Assassin’s Creed Valhalla sends you to ninth-century England as Eivor, a Norse raider who leads a fleet across the Irish Sea to settle a new homeland. Ubisoft Quebec built a Viking invasion around a city-building system, and the result is the best open-world game the series has produced since Origins.
Trailer, via Assassin’s Creed.
Eivor and the Settlement
Eivor is a rare lead character in this franchise. The game lets you switch between male and female versions of the protagonist, and both feel like the same person. You fight, you sail, you raid, and you can talk to settlers about their lives and worries.
Your base, Ravensthorpe, becomes a living hub. You assign jobs, gather resources, and upgrade buildings. The settlement system rewards patience. It also adds weight to every mission, because your people rely on you.
The City of London
London is the heart of the campaign. Ubisoft built it as a sprawling, dense map packed with side content. You can ride a horse through the streets, climb walls, and solve puzzles tied to the city’s history.
The combat is brutal. You swing a sword, shield bash, and chain combos with axe throws. Enemies react to your attacks, and the game punishes careless play. Boss fights demand planning. You can’t rush in blindly.
The Campaign
The main story follows Eivor’s search for purpose after a personal loss. It leans on Norse mythology and the legend of Ragnar Lothbrok. The pacing dips in the middle stretch, but the final act delivers a strong payoff.
Side quests are hit or miss. Some are forgettable fetch quests. Others tie into local factions and offer memorable characters. The best ones let you raid, hunt, or explore ancient sites.
Performance Across Platforms
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla runs on Stadia, Series X|S, PS4, and PC. The performance varies widely:
- On Series X|S, the game looks sharp with smooth frame rates.
- On PS4, the frame rate drops and textures blur.
- On PC, you get the most control over settings.
- On Stadia, streaming issues can interrupt the experience.
“The settlement system rewards patience.”
The load times on Series X|S are near-instant, which helps keep the flow going. On PS4, the game takes longer to move between locations. None of the versions feels perfect, but the core systems hold up across all four.
What Holds It Back
The world is large, but some regions feel empty. Certain areas offer little beyond filler objectives. The game also struggles with pop-in on PS4, where distant objects appear suddenly as you approach.
The multiplayer mode, called Warbands, is a separate online arena. It’s fun for quick matches but doesn’t integrate deeply with the main campaign.
Final Score
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla succeeds because it commits to its setting. The Viking theme isn’t a thin skin. It shapes the combat, the politics, and the sense of place.
The settlement system gives you a reason to care about Ravensthorpe. The raids are tense. The exploration is rewarding.
It’s not perfect. The PS4 version drags. The side content is uneven. But the core loop — raid, loot, improve your base — is strong enough to carry the whole package.
This is the best entry in the series in years.
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