From the start of the new Assassin’s Creed Valhalla series, you are immersed in a story of revenge, but most importantly, you have the possibility to choose the gender of your character and even change it along the way. Whether you prefer a girl or a man, the choice will be yours on your adventure (a first for the saga.) The game will also allow you to explore 3 regions, the largest and main, England. The amazing colours and sharp details of the LG UltraGear™ 27GN950 reproduces vivid scenes of the game, while the VESA Display HDR600 delivers incredible contrast, on the large UHD 4K screen. Sail on the rivers aboard your drakkar, walk on foot in the huge valleys or ride your horse to explore, or even better, on the back of a wolf! Your companion will depend on you, personally I preferred the wolf, it is very badass to ride a wolf with an axe let us be honest! This time you will take control of Evior, and it will be up to you to choose your destiny. The fluid gaming motion of the UltraGear™ screen was exceptionally impressive, especially when sailing or riding your horse (thanks for the 144Hz Refresh Rate!)

The game is still very similar to Odyssey and Origins, remember that Origins which kicked off that breath of fresh air that the saga needed. It remains one of my favourite Assassin’s Creed to this day. I found that Odyssey was lacking in meat around the bone, this is probably the one that hooked me the least so far, so I was very scared and excited to see what they were going to do with Valhalla. And I am not disappointed!

For the first time, the franchise is really about exploration, with a game mode that you can select from the start that allows you to have some clues or locations on the map, or not at all and leave you to yourself. This is what I personally decided to do, the immersion is better in my opinion, and my passion for wanting to explore everything before diving here and there into the main story was satisfying. Hidden cities, camps, buried treasures that you would never have discovered without your curiosity, in short, a great adventure awaits you! And exploring this world on the LG UltraGear™ 27GN950 was even better. The unreal picture quality of the screen got me feeling totally immersed in the world. If you are playing a game that is all about being in another world, visual quality and supreme colour is so crucial!

If we talk about exploration, what about the map, vast and magnificent, in the middle of autumn with snow-capped mountains in the distance, you will not be able to prevent yourself from taking some pictures. The sunlight, the atmosphere, the mountains, it is all there, I do not want to make you jealous, but I’m pretty much the Insta-babe of the Valhalla by far!

To give you an idea in terms of gameplay, I am at 40 hours of play and I am far from having seen it all yet! I even have friends who are at 60 hours and still have not finished the game! The UltraGear™ is equipped with FreeSync™ Premium Pro technology, which allows you to experience seamless, fluid movement in hi-resolution for fast-paced games. It virtually reduces screen tearing and stuttering – which helps when you are gaming for long hours like me! Valhalla is huge and promising for the future too with DLC already announced like Wrath of the Druids for early spring 2021, where you can explore the counties of Ireland and face off against a guild of druids called the Children of Danu. Followed very closely in summer 2021 with The Siege of Paris, which takes place, you guessed it, in Paris! You must engage in the fight against Charles the Fat, one of the most daring Viking conquests! And you have to infiltrate the city, create alliances in town and shut down this empire with the strength of your axe! Not to mention the free events that also take part in Season 1 of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. If you want to know more about these 2 extensions as well as the free content that comes with it:

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Post Launch & Season Pass Trailer

Now that I know how much time I’ll be spending playing these games, I’m happy that I added the UltraGear to my set up, that way I can get the best gaming experience possible while I explore the new worlds!

No more combat system that Origins and Odyssey had accustomed you to! It is now impossible to craft arrows, an option that was very practical in previous years to attack enemies when you ran out of ideas or even to attack enemies stronger than you without physically engaging in combat. So think twice before using your arrows, however rest assured, there are plenty of them in encampments or city near by. The one-on-one has changed a lot too, some bosses will be much tougher than before, especially attacks that will force you to parry more and to study your opponent before attacking, since some will give you attacks practically impossible to avoid if you're not careful. The 1ms refresh rate of the UltraGear™ 27GN950 really helps with the combat, and it means that you can make fast and precisely timed moves that help take your opponent down. As usual, you can upgrade your equipment with ruins or find very rare ones in hidden chests or even by defeating strong opponents. The talent tree has evolved too, much bigger, and more complex than the old ones, always gaining a few more points depending on your choices in specific aspects.

A remarkably interesting update, approach enemy villages or camps and take them by surprise by looting everything in your path with your crew! These raids will allow you to improve your village and sometimes find interesting loot for yourself. Some villages or encampments sometimes have a higher level than yours, but believe me, you have the advantage with your team, be strategic and I assure you that you will be able to win. This is the fastest and most efficient way to collect the materials needed to improve your village, I advise you to give it great importance when you come across one! During these missions, I liked to use the Video Sync mode of the monitor, where the sphere lighting lights up according to the visuals on your screen. The ambiance allowed me to really get my head in the game.

I believe this new opus really brings a breath of fresh air to fans of the series, the universe is incredible, the combat system, the raids, the missions, I really enjoyed my experience and it is far from over! My experience was even more fun because I got the chance to play it on the LG UltraGear 27GN950 monitor! A visually unique experience and performance, but the monitor itself needs a complete article for it, so I invite you to take a look at the article in question that I wrote on the monitor!

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Google Stadia, Xbox Series, Microsoft Windows.

- Simon

This review was collected as a part of a paid partnership with LG Canada.