Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok Reviews
Dawn of Ragnarök could have righted some of Valhalla’s wrongs, but it mostly inherits and compounds them. The more imaginative setting is betrayed by its mundane and uninspired open-world trappings that focus almost exclusively on the quantity of trivial and all too familiar activities at the expense of discovery.
I have no doubt that Dawn of Ragnarok will be enjoyable for some. In truth, however, it only takes a hesitant half-step towards offering a full fantasy experience, and in not committing fully, it ends up being a shallow expansion that does little to justify its price point or its existence.
Dawn of Ragnarok is an expansion aimed specifically toward Assasin's Creed: Valhalla enthusiasts. It doesn't compare to some of the more recent games that have made use of Norse Mythology. It boasts a solid combat system that is hampered by the antiquated quest design and a mediocre plot.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarök isn't a bad game, but it isn't particularly fantastic either. You can still have a good time with Dawn of Ragnarök if you're still craving Valhalla after hours of gameplay. Svartalfheim is a gorgeous place to wander around, although it has nothing to do with Assassin's Creed.
The result is the release of an impressive but also predictable expansion.
Review in Greek | Read full review
For the devout Assassin’s Creed Valhalla fan, there’s about 20 hours or so of solid gameplay to be gleamed out of Dawn of Ragnarok. A bit more if you want to see and do everything. But chances are it won’t particularly impress. It’s simply more of the same for the most part, with a story that fails to truly engage. It’s perhaps the fact that you’re not given free reign of your new abilities that that’s the biggest disappointment – you’re supposed to be a god, so why not let us feel like one? And so, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok is an inessential expansion. One that feels like a missed opportunity.
Overall, Dawn of Ragnarok is a decent if unessential expansion. Its game world is engaging and the new combat elements included work extremely well, but for all its size there's a distinct lack of anything new to do. Those who loved the original game's Asgard sections will likely find plenty to love, but like the other Assassin's Creed Valhalla DLC it sits firmly in the nice-to-have territory.
While Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok has some brilliant ideas, it's far from the epic expansion that you'd want it to be. It's hampered by reused mechanics and a story that's woefully disconnected from your main character's arc.
With the recent influx of incredible games paired with the ample amount of innovative Norse Mythology games released in recent years, Assassin's Creed: Valhalla Dawn of Ragnarok serves as little more than a familiar midnight snack for those looking for something to nibble on in between better games.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok is fun and rich but shallow expansion. The mythic take on Assassin's Creed adventure could have been great thanks to a nice setting and the new powers, but it feels just another skin of the same structure, which works, yes, but after more than 100 hours, it probably needed something more.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Dawn of Ragnarök doesn't tell a compelling story, but its introduction of god-like powers creates new avenues for how players can explore and fight in Assassin's Creed Valhalla.
The first post-season pass DLC is a substantial slab of new plot, gear, and abilities but never anything more than that. If you loved the base game, this is a lot more of exactly the same.
A fantastical setting and solid story can't disguise the fact that Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok has us running through the same motions as the main game a year and a half later.
I hope that Ubisoft can return to its roots and start looking at shrinking the worlds and focusing on the characters and lore. If there is a big positive note with Ragnarök, it is that this game could have been a stand-alone title. With the focus on the main character and the story unfolding the way it does, it has strengths over what was introduced with Assassin's Creed Valhalla's release.
In the end, the Dawn of Ragnarok just doesn't quite connect with the main game in a satisfying way and its biggest additions to gameplay be accessed in the main adventure which in turn make it feel pointless.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok surely is an ambitious expansion, and for those that are looking for it, it provides an often engaging collective of content to sift your way through, buffing out your character with imaginative gear and mythically enhanced weapons. Put together with its new power sets and enemy types, fun boss fights, and a relatively engaging story, Dawn Of Ragnarok is worth checking out. However, beyond its layers of content and amicable entertainment levels, this is a mythical romp that sadly stays in its lane, and shirks its evolutionary responsibilities that previous entries have carried on so well.
The map is relatively huge for an expansion — I have yet to discover the whole of it with my 20 hours of gameplay — and there are so many side quests that it feels it can be its own game. I rarely felt that I should have played Assassin's Creed Valhalla as it kept me engrossed in the story. Yes, I agree that players starting their Valhalla journey may need some training to get a hang of the controls, and for that particular reason I feel Dawn of Ragnarök deserved its own title.
Dawn of Ragnarok is the most ambitious Valhalla DLC and arguably the most ambitious DLC out of the three new Assassin's Creed games.
As much fun as I had with this expansion, I do have to admit that I feel a little let down. If this were explicitly leading into another DLC story I’d be excited, but as things are I feel more like I’ve taken a running start into a brick wall with a very cool door painted on it. I can see this as a fun experience to play as part of an overall Assassin’s Creed Valhalla experience, if you were stepping into the game and all its DLC for the first time – but as something that brought me back to the game seven months after finishing The Siege of Paris, it feels like more of a promising snack than a satisfying main meal.
Ubisoft takes us by the hand and slowly leads us towards Ragnarok, in an expansion that reserves few flashes in terms of narration and staging.
Review in Italian | Read full review