Assassin’s Creed has this habit of taking us through the wildest and historically rich adventures. The popular franchise takes you through the streets of London and Renaissance Italy, even through the beaches of the British Isles. Through these rich adventures, you uncover secrets about the powerful figures violently trying to establish a new world order.

Ubisoft’s latest project takes you even further into the dark timeline of human existence. If Assassin’s Creed Odyssey focused on the prominent events of Greek history and mythology, this new adventure takes you up north to the land of the Vikings. During the darkest times of Norway and Anglo-Saxon England, a new legend comes to life.

This is how Assassin’s Creed Valhalla shapes up to be: the classic formula applied to the legends of the Norse warriors. It seeks to shed light on the chaotic events brought about by the Dark Ages, as Viking expansion to England became imminent. For what it’s worth, Valhalla takes you a time of harsh bloodshed, forging alliances, and operating in the shadows.

Expansion in the most literal sense

The story in Valhalla takes place some time in the late 800s, during the Dark Ages of English civilization. The clans in the cold territory of Norway are at constant war and overpopulation, seeking to establish a kingdom of their own. You play as Eivor, a Viking warrior born into all the chaos and bloodshed.

As the clan wars in Norway soon pass over, your crew goes on an expedition to find a new home. In search of a new place to establish a Viking settlement, you arrive at Anglo-Saxon England — with four great kingdoms in control. Within both countries, there are tons of mysteries, treasures, and activities waiting for you.

This sort of expansion isn’t unheard of in the realm of Assassin’s Creed, specifically with Black Flag, Odyssey, and Origins boasting vast lands to explore. However, Valhalla’s strong case just lies in the fact that you have two countries to explore to your heart’s content. The game also comes with a nifty raven feature to make exploration much easier.

It’s a staple from all previous titles, that I felt Ubisoft completely utilized to its fullest extent. They’ve even added a lot more fast travel points to aid in exploration and mission completion, while cutting down the time you take. 

Authentic combat and stealth mechanics

Another staple brought in from every Assassin’s Creed title is the combat style and stealth mechanics. In Valhalla’s case, combat is adjusted to match the fighting style of the Norse warriors. There’s great emphasis on weapon and armor loadouts, using runes to improve certain character stats, and upgradability to increase power. For the combat mechanics, it draws a lot from raw power the Vikings roll with, while still giving them a method to their barbaric madness.

Where I was genuinely surprised at was how Valhalla handled a stealth mechanic for a Viking. In most cases, Vikings are often seen as strong brutes, which doesn’t necessarily match the whole hidden nature of Assassins. As Eivor, however, you’re a more agile type of brute, scaling walls and mountains with ease. Stealth kills are often slow in real-time, but deal devastating damage.

They even brought in Skill Trees in the form of constellations to improve damage and resistance. As you complete missions and side quests, you earn XP that gives you one to two skill points to upgrade your tree. Focusing on specific sets of attributes grants you skills you can use mostly for combat.

Building everything from scratch

Your arrival in England is a struggle in its own, as you try to establish your own Viking settlement. As one of the key features taken from Black Flag, you are also tasked to improve your Settlement to gain access to a variety of things. Upgrading your settlement is a lot of work, but Valhalla’s new feature aids in fast-tracking your progress.

In this game, there are two ways you improve your Settlement: raiding, and forging alliances. In Raids and Assaults, you simply pillage any nearby settlement of all their resources — raw materials and supplies, mostly. These were enjoyable as you also get to test out the combat firsthand. Acquiring supplies and materials is essential in building different structures within your Settlement.

The other option is to simply go on main quests in forging alliances with nearby territories. Each territory actually gives you a main story arc that ties in with the Viking expansion you’re embarking on. As you forge greater alliances, your Settlement’s notoriety grows — for better or worse. It’s as if you’re totally building everything from scratch, and all of this is your own doing.

The realm of chaos brought upon by you

See, Valhalla shapes up to be a decision-based storyline with one ending in sight. As the Vikings expand their reach in England, you will come across kingdoms and powerful leaders that simply won’t allow it. With your Settlement’s notoriety growing, so does their desire to seize it from you.

As Eivor, you decide on how the story progresses, along with the relationships you cultivate. Each story arc provides you with key insights on all the other characters you come across, and certain actions will allow them to join you on your quest. In essence, they will end differently depending on how you wish things would end.

The decisions you make aren’t just limited to being the judge, jury, and executioner. Sometimes, even simple dialogue between you and another character can change things. It’s the kind of decision-making that impacts the world you’re living in, and the people you go into battles with. I take a liking to this kind of decision-making, as it makes the whole story dynamic.

A legend forged in the Northern Lights

Valhalla hinges a lot on how you make of it, from start to finish. In the near 30-hour playthrough I braved through, I was presented with opportunities to shift every story arc into many different outcomes. Who lives, who dies, how the settlement in England grows, the relationships I foster — it goes according to how I see fit.

It’s a full adventure which only grows the more places you seek. There’s an entire world beyond the winter, one that presents an opportunity to start anew. In starting anew, Valhalla depicts the challenges of the Vikings vividly, as if you’re living through the chaos that ensued. Through all of the chaos, you decide whether you seek personal glory or a collective effort.

In essence, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla presents a unique look into the lore of the Norse. In stunning quality, it takes you through a deep dive into one of the Vikings’ most successful conquests that rocked England to the core. Ultimately, it puts what you desire at the heart, with every decision having a purpose in the order or chaos.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla arrives on November 10 for the PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. It will be available on the PlayStation 5 on November 12.