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AC Valhalla is the biggest surprise of 2020 for me.

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Deleted member 801069

Unconfirmed Member
The story is embarrassingly lacking

The quests are a major chore

You just do the same shit over and over again with slight changes to an overarching generic plot with characters no one cares about

It’s pretty, but the story is horrible
 
I'm really enjoying it.

If I had to justify why it is good on threat of death I'm not sure I could make a good case but it's my second most played game on the new consoles after Yakuza and no-one is forcing me to play it unless Ubisoft have somehow mind controlled me.
 

Kuranghi

Member
I think what you miss from this when you just watch a massive gameplay video is similar to what you miss from BotW when you do that, even if the cutscenes and story and animations are poor compared to previous entries I don't think most people play it for that. Its about discover and doing things your own way/order.

People love living in the world, travelling around the various biomes, doing the open world puzzle/side stuff and upgrading their gear. Thats how I enjoyed the later Far Cry's (4 and 5) and AC's (3, Black Flag and Unity), although AC kept the narrative/cutscene quality interesting/engaging at least for a few more games than Far Cry did.

I'll definitely give this a go at some point but not til discount probably as I know what I'm in for and would rather replay Arkham games right now than play Valhalla. As I'm actually compelled to do everything in those games and its all really fun.
 

Warnen

Don't pass gaas, it is your Destiny!
I’m like 18hrs in clearing out the lvl 20 power areas before advancing the store. Was a little bummed when the setting shifter away from snow but England is growing on me.
 

BadBurger

Is 'That Pure Potato'
That's a glowing review. I want to play it but I am holding off on buying new games until I can get my hands on a PS5.
 
I was ready to buy it till I watched this review which basically said it was too long and I knew I could never stay interested in an Assassin’s Creed game that long.



it’s interesting because his initial impressions are very similar to what you are saying. How long to beat has the average completion of the main story at 47 hours.

That said I will probably stillget it when it on discount.

Yup, series still seems to be clinging desperately to unneeded padding. Will get eventually on the cheap.
 

dV8tR

Neo Member
Quick impressions: my first AC game ever, playing on Series X (gaming on OG Xbox One prior): I am ~5 hours in, still running around Norway and I am already stricken with 1) the musical score (it's incredible/epic) and 2) the beauty of the open world (the scope and realism is impressive). I had a craving for something epic more akin to Witcher 3. I had zero hype going in... but also no franchise fatigue as this is my first one. Definitely agree with OP - this game is a huge pleasant surprise for me in 2020 !
 

Hezekiah

Banned
Just bought a 980 Pro for my PC so I'm getting it free, but after seeing Skill Up's review where's he's talking about plugging 67 hours into the game and it being a grind, I can't see myself playing it to completion.
 

Kenpachii

Member
I was ready to buy it till I watched this review which basically said it was too long and I knew I could never stay interested in an Assassin’s Creed game that long.



it’s interesting because his initial impressions are very similar to what you are saying. How long to beat has the average completion of the main story at 47 hours.

That said I will probably stillget it when it on discount.


This guy is so full of shit lamo
 

Certinty

Member
30 hours in and I completely disagree.

Story is trash, writing is even worse, game is repetitive as hell, map is too big (at least smaller than Odyssey’s stupidly sized one), main questline is at least two times longer than it should be and God knows what else I can crap on but I won’t.

No more of this RPG crap, I want another game of what Assassin’s Creed used to be.
 

Kenpachii

Member
Completed it for 100% myself, fantastic game. Absolutely love it. Has it issue's sure, but its so much content and quality content at it packed into a game it honestly draws anything else in the industry so far that is coming out these months.
 
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Malakhov

Banned
Just bought the pc version from probably a local ubisoft employee. Paid 60$ cad for gold version with season pass, nice deal.
 
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Agree wholeheartedly. Best game I've played all year for sure. Graphics are stunning and the structure, whilst it doesn't seem like something new...they just nailed it. I'm scouring the map for every last chest not because I need the loot or because the games makes me but because it's just fun and relaxing to do.
 
I'm at 51 hours, which is a first for me :messenger_hushed: I never devoured a game like this before. I want to watch that Gerard Butler comet kino but I always find myself playing this instead.

