History YMMV / AssassinsCreedValhalla

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:

* SequelDifficultySpike: Players who are used to ''Assassin's Creed'' games having relatively easy opening missions will be in for a rude awakening with the first mission in this game, where Eivor is hilariously outmatched in the first serious fight that they face, and even common enemies that are faced afterwards can be a serious challenge. The rest of the game isn't quite so punishing -- and of course, it features adjustable difficulties for those who'd rather just sweep through enemy encounters and focus on the storyline -- but even then, a lot of common gameplay crutches from ''Origins'' and ''Odyssey'' have either been either eliminated or nerved, making it a somewhat more challenging experience.

* AngstWhatAngst: [[spoiler:When being told by the Reader that her body in the real world is dying from radiation poisoning, Layla simply reacted with a "Oh crap, I'm dead" look with little emotion and quickly move on to continue to find a permanent solution to save the world in the Grey. Basically, Layla treated her own death as an afterthought and found more meaning in death than in life without even giving a proper goodbye to her friends instead of an emotional HeroicSacrifce like Desmond's.]]

** King Alfred of Wessex is the [[GoodRunningEvil Grand Maegester]] of the [[Characters/AssassinsCreedValhallaTheOrderOfTheAncients the Order of the Ancients]] and a devout Christian who plotted to destroy the Order for using his religion for their own nefarious purposes and secretly worshiping the Isu. Alfred uses the order's resources to fend off the Viking Invasion while sending clues to [[PlayerCharacter Eivor]] and the Hidden Ones about the whereabouts of the Order's members on many occasions, eventually working directly with Eivor to get rid of the Ancient members in Wessex. Alfred then banishes Eivor from Wessex when they refuse to convert to Christianity, later luring Eivor and Guthrum's combined forces into a trap, killing off many of their allies. Exiling himself to Athelnay, he encounters Eivor again after ridding the Order of Ancients from England where Alfred tells them about uniting England under one religion while creating a new order around it. This dream would come to fruition when Alfred returns form exile and retakes his kingdom from Guthrum establishing the foundation of a unified Kingdom of England and [[PredecessorVillain the creation]] of the [[Characters/AssassinsCreedTheTemplars Templar Order]].

* SignatureScene: Eivor and Basim's heart-to-heart at the campfire. It's one of the most emotional scenes of the game, in which Eivor discusses their possible fate if not for Sigurd, and Basim reveals that he had a son that he lost long ago. It's a simple scene, but it's one of the most well-animated, and one of the best acted scenes in the entire game. [[spoiler: It also doubles as some very, very well done {{Foreshadowing}} to Basim's true nature.]]

** The Builder in the [[spoiler:Asgard arc]]. He's annoying, constantly overstates his abilities, and makes a few very moronic decisions. Like making the player lead an ''entire horde'' of Jotnar into a magic death-shield to test if it works, only for it to malfunction, resulting in the player having to fight off an entire army, when one target would have sufficient to test the shield.]m [[spoiler:Which does make sense when it's later revealed that he's actually Jotnar]], but still. You basically have to go along with everything the guy says even when it's obvious that he's setting a trap.

** Did Ivarr [[spoiler: actually kill Ceolbert? Or did he only claim so to drive Eivor into a rage so she would give him a true Norse Death as he desired?]]

** The Animus Anomalies are fondly looked at due to them allowing the game's parkour system, which some feel is restricted by the mostly flat game world, to truly shine. Each one requires precision timing on your jumping, sliding, and climbing, and completing each one reveals them to be a call-back to ''Assassin's Creed II'''s [[spoiler: The Truth video. Completing the Anomalies gives the player a look at the end of the world, as seen by the Norse Isu, as well as the circumstances that allow for Odin and Loki to be reincarnated]].

* DisappointingLastLevel: [[spoiler: The final battle against King Aelfred, the canonically last English antagonist in the story, is nothing but a bog-standard skirmish against a bunch of bog-standard mooks in a burning village, so basically nothing different from any of the dozen monastery raids you'll have done before. Many previous region arcs provided much more spectacular climactic battles. After all the buildup prior to this battle, realizing that no BigBadassBattleSequence is about to follow can feel extremely disappointing. That the actual FinalBoss is a simple PuzzleBoss fought in an admittedly cool VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon might only rub salt in that wound regardless of the impressive setting.]]

