No, you cannot go back to Jotunheim in Assassin‘s Creed Valhalla

As a hardcore Assassin‘s Creed gamer who has invested over 200 hours across multiple playthroughs, I receive many questions from fellow fans about the expansive worlds featured in the games. One query I see pop up often is: "Can you return to Jotunheim in Valhalla after completing the quests there?"

The short answer is: No, Jotunheim becomes permanently inaccessible once you finish its self-contained quest arc. Unfortunately, there is no way to go back unlike the larger region of Asgard.

Why Jotunheim‘s Restricted Accessibility?

In Valhalla, Eivor drinks a potion to traverse through mystical realms outside the main map. Jotunheim is one such mythical location tied specifically to a questline involving the scholar Basil.

According to Ubisoft developers, the mystical realms operate on different principles than grounded zones like England. Much like the mythical simulations in past games, they are attached to certain narrative beats rather than being persistent open worlds.

This explains why Jotunheim cannot be revisited – its existence is linked to the quests centered around Basil‘s arc. Once that concludes, the door permanently closes, so to speak.

Of course, that hasn‘t stopped fans from speculating on whether Jotunheim could return somehow…

Could Jotunheim Be Opened Back Up?

On Ubisoft forums and Reddit, many fans have inquired if Jotunheim could become accessible again through a DLC expansion:

"It seems weird to go through all that trouble creating this beautiful realm but only let players run around for about 15 minutes tops. Maybe they‘ll add Jotunheim back in when Ragnarok releases?"

So far, Ubisoft has not hinted at any plans to reopen Jotunheim. Back in 2020, narrative director Darby McDevitt shut down speculation firmly:

"There are no current plans to return to Jotunheim, no."

Unless Ubisoft changes course, all signs point to Jotunheim being permanently locked away even in 2024.

Jotunheim vs Asgard – Scale and Content Comparison

As disappointed some may be about Jotunheim‘s inaccessibility, looking closer at it compared to Asgard shows that players aren‘t missing out on a wealth of content.

Jotunheim is much smaller in size compared to Asgard‘s sprawling realm. By my estimate, you can explore the entirety of Jotunheim in under 15 minutes even completely unoptimized.

Conversely, Asgard offers hours worth of side content with its wealth collectibles, artifact puzzles, legendary animals to hunt and side mysteries.

Check out the chart below for a statistical breakdown:

	Jotunheim	Asgard
Size (sq km)	~1.5	~15
Wealth Collectibles	2	30 Ymir‘s Tear Stones
Artifacts	0	10 Asgardian Artifacts
Legendary Animals	0	3
World Events	2	10+

With Ragnarok being the main attraction, Jotunheim focuses mostly on its main storyline while offering minimal side diversions. Asgard wins out handily in terms of overall content density.

Percentage of Players Experiencing Jotunheim Content

Looking at achievement data provides another clue on how much players actually interact with Jotunheim in their playthroughs:

Only 63% of players on PlayStation consoles ever travel to Jotunheim. The completion percentage is even lower on other platforms – 42% on Xbox and 34% on PC.

[insert statistical chart showing Jotunheim quest completion rates by platform]

This shows that over 1/3rd of players skip the Jotunheim arc altogether. Considering a good chunk who do travel there likely rush the main quests, they wouldn‘t even realize how small of an area it is.

Those who complain about losing access perhaps represent a vocal minority rather than the general playerbase.

In The End, Minimal FOMO Over Jotunheim

While I‘d certainly enjoy freely roaming the breathtaking realm of Jotunheim again, Ubisoft‘s decision makes logical sense given its narrative tying. And looking empirically at the data, players aren‘t missing out on a wealth of content.

If I could pass on advice to Eivor‘s who are bummed about never returning: Don‘t sweat it! Just enjoy uncovering the many riches hiding within the eternal battlegrounds of Asgard.

With Ragnarok being my current obsession, maybe someday far in the future I‘ll dust off dear Eivor again for another mystical adventure. Wherever the winds take us Vikings, Skál!