5 reasons to play Assassin's Creed Valhalla in 2024

Despite the alleged complaints about a buggy release, Assassin's Creed Valhalla succeeded in making a home in the hearts of its fanbase. Set around the Dark Ages of Europe when the Scandinavian raiders raided different parts of England, Assassin's Creed Valhalla offers a glimpse into the life of one such Viking named Eivor Varinsdottir.

Ubisoft has taken some of the RPG elements from the two Assassin's Creed games that came before it, Origins and Odyssey. The developers simplified the elements while keeping the key features, like an extensive skill tree and an ability system.

Although this received some negative feedback from the franchise fans, the creative freedom and non-linear playstyle have presented itself as one of the few main reasons Assassin's Creed Valhalla is worth revisiting in 2024.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the author's opinions.

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Five reasons to revisit Assassin's Creed Valhalla in 2024

1) Map of a divided England

The medieval depiction of England provides surreal exploration opportunities. (Image via Ubisoft)

The map of Anglo-Saxon England features some notable landmass that stretches over 140 square kilometers and is spread across regions like Norway, England, Vinland, Asgard, and Jotunheim. These regions have political instability amongst them because of the hostility in their rulers.

Divided among four main kingdoms, Northumbria, East Anglia, Mercia, and Wessex, Assassin's Creed Valhalla beautifully depicts the English lands that the Vikings raided during the Dark Ages. These include the waterways our Viking protagonist uses to traverse different villages and regions.

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2) RPG elements

An extensive skill tree is available in Assassin's Creed Valhalla. (Image via Ubisoft)

Coming from previous titles like Origins and Odyssey, Assassin's Creed Valhalla continues to implement some RPG elements but with a much simpler approach. The skill tree is crafted in such a way that players can start to build their characters by focusing on one of the three primary categories of playstyle represented by a Bear, a Wolf, and a Raven.

The approach to this skill tree system is done in such a way that towards the end of the game, all players will have similar kinds of character builds. Furthermore, the gear system has been modified to allow players the freedom to shift focus away from gears and onto exploration.

The inclusion of RPG-style speech elements in Assassin's Creed Valhalla enhances gameplay by allowing players to level up their speech skills and unlock various dialogue choices.

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3) The protagonist of Valhalla

Eivor showcases a bold and stoic personality. (Image via Ubisoft)

Assassin's Creed Valhalla has carried over the choice for players to choose their protagonist from Assassin's Creed Odyssey. Like the preceding title, Valhalla offers players the choice between two protagonists, albeit the name remains the same here, unlike Odyssey.

Without dropping any major spoilers about the protagonist, it can be said that Eivor is a character who is torn between loyalty and ambition. Having been given the title Wolf-kissed, Eivor presents gamers with a dilemma between their choice and their prophecy.

Being a reincarnation of Isu, Odin gives them a complex character structure that fills the protagonist with a broad spectrum of emotions showcased well by the respective voice actors.

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4) River Raid system

Players can raid regions by traveling along the riverbank in their longboats. (Image via Ubisoft)

Assassin's Creed Valhalla has a unique River Raid system that lets players experience the Dark Ages when the Scandinavians raided English lands. Players can approach numerous locations via riverbanks and raid the lands for loot. These loots can include crew rations, foreign supplies, gears, and books of knowledge.

The major differences that River Raid has from the open world are the lack of fast travel options and the unavailability of ravens or horses.

Players can't attempt meditation with the protagonist because the map of each river becomes a restricted region. Furthermore, these River Raids have a lot of replayability factors thanks to the presence of different difficulty options from which to choose.

It is recommended that players alternate between the rivers for raids so that the cooldown of previously raided regions can finish and the defenses and the loot are available once again.

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5) Non-linear story

Assassin's Creed Valhalla features the freedom of approaching the story in a non-linear fashion. (Image via Ubisoft)

Assassin's Creed Vahalla allows players to approach the primary quest line non-linearly. This means that gamers have the freedom to approach primary quests in a random order where they are not limited by the game itself and are asked to finish the quests in any specific order.

This allows gamers to explore various parts of England and experience the political power struggles between the regions of Northumbria, Mercia, Essex, and East Anglia. Furthermore, Assassin's Creed Valhalla features some optional side quests or events known as "world events" that players can come across while exploring and are meant to be completed within the few moments they are found.