Valkyrie Elysium acquired a lukewarm reception when it launched on PS4 and PS5 in September. The sport is now additionally accessible on PC, bringing with it hours of hack-and-slash motion. Set in the identical universe because the earlier video games within the Valkyrie sequence, this one modifications issues up and is a full-on motion sport the place gamers take the Valkyrie Maria via a sequence of maps alongside the summonable Einherjar. Regardless of the less-than-flattering evaluations the sport acquired slightly over a month in the past, it nonetheless has a lot to supply followers of third particular person motion video games that wish to discover the sequence’ mythological setting whereas upgrading varied weapons. However the query stands – is Valkyrie Elysium price it on PC?
It’s slightly humorous that Valkyrie Elysium is releasing on PC when individuals are nonetheless enamored with God of Conflict: Ragnarok, as this sport additionally has a Norse setting set amidst Ragnarok. Right here, Ragnarok has already occurred and Odin is weakened after battling the wolf. That’s the place the Valkyrie Maria is available in, as he sends her off to purify corrupted souls and improve his energy. The story isn’t the main focus right here, which is okay by me, as I don’t care a lot for Norse mythology. You may select to take heed to dialogue within the unique Japanese or a full English dub.
To place it bluntly, Valkyrie Elysium is not a handsome sport. It’s very clear that it began life as a PlayStation 4 title and it has most of the telltale visible facets of earlier Unreal Engine 4 Video games. Every thing seems cheaply cel-shaded and the draw distance is particularly low, despite the fact that the PC model allows you to decide your setting for that. Regardless of being an Unreal 4 sport, the body fee is capped at a max of 60 fps, even supposing video games within the engine will all run at excessive body charges. Fortunately, you’ll be able to set your personal cap with Common Unreal Engine 4 Unlocker.
Minimize ’em down
Regardless of the apparent technological points, I fairly like Valkyrie Elysium. You’ll select from fundamental quests and facet quests by way of a map within the sport’s hub. These quests are set in varied ranges you could discover to seek out flowers that share lore when interacted with, in addition to chests containing usable objects and scrolls that unlock using magic spells. You may solely play as Maria in the primary sport, however you’ll unlock Einherjar as the sport progresses. These might be summoned so long as you will have the magic to take action.
Summoned Einherjar will assault enemies alongside Maria, however additionally they grant her assaults elemental injury. Completely different enemies are weak to totally different parts. She will be able to even have a number of weapon varieties on her particular person without delay, which you’ll freely swap between, that particular enemies are additionally weak to. You need to use this to stack injury by summoning the appropriate Einherjar and utilizing the suitable weapon, which is fairly satisfying. Fight is weighty and responsive. Maria’s assault combos are flashy and enjoyable to make use of, making use of a combo system just like the Musou video games, the place you’ll change your assaults by urgent the robust assault button amidst the default assault combo.
Maria can block and dodge enemy strikes. She will be able to’t cancel any of her animations, however they nonetheless really feel pretty helpful for avoiding injury. There are additionally equippable magic spells that may hit enemy weaknesses. You’ll continuously obtain supplies that can be utilized to improve Maria’s capabilities and enhance her weapons as nicely. The maps ranges happen in are decently giant and there are locations to discover off of the mission-critical path. On the finish of every mission, you’re graded with a bonus for greater ranks.
Whereas I perceive that the sport’s lackluster visuals don’t make for probably the most engaging presentation, I’m having sufficient enjoyable with the fight and exploration that I feel Valkyrie Elysium is price it. There’s additionally a mode with one other playable character, plus an extra mode on prime of that, which can give gamers a cause to stay round. When you like motion RPGs, don’t let the middling evaluate scores lead you to consider that there’s nothing for the sport to supply, because the motion is deep and satisfying sufficient to maintain anybody searching for a stable combat-based sport busy for a pair dozen hours or so.