this game must be the longest single player ever.
You play as protagonist Eivor a Norewgian (who can be either male or female - I chose female but she is so ugly you can't tell the difference). Eivor has spiderman like abilities and can scale any montain barehanded. His clan has been sacked and father killed so following a very long prologue in Norway, the clan sets sail to England (where most of the game takes place) to conquer new lands. The Norway section takes around 5 hours and the contrast is stark moving from the snowy mountains of Norway to the lush green forests of medieval England.
Upon arrival they have to build a settlement so they have to embark on raids of villages to gather resources to build their new home. As the settlement grows, renown is gained and the clan can spread across the country by raiding and building alliances. There really is some depth to this game. In some respects it does feel very slightly like Witcher 3. The story is great and takes you through various kingoms in England and faithfully represents the true historical aspects of the middle ages.
A great feature of the game is that as you progress it slowly introduces you to new aspects of gameplay which despite the games length keeps it fresh and interesting.
Combat is very basic but it is fun and some of the finishing moves are brutal. While the game has a comprehensive skill tree and ability rank up system, combat is basically left click and evade. That said I don't really see this as a combat game.
The graphics are amazing built on ubisofts inhouse Anvilnext 2 Game engine. The game world is beautiful and is very taxing on systems.
The game is very stable and I've had no crashes.
Overall this is a fantastic game with hundreds of hours of playtime so very good value for money (I got the game on sale for £12). It is perfect in almost every way. My only gripe is lack of character customisiation options (although you can switch between female and male eivor at any point in the game - that said female eivor is quite ugly with an annoying voice). That said for some reason I feel no empathy or love for Eivor even though I am a fair way into the game. I loved Geralt in Witcher, Loved Shepard in mas Effect for example but I just cannot get any feeling for Eivor though.
There are 2 expansions available - Ireland and Paris and a third coming in April '22 called Ragnoarok which is supposed to have more magical high fantasy mythological aspects.
Graphics 10
Sound 10
Gameplay 10
Story 10
Stability 10
Value for money 10
Fun Factor 10
Overall 10 Essential
Review Deck:
4k 120Hz 55" Samsung Q95T screen
Ryzen 3600X CPU
Gigabyte RTX 3070 Gaming OC 8gb gfx card
MSI B450 Pro Carbon mobo
24gb DDR4 Patriot Viper 3200mhz Ram
Razer Nari Ultimate wireless headset
Logitech G13 Gameboard
Logitech G604 15 button wireless mouse
Drevo 60% wireless RGB mechanical keyboard
EVGA 650w GQ 80+ Gold PSU