Assassin’s Creed Valhalla hands-on preview: 4 things I liked, 2 things I didn’t

Assassin's Creed Valhalla hands-on preview: iv things I liked, 2 things I didn't

(Prototype credit: Ubisoft)

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is the latest game in Ubisoft's long-running Assassin's Creed series, and the beginning for the PS5 and Xbox Series X. Notwithstanding, Valhalla is a familiar experience, at to the lowest degree based on a three-hour demo that I played last week. Similar Origins and Odyssey, Valhalla features a huge globe with a customizable protagonist and much more open up combat than earlier Assassin's Creed entries. Only Valhalla also feels a fleck more streamlined than its immediate predecessors, with more ambitious themes in its story.

I don't know whether Valhalla will fix every problem I had with the last two games, simply I practise know that I didn't become bored once during a very long demo, and I would have happily kept playing for longer. Here'southward what I really liked about Assassin's Creed Valhalla — and what nonetheless gives me suspension.

All the Xbox Series X games we know about
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 release date, cost and more
The all-time shows Netflix won't let Americans sentinel (and how to stream them)

Deep combat system

If there'southward 1 affair critics accept never agreed on, it'south the combat system in Assassin'southward Creed. The earlier entries were besides simple; the later entries were too repetitive. Or, alternatively, the before entries were clean and streamlined; the afterward entries were admirably customizable.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla hands-on preview: 4 things I liked, 2 things I didn't — (Epitome credit: Ubisoft)

Whatever your view, Valhalla is much closer to Origins and Odyssey than information technology is to the before games. You lot tin can equip a variety of weapons, from axes to spears to flails, and pummel enemies with either light or heavy attacks. Well-nigh enemies have shields, and will cake your attacks until you suspension their guard. Multiple enemies volition assail at once, meaning that gainsay is a delicate balancing act between defense and offense.

First off, the combat is gory. Y'all play every bit Viking warrior Eivor, who does non show whatsoever mercy to his (or her; you tin choose Eivor's sex activity) foes, peculiarly if you rely on heavy attacks. During my demo, he chopped off limbs, separated enemies from their heads and sometimes but stomped them into oblivion. Even by the bloody standards of Origins and Odyssey, combat is brutal in Valhalla. How much you enjoy that will depend on your own preferences; I thought it was cool at first, and excessive by the tertiary 60 minutes.

Still, I had a great fourth dimension trying out all the different weapons, especially since yous can now dual-wield. Parrying enemy attacks is more important than ever earlier, since it's often the only way to open them up for assail. Breaking enemy shields is also more than intuitive than in previous games, which helps go on combat a picayune more streamlined. I didn't come across a ton of enemy variety in nigh missions — generally just rank-and-file English soldiers — just some of them had shields and some of them had spears, and so I had to alter my tactics up a bit.

I as well got to endeavor out a scattering of boss fights, which all felt appropriately difficult. One was against Black Shuk: a legendary animate being, which required a lot of parrying and constant healing. Health no longer regenerates in Valhalla, significant that yous'll take to scrounge for nutrient in the overworld and save the backlog equally restorative rations. Healing on cue tin exist a lifesaver, but it also means that wellness is a very limited resource during tough fights.

Two were against Cordelia and Regan, whom you might recognize as daughters of the semi-fictional King Lear. Each girl used hallucinogenic drugs to convince Eivor that he was fighting a skull-faced, fire-wielding demon, not unlike the mythic beast fights in Origins and Odyssey. Parrying and dodging were key, only you can no longer dodge indefinitely in Valhalla. If you use upwardly your contrivance stamina, information technology will accept a while to recharge, making parrying more important than ever.

I've talked before most how putting open up combat front and heart isn't really what Assassin's Creed ready out to do at start. Merely taken on its own merits, gainsay in Valhalla is fast-paced and fun, and probably varied plenty to sustain a long open-earth game.

Smart character advancement

I also got a risk to earn skill points and allocate them in the game's grapheme advancement system, which resembles nothing then much as Final Fantasy X's sphere filigree. Eivor has access to three different skill copse: Raven, Conduct and Wolf. Each ane corresponds to a different gameplay way — likely stealth, melee and ranged, respectively, although I didn't get a gamble to examine all three trees in detail.

Each time you unlock a small heave in any skill tree — an increment to melee damage or a boos to wellness, for example — it puts you a step closer to learning a new skill, such as leaping in the air and slicing an opponent on the manner down. You'll also occasionally have to choose between two different skills, each one of which unlocks a unlike path. Information technology's an interesting system. Nonetheless, you lot can improve skills merely with books y'all find in the overworld, not simply by allocating points. It'south an odd two-tiered system that sometimes makes it difficult to prioritize your favorite skills.

