I have never spoken about the Assassin's Creed series of video games on this blog before as they are not horror games. I am however a huge fan, having been hooked on the games since the very first one back in 2007. Assassin's Creed Valhalla is the twelfth major installment in the series and up until recently there was no reason to mention it on a horror blog. That is, until the recent release of a free update that was not only horror based, but also a shift into a different genre of video game entirely. Unavoidable spoilers about some aspects of Valhalla, including the ending to the last major expansion; Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok.
While the core game is mostly set on the British isles in the 9th Century AD, at set points the game switches to the world of Norse myths and legends. In these sections you play as Odin, a God who is preoccupied with preventing the onset of Ragnarok. The last expansion had Odin searching the Dwarven realm for his kidnapped son, Baldr, but culminated in him finding he was too late, and that Baldr had already been killed. Being the world of Norse legends however, death is not the end. Determined to save his son, Odin travels to the realm of the dead, Niflheim, where he plans to rescue Baldr before his soul passes over to the other side. This all takes place in a free expansion known as Forgotten Saga.
The Forgotten Saga is a roguelike mode in which you play as Odin as he attempts to navigate Niflheim in order to reach Hel's palace at its centre. Each 'run' has you attempting to fight your way through four different areas. I have played roguelikes before, but this one is the first that felt more epic in scale. It reminded me most heavily of Hades, mostly due to the setting. That game had you as the son of Hades who was attempting to escape the Greek version of Hell. Here, you are instead trying to infiltrate the Norse version of Hell.
The four areas are huge, each one distinctly visually different, and all providing some amazing views. Starting off in your base camp at the entrance to Niflheim, each run starts with a huge swan dive into starting area Kaldstat, each subsequent area entered by a huge gate. What I really loved about this was how open it all is. The four areas might be gated (by literal gates), but I thought the fact you could see your goal as a pinprick in the distance in each area was amazing, taking in the fact that that goal is something you have to navigate your way to in real time, it was impressive being able to see the whole area you had to travel through laid out before you.
Many roguelike games give you both a randomised level layout as well as randomised perks and boons. With Forgotten Saga the world is preset. I found this led to it feeling like a far more real place than if its paths had been randomised. Each time I attempted this it was almost comforting seeing the same areas time and time again, especially when there are story based reasons for why you have to keep doing these runs. Often the levels are split in a way that you can't explore all of them, instead you must pick different paths that lead you to different sections, always heading the way which appears to have the better upgrades and abilities. Kaldstat is the starting area, it is a snowy region made up of small floating islands connected by great chains, and sees you battling ice giants. Dokkerland is the next location and is the most traditional 'Hell' type place. A world of fire, and a fun gameplay contrivance that the land becomes increasingly hotter the longer you are there, leading to races to neutral areas where heat isn't an issue. Nidheim is the penultimate area, this one taking place in a swampy land where brittle bridges separate islands. This was the most visually attractive place, and featured a boss that was unlike anything I had previously fought in my hundreds of hours spent with Valhalla. Finally, there is Helheim which is essentially one huge palace. Compared to the other areas this one was the least interesting design wise. Mostly taking place indoors, each area is travelled to via a teleporter.
There are many items, abilities and boons you can gain as you infiltrate Niflheim. You start out with a loadout of one randomised ability, as well as a randomised bow and melee weapon. Along the way you can find upgrades for these, as well as new abilities and weapons. For the abilities you can have a maximum of four melee ones and four ranged ones. These run the gauntlet of powers, from being able to throw electricity infused axes, to summoning zombies to fight alongside you, to infusing your arrows with a variety of status effects (fire, poison, ice and electricity). You can also increase your health, and earn currency. Coins can be spent at the merchant stands dotted other the levels, gems can be used at the secret shop in each area, both are lost after a run finishes. You also earn 'memories', these are used to give Odin permanent upgrades back at his base camp. After over two hundred hours of not having much of a challenge, it was refreshing to once more have to be concerned about dying. To begin with I was only able to get to the second area boss. After a few runs I had upgraded myself enough that things became a whole lot easier. That is a slight criticism of the game, there is one permanent upgrade in particular that drastically makes things easier. Once the ability to enter slow motion after dodging an attack is unlocked I never really struggled much ever again.
Each attempt took me roughly an hour to try. There are no save points and so a run must be carried out in one go. This led to me having to have some space cleared in my schedule to be able to make an attempt, but I can see why you wouldn't be able to save mid-play. In total it was roughly ten hours it took for me to beat this. While there are story reasons for why you would continue even after 'winning', there is nothing like what Hades did, and so after I beat this once I didn't see a need to return. Forgotten Saga was a fantastic addition to Valhalla. Being so long into the game I was certainly feeling a bit tired of it, this roguelike mode gave me a new lease of life. I adored how well constructed the levels are, the sheer feeling of adventure, thanks in no small part to the graphics and setting. There may not be too much replay value once it is all finished with, but I had an amazing ten hours playing this, even better knowing that this DLC was completely free. An essential part of the game to play, highly recommended.
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