Assassin's Creed Valhalla | The Power of Sound

This is Eivor. She's pretty cool tbh!

Assassin’s Creed is a franchise that I have a love/hate relationship with, something which I think many people who are invested in the series as much as I am also have. Despite the direction that it's headed in during the past few years, one thing has remained consistent throughout. That consistent feature is the music.

Almost every entry in the series has an iconic soundtrack, regardless of how underwhelming the rest of the experience ends up being. The original installments will always have the best scores to me, as these were the Assassin’s Creed games that I grew up playing. They helped create the exemplary atmospheres that made these experiences feel as immersive as they were memorable.

It’s been 14 years since the first Assassin’s Creed game was released, and since then an iconic soundtrack has unintentionally become a core staple of the series. There are many things to fault with this latest era of the franchise, but it would be disingenuous to say that the music is one of them.

This brings me on to Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, which in my opinion, has the best soundtrack the franchise has ever had since the Ezio games. To put it simply, it’s incredible. It feels unique and highly authentic to the game’s Viking setting.

This doesn’t come as a surprise given the people behind it. Jesper Kyd, who composed the classic scores for the old games has made a return, and some of the tunes he’s made for Valhalla feel very reminiscent of the older entries. This is especially apparent in his 'Kingdom of Wessex' track which helped deliver the payoff of finally arriving in Wessex.

Sarah Schachner composed the soundtracks for Assassin’s Creed Unity and Assassin’s Creed Origins, the latter of which I also rank high on the best Assassin’s Creed soundtracks list. She’s made quite a few iconic tunes for Valhalla as well, and is honestly just as good as Jesper Kyd. Her 'The First Departure' track is absolutely stunning, and plays once you leave Norway for England. It also plays after synchronizing at every view point. If I had to pick a favourite track, this one would definitely be in contention.

Lastly Einar Selvik, who just so happens to be my favourite singer, wrote, composed and sung all of the songs in the game. These songs are most prominent in the raids and longship travel sections, sung either in English or old Norse. His music helped build up the tension of all the battle sequences and the atmosphere of traveling through England via longship. His 'Odin's Ride to Hel' tune plays in some of the sieges that take place in set parts of the story. Tracks like this immediately make these sequences more heated and dramatic.

Ubisoft had the dream team working on the music for this installment. It’s no surprise to me that it is as good as it is. Why is it so significant though? I could go on and on about how good it is, but there’s more to it than that. What about it is worth writing an article?

To start with, I should probably mention that I'm not a fan of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. I found it heavily bloated and repetitive. There is a plethora of things wrong with it that result in it becoming an absolute slog to play. It goes on for too long and outstays its welcome.

But all of that can be talked about in a review, which I may or may not write. There’s a reason that I’ve talked about the soundtrack for Valhalla so much. People underestimate what sound can bring to the table when creating an immersive video game. If it’s bad, it has the ability to turn what could have been a captivating experience into something that feels cheap and lethargic.

Take a look at Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2 for example. The game itself is fine, and you can see that a lot of work was conducted into making the mechanics smooth and the race tracks looking as detailed as they are, but the sound is so flat and cheap. Not to mention the characters themselves have no voices whatsoever, something that is immediately noticeable. When audio quality is bad, it sticks out like a sore thumb. It’s one of those nicks that once you spot it, you cannot un-spot it.

A very charming game that loses quite a bit of its charm thanks to the poor sound quality. Be sure to check out my review of it by clicking the image!

To contrast this, take a look at Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. One of its core features is its sound design, as you play as a character suffering from psychosis. As a result of this condition, your character hears voices in her head. These vocal apparitions not only add to the atmosphere of the game, but also provide the player with guidance, as well as deceit. Are they trying to help you progress, or are they trying to trick you?

If you haven't checked it out already, give Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice a go! An unforgettable experience. (It also has a pretty neat soundtrack)

Going back to Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, the area of sound that it most succeeds in, as has already been mentioned, is its music. There is a certain lure contained within it that catches every element of ninth century England & Norway. It catches the tensions and the hardships of that era as well as the diversity and identity of all the cultures involved.

It also helps that the soundtrack was composed using a wide variety of instruments, most of which are authentic to the time period. Whether you are riding through the wilderness, raiding monasteries, exploring ancient Roman ruins or interacting with the various inhabitants of this period, there is a tune that fits the situation that makes these moments feel better than they actually are.

The truth is, the music makes me want to launch the game, despite my feelings towards it. There have been numerous times where I listen to it and have a brief moment where I forget my criticisms of it and decide to open it up, only to quickly become bored. Even when it is uninstalled, I still get tempted to reinstall it.

Valhalla has a beautiful world to explore that's made even more serene thanks to its soundtrack.

This is because the music tells a story. It tells the tale of a group of Norse people being pushed out of their home as a result of political struggles and wanting better for themselves. It follows Eivor, a loyal and determined viking as she helps make a home in a new land for her people, discovering more about herself and the world around her. It is a deeply personal tale. A lot of this is represented through the music.

Sadly, the game struggles to deliver on these facets. It's not that the story isn't there or isn't developed enough. In fact the story is really good. But because of the sheer and extreme size as well as the poor pacing, Valhalla just doesn't convey what the music is trying to.

This sort of quality that the music possesses isn't new to the franchise, in fact, it is present in the early Assassin’s Creed games. The only difference is that those soundtracks came with games that were more polished and were enjoyable to play. If Valhalla was as half as good as its soundtrack, it would be brilliant.

I don't care what people say, Revelations will forever be my favourite...

This isn’t to say that this is some unique attribute that’s incredibly rare in the industry. Many games have iconic soundtracks, but what makes this one worth talking about is that despite being an unpolished product, there is something there that is so good that makes you want to come back to it.

Of course, this attraction might not be present for everybody. Not everyone will like the music. I am a huge music nerd, so it is typical of me to fall into this trap. The important thing to note from this discussion is that you should never underestimate the power of sound. It has the ability to make something significant by making it memorable, even almost tricking someone into viewing it in a more positive light.

Before I conclude this piece, I would just like to leave this last piece of music. Their rendition of Ezio's Family, another Assassin's Creed tradition that has seen multiple versions of the tune made for each game, is well worth recognition. Despite the drastically different direction the series has gone, this tune reminds you what this franchise still is at heart.

However, in my 80 hour playthrough of the game, I never heard this tune once. God damnit Ubisoft...