Valhalla is the Superior Assassin‘s Creed Game, But Origins Deserves Credit Too

As a hardcore Assassin‘s Creed gamer and content creator, I am often asked which of the recent RPG-style entries in the series is better – Origins or Valhalla? This debate has raged on ever since Valhalla arrived in late 2020 and continued Origins‘ legacy. After diving deep into both games and analyzing their key elements, I believe Assassin‘s Creed Valhalla is the slightly superior game overall. However, Origins established the new direction for the franchise and deserves immense credit in its own right. In this in-depth guide, I‘ll compare the two across various gameplay aspects and explain why I give Valhalla the edge, while acknowledging why some fans prefer Origins.

Reinvigorating the Franchise

Before we dive into details, it‘s important to understand the context of Origins‘ release in 2017. The Assassin‘s Creed series was growing stale, with syndicate selling less than half the copies of Black Flag. Fans and critics alike were fatigued by the repetitive formula. Origins reinvigorated the franchise by transitioning into an action RPG, with loot, levels, skill trees, and dialogue options. This allowed for greater depth in customizing your assassin and approaching missions. Suddenly the series captured fans attention again, while laying the groundwork for Odyssey and Valhalla to further refine the new formula.

World Building and Immersion

Creating an immersive historical world is vital for Assassin‘s Creed. Here, both games excel in their own rights. Origins meticulously recreated ancient Egypt at an enormous scale, spanning from Alexandria to the Sahara. Walking inside giant pyramids or discovering hidden tombs beneath the dunes makes it a joy to explore. The attention to detail brings the world to life through small touches like enemies speaking demotic Egyptian. Valhalla counters with the most diverse world since AC2, encompassing several English kingdoms. From the foggy fens of East Anglia to the walled cities of Mercia, each region has distinct charms and secrets to uncover. Ultimately Origins may tell a stronger localized story, but Valhalla‘s scope and variety give it the edge in world building.

Storytelling and Characters

At the heart of every Assassin‘s Creed game lies its narrative and characters. Here, Valhalla tells the more emotionally impactful tale as Eivor struggles to find a home for their clan in England. The complex relationships between Eivor, Basim, and Sigurd evolve in dramatic ways. Choices also matter more in shaping the outcome. Origins does feature the better protagonist – Bayek‘s quest for revenge makes him extremely motivated and likeable. However, Valhalla builds on the improvements of past games – dialogue choices, cinematic cutscenes, and enhanced NPC interactions. This makes Eivor and their companions feel more integral to the world around them.

Customization and Progression

A highlight of the new era Assassin‘s Creeds is the ability to deeply customize your character through gear and skills. Origins offers a diverse arsenal including swords, scepters, bows, and shields across multiple slots. Poison and fire abilities bring options to combat. Standout skills like predator shot improve stealth archery. Valhalla simplifies gear to main hand, off hand, bow, and armor. However, the skill tree adds even more options through unique abilities like dual spears or double shields. Overall, Valhalla‘s loadout and skills combine to allow more diverse and impactful progression systems.

This advantage becomes clear when you consider builds. For example, I beat Origins mainly using hunter skills for arrow damage and predator shot because stealth ranged is so powerful. But in Valhalla, I‘ve respec‘ed between dual dagger assassination, axe throwing, and shield bash builds by acquiring new gear and skills. This extends replayability and customization.

Satisfying Combat Systems

Combat is a vital aspect of gameplay loop. Here Origins established the hitbox-based system but enemies were rather basic. Valhalla kept this system but expanded the enemy archetypes and abilities. Fighters dodge and counter more intelligently. With the addition of unique weapon perks and runes, gear now directly impacts combat, rather than just stats. Finishers add visceral oomph to executions. All these improvements combine to make Valhalla‘s battles more challenging and enjoyable, strengthening a major portion of the core gameplay.

Engaging Side Content

As with any open world game, optional content bolsters replayability between story missions. Here Valhalla again refines Origins‘ foundation with more diversity and enjoyable activities. Hunting legendary animals as part of the Daughters of Lerion quest culminates in epic boss battles. Building alliances through flyting contests and drinking games brings humor to the world. Raiding castles with your Viking crew never gets old. Mysteries flesh out side stories of the inhabitants. While Origins has its moments like chariot racing, Valhalla‘s wider array of activities kept me engaged for much longer.

Technical Improvements

As a cross-gen release 3 years after Origins, Valhalla unsurprisingly delivers technical advancements. Load times are significantly faster on next-gen consoles and PC. Denser crowds and enhanced draw distances help the world feel more alive. Ray tracing support enables beautiful lighting effects. At launch, Origins suffered from some performance issues like frame rate drops during busy scenes. Valhalla ran surprisingly smooth at launch and has only improved further through patches. While neither had game breaking bugs, Valhalla‘s technical edge enhances immersion.

Striking that Assassin‘s Creed Vibe

While both deliver an evolution of the series, Valhalla just nails the Assassin‘s Creed vibe in many ways. Customization extends beyond gear into actually building your settlement, almost like managing your own assassin brotherhood. The Order of Ancients ties in the precursor lore closer to previous games. The hidden blade makes a triumphant return, used for deadly assassinations and even in full combat. Eivor‘s story arc has her grappling with Odin‘s influence, bringing in the sci-fi elements. For long time series fans like myself, details like this hit the perfect nostalgia notes.

The Verdict

Assassin‘s Creed Origins deserves immense credit for reinvigorating the storied franchise and ushering in the successful RPG era. However, Valhalla builds on that foundation with refinements across the board – more progression options, satisfying combat, beautiful world building, memorable side quests, and meaningful modern day sequences. As someone passionate about gaming, I strongly recommend both to any fan of action RPGs. But if forced to choose just one, I would suggest players new to the series start with Origins, while hardcore fans will likely enjoy Valhalla more for enhancing everything they love about the franchise.