Those who purchased anything from the EA App, Ubisoft Connect or GOG will find these unplayable through Luna. The “Bring Your Own Library” feature is going away on June 3rd, and if you happened to purchase any third-party titles via Luna’s storefront, tough luck, because no refunds.

It also extends to Ubisoft Plus and Jackbox Games subscriptions. Granted, you can still access these and other third-party titles on other platforms – just not on Luna. Instead, only titles available through Luna Standard (available with Amazon Prime) and Premium ($9.99 monthly) are available.

The change probably wouldn’t sting as much if it wasn’t introduced last year. As it stands, Amazon probably saw an “unhealthy” (by its standards, at least) number of players opting for third-party titles and services over its own subscription services. Perhaps it would rather spend its bandwidth on supporting the latter.

Either way, this represents yet another troubling decision for the company’s gaming practices. Earlier this year, Amazon Game Studios head Christoph Hartmann departed, while Maverick Games (comprised of former Forza Horizon developers) would lose its publishing deal with the company. Amazon Games Montreal and its first game, March of Giants, would also be sold to Ubisoft last December.

You take on the role of Eivor, a warrior who falls into the parentage of clan king Styrbjorn following their parent’s brutal murder. As sibling to the king’s son Sigurd, Eivor and their clan leave their homeland for pastures new, and it’s the historically established duality of Viking motivation which provides game-spanning problems for Valhalla’s narrative. The game’s good for the most part – decent combat, likeable characters, an immersive open world – but the developer clearly had a hard time deciding what kind of story they wanted to tell.

I am no historian and what I am about to say is something I came across when I was searching about the Vikings. There’s reportedly debate amongst historians as to just how bloodthirsty Vikings were. Yes, they ransacked settlements, but there’s also evidence they favoured diplomacy over bloodshed. They co-existed, helped develop language, and established new trade routes.

Regardless of whether this  is true or not, you do a lot of killing in command of Eivor in Valhalla, but overall, the Vikings aren’t shown to be exclusively evil in the game. But it’s this alleged historical nebulousness which got Assassin’s Creed Valhalla off to a bad start according to some fans, with criticism levelling the developer’s efforts towards realism before an axe had even been swung.

According to player feedback, Incorrect weaponry, improper armour, inaccurate shields, improper representation of Saxon culture, over-romanticised visions of Viking wanderlust, numerous were the issues raised by those of a historical background following Valhalla’s reveal trailer. Thing is, video games always blur the edges between historical fact and entertaining fiction.

Oversized weapons, for instance, have always been a thing, their larger frame being more readable on screen. Portraying enemies as hyper-violent brutes to justify your own murderous actions another obvious commonplace example. There’s always going to be a point where developers must put entertainment first, but according to some players, the points at which the developer usurped historical realism for gameplay proved divisive amongst gamers.

Another example would be the verdant landscape of England itself. Now, setting is consistently one of Assassin’s Creeds’ most well-realised features, and whilst the environment’s design is as stellar as always in Valhalla the efforts towards historical accuracy do present the question as to whether 9^th century England was the right choice for an Assassin’s Creed game. After all, the land is flat. According to my research, Anglo-Saxon settlers didn’t build to height. Colossal medieval castles weren’t constructed yet. Forests had next to nothing in them.

The sparse population centred in settlements meant there wasn’t a lot of interesting happenstances occurring during open world traversal. Thus, the series’ integral parkour and free running is side-lined in favour of traipsing across a vast open world where not a lot tends to occur. Historically accurate to a degree, perhaps, but forgoing much of what makes video games – and Assassin’s Creed games in particular – entertaining. Whether this is appealing depends on the individual; as is the theme of this feature: it’s divisive.

The decision to set one of Assassin’s Creed’s mainline entry within a Viking era means the series’ stealth mechanics have been kept on the side-lines too, albeit with the reintroduction of classic features like social stealth there’s more opportunities for sneaking than in the action-orientated Origins and Odyssey. Still, Eivor is not an assassin, their skills in stealth clunky and sluggish. There are stealth elements here though: Eivor is given a handful of tactics from the ‘Hidden Ones’ (Assassins before they called themselves so). One is how to best utilise the blade which they bestow you with and another is a strategy for camouflaging in plain sight. By donning a hood – a tactic not unique to Valhalla but a staple of the series at large – Eivor can sneak into populated areas where Vikings are not welcome, or simply walk by guards without them noticing.