* GeniusBonus: While the legendary weapons are not marked on the map, knowing about the myths surrounding them provides some direction. [[spoiler: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Camlann Certain versions of King Arthur's story]] claim he died on Salisbury plain, also known for housing Stonehenge; the sword is hidden in a cave not too far from it. Gungnir, on the other hand, was supposedly forged by "The sons of Ivaldi", led by the dwarf Dvalin, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvalinn who is also stated to be one of the four deer who eat from the Yggdrasil]]; the spear is found on an alternate path in the same cave as the Yggdrasil]].

** When Eivor makes their final attempt to convince Sigurd to [[spoiler: reject the false Valhalla LotusEaterMachine simulation and accept his mortality]], they decide to lead with "cows die" as their first argument. [[GeniusBonus It's a direct quote from the Old Norse poem 'Hávamál']], but without that context it comes off as a bizarre non-sequitur.

** Dag definitely falls into this, and it probably the biggest example. His aggressiveness and insubordination come seemingly out of nowhere once the player reaches England and starts building alliances and only gets worse as the story progresses. He claims his grievances are that Eivor is attempting to usurp Sigurd's position, that Eivor is poor at decision-making because they are too hot-headed and focused on their own personal glory, and that they don't put much of an effort into [[spoiler: finding Sigurd once he is captured by Fulke]]. These are especially perplexing and annoying because: A) Eivor is only following Sigurd's wishes for building alliances, B) [[spoiler: it was Basim who agreed to track Sigurd and send word when he had found where Fulke was hiding]], and C) Dag is a member of Eivor's longship crew and thus has been by their side through everything and had first hand witness to everything they have done for the clan and their decisions which tend to put the clan first instead of their own personal wishes. Overall, it seems more like he is being insubordinate just because Sigurd left Eivor in charge whilst he was away instead of Dag. Add to this the fact that [[PsychologicalProjection Dag is guilty of the very thing he accuses Eivor of:]] he immediately jumps to a violent solution to a problem, is a braggart who makes many unbelievable claims such as personally scaring off Kjotve the Cruel and having women beg him to take them to bed, and also promotes raiding and plundering despite Raven Clan being in a weak position and unable to defend itself if retaliated against.
** The Builder in the [[spoiler:Asgard arc]]. He's annoying, constantly overstates his abilities, and makes a few very moronic decisions. Like making the player lead an ''entire horde'' of Jotnar into a magic death-shield to test if it works, only for it to malfunction, resulting in the player having to fight off an entire army, when one target would have sufficient to test the shield.]m [[spoiler: Which does make sense when it's later revealed that he's actually Jotnar]], but still. You basically have to go along with everything the guy says even when it's obvious that he's setting a trap.

* BestLevelEver: [[https://kotaku.com/the-making-of-assassins-creed-valhallas-best-bonus-regi-1846161561/amp Vinland/Saint Brendan's Island has gotten some love]], due to its [[SceneryPorn beautiful untamed wilderness]] looking and feeling completely different from Norway and England, while also providing an interesting (and to some, refreshing) switch to a survival-based NoGearLevel with a focus on stealth and exploration. Being a OriginsEpisode for some parts of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'' also helps its case.

** Some people have commented being uncomfortable with the game whitewashing and glamorizing the Vikings, owing to their tendency to RapePillageAndBurn in real life, The thing is, the franchise is practically ''built'' on HistoricalHeroUpgrade, going back to the first game by turning the Order of Assassins, a medieval Shia Muslim sect famous for assassination and intimidation, into a group of heroic freedom fighters. Arguably the most popular installment in the franchise, ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag'', was about 18th century pirates (another group often glamorized in pop culture).
*** What made ''Valhalla'' unique, however, was the matter of viking colonialism, something that isn't typically associated with pirates and is a hot-button political issue nowadays. While in previous games themes of colonialism are generally part of the historical background and mostly portrayed negatively, in ''Valhalla'' the raiding and subjugation of a foreign land is a central narrative theme in which the player must actively participate throughout the entire game, and moreover is portrayed mostly ''positively'', with the vikings depicted as "explorers" and "settlers" on a virgin land.

