I don't have a lot of hours (12+ just about) but so far I have a few things that really annoy me. I'm not a huge die-hard fan of AC as really the only games I've played are Origins and Odyssey (and I only finished Odyssey). Regardless of my limited play-time, some huge complaints that don't necessarily break me from the game, but I really do wonder why Ubisoft took the turn that they did:
1) This bird. Why. You took away a huge part of the game imo, and a huge use for your Eagle/Raven. You can't mark any enemies which is a huge bust - You do have Odin's vision, however: For me, it seems to be really finicky and works only when it wants. There's been several occasions where it quits working completely and I'm left wondering why. Not only does it cut in and out, but it has a limited range. No big deal, except for the fact that it "wears" off and things are no-longer highlighted. Bringing back Black-flags take on highlighting enemies does not tickle my particular fancy. I really enjoyed Origin's/Odyssey's way better as it gave more of a use to the bird. Now, it isn't really important to use your Raven. I mean, sure, you can use it to scout out materials that are hard to come by, and that's nice, but that's really it. Maybe I just rather enjoyed the system far more than I thought I did as I think Ubisoft took a step backwards here. Your companion should have more uses than just 1 small thing, which even then you can just purchase your materials for an easier time as the material quantity is small (like 4-6 iron per node) and seems to be a waste of time. It's a small thing to complain about, but I don't know, the finicky system, it wearing off, and the limited range is a pretty big turn off. I won't of course uninstall my game over it, but it's one of those small things that really tick you off as you play.
2) The stamina bar. To me, it seems like Ubisoft goes back and forth as to whether or not they want to be realistic. In my opinion, realism should only go so far, especially in a game that literally takes you to hell to finish off a target, or that has glowing pyramids that speak to you, or that has mythical creatures for you to kill. Realism, at that point, is thrown out the window, and it's for the better. I don't think (as far as my limited AC knowledge goes) there has been a stamina bar in the past, so why add it now? I do suppose I can understand so you can't combo your attacks nearly as much, but if we take a moment to hop back to Odyssey, the abilities were extremely "broken" - You can just 1-shot literally anyone with 1 ability, and if you had the Season Pass, you had a thunder-strike looking thing that gave you 3 Adrenaline and it took half their health. You go from having 8 abilities for Melee to 4, then you drop the adrenaline bar down to 1 (it started low in Odyssey, I am aware, so maybe there's an upgrade down the line. Not bashing the # of Adrenaline bars per say), and add a stamina bar? It doesn't bother me all that much to be frank, as it doesn't run down that slow, but the fact that it's there at all seems a little unnecessary unless you add in a [censored]-ton of Adrenaline bars and abilities. I feel like the Stamina bar should've been in Odyssey rather than Valhalla.
3) my boat is tiny. 😞
4) Has anyone noticed that when you zoom out the map it automatically pulls you down? No matter where your mouse is, the map zooms out and drops you down to where you have to scroll back up to where you were, but when you zoom-in, it zooms in on your character? It looks like it's pulling you to your settlement, and no matter where you put your mouse, it just gives you a fat pull downwards. Not a fan. Incidentally, I hated the Map system when I first started Odyssey (went from Origins to Odyssey and they were different, I also hated Ikaros [the way it forces you to look upwards/straight, then you have to look down]), but then I began to like it. Now, they moved the system back to the Map mechanics of Origins. Very trippy.
5) I kinda wish there were more defined lines between the parts of the map regions, but it's a really small thing that doesn't bother me a whole [censored]-ton. Just thought I'd mention it.
