Synopsis: Dawn of Ragnarök is the third and final DLC for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. In this DLC, Eivor embraces their destiny as Odin, the Norse god of battle and wisdom. Using divine powers to complete quests through the breathtaking world of Svartalfheim, all to save Odin’s son Baldr and prevent Surtur from bringing about Ragnarök.
Publisher: Ubisoft
Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
Also available for: PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
Cast: Cecilie Stenspil, Magnus Bruun, Carlo Rota, Gudmundur Thorvaldsson, Jeppe Beck Laursen
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Directors: Ashraf Ismail, Eric Baptizat
Writer: Darby McDevitt
Producers: Julien Laferriėre
Designer: Yohan Cazuax
Programmer: Claude Langlais
Artist: Raphel Lacoste
Compsoers: Jesper Kyd, Sarah Schachner, Einar Selvik
Assassins Creed Valhalla is the latest game in the long-running Assassins Creed Franchise; in more recent years, the Gods and Aliens have become a massive part of the story and DLC. These stories bring new adventures to the game, which has often piqued my interest, Assassins Creed Odyssey being one of my favourite games. The beautiful open worlds created by the Ubisoft team are remarkable, glorious, and vast. Assassins’ Creed Valhalla, unfortunately, suffered early on with bugs and was plagued by glitches, which made it a harder title to get into. These problems matched with problematic menus and reworked combat and gear systems, which disappointed me early in the main game. Fortunately, putting the game down for six months and returning to the DLC has allowed the patches to fix some of these issues. Although there are still frustrations, they were lessened by the quality story and a newer sandbox to play in.
The story of Ragnarök has been played out for many years in many titles, genres, and storytelling devices, while AC: Valhalla takes an alternative approach; it still plays out in the time-honoured tradition of something happening to Baldr, which then brings about Ragnarök. This DLC focuses on Eivor transcending to God’s realm and occupying the form of Odin. Odin has many names and titles; for the instance of these DLCs, he is referred to as Havi. Early in the DLC, Havi and his wife confront Surtur, the Demon-looking Fire Giant from the title picture. This initial confrontation comes about after Surtur takes Baldr and tortures him. This first introduction and fight between Havi and Surtur is a brutal battle and took me multiple attempts to complete. Surtur is beaten but soon revives himself and beats a shocked Havi. This revival becomes one of the key plots and pushes the story forward.
The main story is one of the many things that will occupy your time throughout the game, with mysteries, raids, pillaging, and side missions to find throughout Svartalfheim like the main game. The main characters have more depth and feel alive. Many scenes pulled my heartstrings. Early in the game, one of my favourite characters doesn’t speak English, and most of what is said are inferred from context. Building these relationships has many benefits throughout the game’s world, making items and other missions available to complete and allowing Havi to gain more abilities or find better quality weapons to complete the main mission. I found these stories more fulfilling than that of the main game.
Combat has changed in this DLC with access to the Hugr-Rip, a device fashioned for Havi by the Dwarves early in the game, allowing him to rip special powers from enemies and utilise them. There are five powers, and they have various upgrades to improve them. These powers enable Havi to do a variety of things, including shapeshifting, flying, using fire or Ice for combat or traversal, and even resurrecting foes to have them fight by your side. These new abilities allow you to change your fighting style and better use tactics. The Muspel’s ability to walk on fire is one of the biggest assets, as the lava eats health and quickly kills you if you’re not careful.
The world of Svartalfheim is a beauty to behold and isn’t as massive as the main game map, which is beneficial as the game has you running from one end of the map to the other often. Securing the synchronisation points is a must to cut down on traversal time. There are also floating pillars that are only accessible while using the Hugr-Rip flying power, and the floating pillars contain a variety of treasure for those willing to seek it. There is a vast verticality to this world. I felt as often as I was running from one side of the map to the other; I was also climbing large mountains to get to a sync point or find the odd bit of treasure or missions. The climbing in this game is slow and feels punishing. Later in the game, I used my flying ability to seek these high points. Only once you’ve hit the peak are you rewarded with the time-honoured views found throughout the Assassins Creed universe. Synchronising allows for a 360 sweeping cinematic camera shot, seeing the world in all its splendour.
For new players, the task of getting to the DLC is made easy with loaned gear that boosts your character to the recommended 340 level, with no need to have played the base game further than establishing your settlement. I wasn’t at the needed level, so I used this feature, which allowed me to jump straight into the DLC. Along with the loaned gear, there are also abilities unique to Havi and only available in the DLC. These abilities are ranged but are available with the additional adrenaline bars, which have also been stacked to assist with combat for the DLC. The combat in this game has a weight to it, and it took me a while to get the hang of perfecting dodges and reading the boss’s moves. Too often, misjudging or dodging eats away at your stamina bar and can leave you defenceless. The updated combat system was flawed early in the main game, but with the increased levels and skills, it is much better suited for combat in these late stages, which was a mercy for me.
The lore in this game is vast and can be found in a variety of places. The main story is just one of the many pathways to discover more about this fantasy realm. Mysteries, stories, side missions and letters that are found are some other ways to discover more lore about this world and its inhabitants. There are three primary races to be found in Svartalfheim, Dwarves of Svartalfheim, Muspels or fire giants of Múspellsheimr, and the frost giants or Jotnars from Jötunheimr. The two giant races invaded the Dwarven realm and remained an occupying force. The dwarves are being beaten and battered into submission in servitude. Your conflict with the world leads to the discovery that not all that occupy want to do so and that many have desires to leave or take pity on the souls forced to do others’ bidding. These discoveries help progress the story and allow for more depth in some of these enemies. Along with the new set of characters also came a new set of armour and mounts to interact with. I chose to keep a raven as my aerial companion but decided to ride the fire and ice tiger as it was a beauty to behold.
The musical scores in the game are subtle and charming. Playing throughout the world is elaborate tunes that change often enough not to be monotonous. In more epic battles, the music rises and falls in concert with the heat of battle. The composers have done a great job of making the music and sound fit the realm. Sailing in your ship, you will hear the crew singing sea shanties, often sitting and listening to them while forgetting the outside dramas and main mission was a spot of respite in a world filled with conflicts.
Unfortunately, the game still has issues, from having trouble with my save file to glitches and crashes. These problems hinder the game from reaching a higher potential. The graphics in the game are interesting, while faces and features are near perfect, the character’s hair is still an issue, with it looking like it’s been pasted on in many shots. I often chose to have my hair cropped short to avoid this weirdness in cut scenes. While I did experience issues, I still enjoyed the game, the beauty of the world and its tales shining through the problems. I hope that Ubisoft can return to its roots and start looking at shrinking the worlds and focusing on the characters and lore. If there is a big positive note with Ragnarök, it is that this game could have been a stand-alone title. With the focus on the main character and the story unfolding the way it does, it has strengths over what was introduced with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s release.
(Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnraok code provided for review)
