Assassin's Creed Valhalla

Assassin's Creed Valhalla moves the series into the ninth century, when Norse clans arrive on the British Isles in search of new land. The player leads Eivor, chieftain of the Raven Clan, and alongside raiding expeditions also manages her own settlement, Ravensthorpe, which grows according to which buildings and people are brought into it. The game's structure is assembled from regional story arcs: in each shire, a dispute between local rulers is resolved, alliances are forged, and only gradually does the picture of the whole island come together. Combat is slower and heavier than in earlier entries, with an emphasis on two-handed weapons, dual-wielding, and abilities unlocked on an extensive skill tree.

The game launched alongside the Xbox Series X|S and was one of the first titles to show off the benefits of the new generation: higher resolution, greater draw distance, smoother performance, and noticeably shorter loading times than on the older console. The settings of England and Norway rank among the best-realized in the entire series — mists over the marshes, crumbling Roman buildings overgrown with ivy, and monasteries perched on cliffs. The music mixes Nordic wind instruments and drums with ambient textures, complemented by shipboard singing during river voyages, one of the strongest atmospheric ideas in the whole game.

Reception was good, the game gained a large player base, and received several extensive expansions, including arcs set in Ireland and France. Critics praised the settings and settlement management, while criticism was aimed at the enormous scale, which also means repetition of the same activities; completing everything takes a very large number of hours. After this entry, the series headed back toward tighter titles, meaning Valhalla essentially closed out the era of sprawling RPGs. Today, it's a game for those who want a long-term setting to return to evening after evening; those looking for a tight adventure should reach for something else. But precisely thanks to its volume of content and low price during sales, it remains one of the most frequently recommended entry points into the series on the new console generation.