@pesto Hi, yes I feel I was overly harsh having played through more of the game and given it some thought. I think you made some excellent points and I would agree with them. However I do think some of my original quibbles still stand, only you addressed those issues better than I. Eivor is not altogether without character - there are some very good poignant moments of storytelling that feel authentic - such as the small side quest with the girl still waiting for her father as the last leaf is about to fall and his promise to return to her remains unfulfilled. That was very touching, yet on the other hand there are still a few crass tropes that make it all feel a little inconsistent. This might be what you refer to as that 'hero' narrative when he/she is not really a hero at all and that's not made evident. In any case, it's only a game, a fantasy ... a modern day one at that and still despite its flaws an enjoyable enough one; with some great moments.

My overview of A.C Valhalla: Visual game design is great, open world free-play is fun, liked the male voice actor playing Eivor ... downside is that despite claim of story being based on historical events, it's not stated just how loose that interpretation is. In truth it's complete fantasy. You can't have a realistic and balanced gameplay experience in an era where companies are more interested in pandering to a tiny demographic of left-wing extremists who literally want to re-write history.
At the same time a worrisome anti-English sentiment pervades the game that the makers I'm sure would never dare display toward one of today's ethnically elevated groups. I mean the same lack of characterisation, simplification and plain bad writing in order to make the 'hero' look good. A key part of being a Viking raider was the [censored] and gathering of slaves Ubisoft. You left that out. In this game the Saxons are bad for wanting to stop them and ... not be sold in a market somewhere. Christianity also for some reason comes off looking foolish. Cheap shots. Now the game makers could have done DLC where you get to fight off Norse marauders. You could have done the battle of Maldon from Beohrthelm's perspective. Making Alfred .. England's national hero a bad guy, basically Lord Farquaard ... was downright insulting. YOU are the bad guys Ubisoft for producing this simple-minded McViking hogwash. Picking a side so blatantly is always a mistake. The story-breaks to the present were also jarring as hell and a real pain to endure. Idiotic choice. The soundtrack was decent however. To summarise: a muddled, badly written happy-meal of a game when it could have been prime steak. At times insulting but with some good work in between from those involved in the actual nuts and bolts stuff.