6) That colorblind mode is [censored] lol. It was also [censored] in the Division 2. I was excited to see it there but it made 0 affect. It says that it's changed and I restarted it, so not sure what's supposed to be changing. I would've thought the out-lines of the enemies changing from Red to whatever, but it just didn't happen. A thing I see with a lot of developers is that it's pre-set based off of the majority that are x colorblind, but I think being able to customize everything, from the color of the dots that represent Wealth, Artifacts, and Mysteries, to the outline of the enemies (and making Odin's vision permanent kthx). would be a must-have addition if you're going to have colorblind mode as an option to begin with. Also, a fun fact: People with the colorblindness Protanopia, *for the most part* (I included) can't distinguish the colors red at all. I was SS'ing for a friend who is not colorblind and she laughed when I sent her a picture of the "colorblind" feature that you can toggle at the very start of the game. She said, and I quote "The normal vision and Protanopia vision are the exact same. Nothing changes". Which, is funny, because Protanopia is red colorblindness. I thought she was messing with me, but lo-behold, she was not. [this is the image that pops up when you go to change the colorblind setting, but if you actually set the Protanopia setting, it's Green. It also didn't load for me right away and took about 3 tries before randomly working for no reason at all.) I don't particularly rely on video games having this feature, however, as the vast majority of them don't. May I suggest a color-wheel of sorts that label each color so you know what you're picking. I was happy to see it there, regardless, even if it was, well, awful.
7) I would like to use E to get off my horse just like in every other god damn [censored] game. Let me just change it myself. I can have E for my horse be get on and get off. It's worked with every other game so far so why change it .-.
8 ) Why can't I craft arrows. Why can't I find wood in the wild. What have you done, Ubisoft, what have you done 😞
9) still mad about the Raven.
10) Why can't I [censored] up the town. I was told there were only like 3 romance options. Let me be a [censored] god-dammit!
11) I actually really liked the Message board from Odyssey. A lot, in fact. I spent probably at least 50-70 hours on the Message Board alone.
12) The abilities overlap with the key assigned (I use Alt+1-Alt+4) so it really muddies up the bottom left and right of my screen. It doesn't bother me a whole ton, but maybe a little bit more space would be a nice addition.
13) There also doesn't seem to be a large amount of side quests. I'm going to assume I'm just too early in the game and be content with that.
14) The story. I uh. I'll just not go there. Again, assuming I'm just too early. Although, killing my mother/father that way was brutal. Just because I'm an assassin doesn't mean I have to have a tragic [censored] start, or ending for that matter [looking at you Odyssey with your Episode 3: Legacy of the First Blade DLC. :(]
15) Why no natural regen. Just why. I liked not having to worry about it.
That was a lot of negatives for ~12 hours into the game. Let's talk positives.
1) I like the settlement. It's nice.
2) The random games are swell, as well as the tattoo/hair customize options.
3) There's a [censored]-ton of Skills. That's neat.
4) Well. We have shields back. That's kinda nice.
5) The Map is large. I think.
6) You can customize your Raven. Neat.
I more just wanted to complain about the [censored] raven more than anything. I really don't understand that down-grade at all. I'd like to be enlightened for the purpose of it. Just seems like a waste. I know Ubisoft likes to mess around and do things that seem risky, but this was an unnecessary risk. It worked very well with Origins and Odyssey, and if you wanted to take a "risk", give the birdie more things to do, not less. Give it a way to kill, another way to harass (dropping objects for a distraction, perhaps) or a million other things.
Overall, it's not a bad game - It has it's up's and down's and gives me vibes from both Origins and Odyssey that I don't particularly mind. I'd like to see more, and right now, I'm liking Odyssey more than Valhalla. But, as I said, I'm still very fresh in the game. I actually hated Odyssey with a passion when I first started it (the abilities, lack of a variety in bows, no shield, that sort of thing), but I got over the petty [censored] (ironic) and started to enjoy it for what it was. Although, I can't imagine I'll ever really "get over" the Raven's lack of a use as that at least stayed consistently between the 2. I'm hoping, at the very least, if you make Odin's vision either permanent, a larger range, or less finicky, I'll like it more. Those would be what would help me hurdle over the uselessness of the Raven.
global:last_edited_by, Asgardian02