{"id":966,"date":"2020-11-09T11:08:59","date_gmt":"2020-11-09T11:08:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/?p=1327191"},"modified":"2020-11-09T11:08:59","modified_gmt":"2020-11-09T11:08:59","slug":"assassins-creed-valhalla-is-a-good-ass-video-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=966","title":{"rendered":"Assassin\u2019s Creed Valhalla is a good ass video game"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s a busy Q4 for French game publisher Ubisoft. Two weeks ago, it released Watch Dogs: Legions (read my review here<\/a>), Immortals Fenyx Rising is out next month, and sandwiched in between is Assassin\u2019s Creed Valhalla, the twelfth major instalment in the legendary series.<\/p>\n

As the name implies, this instalment brings the franchise to the era of the Vikings, 873 A.D. to be specific. Valhalla tells the story of Eivor, a Norwegian Viking raider from the Raven Clan, who can be either male or female depending on the player\u2019s choice.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

The game opens in the snowy mountains of Norway, but quickly moves to the lush meadows of England, as Evior is tasked with expanding the Raven Clan abroad.<\/p>\n

You can always go back to Norway to explore more, but the majority of Assassin\u2019s Creed Valhalla is set in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.<\/p>\n

Assassin\u2019s Creed Valhalla picks up where the previous two games, Origins and Odyssey, left off. No longer set in dense city environments, these games take place in large open worlds, navigated on horseback or by boat.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t love this structure when it was first introduced in Assassin\u2019s Creed Origins. The world felt big for the sake of being big, without having enough interesting content to warrant its size. It\u2019s not that the world was empty, rather the stuff that was in it wasn\u2019t fleshed out enough for me to love it.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Assassin\u2019s Creed Odyssey didn\u2019t grab me either. Something about the way the game forced you to grind out experience points before you could progress in the story rubbed me the wrong way. I didn\u2019t love the game\u2019s tone either, but the weird progression is ultimately what made me stop playing. The fact that Odyssey offered the option to forego the grind by paying<\/a> didn\u2019t help either.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m happy to report that Assassin\u2019s Creed Valhalla has none of these problems. I\u2019ve been playing this game almost non-stop since I got my hands on it last week, and I\u2019m still having a hard time putting down the controller to write this review.<\/p>\n

The writing in Valhalla is the best the series has ever seen. Its characters are well written and compelling, its tone strikes the right balance between grit and humor, and the stories are enticing. There are funny moments, but it never tries too hard to be silly, which is a huge step forward from the previous game.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

The actual gameplay in Valhalla is just as good as the writing. Vikings are not known for their subtle approach and sneaky tactics, and Valhalla doesn\u2019t force you to play that way either. Like all previous games in the series, you can still sneak around and assassinate silently if you want, but barging in axe swinging is just as viable as a tactic.<\/p>\n

Vikings were no strangers to raiding and pillaging, and Assassin\u2019s Creed Valhalla is happy to accommodate. The map is scattered with settlements to raid, and your character is now equipped with a horn that lets you summon your clan to aid you. The game\u2019s excellent combat system makes these moments a joy to play, and the new combat abilities you\u2019ll unlock on these raids make them a worthwhile distraction from the game\u2019s main storyline.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Graphically, Valhalla is the prettiest game in the series. Both England and Norway look absolutely stunning, and so do the characters in them. The PlayStation 4 Pro runs the game at a (dynamic) 4K resolution with a steady framerate of 30 frames per second, and we can assume the Xbox One X delivers similar performance.<\/p>\n

Now this isn\u2019t just the week the new Assassin\u2019s Creed game comes out. It is, of course, the week the next generation game consoles come out. As of tomorrow, the Xbox Series S and X will be available, and the PlayStation 5 launches on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Assassin\u2019s Creed Valhalla is a launch game on both platforms and I was fortunate enough to spend most of my time with the game on the Xbox Series X, where it runs in a buttery smooth 60 frames per second in a gorgeous native 4k resolution. It\u2019s the first time an Assassin\u2019s Creed has run at 60FPS on a console and I never want to go back to 30FPS.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what it looks like:<\/p>\n