*** What made ''Valhalla'' unique, however, was the matter of viking colonialism, something that isn't typically associated with pirates and is a hot-button political issue nowadays. Again, one could say this was already done in the aforementioned ''Black Flag'', where a subplot during the game features the formation of the pirate colony of Nassau, which basically amounted to seizing a port city and killing anyone who objected. But while in previous games themes of colonialism are generally part of the historical background and mostly portrayed negatively, in ''Valhalla'' the raiding and subjugation of a foreign land is a central narrative theme in which the player must actively participate throughout the entire game, and moreover is portrayed mostly ''positively'', with the vikings depicted as "explorers" and "settlers" on a virgin land.

*** What made ''Valhalla'' unique, however, was the matter of Viking colonialism, something that isn't typically associated with pirates and is a hot-button political issue nowadays. Again, one could say this was already done in the aforementioned ''Black Flag'', where a subplot during the game features the formation of the pirate colony of Nassau, which basically amounted to seizing a port city and killing anyone who objected. But while in previous games themes of colonialism are generally part of the historical background and mostly portrayed negatively, in ''Valhalla'' the raiding and subjugation of a foreign land is a central narrative theme in which the player must actively participate throughout the entire game, and moreover is portrayed mostly ''positively'', with the vikings depicted as "explorers" and "settlers" on a virgin land.

*** What made ''Valhalla'' unique, however, was the matter of Viking colonialism, something that isn't typically associated with pirates and is a hot-button political issue nowadays. Again, one could say this was already done in the aforementioned ''Black Flag'', where a subplot during the game features the formation of the pirate colony of Nassau, which basically amounted to seizing a port city and killing anyone who objected. But while in previous games themes of colonialism are generally part of the historical background and mostly portrayed negatively, in ''Valhalla'' the raiding and subjugation of a foreign land is a central narrative theme and gameplay aspect in which the player must actively participate throughout the entire game, and moreover is portrayed mostly ''positively'', with the vikings depicted as "explorers" and "settlers" on a virgin land.

** What made ''Valhalla'' unique, however, was the matter of Viking colonialism, something that isn't typically associated with pirates and is a hot-button political issue nowadays. Again, one could say this was already done in the aforementioned ''Black Flag'', where a subplot during the game features the formation of the pirate colony of Nassau, which basically amounted to seizing a port city and killing anyone who objected. But while in previous games themes of colonialism are generally part of the historical background and mostly portrayed negatively, in ''Valhalla'' the raiding and subjugation of a foreign land is a central narrative theme and gameplay aspect in which the player must actively participate throughout the entire game, and moreover is portrayed mostly ''positively'', with the vikings depicted as "explorers" and "settlers" on a virgin land.

** Some people have commented being uncomfortable with the game glamorizing the Vikings, owing to their [[RapePillageAndBurn less than heroic activities]] in real life, which the game mostly justifies as "everyone was doing it back then", with the Saxons and Picts being portrayed as just as bad, and portraying Eivor and Raven Clan as exceptionally 'good' Vikings while putting more focus on their belief systems and honor culture. The thing is, this is a franchise ''built'' on HistoricalHeroUpgrade, going back to the first game turning the Assassin Brotherhood into a group of heroic freedom fighters, while the arguably most popular installment in the franchise, ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag'' was about 18th century pirates, who are about as guilty of RapePillageAndBurn as the Vikings were (in fact, the concept of pirate and viking are more-or-less the same thing, just different time periods). The argument that the game supports the Viking's brutal actions also brings to mind the "Whaling" controversy from ''Black Flag'', where [=PETA=] argued that the ability to hunt whales in-game was supportive towards the [[ValuesDissonance nowadays-frowned-upon]] practice of whaling.
** One of the most controversial issues seems to be the matter of Viking colonialism, something that isn't typically associated with pirates and is more of a hot-button political argument than the traditional RapePillageAndBurn is. However, this too is somewhat reflective of earlier games as well, such as ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'' where the settlement mechanic originates and does, essentially, amount to fundamentally the same thing (TheHero aids and supports an invasive colony), and the aforementioned ''Black Flag'' where a subplot during the game features the formation of the pirate colony Nassau, which basically amounted to seizing a port city and killing anyone who objected. Though the people they seize Nassau from are outside colonists themselves, so are the Saxons whom the Vikings are taking land from. However, while this does not necessarily justify such issues, in most previous games themes of colonialism are generally part of the historical background, limited to isolated incidents, or embodied in specific [=NPCs=]; in ''Valhalla'', the raiding and subjugation of a foreign land is a central narrative and gameplay theme in which the player is required to engage throughout the game.

