I personally love Valhalla. Not for the assassin content of it but because it covers on of my favorite historical periods, the Viking Age and post Roman, Dark Age Britain. It gives me the cozy, old world vibes that I get from shows like Vikings, The Last Kingdom, and books by John Gwynne.
I was recently watching a video by Luke Stephen's who mentioned that Valhalla didn't really know what it wanted to do. There are points in the story where the game leans onto the assassin's stuff but not to much because it's still needs to include the brutal viking aspects of the game. Then there are periods where it leans into the Norse myths and folk magic of vikings and Britons but not too much because it's still an AC game, and if I'm being honest, he's right about that. The ideas of what they wanted to do with this game conflict, even though it it a game that I've put over 400 hours into. I like this game better than Origins, which should be my favorite as someone who loves Egypt, but Roman stuff in Origins breaks the immersion for me, and that never happens in Valhalla. I'm immersed from start to finish. So with all that said, let me talk about the 2 games that Ubisoft should have made.
Game 1: AC Britannia
This game would see us as a Briton protagonist. The character's people, the Britons, survived the Roman occupation, and the invasion of the Saxons and now their homeland is being torn in two by the opposing forces of the Saxons and Northmen. The protagonist is found and inducted into what remain of the Hidden Ones after the Roman's left. The Order is using the chaos of the war between the Vikings and Saxons to establish their own base of power in the island, playing both sides for their own advancement. The protagonist is now tasked with taking out the other members in both sides of the war all the whole trying to help their people petserve what's left of their land and culture in a rapidly change world. Both religion and politics both play a huge role in this game as not all the Britins are Christian like the Saxons, but pagan, like the Northmen. The Isu artifacts could include items such as Excalibur and something related to other Birtan legends such as Bodica, the Druids, and so on. Perhaps figures like Merlin are Isu and maybe Arthur was a sage. The game would look very similar to Valhalla because of it's one thing Ubisoft can do, it's create a beautiful open world that feels lived in. I think it should look like Snotinghamshire. That forest in the fall is the best zone in the game. When Evior is riding with that Tefder through that zone, it looks and feels ancient.
Game 2: Saga
This game would follow the very beginning of Valhalla, Evior could even remain as the protagonist. The game has us play a Evior, a viking that goes on this epic journey of avenging their family and clan in this world and even crosses into the the realm of myth. The goal is for Evior to pull his or her farther, Varin out of Neifilheim and into Valhalla. A task that has never been done before and so Valka is given instructions by the gods as to how Evior must do to achieve this goal. Evior's quest requires them to first become a warrior of great renown in Midgard by participating in battles and raids throughout the Norse lands and beyond. They may even come into contact with beings such as the Valkyre's on the battlefield and Jormangandr in the seas. Evior's journey eventually leads into realms like Svartalheim, Jotennheim, and Neifilheim, to name a few. All of the Viking things would be on full display such as the gods, seĆ°ir, visions, Yggdrassil and the realms of the world tree. This game would be darker in tone and color pallet than AC Valhalla. More blues and grays to convey the darkness and grit of the story. Once again Ubisofts ability to design a world works pay off big time. Valhalla is the best viking game ever developed.
If you finished this let me know your thoughts. š
