Assassin's Creed Valhalla: 4 Years Later

[@Whitelight]

There's a 4K option on this vid, would suggest picking it if you can. Build a website for free with Odoo - www.odoo.com/r/tCV Credits music was also louder than it should've been, that was a project error, sorry about that.

[@zaidebtw4438]

You ever thought about reviewing Dying light 2 cus I’d kill for a video in your style about it.

[@gigachadbodypillow614]

Christmas came early.

[@decepter-x]

Thank you so much for your videos man. Best long form game analyst on KZbin

[@maxmfpayne]

​@@zaidebtw4438I agree with them, a video on dying light 2 would be a banger. It's the perfect kinda game for these reviews. It's a really fun game moment to moment with amazing parkour and combat mechanics, but the plot is horribly undercooked and the launch was pretty rocky to say the least. That said, they've had a cyberpunk like redemption arc and now it's mostly bug free and stable. They refined the mechanics they had and even added entirely new mechanics (both dying light 2 and cyberpunk added flashy kill animations on low health enemies post launch, they work exactly the same.) It's such an interesting game to discuss and honestly, despite it's many flaws and pretty bad plot is still a blast to play. I have about 500 hours in it

[@hundvd_7]

"Odoo dooes ooverything" is honestly way better than their "real" tagline

[@karannsyt]

4 Years Later: Because that's how long it takes to finish this game

[@kS-ic4rf]

So true i wanted to 100 % it but then my save broke I cant do it anymore.

[@SIGNOR-G]

You probably get bored before

[@1-800-PlsAdoptMe]

Over 700 hours

[@daylen577]

I finished it twice, the first time I went for 100% and some objectives got bugged so I couldn't complete them (so I got stuck on around 98%). Then those supposedly got fixed, but only in new saves, so I tried again. Got to about 70% before giving up that time lol.

[@qw3823]

What a creative joke right there

[@djordjekrsmanovic]

I find it hilarious that the game ends with you successfully conquering England and get Alfred the great tell you how you are gonna be a great ruler a couple of weeks before Alfred historically kicks your ass and retakes half of the land you took

[@bruuuuuuuuhhhh]

They call him Alfred the Great for a reason

[@jamescarroll384]

Well yeah cause that's what happened. I remember my brother telling me he was surprised there was no choice to kill Alfred. Despite us being English, I guess he doesn't take much interest in our Anglo-Saxon Kings.

[@writershard5065]

Tbh that's what I love about it though. The game recognizes that, and the final ending is a beautiful mix of Eivor's acceptance and choice of not killing his greatest target, combined with our own acceptance of knowing that all of Eivor's work would be torn down by the very man he made peace with.

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

That's one of the least bad things the game did. And I actually thought the game handled it well. After Eivor discovers she (yeah the female Eivor is canon) is basically a reborn god, she loses interest in the menial squabble over land. So the game doesn't intrude on that part of history, while still suggesting that if Eivor had wanted, she could've gutted Alfred and conquered England. She had more than one opportunity to do so, and Alfred never once succeeded at capturing or killing her despite three attempts.

[@Shotgun_Only]

Vikings fighting peasants, farmers, and clergymen 😈 Vikings fighting an organized army 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@jobionekonobi5650]

only assassins creed where you can go to birmingham

[@tenchotenchev5606]

This is what fans wanted from day one

[@simonhamelink3590]

Ah, so that's why everyone hates this game. Understandable

[@vladname9267]

Not nearly brown enough

[@noobbotgaming2173]

I want a WWI AC title where Birmingham is one of the cities you explore. Copy and paste Syndicate but refine it. Make London and Birmingham the cities and you can use the Peaky Blinders gang as one of your allies.

[@Nikelaos_Khristianos]

@@simonhamelink3590 Justice for Brummieville! I say that as a foreigner living in the UK 😂😂 I genuinely defend Birmingham

[@mitchellforrest1625]

Assassins Creed: This Door Is Barred From The Other Side

[@proredd4785]

This almost killed me 😂

[@TUS3434]

😂😂😂

[@StefanBlurr]

Imagine clearing an entire base by yourself, stealthy, and then finding a chest or a door that cannot be open unless you start a raid by blowing your viking horn. That is pathetic.

[@calebmurphy9406]

So, imagine playing the game is what you're saying?

[@zzodysseuszz]

@@calebmurphy9406 no, imagine playing the game and the game says you can’t get the reward for playing it because you didn’t play the game.

[@annamari007]

It is possible to raid monasteries on your own, stealthily and pick the guards off one by one. I did that once, then I was hit with the realisation that I can't open the chests. It was beyond hilarious to sound the horn and have all those vikings rolling in for nothing but to help me remove the lid from a chest... 😂

[@jordanmartin8656]

@@calebmurphy9406lol

[@StefanBlurr]

@@annamari007 Exactly! That was my point.

[@TheTrueRandomGamer]

In my restless dreams...I see that review. Arkham Knight.

[@kelanjaym]

We may get GTA VI before the Knight review.

[@itcouldbelupus2842]

I can't wait, I love that game

[@Volvagia1927]

I think he generally works on it primarily around mid-September and October, to get it out IN October, and if he can't get it out in October he moves onto another iron in the fire.

[@kipdaedricartifact]

I was just thinking this! Best Batman game of all time

[@degeneratemale5386]

You promised me you’d review that game someday, but you never did. Well, I’m waiting there now, in our ‘special place.’ Waiting for you…

[@Mr.starvy]

Wow it’s already been 4 years!!!!! Times fly when you don’t give a damn

[@dominicp9296]

Ya it is crazy I got this 4 years ago doesent seem like it and it's also one of the 2 assassin's creed games I don't like. And I never played mirage so can't speak for that

[@Mr.starvy]

@ I still remember that little “Odin is with us” meme from the reveal trailer

[@Riseofziggy]

@@dominicp9296 what’s the other?

[@mattchomanye2444]

Nothing says sneaky assassin like a raging yelling Viking berserker

[@Riggs_The_Roadie]

Well to be fair if I saw a raging Viking berserker heading towards me I'd assume I'm being assassinated.

