Odyssey vs Valhalla

[Jamie]

How do the games compare alongside the DLC.

[Sigvuld]

I think something that has really stood out to me, as a huge fan of Odyssey and recent fan of Valhalla, is how much slower Valhalla's progression and item acquisition is vs. Odyssey's. Odyssey is drowning in item sets, appearances/transmog for your gear, you won't find even half the amount of loot in Valhalla as you will in a playthrough of Odyssey, maybe not even a quarter, really.

It takes a long time to find anything that'll replace a good piece of gear, or heck, even your early pieces of gear, ignoring looking up guides to just beeline toward pieces in areas regardless of your level, I suppose. Valhalla has significantly fewer items to work with than Odyssey, but they're still different enough to make you pick and choose pieces depending on bonuses, so that's good.

Combat in Valhalla is also significantly more... methodical? In Odyssey, I feel like the pace for combat can be blistering depending on just how many people you're fighting at once, and while Valhalla's can also get super intense, I feel like it's a bit less friendly for fighting crowds of foes due to a lot of little things that are admittedly tough for me to explain. The overall pacing of combat is definitely different, and depending on your preferences, Valhalla can either feel clunky or just really impactful, while Odyssey can feel either intense/fast or just afflicted with HP sponge enemies.

While lorewise Eivor is a pretty amazing fighter, gameplay-wise you're definitely gonna feel a bit less like an unstoppable, fast-as-lightning demigod as you do in late-game Odyssey. Your moves are a bit more grounded, you don't have access to "pick this one guy and just disintegrate their health bar" moves as often as you do in Odyssey, although you definitely DO have access to plenty of them. (It's kinda comical how much more damage my Eivor does to enemies via throwing them at each other/at walls vs. with her actual weapons, I love it)

Both are grindy, but I feel like Valhalla has embraced the "yeah this is straight-up just here for you to just have something to do" philosophy for a LOT of its side content more than Odyssey did. It settles into the parts of its gameplay loop you're intended to repeat a bunch of times far earlier than Odyssey does, but at the same time, it also gives you more incentive TO grind those things earlier than Odyssey does, so that's a plus!

This is gonna sound super reductive, but a really simple way to describe it is that Odyssey is more fast-paced and powergamer-enabling than Valhalla is, which is more methodical and seems to want to at least try and rein in the "I am a force of nature" vibe Kassandra/Alexios have going for them in Odyssey, gameplay-wise. You can get taken offguard and killed waaay quicker in Valhalla than you usually will in Odyssey.

Also, Odyssey's keybinds are less... weird. That's a personal thing, though. Just stuff like, to exit Photo Mode, in Odyssey you just tap ESC, but Valhalla wants you to hold Backspace for a couple seconds. Imagine that kind of logic, now apply it to the rest of the keybinds. Can't speak for controller binds though since I play with keyboard and mouse!

Uuuh, little thing I can think of, for some reason transmogging in Valhalla costs 50 of a currency that, at least just really early on, can be hard to come by. Too much and really shouldn't have a cost to begin with, especially given Odyssey's system doesn't cost you anything at all.

Oh, Valhalla doesn't have any naval combat, not even boarding enemy longships or stuff like that. At least, not any as far in as I've gotten. Big sad, I love the ship combat from Black Flag onward.

Overall, both good, but depend on your taste. Go in expecting fun open world RPGs with stuff to grind, not Assassin's Creed, weird as that probably sounds. It'll be a lot more enjoyable that way, at least usually. Odyssey for Greek theme, Valhalla for Norse theme. Both have a lotta fun with their presented cultures.

[The MidgetCrusader69]

Odyssey for me still has the greatest and most beautifull world building of all video games in the history of video games. Valhalla wins in terms of gameplay/combat tho.

[Freak4Leeks]

Originally posted by The MidgetCrusader69:

Odyssey for me still has the greatest and most beautifull world building of all video games in the history of video games. Valhalla wins in terms of gameplay/combat tho.

same for me, odysseys skills were alot cooler though. i also like that valhalla brought back one hit assassinations unfortunately the skill animations are bleh.

Paradoxically i never 1 hit assassinated a person outside of the first island in Odyssey but odyssey had probably the coolest assassinations in the entire franchise which i find kinda funny since you rarely will be able to do it.

[Pikel_Egz]

Im playing Odyssey right now, just beat valhalla and I must say valhalla was easier to get into if that makes sense? Even though Valhalla is big odyssey is MASSIVE and sort of feels daunting at first. Both games look amazing and I think EACH game has their own respective beautiful parts. It makes me very eager for Mirage and Baghdad.

[Sigvuld]

Originally posted by Freak4Leeks:

Originally posted by The MidgetCrusader69:

Odyssey for me still has the greatest and most beautifull world building of all video games in the history of video games. Valhalla wins in terms of gameplay/combat tho.

same for me, odysseys skills were alot cooler though. i also like that valhalla brought back one hit assassinations unfortunately the skill animations are bleh.

Paradoxically i never 1 hit assassinated a person outside of the first island in Odyssey but odyssey had probably the coolest assassinations in the entire franchise which i find kinda funny since you rarely will be able to do it.

