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Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Review

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Live like a Viking in the new Assassin’s Creed action-adventure
₹3,999; PS4, PS5, Xbox One, PC, Xbox Series X|S (reviewed)

The Assassin’s Creed Origins and Odyssey breathed a new life in the 13-year-old franchise. The games not only gave us beautiful regions to explore with a meaningful story but also strengthened its RPG foundation. It is clear in the all-new Assassin’s Creed Valhalla where you explore the vast lands of Norway and England and take decisions that matter.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

Set in the Viking Age, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla lets you assume the role of Eivor, a Viking from Norway. Although we don’t have Alexios or Kassandra, like in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, the new game lets the player choose between a male or a female Eivor. If you are unsure, the game will even decide it for you. I started with female Eivor since Kassandra was better in Odyssey but changed to the male counterpart a few hours in, realising he feels apt for the story. However, since the storyline remains the same, and character’s abilities, it all comes down to preference.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

The prologue set in Norway shows Eivor’s parents getting killed and how he avenges them before setting sail for England for fame and riches along with his Viking clan and adoptive brother Sigurd. The initial Norwegian arc feels like a mishmash of how we are introduced to the ancient order, assassins and the events before reaching the English shores but the storytelling is vastly improved after that. Once in England, Eivor is tasked with pledging alliances with other leaders in the region for clan’s safer and a prosperous future, and this is when the game opens up allowing to explore the world as you want to. Finish various region arcs to gain their alliance or just roam around trying to find the hidden treasure, artefacts and mysteries. Ubisoft has done a stellar job to bind everything together as you progress and also make you feel responsible for the actions. The dialogue choices have an impact on how the story advances. For instance, finding a traitor based on the clues you have gathered can separate a real traitor’s head from the body or kill someone innocent. Involved in a forbidden romance? Well, you should be ready for repercussions with other NPCs in the future. The decision-making in the game makes the narrative more immersive and also gives you, as a player, a moment or two to think if we have made the right choice.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

An assassin is someone who works stealthily picking off enemies in the shadows, and while Assassin’s Creed Valhalla lets you do it, it just doesn’t feel right. A Viking is known for face-to-face battles, and this is where the game shines. Melee combat is excellent along with the gory animations. Raids and castle sieges have been introduced where you and your clan use the collective might to kill and loot the wealth.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

Gameplay-wise, the combat has been refined where one needs to take into consideration the different weapons and outfits. Wielding a heavy weapon or armour will make the bulky Viking less agile compared to someone wielding an axe and a light shield. If that’s not enough, there are abilities to gain or special powers that can be put to use during combat and can be acquired by finding “books of knowledge” spread across the map. The skill tree, on the other hand, does not feel as useful. Earning XP lets you earn skill points but except for the key skill that unlocks after adding some random skill like “3.1 melee resistance” or “5.2 health”, the constellation-like skill tree structure looks like a way to increase Eivor’s power level.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

If bloodshed is too much to handle, the game also helps to scale back by sparring in flyting (poem battles) or revel in drinking and dice games. Furthermore, one can indulge in the beautiful English landscape. Ubisoft has outdone themselves and playing on the Xbox Series X shows off the detailed visuals and lighting. Playing on the latest console also shortens the load time and even lets you enjoy the game in 60fps with the performance mode. However, the game is not without its share of quirks. The game is buggy, even on the recently released 1.0.4 title update. Sure, it’s less than what it used to be, but it’s still far from being perfect. Most of the glitches I experienced were graphical, but there were a couple of them that didn’t let me progress an ongoing raid by not allowing to loot the wealth chest or an NPC not moving, thus not allowing me to finish the mission. Luckily, the issues were fixed after re-loading the game again.

Despite these hindrances, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is still an enjoyable game. The main story is engaging, but it’s the combat, raids, massive open-world and innumerable things to do that keeps you entertained for hours, irrespective if you’re a seasoned Assassin’s Creed fan or a newcomer.

RATING 4/5
WE’RE IMPRESSED Story, gameplay, visuals
WE’D IMPROVE Bugs
THE LAST WORD Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is yet another strong entry in the AC franchise with an immersive story, massive open-world, and combat.

Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X launch on November 10

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For gamers, it’s that time of the year where the wait is painful and exciting at the same time and many wished if time just skipped ahead until the launch of new games and more importantly, the next-gen consoles. Microsoft has dropped the date they’re planning to release the Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X. Mark your calendars folks, the date is November 10, 2020! If you haven’t already watched the launch trailer, watch it below.

We’re exactly two months away from the launch and before getting in to the specs and information about the consoles, those who desire owning these consoles should know that pre-orders starts from September 22, and the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are available for Rs. 34,990 and Rs. 49,990, respectively! The prices are a little steeper than what we anticipated.

Starting with Series S, Microsoft claims that the Xbox Series S is the ‘smallest Xbox ever created and was built to easily fit into your home and lifestyle’. The Xbox Series S is designed in Robot White and it includes the Xbox Wireless Controller in Robot White too – which includes the hybrid D-pad, textured grip on the triggers, a new dedicated ‘Share’ button, and bumpers and back. The Xbox Series S will be available for $299 abroad and is much more expensive in India.

The Xbox Series S is similar to the Xbox Series X in CPU and has an identical I/O performance. It’s made for digital-first gamers, which contributes to its compact design. Consisting of 4x the processing power of an Xbox One console, the Series S supports frame rates of 120fps and has a storage of 512GB SSD which, in turn, is powered by the ‘Xbox Velocity Architecture’.