[@ac_nerd9794]

I could say the same about a pirate.

[@DawnSentinel]

@@ac_nerd9794 Yes. Black Flag is a fantastic pirate game, but a shit AC game.

[@zbeatza9910]

​@@DawnSentinel ac game means story. The gameplay is there, not the best, it is more focused on being a pirate in robes with a few assassination contracts. Saying it is a bad ac games would place it on the same spot with odyssey, which is not true. But then nothing is true, so i guess you are right.

[@CatInSuit69]

@@zbeatza9910 reading this makes me think that you thought you were cooking for a second and then remembered what the assassins say sometimes

[@aaronjones5742]

White light is seriously one of the best video game critiques around

[@The_Cooler_Nari]

i remember the exact moment my experience in valhalla "broke". The tipping point of no return where the game lost me. It was my first monastery raid, we were all charging in, a monk ran screaming past me and i killed him because i'm a viking and viking's killed monks that's like the one thing we were all told about them. And then the game warned me i'd desync if i killed the monks. And i just stopped caring immediately.

[@cybernexus4233]

Maybe eivor was the exception

[@iconicnzz6414]

Ubisoft games are like mazes. Your goal is to find a path to fun, and nonsense mechanics, bugs, and a mediocre story are dead ends.

[@tigerwoods373]

Yeah I don't get how they can produce crap like this. Odyssey was great and gave me a flash of hope. I thought they might be turning it around. I preordered Valhalla and was left severely disappointed. Think I paid about 90 bucks for this game when I usually wait for them to go on sale. Won't make that mistake again. I used to really love this franchise. Remember when I first played ac 2 and I was completely hooked on the story. I still had hope they could make a game like that again. But it seems like instead of innovating , they're too worried people won't like the game so they copy stuff other games do and think it'll work. How do they not realize that being a generic cheap versions of other games won't bring in the popularity they so desperately want.

[@sk8ermGs]

Haha this pissed me off so much I had to turn critical messages off so I couldn’t see it 😂

[@sk8ermGs]

@@tigerwoods373 I will never understand why people pretend origins was a great game

[@Aliza-Ayers]

Cool!!! that ending was beautiful!

[@thenixer209]

ubisoft's obsession with making their central characters the same kinds of acceptably kitschy quirky heroic-but-not-too-heroic open-minded shallow modern-thinking cardboard cut-outs gets more problematic the more _actually_ problematic said central characters were in history the fact that the vikings are presented as accepting freemen when their entire thing was raiding and taking slaves is borderline funny, albeit in a sad way (yes i know there was depth to the vikings, but there's a distinction to me between 'vikings' and 'norsemen' that cannot be understated)

[@Rez_U_Rekt]

Just modern cookie cutter characters. Cant offend anyone.

[@jo0rd73]

They shy away from moral ambiguity which makes me question what is actually going on in the writing room when the idea is “so you’re a Viking during their conquest of England”. Wasted potential is an incredible understatement.

[@TaxiBaneeeeeee]

"Vikings" today mostly, even among scholars, are used to mean Norse of the viking era, so everyone. Vikings (or, the Norwegians, Danes and Swedes of the age) had not only one of the most developed warrior and exploring cultures, but were incredibly advanced. Like the first really robust national laws, conscription, rights for women etc. Many places were exceptionally free, and that spirit (aided by Scandinavian geography) is very much part of both the norse strength and their lack of central strong governance. They were far less slavers than pretty much everyone else around in both the East and South. IN fact areas the vikings conquered in totality, people lived in both peace and freedom, even religious freedom.

[@pivos111]

Ah yes the game where everyone left at around 30-50% and never finished

[@bruuuuuuuuhhhh]

Guilty as charged

[@powmod1]

I did finish it and boy was it a chore

[@dagowow]

I couldn't even bring myself to finish the MSQ. It's just chores, poorly disguised as fun. AC is indistinguishable from Far Cry, same concept, different timeline. Just dots on the map with a clear path, so you don't have to think at all. Treadmill.

[@n2paints]

20 hours in and dipped, never returned since release week

[@FrankYammy]

I did, took me 127 hours

[@phoenixwright5545]

1:13:29 "'Off' happens to be the direction in which all this can fuck" Is maybe the greatest sentence I've ever heard in my life

[@NGSF_GrayFox]

this hit me out of nowhere xD

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

I read this right as he said it. Absolutely brilliant.

[@fecnar7379]

Never click on any video faster than I click on Whitelight videos. This isn't an overstatement. I genuinely feel like my day is about to get better when I see a new upload. It's like a little escape from everything Thanks for these moments

[@deviantarsenal]

100% agreed!

[@TheSixOfSwords]

They definitely help pass the time when I'm at work

[@718Hokage]

Amazing content everytime

[@nathanmitchell7961]

"Its hard to be a photgraph and a pianting at the same time" Absolute gold, think it resonates alot with the current industrys focus on photorealism.

[@flowerthencrranger3854]

I don't really think it's a current thing, industry has been changing photorealism since the early 2000s

[@JanVerny]

And yet most modern phones have a camera that literally does that.

[@RioManegos]

@@JanVerny Your argument is that you can make something look like a photo... When it's a photo taken by a modern phone camera? That doesn't really have anything to do with photorealism in 3d rendering (like games)

[@JanVerny]

@@RioManegos My point was that modern phones literally take photos that look like both a photograph and a painting.

[@Lucax97]

If you watched the rest instead of rushing to comment, you'd see he quickly called it one of the most beautiful games he's played.

[@francismakoni1526]

Can’t remember the last time I came this quick

[@serdiavalos4878]

That's what she said

[@siliconwings]

the only time I coming this quick is when my gf pegs me

[@Nigelvilla]

Same 😂 I miss his videos fr

[@o_titan3874]

🤨

[@midiarum693]

That’s what they all say when they try to remember their first

[@sentinel788]

"Puzzles & Valhalla tend to go together like Asmongold & soap" - OOOOOOOF :P

[@parkerheal7049]

More like Asmongold and Tutorials

[@muninn9674]

@@parkerheal7049 honestly Cr1tikal is worse, charlie will unironically sit there with the controls visible on screen and still somehow go "yo chat how do i do [insert move here]?"

