Assassin’s Creed Valhalla review roundup

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is the latest entry in the Assassin’s Creed series from Ubisoft. The game takes yet another leap from the franchise’s roots. Putting players in the biggest open world seen in the series yet, and giving them even more freedom to do with their character whatever they want.

Ubisoft has revealed that the game has sold more units in the first week on sale than any other game in the series has in the same period. The game has also had the best PC launch for a game in the series ever, which Ubisoft believes is what has driven overall sales for it.

The game beat Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War to the top spot in the UK chart, which is the first time a Call of Duty game hasn’t topped the UK chart in launch week for thirteen years.

The game also currently has double the player count of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey at launch, further showing just how popular it is. Let’s see what the critics thought.

Metacritic: 80/100
Metacritic’s high score is indicative of what the public perceive as a great game. An average of 80/100 is around 8/10 for a critical score, which shows that the game is more than just good, it’s exceptional, and on the way to being perfect.

Amazon: 4 out of 5 stars
Amazon’s user reviews are a whirlwind of ups and downs. Whilst some users seem to have been overly critical, the issues that players are experiencing are all the same. They complain of bugs and glitches, which all Assassin’s Creed games have been plagued by at launch. However, it’s the lip-syncing that appears to be what troubles most players, since it draws them out of the immersive experience the game offers.

IGN: 8/10
The review from IGN is indicative of what can be expected for press at large. They praise the game for its realism, and just how deep every aspect of it is. Ubisoft has gone above and beyond to provide a fantasy world that’s not just an Assassin’s Creed game, it’s a Viking game set in the Assassin’s Creed universe. From raiding villages and ports, to building up the home settlement, and getting caught in colossal battles, there is so much on offer here. However, they echo the complaints of users, stating that the game is far buggier than it should be considering how long it has been in development.

GameSpot: 8/10
GameSpot’s review is very similar to IGN’s. They add to the list of aspects that could be improved though. One thing that they mark down quite harshly is the game’s opening. It’s a much longer affair, and seems to be much slower than they were expecting. This lack of pace can put a lot of users off, and side characters suffer for it because their development doesn’t reach its full potential. Without spoilers, a particular side character, who is important to the story, has a very underwhelming ending as a result of this lack of pace in the right areas.

Trusted Reviews: 4 out of 5 stars
Trusted Reviews continue the praise for Ubisoft in creating such a vivid Viking game. The RPG elements of the series have also been elevated to a whole new level with this game, cementing this as possibly the best Assassin’s Creed game to date. However, they too mentioned bugs, some of which cause the game to crash. They also Cite the lack of focus on stealth as one of the game’s weaker points. Given this is a Viking game though, it’s not hard to see why stealth would take a back seat.

The Guardian: 4 out of 5 stars
Much of The Guardian’s review is the same as what other critics have already said. They praise the game for how historically accurate it feels, and being one of the best Viking games in existence. The world is vivid, and engrossing for the most part. They add that the game-breaking bugs are simply too much to forgive though, because they cost players so much in terms of immersion.

Push Square: 7/10
Push Square’s review dives into the nitty gritty of what makes Assassin’s Creed Valhalla so good. They say that the story missions are excellent, even the side missions that most players will never come across. On the other hand, they point out that accents in the game are all over the place. While this might be down to historical accuracy, it seems like enough to distract players from the overall experience, hence their slightly lower review score.

While most critics thoroughly enjoyed the game, each one points out the glaringly obvious flaws it has. There are bugs, some of which cause the game to crash to desktop, and other minor issues that ruin a player’s immersion. These aren’t issues that Ubisoft can’t fix with a future patch though, and don’t sound like anything to worry about in the long term.