When it comes to the difference between the Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X, well, Microsoft has explained it very simply. “The primary difference between Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S is in resolution. Through talking to our customers, we found that many of our fans prioritize framerate over resolution, so we wanted to build a console that didn’t require a 4K TV. Xbox Series S delivers approximately 3x the GPU performance of Xbox One and was designed to play games at 1440p at 60 frames per second, with support for up to 120fps. With the increased efficiency we get from the next generation AMD RDNA 2 graphics architecture combined with the virtual memory multipliers enabled through the Xbox Velocity Architecture, Xbox Series S will deliver performance and experiences well beyond the raw specs”, says Liz Hamren, Head of Platform Engineering and Hardware.

For fans of games by EA, Microsoft also announced that during the holiday season Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC members will have access to more than 60 of EA’s biggest console and PC games at no additional cost, through the EA Play membership, previously known as EA Access/Origin Access.

Members will have access to “games like FIFA 20, Titanfall 2 and Need for Speed Heat, as well as titles from some of EA’s most popular franchises like Battlefield, Mass Effect, Skate, and The Sims. Exclusive in-game challenges and rewards, special member-only content, discounts on EA digital purchases for DLC, games, and more”.

If you want more information, then please visit this page.

Take charge in a Viking quest in the all-new Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

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Always bringing something new to the table, Ubisoft’s best-selling game franchise – Assassin’s Creed – is set to release towards the end of 2020, the exact release date is still unknown. The new game is called Assassin’s Creed Valhalla in which fans and gamers across the world will experience a brutal Viking quest for the first time ever on an Assassin’s Creed game.

Assassin’s Creed was first released way back in 2007, and has gone through numerous iterations ever since, with stories taking players through different characters in a vast number of environments – from Ezio’s journeys across the Italian landscape to 18th century America to the historical backdrops of Greece around 430 BC. Now, in 2020, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will take the players on an all new adventure set around ninth century A.D. against the open-world backdrop of England’s Dark Ages.

Players can choose to be a male or female version of Elvior, the plot’s protagonist who is a Viking raider, determined to protect the clan she/he leads – who were driven away from their home in Norway across the icy North Sea – against unjust kingdoms and royals of different parts of England. Rather than a classic stealth game play approach, the reveal trailer, however, shows us the RPG-style of game play in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla similar to what players experienced in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. We’ve all heard or seen how brutal the wars and battles of Vikings are and in this new game, players will experience exactly that with a revamped combat system that includes the ability to dual-wield weapons for assault!

Apart from other apparent character customization like hair, gear and more, players will also have to wisely choose their responses and dialogues as different choices will result in different outcomes – thus the onus is back on the player to think and play this out smartly!

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will be available on PS5, Xbox Series X, PS4, Xbox One, Stadia and Windows PC on Epic Games Store and Ubisoft Store. Additionally, the Gold, Ultimate and the Collectors Editions will be out as well.

Players can pre-order the digital copy on PC and the retail copy on PS4 and Xbox One. For more information, visit the Assassin’s Creed website.

Play Xbox One games from anywhere on your Android device

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The preview of the latest Xbox Console Streaming, which had been launched in US and UK markets in October 2019, is now available in India and other Xbox One-supported countries. The Xbox Console Streaming allows users to play Xbox One games installed on their console through their Android phone or tablet over Wi-Fi or mobile networks.

Console Streaming allows users to pick up and play games at any time and place, provided they have access to stable internet over Wi-Fi or mobile networks on their Android devices. Gamers can play games installed on their Xbox One console, including Xbox Game Pass titles. The Xbox Console Streaming does not include Xbox One backward compatible titles from Xbox 360 or the original Xbox.

To try out Console Streaming, one must have the following – an Xbox One console, an active Xbox Insider (you can sign up for this here), a phone or tablet running Android 6.0 or higher with Bluetooth 4.0, a Microsoft Account with Xbox profile, and a recommended 5GHz Wi-Fi or mobile data connection with a 10Mbps down/ 4.75Mbps up speed.

“We view the public preview as an important step in our journey to deliver game streaming to Xbox players around the world! We are learning from Xbox Insiders like you whenever you participate in these new technologies.”

Jonathan Hildebrandt, Principal Program Manager, Xbox.

For more information, visit this page.

As we predicted, there’ll be a smaller ‘Xbox One Slim’ in 2016, more powerful ‘Xbox Two’ in 2017

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We’ll see two new Xbox models from Microsoft in the next 18 months, with Microsoft releasing a new, smaller ‘Xbox 1.5’ or Xbox One Slim this year and a larger, full, Xbox Two next year.

The news comes courtesy of our buddies at Kotaku UK, who have worked with their colleagues at Kotaku US to independently verify the info – although the sources understandably remained anonymous.

The advent of two new Xboxes is largely what we predicted in our Xbox Two vs PlayStation Neo feature – right down to the fact that we’d see a smaller console this year followed by a more powerful release at a later date.

The 2017 Xbox is code-named Scorpio, with more powerful graphics and is presumably fully 4K compatible. The exciting bit is that Xbox Scorpio will be Oculus-ready. Kotaku UK says that Microsoft is “pursuing a partnership with Oculus”.

The 2016 variant, which we’ll call Xbox 1.5 or Xbox One Slim for easy segregation, will debut at next month’s E3 2016. It is expected to have a 2TB hard drive instead of the current 1TB.

Microsoft’s strategy to merge Windows 10 and Xbox (known as Project Helix, according to one Kotaku UK source) continues apace as well, says Kotaku UK’s Keza MacDonald: “Developer sources have told us that Microsoft’s new mandate is to release future games – including the flagship Halo series – on both platforms. The recently cancelled Fable Legends, which was playable across Windows 10 and Xbox One, was one of the first games to implement this strategy.”

Head over to Kotaku for the full story.