[@Largentina.]

More like Asmongold & women

[@lopamurblamo]

@@muninn9674Embarrassing to care about a streamer’s gameplay. Go play the game yourself bud, you’re watching the stream for the streamer.

[@muninn9674]

@@lopamurblamo i dont care about his gameplay, hes mechanically speaking not even bad at games lol. Im commenting on his inability to use his eyes and read you goober.

[@Argomundo]

What a ride. Your articulation is impecable, as always.

[@Joshua.R.]

Whitelight uploaded on my birthday what a great present

[@KongBoatNoodle]

Happy Birthday my dude

[@spid3y_4458]

Happy birthday!! :3

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

Happy birthday, man!

[@editating_2614]

Happy Birthday be happy brother

[@Aurora-bv1ys]

Bappy Hirthday

[@MotoMatthew]

Who doesn’t love a Whitelight Assassins Creed Breakdown? Thank you for your hard work and dedication to put these videos together; they are consistently fantastic.

[@rookieluffy1758]

i hated this game after the main ending and didn't bother with anything else in the game, i hated how it wasted my time and how it never answered anything about anything, but this video made me have a fresh perspective on it, i still hate it , but there is beauty still to be witnessed and experienced and i lost sight of that with my hatred; thank you for a new perspective and cheers on another amazing video.

[@jellyfishjig]

I feel that! I played this game during a lonely time in 2020 (even discounting covid) and finished it as things in my life began to pick up. The song that plays after the Templar ending (which is a conversation you unlock after defeating everyone in the Order of the Ancients) took me by surprise. Suddenly I can't fast travel but I'm moving through this world which looks good even on my PS4, and this haunting song starts playing. I later looked more into it and they had put actual lines from the Eddas (or one of the other sources for Ragnarok) into the song. It ties together everything to me, the fact that the Vikings would get pushed back by Alfred despite their temporary victories at the climax, the fact that chronologically ACI was close at hand and this was the last of the new prequel trilogy, the obvious connections to the main character's previous life, and the looming threat after moments of calm in the present day story. But it also connected me with how I felt about my time in the game, and the bittersweet feeling of moving on from what felt like almost lost time into a period of something new. All this is to say that the optional ending was actually stronger for me than the main one, and that I do think there was a strong story and sense of lore buried in the mess of this game somewhere (even if some of the more interesting parts are hidden outside the text). I still like the subplot where Thor's incarnation instinctually suspects his second in command/lover of being a traitor, and we're led to believe that that guy is the incarnation of the Midgard Serpent who who is destined/was destined to poison him at Ragnarok. But it's been confirmed that the second in command was actually the reincarnation of Thor's mythological wife, and had been tragically pushed to move against him as he became more paranoid (he probably was poisoning him after all). It plays with reincarnation and aspects of the Sci-Fi setting in ways that are fairly clever and work with the mythology. It's just not all of the story arcs had that kind of connection with the larger ideas of the game, or were too clumsy. They should have leaned into it more and made the game half as big while listening to their writers.

[@ac8598]

At least you finished it. I hated the game after that Asgard part. Holy shit, hated certain things that happened in the story around that part.

[@croneryveit9070]

The 2 man chest opening thing is such a massive fuck you to the player lol. Ubisoft are an absolute joke.

[@YoungSweezy]

i remember how i could not open it, because my viking follower was stuck

[@aaronklein177]

Found this channel when I saw the Unity review. And I've loved watching every single one since. As always, well done. Also, love the nod to the Nutcracker background music 26:00

[@flarey9495]

"off happens to be the direction in which all this can fuck" is a glorious line, i need to write that down

[@k0alaAssasin]

I'm glad you talked about the music in the game. You have Sarah schachner and Jesper kyd who are veterans of the assassin s creed franchise. And einar selvik who is a veteran of Norse music. Every song in the game is an absolute banger. But aside from that I know it's an unpopular opinion but ac Valhalla is weirdly my favorite game in the series. And yes I've been playing since ac1. Idk what it is but I absolutely love the game

[@mekacrab]

You must like doing the same thing over and over again with no rewards at the end. this sounds like videogame edging lol

[@shizukousapostle1stapostle710]

​@@mekacrab no reward at the end as in? What kind of a reward do other games give? Gear, mission complete screens exp points plot progress, what else is there?

[@mekacrab]

@@shizukousapostle1stapostle710 Okay, I'll have to be more precise apparently, because some people want to take what I say literally. There is a reward, but they are underwhelming and sometimes almost useless. There, is that better ? Other games give either a more useful reward, or an interesting and fun way to get to the reward (which is the reward in itself), or they just don't copy paste side content to add artificial playtime to their games.

[@Grim_Pinata]

The combination of what might be Whitelight's most unhinged analogy to date with Katamari B-roll gameplay in the background at 37:47 made me laugh way harder than I should have

[@WaynesBreezy]

After playing Odyssey I realized Assassins Creed going open world simply doesn’t work. Just have semi-open, medium sized, detailed cities. That’s about as open as the games should be. However, the one good thing about AC V was the setting. I didn’t even know the Roman Empire reached Britain until I played this game. This game actually had me researching the time period it takes place in, it was that interesting. Finding out what was real and what the game exagerrated was more fun than playing the actual game.

[@Volvagia1927]

I wouldn't call that "going open world" so much as "going Horizon". And...agreed.

[@Ub3ros]

What doe you even mean "AC going open world simply doesn't work"? Every one of the games has been open world.

[@cubancucumber]

Odyssey was a phenomenal open world game with a very well structured and pretty alright story. It just wasnt a good assassins creed game, but was a good game.

[@sonofwotan]

@@cubancucumberSay what they will, I prefer Odyssey over the entire AC franchise, myself. It’s like a mountain peak surrounded by little foothills.

[@PAXperMortem]

Hate how they never made the cite part of Paris accessible outside that one mission.

