return to form for the Assassin's Creed franchise, Valhalla visits a new region and period of history for the first time ever in the series: Western Europe in the time of the Vikings. It features an expansive map containing parts of Norway and England (and, with DLC, Ireland, , and Asgard as well), 150+ hours of quests and exploration, and the mix of stealth and action gameplay now typical of the series.
The one thing AC Valhalla doesn't include is NG+, but fans are hoping to fix that with a petition on Change.org addressed to Ubisoft and its co-founder Yves Guillemot. The petition was started in March 30, 2023 but is still steadily receiveing signatures nearly two years later.The petition, which currently has 454 signatures, expresses fans' disappointment at the lack of a New Game Plus mode in Valhalla, when a similar feature was standard in several other AC games. It quotes a blog post released on the official Ubisoft website shortly before the late 2022 content update, The Last Chapter, that states the game would never have a NG+ mode, and offers suggestions about how one might be implemented.
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A Standard Feature Forgotten
New Game Plus has become an unofficial series standard for Assassin's Creed. It was introduced in Origins, a 2017 release largely considered a soft reboot for the franchise. Origins brought more of an action focus to what was previously a more stealth-inclined series - and, more importantly for our purposes, it allowed players to carry over all their character progression and gear into a brand-new save file after finishing the story.
This was apparently a popular feature, as fans in the comments of the Change.org petition state. A signature by a named Austin complains that unlocking all those equipment pieces and character upgrades in Valhalla requires "mindlessly grinding." New Game Plus allows players to focus on the story, which, in a series known for its lengthy and complicated stories like Assassin's Creed, is endlessly valuable.
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Ubisoft unofficially recognized this popularity when it included NG+ in Assassin's Creed Odyssey. The feature worked almost the same way, adapted ever-so-slightly to fit Odyssey's unique progression systems. But then Valhalla's release date rolled around - and then the release dates of its multiple DLCs - and not a whisper of NG+ through them all, until Ubisoft made a blog post announcing it'd never be included.
As one player commented on the petition, g under the name Reginald, "I figured since Origins and Odyssey had NG+, why wouldn't Valhalla, right?" Oddly, Ubisoft then went and reintroduced NG+ to the series, adding it in a post-launch update to Mirage. It's easy to see why players are so confused; Valhalla is the only AC game released in the last eight years not to have a NG+ mode. But, digging a little deeper, there may be a perfectly good reason why.
Fans Feel As Though New Game Plus Would "Add Value" To Assassin's Creed Valhalla
But There May Be More To The Issue
On the surface, it is odd that Valhalla is the only recent Assassin's Creed game not to feature NG+. In its blog post announcing this, Ubisoft claims it's because "the depth of the game gave us limited options to make replayability unique and rewarding." There's almost always value in NG+ mode, though; it's all about blitzing through the early game with your endgame gear, skipping past grindy side content and difficult boss fights with ease.
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But a comment on a similar Reddit thread, written by carbonqubit, suggests a simpler reason: loot duplication. A lot of the loot you'll find in Valhalla is unique, locked to the specific chest in the specific location where you find it. That means that, in NG+, you'd be finding a lot of the same loot over and over again, which would inevitably get boring quickly, cutting off your options for progression post-credits.
There may be some workarounds: randomizing loot in NG+, or having these chests reward consumable items like crafting materials. But Valhalla's loot may be coded in a way that makes this difficult. Unless Ubisoft issues an official response to the Assassin's Creed Valhalla petition, it's impossible to tell exactly why NG+ was left out.
Source: Change.org, Ubisoft, carbonquibit/Reddit
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
-
- Top Critic Avg: 83/100 Critics Rec: 91%
- Released
- November 10, 2020
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs and Alcohol
- Developer(s)
- Ubisoft
- Publisher(s)
- Ubisoft
- Engine
- Ubisoft Anvil
- Cross-Platform Play
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla s cross-progression between all platforms!
- Cross Save
- yes
Assassin's Creed Valhalla is a 2020 Action RPG created and published by Ubisoft. It's the twelfth mainline installment in the Assassin's Creed franchise and has players embarking on a journey through The British Isles during the years of 872 and 878 AD. Players will control Eivor as they lead a crew of Vikings against the Anglo-Saxons.
- Franchise
- Assassin's Creed
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- yes
- Platform(s)
- Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- How Long To Beat
- 61 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- yes
- Metascore
- 84
- PS Plus Availability
- Extra &
- How Long To Beat (Completionist Runs)
- 144 Hours
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
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