That’s still a healthy amount of time, and I’ve seen just about every major system the game has in play (assuming there are no 11th hour surprises). A key feature of every Assassin's Creed game has always been the setting. The Indus Valley civilization is considered to be one of the oldest in human history and has the benefit of being relatively well preserved, both through writing as well as ancient ruins. South America Screen-tearing is constant, and audio frequently cuts out. Assassin's Creed Odyssey. You can zoom in all the way to find and locate these caches of materials, but Valhalla thankfully doesn’t tie them to zone completion. I’ll update this review with my Xbox Series X impressions once my console arrives Tuesday, but I’ve heard even there the game struggles to maintain a solid 60 frames-per-second, which is one of its major selling points on the new console. How Quickly Can You Get Sacked In Football Manager 2021? Instead, it could explore the Spanish arrival in South America (a continent untouched by the franchise so far) and their aggressive treatment towards the native Incans, who themselves could be the culture of focus. I get it, this has been a hard year for game development, but the quality-assurance teams clearly needed some extra time with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. I know the end is in sight, but damn me is Valhalla a dense game, denser than even Odyssey. Japan is also very mountainous with ruins, villages and temples situated on very remote locations, ready to be discovered. Part of this is largely due to how Ubisoft has made this arc optional. As for the Modern Day arc with Layla, well, I can either take it or leave it at this rate. Graduated from the University of Bristol with a Bachelor's Degree in History. Related: Ghost of Tsushima Is the Assassin's Creed Game That Should Have Been. In many ways it’s been my favorite game in the series since Black Flag launched seven years ago. Norway has a healthy selection of each, and it’s here in the cold white north you’re able to sample a little bit of what’s on offer before setting sail for England proper. Valhalla weaves the First Civilization storyline into the main narrative in a more alluring and compelling way than any previous Assassin’s Creed game before it, and the story is all the better for it. Japan as a location for an Assassin’s Creed game has been floating around on the internet for some time, and it makes a lot of sense; Japan has a long history that is full of conflict and interesting personalities that would be great to explore. It can still be fun (wielding a giant two-handed claymore in one hand and a giant great shield in the other is perhaps my favorite weapon combination ever, though dual-shields come close), but it overall devolves into a button-mashing affair where each swing of Eivor’s weapon feels like it’s cutting through empty air, not Saxon flesh. Because Ubisoft has better integrated all these once disparate elements into the main plot the story takes upwards of 80 hours to clear. Even the actual side-stories that are tied to the main narrative, similar to Odyssey’s First Civilization and Cult of Kosmos arcs, are better woven into the plot. Meet the man who created the First Hidden Blade and paved the way to the creation of the Assassins a hundred years after Assassin's Creed Odyssey. 9th century England is littered with settlements and villages that are not openly hostile towards Eivor, but they are wary of the towering Dane. Not only a stunning country with magnificent architecture, the history of Feudal Japan is rife with internal conflict, changing dynasties and civil war up until the 17th century. India Eivor doesn’t merely gain improved stats from “leveling”: every incremental upgrade to your melee, health, defense, etc. You never quite know what you’re going to get, and the wider selection of activities on offer means you’re often finding new things to experience out in the world. Finally, an interesting period would be the Mongol invasions of Japan in the 13th century. Performance was equally concerning. After a few updates, Ubisoft finally… Where Next For Assassin’s Creed After Odyssey? What Happened In Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Another is how much of it takes place in “cross-media” content like novels and comics, meaning I have to play catch-up with every new Assassin’s Creed title. A game that follows a protagonist caught in the middle of this tumultuous era of political aggression could have a great story, especially if it maintained Odyssey's player-choices, which would affect the outcome of the story. A western developed game set in Japan would probably take place during the Sengoku period (1467-1603). But as it was a much smaller game set in the 19th century, I want to see a full-blown entry with the graphics and care given to Origins. It may not be as large a game in scale, but it’s a substantially denser experience. Combat is okay overall, but stealth is far improved. Another good candidate would be the Jomon period (14,000-300 BC), which saw the Japanese islands settled and invaded in periods from the Korean peninsula. Last year’s AC Origins felt like the series was breathing free again for the first time in a very long time. Cameron has traded the study of real life for fantasy worlds, and writing long-winded essays for something he actually enjoys. Valhalla is perhaps a larger game than even Odyssey, though I’d argue it has a better variety of activities on offer and its side-stories are better integrated with the main narrative. Rather than fill your quest-log to the brim with side-quests, Valhalla’s world is sprinkled with a smattering of quick, one-shot vignettes that can be completed in roughly ten minutes or less. We cover gaming news, movie reviews, wrestling and much more. The Japanese islands also have something to offer when it comes to the pseudo history and the ancient mysteries that AC’s more and more convoluted story could plug into.