[@prakharmathur9453]

New video let's go! Also, if we are going the AC path, please do one on Odyssey. It's my favourite game in the entire franchise, even though it's not a good AC game imo Edit: About main quests feeling like sidequests. Yes, because they are built like that. I remember an interview where a dev said that they took into account the complaints people had with Odyssey's side quests by removing them. Another lie by Valhalla, side quests didn't die, they evolved to main quests.

[@darshil2317]

I can't count how many times I have searched for your review on this game only to find none. This fills a void in my soul.

[@capsule2323]

a genuinely great video, probably one of your best works yet and i think it perfectly encapsulates where the game falls short but also why i keep coming back to it over a year after finishing it

[@backupaccount5784]

Dude, Literally the DAY i redownload this game after a YEAR, whitelight makes a video on it.

[@SalamanderPreston]

Turn back, there's still time - He says

[@officialLacke]

I LOVE that someone finally speaks about what this game is, instead of what it isn't. I spent 500 hours in Valhalla. People say i'm crazy, but i didn't finnish the game until hour 300. Because i was too busy walking in the world and taking it all in. I loved this game.

[@ajsingh4545]

Yuck this game

[@marcusfowler2562]

My absolute favorite thing in this game came in the Ragnarok DLC. I spent far too much time bringing a Dwarf back from the dead and listening to him complain about it

[@LucasFarmer-o7b]

I hope that dwarf was brok... 😞

[@marcusfowler2562]

@LucasFarmer-o7b I don't think it was. I don't remember his name but there's a world event in it that has you bring the dwarf back and if you do it after the event, he has some hilarious things to say

[@LucasFarmer-o7b]

@marcusfowler2562 I know it's not brok, you just mentioned a dead dwarf so I thought of him

[@D0Y0u3v3r]

The last part of this video is exactly the kind of review that I love. While hatred and anger are easy to spread, there's nothing like the feeling that comes across when someone describes how something effected them. The description of a new perspective. The stereotypical line of the kid able to tell you in detail how the sky bends and how the colors stretch across it. It's addicting to a certain degree because I can't even argue why soneone would love something so internally and the way described feels like it trancends past typical review.

[@LadyTylerBioRodriguez]

You know what I always remember about this game? Alfred the Great is obviously a major antagonist since he kidnaps Sigrid and tries to kill you on multiple occasions. And yet one of the ending twists is he's the Order leader and wanted you to kill everyone. Which is already a twist Odyssey literally did with Aspasia, but also the last cutscene with Alfred, you are like hey man how are you doing. The game can't even consistent if he's a villain or not oh for godsake.

[@Santzlol]

No shot it's been 4 years already. I didn't even finished the game and I got it gifted on launch

[@TheHiddenOne690]

The goat has uploaded

[@majdalmohanna3038]

🙌🙌🙌

[@youssufelhadidy]

This is the best analysis for the game I've ever watched. It summed up my feelings perfectly it sums up the game perfects. Love and hate and even tolerance. It's a game that is close to my heart yet a game that I can't just forgive for missing such potentials. Man, thank you, the last minute or so of the analysis felt more of an appreciation for the game, a thank you for what it presented.

[@difforno]

Imma be honest, i loved this game for what it was. The incredible atmosphere of the world (and the AMAZING soundtrack) made me want to stick around in Eivor's shoes till the end

[@mariosubatrop3080]

I love these videos. Theres just something about your writing style thats really unique and unlike other long form videogame essays...

[@Nigelvilla]

Whitelight and an Assassin’s creed video. Is a match made in heaven 🔥

[@argo117007]

Whitelight is really the only KZbinr to give me the fuzzies when I see a new posting. Almost like an old friend coming home

[@JULR0W]

In my 90 hours of playtime (did everything except the stinky odin roguelike thing) I really enjoyed the atmosphere, the music and just stomping enemies on the hardest difficulty. The ending draaaaaaagged on and on though, but the revelation to see the isu structures was me shifting forward in my seat after 20 hours of leaning back

[@CatInSuit69]

is that porn

[@idoomi6714]

jasper kyd is insane hitman music was godly

[@JeriahTurner]

Hitting the synchronization points in this game gave me a feeling not a lot of games do. The music and the spinning camera always gets me

[@TheOldBlackShuckyDog]

4 years since Valhalla god damn. Remember its release like it was yesterday

[@Lundah]

To me, the protagonist makes this game bearable. Eivor will always hold a special place in my heart. Eivor has a poet's heart and doesn't mind letting show. Always musing to themselves at the start and end of important missions and moments. It's beautiful. Made Eivor so beautifully characterized. :)

[@icarusgaming6269]

There was a third version of Valhalla, now trapped on an aging platform and concealed behind the technical wizardry required to obtain it: Version 1.0. *Before* the bugs. Sometimes I fall through the floor in tombs, that's about it (the ragdoll physics are just rotten to the core). Back when assassinations granted twice as much adrenaline. Back when you levelled up twice as fast. Back when it only took two minutes to load while fast travelling instead of seven, even on the PS4's archaic hard drive. Stealth didn't try to be forgiving, not even partially. It tried to be *tense.* You had to make difficult choices about where to position yourself, how quickly to move, and where to expend adrenaline, because that's your primary resource for dealing with otherwise unsolvable clusters. Eagle harass for distractions, auto aim for defusing minor detections, harpoon for ledge guards, Blinding Rush to bypass sightlines dozens of meters long, and once it's eventually upgraded, to chain assassinate without drawing attention. Even in current version, if you're trying to use smoke arrows as your primary form of crowd control, you've got the wrong tool for the job You're on the right track customizing the HUD, but if you can't figure out where to go without the compass you're not trying hard enough. Zoom in with the bird and scan the area you're trying to explore. The rings will gradually get smaller until you find what you're looking for. You may need to try a different angle. Now follow the road back to Eivor's position with your eyes. Mentally divide the journey into several legs, and commit the first one to short term memory. Exit the bird and ride the first leg. Then once you reach the next one, check in with the bird again to remember which way the next leg is. When you transition from Eivor to bird and vice versa, the camera smoothly raises and lowers, allowing you to visually keep track of your surroundings between perspectives. If it fades to black and briefly loads you've gone too far and need to shorten the current leg to a landmark you can see from roughly above your current position. Once you get close pop Odinsight to pinpoint the objective from the ground. It may be underground

[@kaozspartan9289]

woww i finally see a video shortly after its out, coincidentally while watching the unity vid and also thinking of playing Valhalla!