I still think Origins is better. I'll even take its story over this one. Valhalla is almost as good as a bad Vikings episode (and the obvious twists are neat). Origins was a clusterfuck but it had a lot of heart and some very high highs.
 
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Deleted member 801069

Unconfirmed Member
you guys serious...GOTY?

tumblr_n4huyenlnn1r498amo1_500.gif
 
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itsArtie

Member
It's a really good game. I was hesitant because AC hasn't changed much in the past few years but I love exploration and gameplay in Valhalla. Raids are really fun especially when you are attacking those that are way above your level.
Also tons of side quests and silly things in the world. A few days ago I did an apple bobbing contest with some random women. All in all, it's a good experience.
 

reptilex

Banned
You must not have played many video games then. Seriously is there a filter for astroturfing "opinion" thread, it's starting to alienate me to the point I find Polygon or TheVerge better than Neogaf...
 

DonJorginho

Banned
I'm happy if you are having fun, but... come on, you guys should try more games, specially AA games. That's where the variety and surprises awaits you.
I play all kinds of games, just because I am loving a AAA Ubisoft title doesn't mean I stick to that subsection of games only, I hate most Ubisoft titles, this is a miracle for me.
 
I play all kinds of games, just because I am loving a AAA Ubisoft title doesn't mean I stick to that subsection of games only, I hate most Ubisoft titles, this is a miracle for me.
Someone not hating an Ubi game is surely a miracle yeah. From your post I guess you have been sucked into the game's open world, which is something I havent experienced since RDR2 or BOTW. Hell dude, I might give this one a chance down the line if it's really capable of conveing that sense of adventure and exploration.
 

DonJorginho

Banned
Someone not hating an Ubi game is surely a miracle yeah. From your post I guess you have been sucked into the game's open world, which is something I havent experienced since RDR2 or BOTW. Hell dude, I might give this one a chance down the line if it's really capable of conveing that sense of adventure and exploration.
That is entirely it, if I was judging this game on the story or combat alone for example it would be an average title, but it is that world that keeps me coming back, it is truly magical and you can tell they took heavy inspiration from TW3, RDR2 and even in some ways GoT.
 

iorek21

Member
Game’s good, but buggy as fuck, one of the worse AC since Unity in that regard.

As for the experience, it’s too damn long, it would be near perfect if it had better character development and a Ghost of Tsushima story length
 

DonJorginho

Banned
Game’s good, but buggy as fuck, one of the worse AC since Unity in that regard.

As for the experience, it’s too damn long, it would be near perfect if it had better character development and a Ghost of Tsushima story length
I have encountered no bugs yet, feeling very lucky!
 
Odyssey was my first ever AC game - still playing it now - and I absolutely love it. Finished the main game, working through the DLC now and can see myself continuing after that doing the remaining quests.

Not sure what it is doing that has kept my interest for so long, but it’s working (75 hours + and counting).

Will definitely get Valhalla but only when it’s on sale and been properly patched - I don’t have the patience to play a Ubisoft game on release!
 
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Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
The story is embarrassingly lacking

The quests are a major chore

You just do the same shit over and over again with slight changes to an overarching generic plot with characters no one cares about

It’s pretty, but the story is horrible

I'm definitely enjoying the story more than Odyssey. Seems about on par with Origins, but I enjoy the setting in Valhalla a lot more.

Also, one thing I feel that Valhalla does well is making the whole story feel cohesive rather than a series of disjointed vignettes with seemingly random time skips and a clear lack of continuity.
 

Mossybrew

Member
It's a fun meat-and-potatoes game that you can sink a lot of hours into, but I hardly feel it's some big surprise or revelation. That kind of talk should be reserved for Ghost of Tsushima.
 

Chaplain

Member
True story: My wife's favorite games are the Assassin's Creed series. So much so that she platinumed Origins and Odessey. I really didn't like those games. However, with Valhalla, I think it's amazing but my wife dislikes it. lol

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Golgo 13

The Man With The Golden Dong
These games are always interesting and engaging for the first 20 or so hours and then they slowly reveal themselves to be long-winded, bloated, corporately driven, focus-tested nonsense.

