The Joy of Assassin's Creed: Valhalla's Mini-games | Winter Spectacular 2020
It has been two years since Ubisoft released an instalment of its flagship franchise, Assassin’s Creed, and boy have I missed it. It is no surprise that the announcement of Valhalla way back at the end of April brought tears of joy. And now with over a month exploring my way through England in the 9th Century, my own saga is still nowhere near complete.
But I’m not here to talk about the main story or the lore, oh no, this time I am here to dip into the sheer vast amount of side activities you can get lost in. And you will. I’m 100+ hours in and still less than half the way through the main story because they are just so time-consuming and so much fun to find and complete. I will become Orlog Champion, and everyone will listen to my flyte my way to success!
Rolling up to the tavern to play Orlog like…
Orlog:
Some of the earliest comparisons I made to this game was Gwent, the card minigame in The Witcher III: Wild Hunt. The mechanics may be completely different between the two, but they are both equally addictive. Also, I am horrendously bad at both. (I am far better at flyting, with a 100% success rate there, which we’ll get to in a minute)
But!
I do feel, that like Gwent, Orlog has the opportunity to become its own esport. Whether online with its own dedicated website or app, or with physical sets of dice and ‘godly favour’ tokens, we could see this become a competition. And Ubisoft has other IPs where esport competitions occur, such as the annual Just Dance World Cup and Rainbow Six: Siege’s tournaments.
The beauty of Orlog is that it is so simple in design; six dice, a trio of godly favours on hand and your wit against that of NPC you’ve challenged. Once you’ve figured out which combination of the godly favours works best for your playstyle (initially you start off with just Thor, but gain more as you add to your victories). Each godly favour grants its own benefit; from Thor dealing damage, to having the opportunity to throw dice out of play or roll new ones, your strategy and how you decide which of the gods are on your side is all determined by the roll of six dice.
My preferred set up for the godly favours: Thor, Skadi and Freyja. And while Thor’s favour is the one all players start off with before a single match, it’s never failed me yet. Being able to take out half of your opponent’s health in a single swipe? Golden. And the best part of this is? Orlog is going to become a physical game! Ubisoft are planning to release actual sets of the dice (originally only available with the Pure Arts US/Canada exclusive set). Fancy a game of Orlog? Uhh, yes please!
Good news and bad news.
Good news: their are a lot of nondescript rocks stacked on each other throughout England.
Bad news: their are a lot of nondescript rocks stacked on each other throughout England.
Cairns:
Stacking things into a singular, unsupported tower has oddly been a fixture of my life since childhood - and I cannot tell you how often I’ve done it while waiting for combat turns playing Dungeons and Dragons.
Cairns are not this.
Some of them seemingly defy gravity and break all known laws of physics as you try and stack a variety of different stones atop one another. And this is seemingly so “relaxing” for Eivor that, like with the constellations in Origins, you are treated to memories of Evior’s childhood - time with their parents or Sigurd. Evior finds cairns relaxing; these historic markers of travellers are a way of them finding a moment of peace on their own adventure.
For me? They’re the bane of my existence.
They are also the most time consuming of AC: Valhalla’s distractions - with the easiest sets being verified and achieved in minutes - but ask anyone who has managed to build their way through some of the more difficult and they can take hours.
I’ve heard of Epic Rap Battles of History… BUT THIS IS RIDICULOUS!
*sad trombone noise*
Flyting:
What could make a game about Vikings and gods better?
Viking Rap Battles.
Being able to boast about your achievements and similarly thrash your opponent whilst all in rhyming verse and slamming them with scathing retorts is a wordsmith’s joy. For all of you with a panache for word play or writers like myself, this is right up your alley!
From other drengr like yourself to nobles and everyone in between, settlements and cities across England have a number of people waiting to test your mettle against theirs.
Feel a bit too confident in yourself? Why not place a wager? Before going (almost literally) head to head, you can place a small, medium, or large bet on yourself - getting a tidy sum in return at your success.
The key to flyting: Pay attention. There’s no use trying to pick the option featuring a classic dig at their mother when they’re insulting your looks and calling you “the blight of the Norse”. Though some of those responses are downright hilarious.
Winning might not just give you coin, but also increase your Charisma score - unlocking the chance for responses in the rest of the game that sometimes allows you to take a different route.
1. It’s Christmas and it’s been a crappy year enjoy a drink or two.
2. Please drink responsibly.
Drinking Games:
Now, where would a Viking be without the odd tipple of mead in a feast hall?
Eivor is definitely no slouch at this, given how often across the map they are challenged to a drinking competition. (And given how often I lose, they’re clearly a lightweight). Two challengers, three horns of mead, one-button mash to victory. Be careful as you chug down those beverages though - one mispress of the button prompt, or fail to right yourself as you begin to sway sometime during your second or third cup, and you’ll lose a valuable lead.
The drinking challenges are almost the “rhythm game” challenges of Valhalla, with the goal being to sip along at the perfect moment; getting into that pattern where you gradually increase the rate you drink and see your lead opening up is thrilling, but stall or stumble and you’re going to be slower - giving the NPC the chance to win.
And win they will. But in a way, Eivor comes out of the challenge a winner, too. Regardless of the result, they will walk away with a little bit of a buzz, tipsy and the world a little bit cosier than the adrenaline they walked in with.
Does it count as fishing if you catch it with a arrow fired from a bow?
Fishing:
Had enough of the fast-paced lifestyle for a bit? Taking that tenth consecutive loss from the Orlog player in Lunden a bit too hard (personal experience … don’t ask) then why not try fishing for a bit of a breather?
The best part about this is - you can do it almost anywhere (provided you’re near a water source, of course). Reel in an eel, rake in the hake or sling your hook for a haddock, you don’t even have to blindly fly across the map if you’re looking for something specific. “Fantastic Fishes and Where to find them” and all three volumes are found at the in-game stores and are so useful in telling you which types of fish are found where.
Several side missions and even a little breather with Ceolbert as the two of you take a moment in Sciropescire between some very heavy moments to just sit back and cast a line. A perfect photomode opportunity, and a perfect moment to truly take in the beauty of the world.
As soon as you build the Fishing Hut in Ravensthorpe, the world is your oyster (sadly, I don’t think you can find any oysters in-game).
People rushed through Valhalla, but I’ve taken my time with it, exploring through its secrets and finer details. And I’ve thoroughly enjoyed doing that. Being able to spend an hour or two fishing and listening to the world pass me by, delving into is a breath of fresh air. After Odyssey where at any moment you could be set upon by mercenaries or other titles where it felt as if you had to keep one eye out all of the time, Valhalla really allows players to feel like they can get to know Eivor’s new home. You can relax here, sit down and just watch if you want.
It makes the 9th Century become full of life. History is in the making and the main game can be heavy-hitting at times, but it’s also important for any hard-hitting Viking to take some time off, relax and dabble with the lighter things in life.