[@satyasyasatyasya5746]

*ACV was just so so so 6/10 for a billion hours, its beyond any human to endure that.* A little mindless meaningless fun is fine; you don't expect great art or earthshaking sincerity and humanity from AC, but when "meh" is just all there is for SO LONG, its I don't know, like being forcefed toast with butter till you die. Its not terrible, its not great, but too much of it is gonna get you. *It was oppressive levels of mediocrity.*

[@viddykhaos2896]

This is extremely accurate, it also held out a little shiny object on a thread, those blinking lights on the map, to try to coax players into staying for just one more hour of playing. But the shining object, lost its lustre when we neared it. Despite all the issues this would have been better as a smaller world, a smaller story. But as the video stated, this game is Ubisoft at its best and worst simultaneously, and the game is long enough that the latter is most remembered.

[@satyasyasatyasya5746]

@@viddykhaos2896 I'm tempted to try Mirage tbh since its smaller and such but its still AC and i think my issue is with AC in general somehow. like, it'll still be 'dude going to icons on a map collecting stuff and clearing bases' and i think i'm over it :/

[@viddykhaos2896]

@@satyasyasatyasya5746 I played mirage, and to be frank so much of it is held behind by Valhalla - not due to character of Basim alone, but the UI, the shining objects on the map, the movement, even assassination animations. It is markedly more stealth focused but for every step forwards it is held back by two. Shame, because whilst I wished that an AC game in the admittedly beautiful Baghdad they created would be fun I found myself clearing bases and collecting shining objects.

[@satyasyasatyasya5746]

@@viddykhaos2896 yeh, it seems the beast is AC itself. and has been for a long long time. its amazing people haven't just moved tf on

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

ACV Isn't just an endless stream of ''meh'', it's an endless stream of ''meh'' with only about five actual good moments, and a few hundred mindboggingly horrible ones.

[@LeFilmMatrice101]

Just cause a game looks good doesn't mean the game feels great. Just because the map is expansive doesn't mean it'll respect your time or reward you properly for exploring. Just because it's centered around a certain Fantasy doesn't mean it's worthy of having a franchises name slapped onto it just for the sake of selling slop. The most boring game that NEVER respects your time. Bloat doesn't mean "Bang For Your Buck".

[@viddykhaos2896]

A map’s beauty is one thing - Valhalla, in my view, is utterly beautiful and I found myself capturing in photo mode so much that my Xbox captures folder was full. But, it is not dense. Large, or small, density matters. A beautiful world that is mostly empty, spare for psychologically manipulative shining dots, is not much.

[@MyFokMan]

100% agree with you Regardless of how amazing a GAME looks, for me GAMEPLAY will always be king

[@zaidebtw4438]

Man. What a video. Seriously that ending was beautiful

[@SolidSnack07]

I think this was this was the first game i ever played where I said "Yeah no this is way too big I'm good" Which is a weird complaint unless you've also played this or Odyssey

[@noobguy9973]

I've had that wayy back when ı first saw the map of Origins, I was like ''wtf no way they can fit decent stuff to all of that'' and since then ı've realised why ı love linear, short games so much. having a 100 hours game with 20 hours of good time makes me feel like ı wasted my time when ı could've had 6 hours with 5 hours of great time.

[@lynackhilou4865]

There are games like elden ring , skyrim, fallout 4 , the witcher 3 , death stranding and others that i played for 80 hours or more but those games either nail the exploration or offer a unique enough experience , valhalla doesn't do any of that . Honestly even if i felt odyssey was too long , i enjoyed it enough to finish it but i couldn't get past 10 hours in valhalla . Nothing in it hooked me , i was thinking about giving it another chance after enjoying mirage but i know it will just hold 150 gb of storage hostage for many monthds till i finish it

[@mcbill7352]

I had this feeling about every ubisoft game ive played since origins (not gr wildlands tho, i love that game so much)

[@Garrus1995]

I honestly quite enjoyed Odyssey. Yes, I understand the critique that it’s not an AC game, but I enjoyed the more arcadey feel of the gameplay; it’s a game wherein you actually feel significantly stronger by the time you’ve finished it. Valhalla, though, was just too much. It’s a game that felt like it had no idea what it wanted to be. In trying to please everyone, you ultimately end up pleasing no one.

[@SolidSnack07]

@Garrus1995 oh Odyssey was really good actually, just way too long for my taste.

[@soaxiii6214]

You know, I had just learned that whitelight had posted a Mirage review a few hours ago. SO this is like Christmas come early for me.

[@nestormelendez9005]

2 months ago

[@tenchotenchev5606]

29:26 SHOTS FIRED, I repeat SHOTS FIRED!!!

[@whitemist056]

Still one of the best gaming commentary youtubers and i cant wait for your next vid in 2-4 months later

[@epicmit9618]

Poignant, thought-provoking, adventure is what this video felt like to me. Most of your videos do, which is the reason no matter what you are covering, I am always interested because of you at the helm. AC: Mirage video of yours was already memorable, my favorite line "I see what altair could have done here my hands remember the inputs, but there is nothing I can do". Your point about sound design of valhalla, rings even truer throughout the entire video. It feels like the sound design of the video had a lot of time spent on it and it shows. There are powerful moments where just the pair of visuals and audio deliver a moment, a snapshot of time that no words could. You seem to be ever-improving, each video feels iterative in improving aspects then at points such as these they shine as in the audio department. Thanks for another great video and for reading. Have a good day/night.

[@thirsty7281]

I just used the grey serf rag clothes for most of the game and hair and beard to look like Ragnar from the Vikings show, then just a simple shorts word (free on U-Play). And turned off a lot of the HUD and all damage numbers and it became a hell of a lot more immersive. Also using skills and abilities that were as LEAST buggy and ridiculous as possible helped. Then a bad buggy game became decent and I enjoyed completing it.