** The Builder in the [[spoiler:Asgard arc]]. He's annoying, constantly overstates his abilities, and makes a few very moronic decisions. Like making the player lead an ''entire horde'' of Jotnar into a magic death-shield to test if it works, only for it to malfunction, resulting in the player having to fight off an entire army, [[CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot when one target would have sufficient to test the shield.]] [[spoiler: Which does make sense when it's later revealed that he's actually Jotnar]], but still. You basically have to go along with everything the guy says even when it's obvious that he's setting a trap.

* AcceptableReligiousTargets: Christians and Norse Heathens/Pagans both get their share of flak.
** Christians are more visible, since they are what the protagonist isn't and most of the enemies are at least nominally among them, often being either fanatical bigots, incompetent weaklings or [[StrawAtheist cynical fakes.]]
*** The only way to get resources to build your settlement is to raid churches and monasteries. Not even the Christians seem to mind all that much, given that they never comment on you doing that.
*** The baddies are Christians who are often HidingBehindReligion to justify heinous acts like torture, and it's a noble thing to kill them. Or in the case of more sympathetic characters like Oswald, Christianity is the source of his [[InTouchWithHisFeminineSide effeminate compassion]]. Not much comment is made when the Vikings do the same, and their faith is presented as earnest and empowering.
*** That being said, there are a number of Christian victims and heroes. Most of the lords that the protagonist helps put up may be [[PuppetKing Puppet Kings]] but are sincerely interested in ruling justly over both English and Scandinavians, with Oswald of East Anglia being particularly so. [[spoiler: Aelfred is ultimately antagonistic but similar in his sincere faith, good intentions, and fundamental honor.]]
** It is harder to tell with the Norse Pagans, but still present.
*** The closest to "ideal" Norse Warriors in the game outside of Eivor themselves are [[AxeCrazy Ivar the Boneless]] and [[StarterVillain Kjotve the Cruel]], both of whom are exceptionally sadistic, nasty, violent pieces of work that idealize violence and happily use treachery to their effects.
*** While they aren't anywhere near as prevalent as elsewhere, there are quite a few ignorant or bigoted brutes among the Norse ranks, not the least of which being Dag, who is a hotheaded TheResenter that ultimately causes a great deal of tragedy. Meanwhile, the gullibility of many Norse in their faith is demonstrated by a snake oil salesman hawking goods from Eivor's clan's massacre and lying about their origins.
*** Perhaps to cap it off [[spoiler: TopGod Odin is revealed to be the EnemyWithin and a two-faced, hypocritical tyrant.]]

* TheScrappy: Dag definitely falls into this. His aggressiveness and insubordination come seemingly out of nowhere once the player reaches England and starts building alliances and only gets worse as the story progresses. He claims his grievances are that Eivor is attempting to usurp Sigurd's position, that Eivor is poor at decision-making because they are too hot-headed and focused on their own personal glory, and that they don't put much of an effort into [[spoiler: finding Sigurd once he is captured by Fulke]]. These are especially perplexing and annoying because: A) Eivor is only following Sigurd's wishes for building alliances, B) [[spoiler: it was Basim who agreed to track Sigurd and send word when he had found where Fulke was hiding]], and C) Dag is a member of Eivor's longship crew and thus has been by their side through everything and had first hand witness to everything they have done for the clan and their decisions which tend to put the clan first instead of their own personal wishes. Overall, it seems more like he is being insubordinate just because Sigurd left Eivor in charge whilst he was away instead of Dag. Add to this the fact that [[PsychologicalProjection Dag is guilty of the very thing he accuses Eivor of:]] he immediately jumps to a violent solution to a problem, is a braggart who makes many unbelievable claims such as personally scaring off Kjotve the Cruel and having women beg him to take them to bed, and also promotes raiding and plundering despite Raven Clan being in a weak position and unable to defend itself if retaliated against.