If you didn't built at all for stealth damage, yeah, you end up not getting to one-shot many dudes

It helps a LOT to actually build for it though and use sets that provide assassination damage bonuses - one-shotting plenty and I'm not on a lower difficulty, either

[Karan]

i would say they are both kinda equally dissapointing

[The MidgetCrusader69]

Originally posted by 𝕂𝔸𝕀:

i would say they are both kinda equally dissapointing

How so? I played ALL AC games starting with the very first when it came out on the xbox 360 so many years ago. I'm still gaming up to this day and i find Valhalla and Odyssey the best AC games of them all. They are amazing, big, open world RPG story driven games with so much to do. I cannot see why one would find the older games better? I remember when i replayed brotherhood on pc some years ago and i completed it in like 20 hours?? 20 HOURS?? I was really dissapointed and it was just so bland and kinda boring. People are just so used to wear their rose tinted nostalgia glasses and often do not see how underwhelming the first games were... I still think the RPG route was the best route they ever took. I will not be playing the Baghdad one as it seem such a BIG step backwards in every way and will just wait for the medieval one. The one in China that they are doing doesn't interest me at all as i don't care for any of that culture.

[Pikel_Egz]

Originally posted by The MidgetCrusader69:

Originally posted by 𝕂𝔸𝕀:

i would say they are both kinda equally dissapointing

How so? I played ALL AC games starting with the very first when it came out on the xbox 360 so many years ago. I'm still gaming up to this day and i find Valhalla and Odyssey the best AC games of them all. They are amazing, big, open world RPG story driven games with so much to do. I cannot see why one would find the older games better? I remember when i replayed brotherhood on pc some years ago and i completed it in like 20 hours?? 20 HOURS?? I was really dissapointed and it was just so bland and kinda boring. People are just so used to wear their rose tinted nostalgia glasses and often do not see how underwhelming the first games were... I still think the RPG route was the best route they ever took. I will not be playing the Baghdad one as it seem such a BIG step backwards in every way and will just wait for the medieval one. The one in China that they are doing doesn't interest me at all as i don't care for any of that culture.

What in Mirage seems like a step backwards? Like development wise of the creed or something else? Im pretty sure they are going to give you basim story so that will fall somewhere before Valhalla if thats what you mean backwards?

[Caduryn]

Originally posted by Pikel_Egz:

Originally posted by The MidgetCrusader69:

How so? I played ALL AC games starting with the very first when it came out on the xbox 360 so many years ago. I'm still gaming up to this day and i find Valhalla and Odyssey the best AC games of them all. They are amazing, big, open world RPG story driven games with so much to do. I cannot see why one would find the older games better? I remember when i replayed brotherhood on pc some years ago and i completed it in like 20 hours?? 20 HOURS?? I was really dissapointed and it was just so bland and kinda boring. People are just so used to wear their rose tinted nostalgia glasses and often do not see how underwhelming the first games were... I still think the RPG route was the best route they ever took. I will not be playing the Baghdad one as it seem such a BIG step backwards in every way and will just wait for the medieval one. The one in China that they are doing doesn't interest me at all as i don't care for any of that culture.

What in Mirage seems like a step backwards? Like development wise of the creed or something else? Im pretty sure they are going to give you Hythams story so that will fall somewhere before Valhalla if thats what you mean backwards?

It wont be open World may be one of those *Backwards*

[Pikel_Egz]

Originally posted by Caduryn:

Originally posted by Pikel_Egz:

What in Mirage seems like a step backwards? Like development wise of the creed or something else? Im pretty sure they are going to give you Hythams story so that will fall somewhere before Valhalla if thats what you mean backwards?

It wont be open World may be one of those *Backwards*

Sorry I meant Basim but also im not sure what you mean as its not open world? Maybe its not as big as like Valhalla or Odyssey but its supposedly going to be more dense and hopefully seem more alive even.

[The MidgetCrusader69]

Originally posted by Abbalyn:

Valhalla is the better game if we stricly speak of gameplay, inventory management etc.. Technically a lot superior too . But Odyssey is a masterpiece of world building, no game come close to that in my opinion.

Now Elden ring is here and this two AC games feel like an insult in how they involve the player in their TRASH assisted gameplay loop.

Elden Ring is the biggest POS overrated trash game there is. The world is boring, the graphics are ugly and it's so boring. Odyssey and valhalla thrump it in every way

[Pikel_Egz]

Originally posted by Abbalyn:

Originally posted by The MidgetCrusader69:

Elden Ring is the biggest POS overrated trash game there is. The world is boring, the graphics are ugly and it's so boring. Odyssey and valhalla thrump it in every way

Again, not in how the player is involved and guided though the whole game. In Odyssey/Valhalla you're litteraly a baby. I feel embarassed after few hours so i take a screenshoot and log off.

But yeah Elden ring as 360p texture resolution.
Edit : I was just throwing a little spike to Ac, don't feel attacked like the baby ac devs wants you to be :p

Are you talking like game assists and stuff like telling you where to go? Cause all of that can be shut off.