[@scriptures7025]

Babe wake up, there’s a new Whitelight video

[@inperatieloos]

Thank you for this. I have been a long time AC fan, ever since the first I loved the world and historical fantasy. This sadly fell away with time. After Odyssey rekindled my love, it was brutally crushed in the final act and DLC of the same game. I went back to the old games to examine where my love for the series came from. I accepted it as a memory of the good parts, and I had forgotten that these games were always broken. So I considered this game; Valhalla You have shown me how I would experience it. You have shown me it would be Oddesey all over again. Thank you again for taking the time to go through this game. I will try to spend the next 78.5 hours you saved me on experiences I will enjoy.

[@viddykhaos2896]

I completed this game, as I do for any AC game, 100%. I never enjoyed it, but I am someone who must finish a task once set upon it and so I did. However it was quite monotonous and I nearly forsake stealth, which was soul-sucking. Vikings felt an odd selection for an era and character, as they seem counter to everything as assassin is: quiet, tactical and preferring of the dark over the light of a battlefield. But there was a hope of contrast; perhaps a Vikings learns to be something he is not, and that change is how he grows as an assassin. This was not the case - for both the story and the mechanics.

[@fletcherdinard-samuel4381]

I want you all to know that I manifested this video into existence. I went to click on the channel this morning and thought "Man, today would be a really great day if Whitelight happened to upload, I could fuck up a Whitelight video right now." Then a couple hours later I got the notification. You're all welcome :)

[@RainDot]

I don't know if you've ever found that part of the game, since you didn't talk about it in the video, but my actual favorite moment of the game is the whole "Vinland" arc. I was stunned that after dozens of hours with the game, I was suddenly pushed into yet another new map to explore, stripped back of all my gear, all that for a side plot that didn't even matter. I did it because it was there, I did it because it was a beautiful piece of land, I did it because it was hidden, and I don't regret it. Valhalla at a first glance is huge, but it's when you dig even deeper that you realize that it hides the best part of itself, and that it's even more huge than you thought it could be.

[@coshcosh3753]

Exactly, it’s a very different arc than the rest

[@LucasFarmer-o7b]

Congratulations, you just made me sad Vinland saga season 3 isn't out yet.

[@alexsamurai1230]

Eventideland

[@aidengrandsimon4103]

Game companies should honestly hire you as a consultant on some of these games. I feel like you always hit the nail exactly on the head with your criticism and praise for each game.

[@PlebNC]

Timestamp to skip the in video ad: 8:15 Whitelight, my man, use the chapter feature to put a marker on the video timeline so we can skip your ads if you're going to do hour long videos. I can scroll past it if being 1mm off when scrolling makes me miss a 15 mins of your excellent commentary.

[@EditsbyM]

I'm so excited for Kingdom Come Deliverance 2.

[@deeem2628]

💯

[@tonic4120]

“It’s hard to be a painting and a photograph at the same time” Well said, however, this is exactly what good cinematography achieves.

[@deviantarsenal]

Hell yea, new Whitelight video on Thanksgiving weekend! Perfect timing.

[@flingymingy]

It always annoyed me too because Eivor CONSTANTLY has dreams of Valhalla and speaks to Odin constantly, yet when Sigurd mentions his own Visions, Eivor acts like he's a nutcase, it's really strange.

[@DavyAndre]

I actually get excited seeing a new whitelight video pop up on my homepage. Love the videos man!

[@ileutur6863]

The writing quality of this channel is repeatedly wasted on ubislop and superhero slop. There's nothing left to say.

[@Omar-Asim]

Exactly, no way I'm watching a 1.5hr video on Valhalla of all games even if it's from Whitelight

[@ileutur6863]

​@@Omar-Asim Nah I'm still watching. I'm just saying its all the same now.

[@zacharyeicher390]

What is blud yapping about 💀

[@masekyn5480]

i get the point, but Whitelight talking about those games is due to people buying them, at least interested by them. but people buy the same fucking games every time and choose wrong every year. the genre is also so identical from one game to another that it feels redundant : overpriced TPS action RPG that would need another year of development instead of being released, but people keep buying them since it seems they don’t know any better. we can bet right now that AC Shadows will sell as usual. my take is that since you’re already here, you must enjoy video games essays like many, me included. but we’re part of the gaming community that acknowledges the flaws in the gaming industry and take the decision not to buy those games again. it takes acknowledgment and awareness and it starts differently for each people. maybe you follow Whitelight for 8 years or something. i followed after the Gotham Knights video. what feels repetitive to you might be eye opening for others since they haven’t heard it before. sorry for the long reply.

[@theblobconsumes4859]

​@@ileutur6863 He did say new things about the individual game design issues and problems with each video though, all of which are pretty good to learn from and shows his game design wisdom. Especially as each game holds unique potential and qualities. In this video... (spoilers for the video's point) That "presentation" can hold immeasurable value to an experience from an emotional and experiential perspective. Stuff like a song playing near the end of the game as you are forced to reach a destination by walking around in the world; Something more powerful and resonant than almost any direct scene of dialogue, through inhabiting that world with that music in that moment; Almost entirely crafted through its presentation.

[@ThommyDude]

Valhalla is the only game in the series I never finished. I got what I believe to be just passed half way. But... I just couldn't bring myself to continue. I put in ~60 hours and completed a lot of side quests. But I hit a point where the side quests "quirkiness" wasn't enough for me and so, I just completed the quest. The game became a checklist even more so than the AC games can usually be because I was no longer clicking with anything the game was trying to tell me. The few comedic moments that gave me a smirk were forgotten by the time I ticked a box on the checklist. The game is beautiful, and riding around England or around Asguard and it's realms is... wonderful. But that's also literally the only thing I still remember of the game. Nothing of this game has stuck in my mind besides the boredom and the feeling of "nothing" when it cames to things that should have filled me with excitement, or interest. I go back to the older games from time to time and replay them. But even now, I have 0 interest in redownloading Valhalla and trying to finish it... and that makes me sad.

