I have played every mainline assassin's creed game by this point (barring AC: Shadows for system requirements). I decided in my infinite wisdom that I wanted to choose one of the games from the series to Platinum. So when I was 100 hours+ in to AC Valhalla I realized how nuts it was to choose either the most or SECOND most time-centric games in the entire series. But somehow I prevailed. On Initial thoughts: Truthfully, I did not have high hopes for the game. I am one of the people who don't care to hate profusely on the modern RPG AC games, but Valhalla in particular despite it's grandeur always made me hesitate. I did one playthrough years back that didn't last very long before I quit and renounced playing it. But a future version of me with more time on my hands and a better attitude wanted to make a better impression and I'd argue it was a success. On Stats: Game stats say I played for roughly 232 hours - but it didn't account for a playthrough I dropped years prior. I'd say my real stats are somewhere close to 190 hours. The pacing is straightforward. and I didn't feel cheated for my time. Things take long because the emphasis on exploration requires that. Sinking lots of hours into open-world games is expected and encouraged. If you don't want to spend a lot of time (100%ing or not) you should likely avoid this game. Hours will be spent regardless of your approach. Completing the story without intending to 100% the game net me around 30-40% of the game's badges (not counting DLC). On Value: If you want value-to-purchase ratio and enjoy the AC series, then you should get this game. You'll enjoy the Viking setting, the many different activities, raids, free side content, etc. BUT it does lack in "assassin's creed" lore. There is very little influence of the that continued story - although this will still be very relevant for the modern AC timeline and Layla Hassan's RPG series storyline. This gives you value as an AC player, but not super significantly so keep that in mind. If you care more about the old-style of assassin creed games, try your hand instead at the older games in the series or even Mirage (fun gameplay, but a particularly confusing overall story and perhaps one of the weaker 'assassin vs. templar' stories in the franchise) On 100 Completionist: This gives me mixed feeling. Ubisoft is notoriously a poorly received company for a plethora of reasons. Disappointingly among them, they often lack the insight on certain difficult achievements, bug fixes, or just... issues. If you INTEND to complete this game, then honestly just do areas at your own pace. I will recommend you actively SAVE often. I mean that with my whole heart too - sometimes things (especially in DLC areas) tend to bug out or not work properly. It's often that an NPC or Enemies pathing messes up and you have to redo a mission from scratch, or people can get stuck on the weirdest things. Mastery challenges in particular can be hair-pulling nonsense. So I'd recommend doing them near the end of a playthrough when you've gained a patience for the game. And space out perfecting each challenge. I can't tell you how many times I had to reset random nonsensical world quests or fights because the characters bug out and phase out of the map. And for some reason, this game crashes alot sometimes? Some sessions it will be perfectly fine on high or low end settings, but if it crashes once that day it's likely to crash multiple times in the same sitting. Take heed. On general gameplay: Pretty solid. Initially I liked all of the RPG games from AC because the combat is a little less rigid from normal AC games. Powers, abilities, different armor sets, bows, etc all come into play at different intervals. You'll find one of the best pairings for any weapon is duel-wielding spears. Trust me. Learn to parry early and if you aren't comfortable yet with dodging or parrying in the game then a shield is your go-to. As for skills, mix and match as you like and find what you love or hate. You can freely reset the VERY large skill tree at any point to try out new things. I recommend anyone and their mom gets the "brush with death' skill ASAP - every time you dodge an attack just in time time slows down for everyone but you. It's seriously a run saver on every aspect of the game. Raids are fun but upgrading your main base WILL take the entire length of the game, so don't worry to much on missing leveling up Ravensthorpe early. Get the early unlocks and just take your time with what you like first. On Game specs: My system is quite a bit older now and is getting up there in years. I never have the time to invest in better replacement parts. With that said, I'd say my system is either low-to-mid in terms of capabilities nowadays. And it could still run the game on most of its high end settings. Some settings are utterly useless and only manage to take up unnecessary space however, so depending on what your system can handle, you'll want to keep that in mind. 150GB is a LOT for a game. So know that it will be an investment if you decide to add it to your playable collection. On story: Like mentioned previously, the story of Valhalla puts the assassins and templars on the back burner (or in this early into the history, the hidden ones and order of the ancients). Mostly, you'll be dealing with independent and self-contained arcs from region to region as you aim to unite them under an allegiance with your clan. During this time, important characters like Sigurd and Basim motivate and compound relationships and plot-points. The influence of the Asgard three part saga also adds another layer of viking depth. You will LIKELY be confused as the order of each content is self-regulated. Meaning you can easily get too far into one aspect without getting context for the other. In fact, if there is one side activity I heavily recommend you finish BEFORE finishing the main game, it is the 10 anomaly's found sporadically across the region - they clarify optional lore that is very important to the end game story. The modern era gets a little bit more attention in this game as we dive into another near-cataclysmic event for their world. Personally, I didn't care so much for the modern updates in Origins or Odyssey. But Valhalla's was actually fairly entertaining and gave me hope for more story-centric plots in the modern day AC. If you care deeply for doing things in the correct order, there are plenty of guides that give you a rough idea of what is the 'canon' order for doing just about anything in the game. Overall: The game can be messy. You'll likely get upset here and there. Or the game will cheat you in some way or form. But it has plenty to do, lots to enjoy, and lots to say. As like any AC game, it's charm is found not in it's outer look, but 'hidden' deep way. Look closely and you can learn to appreciate the game like I had. And coming from someone who almost nearly refused to play this game the first time I picked it up because I had predisposed bias towards this very specific release, that should hopefully mean a lot. Take the game with a grain of salt, know that if you intend to tackle it full on you will need to take some time and effort, and learn most of all to just enjoy it - it IS a game after all. And for me? It was a pretty good one. 8.5/10