Fans of the series have known about Valhalla for some time after many spotted the Easter Egg in Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 last year (a character is shown holding a poster with “Valhalla” on it and holding the Apple of Eden from the series). For those who have only just heard the news, the story trailer is definitely worth checking out.

This is the 12th game in Ubisoft’s series, and some say it’s going to be their best yet, with the biggest map of the series to date. The game is open world, with action taking place across a number of European cities, from Kiev to Paris and London. Some gamers have questioned whether it will be too much like Odyssey, but this is a different, darker take and fans of the series won’t be left disappointed with the Norse setting.

What’s it All About?

You play the role of Eivor, a Viking raider, during the Viking invasions of England at the end of the 8th century. You can customize your character to be male or female — in fact, there’s a whole host of customizations available and not just when it comes to clothing, hair, and tattoos. Valhalla lets you choose from a huge variety of weapons, from the usual bows and sword to dual-wield axes and more. Because the game is open world, there’s always something to do even if you get tired of combat. Give flyting a go if you fancy engaging in dastardly poetry battles, or try your hand at fishing and hunting in a beautifully rendered environment.

You’ll build a settlement for your home base and spend much of your time upgrading it for protection, and forming alliances as your reach expands. As lead producer Julien Laferrière explains:

“It’s your own Viking village you’ll see prosper and grow, and which your clan mates will live in. It’s at the centre of our quests and the centre of the decisions you make. We want players to see the consequences of their actions.”

Unlike other games in the series (barring Assassin’s Creed III, where players created a homestead), the decision for players to return to their settlement after each adventure has changed the shape of the game:

“Instead of exploring one territory, then moving on to another and having no real opportunity or reason to return, the settlement changes the structure. So you’ll go on an adventure and then be encouraged to come back to your settlement. It changes the way we’re playing the game we’re making — at least, that’s the bet we’re making.”

Play with Friends in Co-Op Mode

The series has offered us multiplayer before, but Valhalla takes it to a whole new and exciting level. Team up with your friends in co-op mode and create custom raiders to raid with friends, sending your team into battle to help others or recruiting them to assist you.

When’s it Out?

Valhalla will be one of the first games released on next-gen consoles, launching during this year’s holiday season on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PC, and Google Stadia.

Radio Silence from Google

A few days ago, a post claiming that there had been no updates or announcements for Stadia for 40 days hit the top of the Stadia subreddit — a prime opportunity for Google to engage with Stadia’s supporters, no? It was not to be. Fans wanted to know when new games and features were coming — but Google didn’t initially have much to say on the matter.

Having been promised 120 new games for Stadia in 2020, supporters of the platform were keen to know just what to expect — and also raised concerns about functionality for mobile beyond Google’s Pixel Phone, as well as for other browsers.

A PR-Friendly Response

‘GraceFromGoogle’ responded to the community’s concerns with a vague and PR-friendly response that didn’t do anything to instill confidence in the ever-decreasing number of Stadia’s supporters. The response reads:

“Hey everyone, thanks for taking the time to write out your thoughts, and don’t worry I’ll make sure this post doesn’t get removed.

All the concerns you’ve brought to the table are completely valid, and I understand where your frustrations are coming from. Nobody likes to be left in the dark. While I don’t have product updates to share right at this second, I can promise you that I have been, and will continue taking feedback posted to r/Stadia and other channels, like the Stadia Community Forum, back to the Stadia team.

As always, thanks for your patience. Keep these notes coming. I’ll be jotting them down as they come in.”

Hmm. Doesn’t say much, does it?

Even Early Supporters Losing Patience

Even the most staunch supporters of the platform seem to be losing patience with Stadia — surely it’s only a matter of time before they too become fed up with Google’s refusal to provide updates or keep the community updated with what to expect. Some of the Reddit responses were from supporters who had already decided to jump ship and look elsewhere for game streaming.

It seemed for a while like this might give competitors like Shadow a boost in subscribers, as Stadia fans jumped ship.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EDO7HaLOeg

Finally, A Response from Google

A Google spokesperson finally gave gamers some updates — stating that the Stadia team has been updating the Stadia Community forum on a weekly basis, as well as providing monthly recaps on the Google Keyword blog. They also addressed the concerns about the 120 promised titles:

“We understand the desire to hear more specifics on the games. After all, that is what it is about: the games. Of course, not all 120 titles will be announced by the Stadia team, as we leave it up to the publishers to make the announcement about their IP/games, and which platforms it will appear on — just as we will do with the exclusive content coming to Stadia.

There are a lot of reasons for the time of those game announcements — anything from planned promotions or events, title readiness, proximity to first playable demo, shareholder requirements, etc. We continue to work closely with our publishing and developing partners and are here to support them in all areas. We are excited to share more about some of the exclusive games coming to Stadia soon.”

Since the Reddit thread was first posted, Google has announced the two games Stadia Pro subscribers will be eligible to play in February: Metro Exodus and Gylt. This brings the total number of games included with Stadia to seven (if Rise of the Tomb Raider and Samurai Showdown are claimed before the 31st of January).

It looks like Google Stadia is keeping supporters happy for now, but only time will tell as to whether the platform will be a success.