[@maxreed369]

Fan of OG ACs here. I have followed the discourse of Valhalla from the outside looking in and its felt like I would feel the same as you 60 hours in. Sorry it's that kind of game and glad you could hop off without totally hating it. I still like replaying the old ones too.

[@ThommyDude]

@maxreed369 honestly? It would've been better if I did hate it. Instead it just... I have no like or dislike for it. I enjoyed parts and I disliked parts. But the only feeling I have when thinking of this game is... "Slight disappointment". And somehow, at least to me, that's even worse. I tend to have strong feelings about games. Both positive and negative. But Valhalla left me empty in a very strange way.

[@caeserluis9722]

8 Hits in 18 Seconds? Bro Fell off

[@Morfe02]

"Eivor doesnt feel like a person is like a machine" well even if is in defense of Ubisoft, Eivor is the reincarnation of a god so acting weird is on character. The problem is Eivor is supposed to be THE HUMAN side meanwhile Odin is the entire psycho, machine, smart side. That could an amazing device for conflict and dialogue but barely is use IN TWO GAMES the following of AC Mirage i was expecting a transformation opposite to Eivor BUT NO HE DOESNT CHANGE INTO LOKI.

[@mr.a8335]

I'll never forgive that one of the best videogame commentators on KZbin likes to only make videos on the most pointless, boring, soulless series of games in history.

[@turboyarag]

To be fair you´re supposed to be playing as a woman, and she was bitten where the reincarnations like Sigurd have a birthmark so that´s probably why Basim discarded Eivor as Odin

[@MovieKiller333]

This was by far my favorite AC in a long time. The bite size side quests were extremely memorable and fun. I don't think I did much stealth all game long, I just went full viking and ran my through every town, it was a real blast.

[@LeFilmMatrice101]

A blast for 200 hours?? Well you're easy to please lmfao 😂

[@MovieKiller333]

@@LeFilmMatrice101 and your easy to influence. "Ubisoft bad" circle jerk brain rot.

[@DreamsCodex]

Seeing this hit my notifications while I've recently gone back to replay valhalla since I am bored is hands down amazing ❤ thank you for the new video. Hope you're doing well and happy holidays. 😁

[@jessedellross3245]

Ubisoft is just putting the name Assassin’s creed onto any game they can just to make a profit. It’s been awhile since we’ve had a true AC game that actually honors the franchise, story, lore, and more. God I missed when Ubisoft cared

[@Morfe02]

20 Asassins Creed in development at the same time Shadows is in work Is over

[@Nephetssings]

Mirage came out last year

[@jessedellross3245]

@@Nephetssings and it was literally just another attempt to cash grab and remind people they haven’t lost their touch when they obviously have. We are years removed from the brilliance of the Desmond saga/ezio trilogy. From even the passable efforts of origins and decent Unity/syndicate

[@hecticusa]

Oh boy, this is gonna be something.

[@robertashford197]

England is beautiful, but exagerated. Beautiful is already one hell of an exageration. ...Nice grass. We have nice grass. I'll give you that.

[@aaronjones5742]

Medieval England was beautiful though. A lot of times Vikings shows and other media include imagery and locations such as wales, Scotland, and so forth. Very pretty landscape all throughout.

[@robertashford197]

@aaronjones5742 you're right, the UK is lovely overall. I moved to Scotland and I'm blown away compared to England.

[@satyasyasatyasya5746]

England has been stripped bare in the past few centuries; losing something like 80% of forests, native animals, waterways, flora and such. I can't describe how different the UK was even a few centuries ago. Like, its a seriously depressing rabbithole of what has been lost and destroyed.

[@NatjoOfficial]

I’d like to argue about the story because I kind of liked Valhalla’s story structure, even if it was a bit repetitive. There is a story archetype that’s of the unimportant lone wanderer, travelling to new place to new place, fundamentally changing each for the better or worse, or with a mission on their mind. Each of Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla had their own attempt at it, and while Origins kind of had it down with the vibe you never stayed in a single place long enough to feel it, while Vahalla WAS ALMOST PERFECT to that feel of a game I want (Odyssey had you going back and forth too often to do that). It gives you a nice little play session or two of a location, its own unique story, then you move onto the next. It isn’t perfect, the wanderer is still important in this case, the main character adds to an overarching goal in mind instead of accidentally stumbling into change but it comes close to a vibe I like. Also I remember in the red dead redemption video (I may be misremembering another video tho), you praise John for having a complete arc, he doesn’t need to change, being full of wisdom, why can’t Evior have the same praise? Is it because we see the conclusion to his Arc at the beginning of the story? Would it have been better if the story started directly after the arc?

[@astroguster5522]

Wake up sweetie, I have no originality!

[@itcouldbelupus2842]

Go back to sleep sweetie, you don't exist, I'm all alone and writing a KZbin comment

[@astroguster5522]

​@@itcouldbelupus2842no worries bruv, I'm sure you'll find someone ❤ life's good! 💯

[@homesickNovalis]

Maybe so.. but take solace in knowing the cameraman never dies🙏

[@ogPunkcln]