* CaptainObviousReveal: Alfred is the head of the Order of Ancients. By the time you'll get to the point where it's revealed to Eivor (the absolute end of the main game), it's pretty obvious, even assuming you missed the trailers showing him as one of them, given there are no other candidates left. However, [[spoiler:this does hide the reveal that yes, he is the head... and has been working to bring it down from the inside.]]

** On the topic of assassinations, [[https://www.reddit.com/r/assassinscreed/comments/m6ta32/ac_valhalla_stealth_mechanics_feel_broken/ the game's stealth mechanics as a whole have been criticized]], to the point where many players just don't bother since there's usually no real drawback for going loud. The detection mechanics are commonly cited as the worst offender due to their general unpredictability - sometimes enemies can't see Eivor in hiding spots until they're practically touching them, sometimes they see through grass etc. no problem; sometimes the enemy detection meter fills slowly even if Eivor's in their clear view, other times even a brief glimpse of them will cause an instant detection; sometimes the distance and field of view of the enemy is important, other times enemies can notice Eivor regardless of distance and even when they're not facing them; sometimes enemies investigate whistling, other times they just look at Eivor's direction but don't move. In short, whenever they work they're considered to be generally fine, but at their worst they become a LuckBasedMission that's less predictable than [[BettingMinigame Orlog]]. [[AuthorsSavingThrow Fortunately, Ubisoft seems to have caught on, and in December 2021 introduced several quality-of-life improvements to the stealth mechanics that actually seem to improve the experience]].

** As Eivor is [[spoiler:canonically female]], one can assume the male/female options are a matter of the player/Eivor's mental view of themselves rather than a reflection of how they genuinely looked. If that is the case, [[spoiler:is the fact Eivor can see themselves as a masculine figure a sign they're a trans-man or genderfluid? Or is it just due to Odin occupying their body, and thus they're seeing themselves as male, as Odin was?]]

* TheScrappy: Dag definitely falls into this. His aggressiveness and insubordination come seemingly out of nowhere once the player reaches England and starts building alliances and only gets worse as the story progresses. He claims his grievances are that Eivor is attempting to usurp Sigurd's position, that Eivor is poor at decision-making because they are too hot-headed and focused on their own personal glory, and that they don't put much of an effort into [[spoiler: finding Sigurd once he is captured by Fulke]]. These are especially perplexing and annoying because: A) Eivor is only following Sigurd's wishes for building alliances, B) [[spoiler: it was Basim who agreed to track Sigurd and send word when he had found where Fulke was hiding]], and C) Dag is a member of Eivor's longship crew and thus has been by their side through everything and had first hand witness to everything they have done for the clan and their decisions which tend to put the clan first instead of their own personal wishes. Overall, it seems more like he is being insubordinate just because Sigurd left Eivor in charge whilst he was away instead of Dag. Add to this the fact that Dag is guilty of the very thing he accuses Eivor of: he immediately jumps to a violent solution to a problem, is a braggart who makes many unbelievable claims such as personally scaring off Kjotve the Cruel and having women beg him to take them to bed, and also promotes raiding and plundering despite Raven Clan being in a weak position and unable to defend itself if retaliated against.
** The Builder in the [[spoiler:Asgard arc]]. He's annoying, constantly overstates his abilities, and makes a few very moronic decisions. Like making the player lead an ''entire horde'' of Jotnar into a magic death-shield to test if it works, only for it to malfunction, resulting in the player having to fight off an entire army, [[CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot when one target would have sufficient to test the shield.]]