I have mixed feelings about the game.
What I Liked
- Quick Save Feature: The ability to quickly save progress is a significant plus. The old save system would have made things worse.
- World Design: The game boasts an impressive world design in terms of visuals, and the vast map to explore.
- Stunning Graphics: The visuals are truly remarkable, better than Assassin's Creed Origins in my opinion.
What I Didn't Like
- Sloppy Gameplay: I encountered moments during the game that showed a total lack of polish. For example, during the final boss battle, a mercenary appeared but was unable to enter the arena due to invisible walls which shows that the game has not been properly play tested.
- Goofy Combat Mechanics: The movement system of Assassin's Creed makes some sections of the combat feel awkward and silly.
- Repetitive Gameplay: The game suffers from a lack of variety, with noticeable copy-pasted assets that make exploration feel monotonous.
- Boring Storyline: The narrative failed to engage me, and the acting in the cut scenes was subpar, making it difficult to sit through the cut scenes. I skipped most of them towards the end.
- Disappointing Final Boss Battle: This encounter was poorly designed, featuring a steep difficulty spike and an unnecessarily long cut scene before the fight. The absence of a save point afterward meant that dying would force me to replay the same choices repeatedly.
- Poor Animations: Enemy dodging animations felt rushed and unrealistic, with characters appearing to teleport rather than move fluidly.
- Unsatisfactory Music: The soundtrack did not resonate with me. No where near as good as Black Flag, and even worse than Origins.
I paid $11.99 for this game and feel that I got my money's worth; however, it's clear that it lacks polish. Given my experiences with this title and previous entries like Origins, I will be passing on Assassin's Creed Valhalla, as I suspect it will follow a similar formula that I find increasingly unappealing.