(This is me sharing my memory that intertwined with this game, it went into self-harm and depression too. So be warned) 2020 was the year I was excited for Ubisoft games. Watch_Dogs Legion promised a revolutionary system that made my imagination ran wild, and Assassins' Creed Valhalla looked like Odyssey with better graphics, For Honor-like combat and nostalgic stealth systems like crowd blending and one-shot assassination. It was also the same year I dropped out of law school and decided to enroll in game development for uni instead. I felt pretty bad for dropping years of work to just start again, but it's what I felt was right. Changing uni meant changing the place I stayed. Renting an apartment room was easy enough, but living there alone with no connections or friends was really hard on my mental health. It was to the point I lost all motivations to go to class, and eventually going outside altogether. Days of shutting myself in turned into weeks and almost months. My sleep schedule and eating habits were super unhealthy thus slowly but surely made things in my head worse. Then Valhalla and Legion released. I dropped like 180$ for gold editions for both of the games. And since I wasn't going anywhere or doing anything, I got to playing. I remember being impressed by Valhalla during the first hours. The atmosphere was mystical yet grounded and emotional. I was excited to play the rest of it. As I dragged myself through each region of England, I tried to convince myself "Yes, this game is good. You're having a good time. Playing this isn't a waste of time. You're doing okay." I did the same while playing Legion as well. "I might fail my parents for not going to school, but at least I wasn't failing myself by treating myself to good videogames" that's what I thought. Until it broke, my tolerance and patience broke, like the rest of what I assumed I had. "What's the point of collecting all these loot when Eivor just plays the same?" "What's the point of this story arc when it's self-contained and doesn't contribute to anything?" "What's the point of playing this?" "What's the point of caring about anything anymore?" I remember crying myself to sleep, sometimes I punched myself in the stomach because it was what I thought was right. Going outside and doing what I should be doing were scary and hopeless. But then the videogames that I thought would at least re-light my joy in things, instead took the last droplets of sanity from me. I lost hope in both my real life and videogames, it felt like there was no escape. New Year came around and dad took me back home for the holidays. My parents didn't know what I was doing for weeks, they thought I was fine, until the grades came out on the website and I got F's across the board. I confessed everything, and we decided to drop out once again (the uni was pretty strict about staying above 2.0 GPA, it was either starting 1st year again or drop out). Things are better now, though. I got into yet another uni but this time I'm toughing it out, pretty close to graduation now. Got into therapy right after the time cat's out of the bag. Around the same time I played and finished Yakuza 0. After what I'd been through, that game saved me. Valhalla was vast, but hollowed - pretty, but only on the surface. Legion was disappointing, I felt betrayed. While Yakuza 0 was my wake-up call. The map was small but packed with things to admire, interact and love. The story was about unconditional love and overcoming your toughest battles with an inkling of hope. I felt hopeful about life again. And I found love in videogames again. Ever since then I've always been skeptical of Ubisoft. I still give their games a shot. XDefiant is surprisingly "not bad". Mirage is the most 6/10 game I've played. Far Cry 6 is literally Ghost Recon Breakpoint but more silly. And I still come back to For Honor and The Division 2 from time to time. I know it doesn't sound fair, but 2 of their big releases brought me down to one of the lowest times of my life, I'll likely never have faith or genuine excitement for Ubisoft games again.

[@heroicmythos8002]

Thanks for the story. Glad things are looking up.

[@ApsmneShsbshu]

Unpopular opinion, but this is one of my favorite games ever released.

[@HallowedKhaos91]

What makes it so enjoyable to you? Genuinely asking because i feel the opposite. I hated this game.

[@dontshootmex5588]

You need to play more games then

[@ApsmneShsbshu]

I think a big part of it was the setting. I replayed it last month, and still 4 years later I was amazed by the world and graphics. I also thought the story was really good, with some great characters and arcs. I will admit, that it was a little bloated. Although i did beat the entire game including Ireland in 35 hours when I last replayed it. I don’t even mind the bloat, because i don’t want the game to end, when playing it. I thought the combat was quite good, the animations, it felt gritty and brutal. I also don’t think the stealth is that bad. It’s really better than any ac game before unity. It’s the only single player game that I’ve played for 300+ hours. For most people, it seems like their complaints come from it being “not assassins creed”, which I get, but that doesn’t really matter to me. A great game is a great game, regardless of the title. I would love to hear your perspective though.

[@Sue20022010]

That was a great time! Thanks and Happy holidays

[@mirrorblade6268]

4 years later. Its still incredibly woke.

[@y2kvaporwave]

bro those lesbian vikings hahahah

[@itcouldbelupus2842]

How is it woke? Do you mean they include the parts of viking culture you wish you could ignore?

[@mirrorblade6268]

@itcouldbelupus2842 oh, you where there?

[@bruuuuuuuuhhhh]

Damn, if you're on the side of Valhalla haters, I might just join the side of the Valhalla supporters

[@TheBloopers30]

@@bruuuuuuuuhhhh Same coin different side. Just as much of a sheep.

[@good_greeb]

been binging Whitelight videos this week. my fealty has been rewarded

[@joshcarr9858]

something to note about the abundance of barred doors/loose wall ''puzzle''s They're completely invalidated by the Powder Pouch Arrow skill. One use on the loose wall, or three shot in a downward line on a barred door and triggered at the same time. The 'cost' of an adrenaline bar per use is made redundant with the ability to use a ration to fill an adrenaline bar, and how quickly combat even on the highest difficulty switches from tense to a steamroll. That ability never left my selected skills purely because it let me skip the boring ''solve'' of those situations, and is probably one of the reasons I was still able to enjoy Valhalla

[@starzilla624]

What an incredible, humurous and insightful video as always!

[@MeetYourDarkSide]

I was absolutely obsessed with Valhalla when i first got it. LOVED every second of it - but got bored about 40 or so hours into it. A few years later, avenging Ceolburt and the Randvi romance was all i really remember. Mostly Ceolburt because i actually cared about him

[@pbandme24]

Watching this made me realize just how much I relied on this game for something to do during COVID. I put 100 hours in just to keep my mind occupied without ever really feeling one way or another about any aspect of it

[@MinceMouse]

My favourite misstep with river raids is that you never ACTUALLY have to put your crew in danger. You can just... dismount your ship as normal without calling the raid. Kill all the enemies yourself and THEN start the raid, none of the enemies respawn. Never had a jomsviking go down after discovering that

[@Darota529]

You're an absolute legend both for the patience and passion needed to dissect Ubisofts offerings to the degree that you do. Love the channel 🖤

[@truegamer_007]

You make amazing videos, Whitelight. Never stop.

[@CaptainZlex]

I initially wrote off the Norse Gods having the same voice actors as the main cast as Ubisoft saving money. Imagine my surprise when I found out how the two were actually connected.

[@Skelli2]

On first sight of the video I intuitively read the title as Assassin's Creed Vanilla ( you know when your brain completes the word for you).....pretty much sums up perfectly what the series has become *sigh*