These mechanics don’t go far enough to make stealth a viable option to use throughout, and a further problem is that performing stealthy actions don’t always work anyway. Silently taking down a guard, making zero noise, keeping out of sight; sometimes this has no effect on whether the rest of the town spots Eivor or not. Stealth here is another example of the developer getting stuck between two mindsets.

They felt they had to reintroduce stealth elements following their notable absence from Valhalla’s two predecessors, but they didn’t go far enough to make them a great option for gameplay. As interesting as the movement of Vikings across Europe and beyond in the Middle Ages was, it hasn’t fostered a game which feels like Assassin’s Creed. A decent open world action adventure sure or may be a great one according to our review back in 2020, but too atypical in a series famed for blending sneaking and parkour.

The gargantuan open world plays host to a huge campaign too, with the story’s length itself another bone of contention amongst gamers. Clocking in at around 60 hours, Eivor’s odyssey through Middle Age England takes a while to get going, and it isn’t all that satisfying to undertake and complete. Worse still, arguably the game’s prologue section in Norway is the most interesting part of Valhalla, with many believing the game goes downhill once the clan lands in England. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla then is too long. In fact, Valhalla was one of numerous AAA titles which kickstarted the widespread debate on whether video games had become too large. Eivor’s story, after a while, just doesn’t feel that unique or interesting, and certainly not worth ticking off the best part of three days to see to the end.

That said, an interesting addition to Valhalla’s narrative was its Kingdoms, sections of the country divided up by their various king, leaders, and various noblemen rulers, with Eivor and their clan deciding how best to forge an alliance with the Kingdom. Either via force or diplomacy, these Kingdoms represent a more thoughtful version of the commonplace structure of acquiring sections of the map, and the choice between hostility and negotiation – mirroring real-life Viking approaches – meant gathering up bits of land for the Viking cause never felt overly grindy or like busywork. There was meaning behind these actions.

Side content however was overabundant. Much of Valhalla’s content away from the main story succumbed to the developer’s penchant for copy-pasting. Repetition was rife, and to see all the content through to completion – much like the main campaign – required willpower which frankly shouldn’t even be the case in video games. Collectibles were streamlined compared to Origins and Odyssey, which was a plus, but you must wonder what the point of it all is if pursuing every activity across the map is a repetitive slog for the sake of acquiring a few bits of gear.

In summary, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla suffered an identity crisis which made it divisive amongst fans. Efforts towards realism simultaneously went too far whilst not going deep enough. It seems as though focus was placed in some areas whilst the developer rested on their laurels for others. Valhalla is a great open world Viking adventure and surely has a lot of fans but fails to be a great Assassin’s Creed game.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

As showcased in many other titles, Haptic Feedback will provide detailed controller vibrations, whether you land on an Ikran from up high, gallop across the plains on a Direhorse or speed through dense foliage before hitting a jump pad. The Adaptive Triggers also capture different sensations depending on the weapon, from the pressure of holding and releasing arrows with the bow to firing rockets with an RPG launcher.

PS5 players can claim the Aranahe Warrior Pack for free, though a Ubisoft account is required to claim it. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is out worldwide on December 7th for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. Head here for more gameplay and learn about features like Na’vi Sense and how parkour works here.

According to Insider Gaming, many media outlets apparently got to play through three hours of the game – and that gameplay impression will be rolling out sometime during next week. The report also details that media got the chance to not only play story-critical quests but also plenty of side content for that limited duration.

As per the report, internal playtesting has been going on for several months at the moment, which has yielded a positive reception from players. Of course, it’s all rumours at this point, and should be taken with a pinch of salt.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is currently slated to release on December 7 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and Amazon Luna.

The former sees two players co-oping and completing random objectives, from not using Special Moves to slaying all enemies. VS is a more competitive mode where they collect and spend Souls while killing enemies and nabbing bonuses. Players can also customize their appearances. There will be more details for multiplayer on September 14th.

As for premium content, three new costumes are coming, and Classic Mode 2, Dominique’s Curse, was announced. The latter sees Dominique as a playable character, exploring Limbo and fighting off monsters and bosses (including a returning foe from Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon). A release date for the new content wasn’t announced, so stay tuned.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is available for Xbox One, PS4, PC, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android and Amazon Luna. Check out our review here.

“The games will land on Ubisoft+, while also allowing Ubisoft to license them to cloud gaming companies, service providers, and console makers,” said the company. If you have Ubisoft+ Multi Access, these titles are playable on PC, Xbox consoles, Amazon Luna and PlayStation (via Ubisoft+ Classics).

