#valhalla blogging

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Me, playing AC Valhalla: god I miss Kassandra

Me, playing AC Odyssey: god I miss Eivor

[ithinkthiswasabadidea]

I'm amusing myself rn by imagining how Geralt and the other Witchers would get along with the Assassin's Creed protagonists (the ones I know/have played the games of) and this is what I have so far

Geralt, I feel, is most similar to Kassandra personality-wise, and would get along best with her. Should he actually share his life story, he'd he'd find himself with a very similar 'weight of the world on my shoulders' sort of connection with her. Considering how much war and personal strife they've each been through, I think their personal philosophies would mesh quite well

Geralt and Bayek share an extreme loyalty to their creed and a devotion to those they love. They both take the 'noble high road' when it comes to certain decisions. Also very driven by personal connections to their loved ones and children. Especially interesting I think, is to note how each of them passes on their legacy and that of their role, Witcher and Assassin, in their resepctive worlds

Geralt and Eivor however, both wordsmiths when they want to be, able to talk their way out of situations, and when that doesnt work... I think they would both be VERY interested in the others combat abilities and skills, and would find fighting together to be a rather enjoyable affair

Matching up the other Witchers though;

Lambert and Kassandra share a sense of humour and a bold, smart-assed streak. Confident to a fault and enjoy poking fun at the people closest to them to show affection. Certainly they would find a way to be silly together, but I think moreso they would be extremely respectful of what the other had gone through. Particularly the 'I didn't choose this life but I literally have no choice to be anything other than the weapon I was made to be' deal that they both have

Vesemir and Bayek would for sure wax and wane philosophy all day if they came down to it. Bayek with an immense thirst for knowledge, learning how to overcome challenges, and also both of them being survivors of an event which tore apart their families.... I think Vesemir would appreciate another young mind to share his skills with, and Bayek and his focus on doing what is right would be a nice reminder that sometimes you just cannot stay neutral

Eskel and Eivor..... oh dude. Nothing would get in their way, holy fuck. Not just the combat dream team (of my dreams 😩) but also the fucking?!! 'Gets Shit DONE' mentality that they both have ?? Woe be to the person or creature that gets in their way. Also. Both having the weight of responsibility on them, keeping them as quite serious and focused, yet when with their family they let their humour and fun side show 🥺

The only other Witcher I know is Letho, and the only other Assassin I know is Basim........ I don't feel like I'm wrong in thinking there could be a connection there too, but other than self-serving yet absolutely relentless, I'm not sure what else

[ithinkthiswasabadidea]

I've been doing a final 'victory tour' of sorts around the Valhalla map with Eivor, because I needed to finish some trophies and also do the Last Goodbyes mission. So I was visiting my favourite locations and seeing if I could spot any old friends, and I went back to say goodbye to Ceolbert one last time and it gave the option to interact with the burial sarcophagus in the little chapel, and Eivor fucking CRIED OVER HIM 💔

It brought tears to my eyes too. I didn't expect that to happen, since I'd visited before this and I don't think it happened the first time. Ough. God. 💔💔

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Lads, please , you're fucking killing me here 😭😭

Never taking these two pillaging with me again smfh

[ithinkthiswasabadidea]

Oh that was FUN omg Geralt so confused yet enthusiastically getting into a rhyming battle rather than a fist fight! That reminded me so much of all of Eivor's flyting challenges in AC Valhalla 😄

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Skellige is already reminding me soooo much of AC Valhalla and Eivor exploring Norway, because of course it is 🥺 and I love how small and cozy the not-quite-a-longhouse homes here feel compared to the cottages back in Velen. It's lovely here so far 🥰

Y'know, I bet Eivor and Geralt would get along like a house on fire

[ithinkthiswasabadidea]

*AC Valhalla spoiler*

Hey did you know with Ivarr -

After he killed King Rhodri and blood eagled him, you can actually angle the in-game camera to get a peak at his blood eagle from behind, through a small gap in the rock he's propped up against

It is, of course, rather brutal with broken ribs and spine and innards. But I'm morbidly fascinated by ritualistic deaths through history (whether authentic or not), and the horror is even more punctuated by the great lengths that Ivarr went to in the game, to get Rhodri to this point. All to produce a gruesome spectacle

You have to hate him at least a bit by the end of this particular quest, but I have to hand it to the developers for not pulling their punches here either

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Thoughts about Wrath of the Druids and Siege of Paris, now that they're both done!! (Also I don't really have any desire to play Dawn of Ragnarok tbh, so I'm just not gonna get that one)

WotD was sooo beautiful, and aesthetically I loved this dlc. It was so so nice to explore Ireland, especially all of its landmarks, standing stones and tombs!

I also really liked the characters!! Bárid very quickly grew on me, I enjoyed his characterisation a lot, and both Flann Sinna and Ciara were very compelling for different reasons

I was also much more invested in this dlc because of the way they quickly set up the familial ties and friendships between Eivor and the other characters, and showed what was at stake

I was quite interested in the Children of Danu and their workings, especially the more 'fantasy' elements that the faction brought

I kind of wish we got to see more of the story from the perspective of the druids, I think it would've made the final confrontation even more heavy to deal with, seeing as the choices made don't exactly have any weight to them outside of the dlc itself

I think overall, I enjoyed WotD a lot more than SoP, as it was more consistently fun to play and discover Ireland

SoP was very slow to start, and I feel like we didn't get much of a chance to bond with these allies before jumping into 'we need to kill all the Franks'. It didn't grab my attention

The majority of this dlc was more unremarkable than I expected. There were no targets to hunt down, and the setting itself was rather grim and boring (also FUCK the rat swarms and cavalry)

HOWEVER, I thought that the Paris siege itself was one of the better and more interesting sieges we got to take part in, even across the whole main game too, because it was so dynamic

Taking down the bridge, fighting in the streets, then running with Toka across rooftops while fire rains down around us? Fantastic and visceral, super fun stuff

Also really interesting to see Eivor's different opinions when she's fighting not for herself and her loved ones, but for someone else, on the off chance that subduing France will help her people. She's so much less invested, and more worried about the potential fall-outs and casualties here. That was almost never apparent in England, she's so much more introspective

The acting was really good, especially towards the end, and I really liked Count Odo as a character. Richardis, Charles and Sigfred were done well also

Overall, while a few missions in Paris really wowed me, Ireland was much more consistently enjoyable! I still had a good time with Eivor of course, spending more time with her before I fully finish up, and I feel like these dlc's were net positive to the game 😊