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Back in 2020, my most anticipated launch title for the new console hardware was Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. The notion of slamming together Ubisoft’s lumbering open world saga, which had only recently reinvented itself as more of an RPG, with the lore trappings and Viking-derived aesthetic of something like Skyrim seemed like a wildly good idea.
The game went on to sell more units than any other in franchise history, so they were clearly on to something.
Unfortunately, it started to lose me as a player during the very first battle.
I’m a weird person who has spent a healthy chunk of their life editing audio for a living, and also writing reviews of headphones and other gear on the internet. I love good sound design in games. A convincing sonic landscape can elevate a mundane experience into something rich and inviting. The 2020 consoles launched with built-in 3D audio support and hardware-driven virtualization for headphone listeners. They were practically begging for games to feature dynamic and interesting sound mixes.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla wasn’t up to the task. The game’s audio is a weird nightmare mess, full of assets of wildly different quality…