There was actually an interesting piece awhile back that revealing why AC games are so long, and I'm paraphrasing here, but it essentially was research driven, and amounted to something like this.

1) Ubisoft makes their games VERY long on purpose.
2) The reason for this is to sell their microtransactions (which Valhalla is fucking FULL of).
3) Psychological research data suggests that the longer someone plays a game, the more likely they are to purchase microtransactions within the game, and Ubi makes significantly more money this way.

TL;DR: They're good at the beginning and bloated on purpose, it's to psychologically manipulate you into spending money.
 

drotahorror

Member
As someone who doesn't like AC games but thought Origins was 'pretty good' for a few hours (15 or so?), would I like this one? I read different things about this game all the time. I don't care if I never beat it, welcome to the long list of games I never will. But if it provides fun for a couple dozen hours that's cool.
 

Kamina

Golden Boy
I passed 40 hours yesterday and still am nowhere near anywhere in the story.
Yes, with UBI you are a Beta Tester, but the game is awesomel
 

Warnen

Don't pass gaas, it is your Destiny!
Yeah I loving the game, 24hours in and not sick of it yet. Got a bit of a shock when that 2nd map showed up. So much area to cover but cleared out all the lowest lvl areas and working thru the story now.

Think the not having to worry about gear to much (no random drops) really helped me out. Also like how u find the skills and how the lvl up tree helps everything not just one thing.

Glad cyberpunk got delayed or I would have never given this game the time of day.
 
This guy is so full of shit lamo
Surprised more people haven't figured that out by now.

I guess the accent sells the illusion that he knows what's he's talking about/have actual knowledge about game design or "player engagment"/fun factor, same thing with Yahtzee.
 

iorek21

Member
Just finished it.

Vanilla Odyssey felt a more complete story than this. It seems Valhalla will hold the more important beats for DLC, which sucks.
 

devilNprada

Member
30 hours into it (PS5 version) I couldn't save game (would not auto save) and could not fast travel.
Had to restart a new game..
 

Bramble

Member
I'm also on the fence about this game. The one thing that I really dislike is the voice acting in recent Ubi games. Odyssey was a real low in that regard. It sounded so "acted" and immature. You can hear all actors are putting up this funny voice.
 

MastAndo

Member
Surprised more people haven't figured that out by now.

I guess the accent sells the illusion that he knows what's he's talking about/have actual knowledge about game design or "player engagment"/fun factor, same thing with Yahtzee.
I wouldn't say he's full of shit, I just think he has a "problem" that a lot of reviewers have - they play so many damn games, they can no longer view them through the same lens as the typical gamer. They're burned out on things that your average Joe might not mind, and it takes something unique to grab their attention since they're playing games as a job.

I don't have a review to put out so a regular dude like me doesn't mind spreading out a game like Valhalla over the course of weeks, nor am I burned out by open world fatigue, since I'm not playing every major release.
 
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I wouldn't say he's full of shit, I just think he has a "problem" that a lot of reviewers have - they play so many damn games, they can no longer view them through the same lens as the typical gamer. They're burned out on things that your average Joe might not mind, and it takes something unique to grab their attention since they're playing games as a job.

I don't have a review to put out so a regular dude like me doesn't mind spreading out a game like Valhalla over the course of weeks, nor am I burned out by open world fatigue, since I'm not playing every major release.
That's why i find reviews and metacritc and the like useless as a way of judging the quality of a video game, if I played 3 Mario games in a row I'd hate my time with number 3, same thing if I tried that with Assassin's Creed/Resident Evil/DMC/etc.

Plus from personal experience what mood i'm in really dictates my experience with a game, it might be a mind blowing experience but if I forced myself to put it into my console I'd hate it and nitpick it to death.
 

Nester99

Member
38 hours in and I hit the wall.

It’s all the same shit in every zone. So bleh and not Inspired. Have to force myself to keep playing.

Very pretty game but grew boring. Odyssey was better.
 

makaveli60

Member
Agree, as a long-time fan, who thinks Odyssey is an abomination this is a return to form and it's so much better than that it's crazy they are part of the same franchise. And the modern day provided a lot of nostalgia for me (I only arrived to England in the story).
 
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