Assassin's Creed Valhalla

Alot of crashes later I managed to 100% this amazing game

i thought modern assassin's creed games were supposed to be bad... i was wrong.

[h1]A Good, But Unfortunately Flawed Game[/h1] [b]Overall Rating:[/b] A deeply conflicted experience. For everything [i]Assassin’s Creed Valhalla[/i] does right, it makes one or two frustrating missteps. [h2]The Good[/h2] [b]1. Outstanding Accessibility & Customization Options[/b] [b]The Gold Standard for Options:[/b] Being able to choose immersion by allowing map icons/collectibles on or off is fantastic. It seamlessly caters to myself who is more casual, and more hardcore players who want full immersion. [b]Player Choice First:[/b] Ubisoft designed an intended way to play, but allowing players to tailor the experience to their liking is a masterclass in game design that should be the industry standard. [b]2. Narrative & World Highlights[/b] [b]In-World Variety:[/b] Stepping out of the Animus felt distinct and refreshed the pacing, even if it could have been utilized more, for example with the mini games that required climbing random structures. [b]Strong Mid-Game Setpieces:[/b] The mid-game castle siege battles were engaging, memorable, and far superior to the content later in the story. The last Story battle was a bust. [b]Glimmers of Story Magic:[/b] Certain narrative arcs were genuinely engaging and enjoyable, showing brief glimpses of great storytelling. [h2]The Bad[/h2] [b]1. Bloated Map & Pacing Issues[/b] [b]Too Big, Too Empty:[/b] The map is unnecessarily massive. It could easily have been half the size and been a far better game without endless empty fields drawing out the runtime. [b]Underutilized Cities:[/b] Major towns and cities feel underused relative to the massive map size. [b]Weak Story & Forgettable Characters:[/b] Outside of a few good moments, the overarching plot felt weak, fragmented, and hard to care about. By the time the final battle rolled around, the story had lost all emotional weight. [b]2. Frustrating Quest Design & Open-World Logic[/b] [b]Obtuse Side Quests:[/b] While the approach to world events is cool in concept, the execution is often frustratingly vague, even after listening to NPC dialogue carefully. There were countless times I knew what I had to do, but still needed to look up a guide because I wasn’t doing the required thing as intended by the game. [b]Open-World Backtracking Conflicts:[/b] Clearing a zone earlier than expected means you’ll have to re-explore when the next Order clue is available, completely contradicting the freedom of open-world exploration. [b]The Locked Door Dilemma:[/b] Encountering a locked chest or room leaves you guessing: Is there a hidden entry nearby, or is this locked behind a main story quest? There is no way to know, leading to wasted time. [b]Forced Minigames (Stone Stacking):[/b] Novel at first, but making stone stacking a requirement for map completion (and forcing it into core story missions) feels like tedious padding. [b]Chasing Collectibles:[/b] Paper/tattoo chases remain frustrating due to unpredictable parkour and pathing issues most likely a result of gaming above 60fps. [b]3. Combat & Animation Quirks[/b] [b]Unskippable Finishing Moves:[/b] Watching a 5-second execution animation for every single heavy enemy gets tedious fast. Players should be able to disable these or limit them to the final enemy of an encounter. [b]Clunky Animations & Pathing:[/b] Boss fight animations feel awkward, snap-aiming is inconsistent, and AI pathing frequently breaks down. [h2]Technical & Performance Issues[/h2] [b]60+ FPS Glitches:[/b] High framerates seem to break physics and quest triggers (such as NPC pathing/mount interactions during side quests). [b]Persistent Crashes:[/b] Crashing often enough to warrant a mention years after launch is disappointing for a AAA title. [b]No Modern Upscalers:[/b] The lack of updated DLSS/FSR support is shameful for a modern title like this. DLSS was available at launch. [h2]Final Verdict[/h2] [i]AC Valhalla[/i] ultimately feels like a step backward compared to [i]AC Odyssey[/i]. Beneath the bloat and technical quirks lies a good game, but it gets bogged down by poor pacing, empty open-world space, forced repetitive activities, and technical shortcomings that persist long after launch.