Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla is the twentieth anniversary game in the legendary series, and I warn you right away: there will be spoilers. If you haven’t finished the game yet, it’s better to put off reading until better times. In this review, I’ll touch on the plot, controversial moments, the donation store, grinding, and the developers’ obvious failures.

I’ll be honest – I couldn’t finish Valhalla. In total, I spent about 20-30 hours in the game on easy difficulty, and even that was enough to get a clear idea of ​​half the content. The game is truly large-scale, with a lot of both strong and frankly weak sides.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Free Steam Account

Over time, Eivor, along with his companions Dag and Thora, witnessed a brutal raid by Kjotvi on Rogaland, a settlement located on the border of Earl Styrbjørn’s lands. Seeing this as a chance to strengthen the authority of his clan, Eivor went to defend the village from the invaders. During the battle, he encountered a particularly daring opponent who humiliated the memory of his father, calling his death shameful. In response, Eivor took brutal revenge: he chopped off the offender’s legs and, refusing to finish him off, thereby depriving him of the honor of dying as a warrior and going to Valhalla. Leaving the enemy to bleed out, he rushed to the aid of Dag, who at that moment was pinned to the wall by a raider named Taras.

Later, closer to the end of the story, Eivor and his clan were forced to leave their native Norway. Endless wars and depleted resources made life there unbearable. They sailed to England and settled in the south, founding their own settlement. Over time, Sigurd returned from a long journey to Constantinople. An assassin named Haysam arrived with him, who gave Eivor the Brotherhood blade. Contrary to the tradition of secrecy, Eivor decided to wear it openly – on his forearm, so that his enemies would know who they were dealing with.

At some point, his path led him to Vinland – a distant and mysterious land, where he eventually found his final refuge. And here, frankly, the story begins to stall. There seems to be a plot, but at the same time it seems to be off. It doesn’t grab you. Could it have been done better? Definitely. Will you want to play the game a second time for the sake of the plot? I seriously doubt it. Personally, I liked the story in Ghost of Tsushima by Sucker Punch much more – both in terms of emotions and presentation. If you compare games released in 2020, “Tsushima” has a really cool atmosphere. Especially when that music starts playing – those who played it will understand.

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Assassins in supporting roles: Valhalla’s plot distortions

This time, the developers decided to slow down and present the story with an unexpectedly “earthly” approach – and here the influence of the “Vikings” series is felt more vividly than ever. However, this is more of a plus than a minus: the focus on domestic politics, intrigue and the struggle for power refreshes the presentation and makes the events much more realistic. But those who expected to see the classic Assassin’s Creed with its signature hoods, blades and Templar conspiracy will most likely be slightly disappointed. Yes, there are assassins in Valhalla, they even play an important role in the plot… formally. In fact, their story fades into the background. Eivor seems to help the brotherhood, but does it casually, inadvertently undermining the plans of the Order. Even the hidden blade is given to him just like that, without any dedication – and he, without much bother, wears it on top of his wrist so as not to risk his fingers. Like, I respect traditions, of course, but let’s not go overboard.

A similar situation is with the storyline in modern times. Leila, the staff of Hermes and the threat of another apocalypse – all this flickers somewhere in the background, at the beginning and at the end. And if you don’t count the traditional Animus glitches, it seems like an alien insertion. On paper, the storylines intersect closer to the finale, but almost no time was allocated for the development of the present, and the entire sci-fi part feels like an extra appendage to the historical drama about Vikings. On the one hand, this is a logical step. The series has long been shifting towards historical action, and Valhalla finally consolidated this course. On the other hand, when the usual time jumps were cut from the narrative, the story began to feel monotonous and overly drawn out.

The point is that the world of Valhalla is divided into regions, and each is an independent mini-story. You choose an area on the strategic map, set off, solve the local problems, find new allies, return to Ravensthorpe, watch a couple of cutscenes – and move on. Between these arcs, the main plot about Eivor and Sigurd sometimes appears, but otherwise it’s a well-oiled loop: choose, go through, repeat. Yes, they even brought back social stealth to the game: you can get lost in the crowd again. But no one forces you to use it – there is no particular benefit from stealth, and mistakes are not punished, so most people just cut to the chase.

At first, this rhythm is addictive – everything is clear, understandable and even exciting. But the further you go, the more tired you become. Somewhere after about 30 hours of play, it seems that the climax is about to begin… but it never does. Because the main plot is given out drop by drop between dozens of almost identical regional stories. And now you’re no longer burning with interest, but just want to “play it to the end” to check it off.

The problem is that the ally arcs are rarely connected to the central storyline, and this kills the pacing. The script starts to stagnate, and the quests become repetitive in structure. In almost every region:

• need to stage a coup or help a local lord retain power,
• it turns out that the situation is more complicated than it seemed at first glance,
• something goes wrong,
• everything ends in a large-scale battle or an assault on the fortress,
• in the end, Eivor makes an alliance and goes home.

Wherever you go, everything is done according to the same pattern. I was already going through the final hours by inertia, almost not understanding what was happening and why. Of course, the formal goal is clear – to gather as many allies as possible. But why? What’s at stake? Why should I empathize? And if even the game itself seems uninterested in its own plot, then why should I?

The Main Pros and Cons of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

I would like to give credit to Ubisoft – Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla has some interesting innovations. For example, the ability to develop your own settlement, which refers to Monteriggioni from the second part. It’s nice to hear familiar musical motifs that migrated from the same game, and the battles have become more spectacular and intense. In general, there are enough innovations.

But there are also complaints. The main one is the feeling of endless repetition of the same actions. If you hoped that Valhalla would return to the roots of the series, get rid of the in-game store, reduce the grind and offer a truly well-developed settlement development – alas, this did not happen. Yes, Ubisoft made attempts, but they look more like a check mark on the list of mandatory elements, so that you can simply say: “Here, this is still Assassin’s Creed.”

Maybe someone will find my words harsh. But this is my personal opinion. I’ve played through all the games in the series, and I’m probably too old to be surprised by the same tricks over and over again. That said, I’m not saying the game is bad – far from it. It’s solid, just maybe not quite for players like me.

It’s not “it used to be better.” It’s “how can I make it better?”

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla System Requirements

How to play Assassin’s Creed Valhalla for free on Steam via VpeSports

There is a mood when you want to drop everything and rush somewhere far away – to the land of severe frosts, ancient gods and military valor. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is exactly the portal that opens up the world of Vikings to you: tough, dark, but mesmerizingly beautiful. Here, every step of Eivor is a choice, every battle is a story, and every volley of the horn calls for great achievements. And yes, you can immerse yourself in this journey without a penny in your pocket. On the VpeSports platform, we have collected everything you need to start playing right now. Simple registration – and you are already in your personal account. And then open the section with free steam account, look for Valhalla – and go to the Scandinavian sagas. Inside the review, you will find a step-by-step guide: no confusion, everything is laid out on the shelves. A few clicks – and you are already in the battle line.

One thing is important – don’t be silent. Share your opinion under the review: tell us how you like the plot of the story, who you play for – Eivor or Eivora, and what you feel, storming monasteries in the fog of an English dawn. We read each message manually – no machine, only real eyes. After moderation, your login and password will be sent to the email you specified during registration. Just be sincere – that’s enough.

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