3.5/5 ★ – Falere's review of Assassin's Creed: Valhalla.

Valhalla was engaging from a story perspective but it strays from its Assassin's Creed roots. I enjoyed Eivor's development, especially their growth as a leader through gaining allies, cutting through the Order and building their settlement from the ground up. As an Assassin's Creed game, I think it falls short of what we got in the past. I miss tall buildings, narrow alleyways, and stalking targets from the high ground. The vastness of Valhalla's map were flat grassy plains that made it a pain to traverse even with fast travel. The parkour was fairly clunky and my Eivor got stuck too many times when I tried to hop in an open window. When you do get to play around with stealth, I actually enjoyed the fact that soldiers would spot me immediately. It made the stealth kills that much more rewarding (and actually, a little more realistic). The combat overall is fairly standard. Smashing baddies with my axe is always satisfying, but the forced combat finishers got tiring real quick.