Ambitious story

It'south been a while, but if y'all think back to the early Assassin's Creed games, the tension between religious and secular social club was at the forefront of the story. The first game examined whether Christians or Muslims had a better claim to the Holy Country, while the second and third games were basically long exegeses on papal corruption. Valhalla looks similar it will accept a critical eye to faith in one case again, which is appropriate, given the setting.

I played through three story missions during my fourth dimension with Valhalla, which centered on Eivor mounting a rescue mission for Oswald, the captured king of Due east Anglia. Assassin'southward Creed Valhalla takes place in 9th-century England, where conflict between the invading Danes and the ruling Saxons was common. Merely the game doesn't simply portray the Danes every bit righteous warriors and the Saxons as cowardly aristocrats. Oswald is an intelligent, kind and courageous ruler who takes his Christian religion very seriously. Eivor is quick to point out that some of Danes are only bloodthirsty bandits. No character is defined by his or her racial or religious background. It'due south a nuanced expect at a complex time in history, similar in the very starting time game.

Eivor, similar the best Assassin's Creed protagonists, is an agreeable mix of pragmatism and principle. I wish I knew more about his connectedness to the Assassins — who were in full swing at this signal in history, different the proto-Assassins in Origins or Odyssey — but I'g sure that will come with the full game.

Raids instead of Conquest Battles

Ane of my big complaints about Assassinator'southward Creed Odyssey was that the Conquest Battles felt aimless and repetitive. Thankfully, the raids in Assassinator'southward Creed Valhalla have addressed a lot of my concerns. At that place's nonetheless mass combat in Valhalla, but it'southward non a repetitive slog across a crowded battlefield. Instead, each raid begins when you sail your longship downwards a river to a fort, then blow a horn to rally your allies to you.

As yous and your companions fight your mode through the enemies in a fort, you'll brand progress by reaching new areas, non only monitoring a progress bar. Seeing a fort's defenders dwindle from a swarm to a trickle is satisfying, as is the realization that once you raid a fort, you lot don't demand to raid it again. You need just plunder its wealth one time, different conquest battles, which were repeatable advert infinitum.

Stealth is underutilized

One of my biggest hopes for Assassin'southward Creed Valhalla was that stealth might exist a viable option in about all situations, as it was up until Assassin's Creed Unity. Instead, it's still extremely easy to botch a stealthy approach and wind up in a state of affairs where it's simply a lot easier to bash your way out. A lot of 9th-century England is flat, open country, which doesn't afford many opportunities for stealth, even in forts and churches. In that location's likewise a little timing minigame associated with assassinating robust targets, which means it's quite easy to mix-up an bump-off effort.

Perhaps the character build I was playing was simply not optimized for stealth. But Valhalla does seem to take the Origins/Odyssey arroyo: "You're welcome to try stealth, but you'll probably have to fight your way out."

Too much stuff (perchance)

In that location was likewise much stuff to do in Assassin'southward Creed Odyssey. You'll see admittedly everything the game tin can throw at you lot by the 30-hour mark, but if you desire to do everything, you're in for fourscore hours of gameplay, or more. Assassin's Creed Valhalla looks a trivial more than streamlined, as you don't have to go through a laundry list of tasks in each optional location. But there's even so an awful lot of stuff to practice, and most of it seems repetitive.

The game breaks up side activities into 3 types: Mysteries, Wealth and Secrets. Mysteries are potentially interesting, as this is where you'll go your legendary beast hunts, optional boss fights and grapheme-driven side quests. Wealth, however, is what it sounds like: Hunting down caches of money or rare items. You'll oft take to sneak or fight through fortified enemy locations. After i or two of these missions, I had seen all I wanted to see of them.

(I didn't find whatsoever secrets during my demo, which ways I'll have to look harder for them during the main game.)

I saw about ten unlike explorable areas on the map, and East Anglia lonely had more than 30 side activities to complete; I imagine that the novelty will wear off well before the story reaches its determination.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla outlook

Assassinator's Creed Valhalla was a lot of fun for 3 hours. I enjoyed the combat, admired the story and got a good expect at medieval England. My big question is whether the game will all the same be fun for the majority of its playtime. Based on the small chunk I played, it seems like the game could easily terminal for 50 hours or more than.

In whatever case, I've been playing Assassin'southward Creed since the get-go installment, and have no desire to stop at present. Valhalla looks pretty similar to Origins and Odyssey, in means both promising and cautionary. We'll evaluate the game more thoroughly when it comes out tardily this twelvemonth.

Marshall Honorof is a senior editor for Tom's Guide, overseeing the site's coverage of gaming hardware and software. He comes from a scientific discipline writing background, having studied paleomammalogy, biological anthropology, and the history of science and technology. Subsequently hours, you can detect him practicing taekwondo or doing deep dives on classic sci-fi.