[°｡💗Nikki Minx💗｡°]

I have to preface my opinion by saying that I'm a viking girl at heart. I love the Norse era so I immediately gravitate toward games that showcase that theme. I loved Odyssey but as a completionist it plays so big that I felt a need to take a break from it.

Being a viking girl I obviously quickly bought Valhalla and loved it as well. However, even though I love the Norse themed world, Odyssey's world is much more vibrant and pretty. Also, Valhalla crashed quite often and the game is simply not as stable and smooth as Odyssey.

Although the combat and stealth in Valhalla is fun enough, the combat in Odyssey is also much smoother and enjoyable than Valhalla's. Valhalla's combat felt a bit clunky. For some reason they also had the climbing key be the space bar and the dodge the shift key. I know you can rebind it but having gotten used to the dodge being the space bar, it just felt weird that the same developers would make what I feel is such an unnecessary change. That said the dodge function in Valhalla was definitely wonky and very frustrating. Odysseys was much more smoother, predictable and responsive.

Overall, they are both great games but IMHO Odyssey is a much more a quality game than Valhalla. Valhalla seems rushed. Not to put it down because it is still a great game, but the quality details just aren't there in Valhalla like they are in Odyssey. It almost feels as if they were made by two totally different development teams.

In short, whereas Odyssey plays like a labor of love by a committed dev team, Valhalla almost seems like a gloss over place holder for the next great Ubisoft game which for personal reasons won't be Mirage. Reason being is they've decided not to have a female protagonist so I will not support it and neither will any of my girl friends.. Hopefully, that is an outlier and they will go back to featuring a choice for female protagonist in their future games.

[The MidgetCrusader69]

Originally posted by Nikki:

I have to preface my opinion by saying that I'm a viking girl at heart. I love the Norse era so I immediately gravitate toward games that showcase that theme. I loved Odyssey but as a completionist it plays so big that I felt a need to take a break from it.

Being a viking girl I obviously quickly bought Valhalla and loved it as well. However, even though I love the Norse themed world, Odyssey's world is much more vibrant and pretty. Also, Valhalla crashed quite often and the game is simply not as stable and smooth as Odyssey.

Although the combat and stealth in Valhalla is fun enough, the combat in Odyssey is also much smoother and enjoyable than Valhalla's. Valhalla's combat felt a bit clunky. For some reason they also had the climbing key be the space bar and the dodge the shift key. I know you can rebind it but having gotten used to the dodge being the space bar, it just felt weird that the same developers would make what I feel is such an unnecessary change. That said the dodge function in Valhalla was definitely wonky and very frustrating. Odysseys was much more smoother, predictable and responsive.

Overall, they are both great games but IMHO Odyssey is a much more a quality game than Valhalla. Valhalla seems rushed. Not to put it down because it is still a great game, but the quality details just aren't there in Valhalla like they are in Odyssey. It almost feels as if they were made by two totally different development teams.

In short, whereas Odyssey plays like a labor of love by a committed dev team, Valhalla almost seems like a gloss over place holder for the next great Ubisoft game which for personal reasons won't be Mirage. Reason being is they've decided not to have a female protagonist so I will not support it and neither will any of my girl friends.. Hopefully, that is an outlier and they will go back to featuring a choice for female protagonist in their future games.

the biggest utter BS i've ever read LMAO. You don't know anything about these games. You know why? Cuz you don't even know that valhalla and Odyssey were made by two different companies/Teams. Oddyssey was made by the team that made Syndicate and Valhalla was made by the team that produced Origins. Also I love Odyssey but that game is the most buggiest, glitchiest game ever of all 3 new AC games. When Odyssey came out that game had huge amounts of negative reviews because of lots of downgrades in comparison to origins. Most of them got patched. Thrust me Valhalla feels so much more polished and better. Combat especially. Odyssey combat is a mindless button spam with enemies that are just sponges. Valhalla's combat is way more complex. Again u didn't even know that two different teams made both games, so your opinion is kinda invalid.

Reason being is they've decided not to have a female protagonist so I will not support it and neither will any of my girl friends.. Hopefully, that is an outlier and they will go back to featuring a choice for female protagonist in their future games. ---> Also this. HAHAHH thanks for the laugh dude. I also don't think Ubisoft cares a lot for your friends. It was also researched and factual that a game with a sole female protagonist would seriously harm sales as most people just wonna play a male char and not some feministic look at me i'm all about empowerment and all that woke rubbish character

And also please tell me how they would incorporate a female character in Mirage? Basim is a male character who has a fairly big role in Valhalla. Mirage is all about this MALE character. So you want hem to magically change him into a woman so you can have a safe place? seriously wtf

[Pikel_Egz]

Originally posted by Abbalyn:

Originally posted by Pikel_Egz:

Are you talking like game assists and stuff like telling you where to go? Cause all of that can be shut off.

I know it can be toggled off and i respect that they implemented this option but its not made with this in mind in the first time. Like difficulty, you have multiple options for difficulty but raising it to the max just give infinite life to enemy alrady stupidly easy to kill.

Oh yea I get that and what youre saying. I thought like the assassin difficulty or whatever it was would kind of change the gameplay a bit. Just makes the enemies more spongy and changes less of the dynamics.