Chris Early, Senior VP of Strategic Partnerships and Business Development at Ubisoft stated, “We’re dedicated to delivering amazing experiences to our players wherever they choose to play. Over the past 15 years, we’ve built and honed our online services and distribution ecosystem into one of the most complete in the industry. Today’s deal gives players even more opportunities to access and enjoy some of the biggest brands in gaming.”

More details on the addition of Activision Blizzard’s titles to Ubisoft+, along with “other cloud gaming platforms,” will be provided later. Stay tuned for updates in the meantime.

As for the deal’s status, Microsoft has sent its final submission to the Consumer Markets Authority in the UK, which had previously blocked the acquisition. The latter was set to deliver its verdict on August 29th, but both parties were granted two months to resolve any issues.

The console versions support cross-play and cross-progression with each other and PC, and you can invite players from Ubisoft Connect. The controls have been adapted to consoles, with “no loss of functionality compared to traditional controls.” Xbox One, PS4, and Luna players can expect the same content on PC, including a Campaign with 12 missions, Skirmish for PvE and PvP (also with 13 maps) and Hardcore Mode.

Nintendo Switch players are limited to 250 unites in 4v4 Skirmish and can’t reconnect to multiplayer matches when dropped. There’s also no visible connection between building after Residences connect, but there’s no effect on gameplay. Head here for more details about the environments, how Landmarks work and more.

Other noteworthy issues addressed include rare instances where Light-Fingered prevented key items from being picked up and Eivor’s hair clipping through their hood when an Animus Anomaly is complete. Items purchased previously should no longer be missing from the player’s inventory, and they should be able to enhance/upgrade the Raven Clan Crew outfit to a higher quality going forward.

You should no longer lose Helix Credits when purchasing the Twilight Set, even when owning all five pieces. Check out the full patch notes below for more details. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and PC. Check out our review for the base game here.

After two years of support, it received its last major content update with The Last Chapter in November – head here for more details.

AC Valhalla Title Update 1.7.0 – Release Notes

BUG FIXES & IMPROVEMENTS

River Raids

Addressed:

• The Captain at Katzenelnbogen isn’t counted when the kill is confirmed.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

World

Addressed:

• Resolved most of the rare instances where Light-Fingered skill prevented the pickup of key items.
• Eivor’s hair can clip through the hood after completing an Animus Anomaly.

Armory & Inventory

Addressed:

• Previously purchased items are missing from player inventory.
• The Raven Clan Crew outfit cannot be enhanced or upgraded to a higher quality.
• The total number of Opals in the inventory doesn’t update when picking up an Opal in the world.

Miscellaneous

Addressed:

• Resolved the error that occurs when trying to claim the Weekly Free Item.
• Gear packs still appear in the store when the content of the pack is already owned.
• Items incorrectly appear as owned in some situations.
• Korean language cannot be applied via Steam Language tab.
• It is possible to lose Helix Credits when purchasing the Twilight Set if 5/5 pieces of gear are already owned.
• Issues with pricing of Helix Store items when redeeming pieces of a full set.
• On Xbox, when buying Helix Credits through the store, they are not correctly added to the player inventory.
• In-game pop-ups no longer appear for Shared History and The Last Chapter when launching into the game.

The sequel is about Motorfest, a “one-of-a-kind festival” focused on the best experiences in car culture. It’s set on O’ahu island in the Hawaiian archipelago and is once again an open-world racing title with Honolulu, volcanos, rain forests and beaches to race through. There are hundreds of “legendary vehicles” to drive solo or with friends, and several events, challenges and “tailor-made races” to complete.

The Motorfest program will receive more details in the coming months. In the meantime, the Insider Program offers a closed test with multiple phases. The first phase is for PC only for its quick iterations, that too for 2,000 players. However, consoles will gain access in the final phases while the number of players is increased. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.

Though the development team didn’t specify the issue, it is looking to provide a fix. There’s no ETA for the same, so you may have to come back next week (or the week after) for your free item.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is available for Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. It launched in November 2020 and has had extensive support, with free updates (the most recent adding Monster Hunter World-themed cosmetics) and paid expansions. The Last Chapter is the final major content update, closing out Eivor’s story.

A new quest, “Shared History,” was also added that tied into Assassin’s Creed Mirage, the next title in the franchise rumored to be out in August. Stay tuned for more details in the coming months.

Due to an issue with the Weekly Free Item feature in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, we have temporarily disabled this feature. Thank you for your patience as our team is looking into providing a fix.

— Assassin's Creed (@assassinscreed) January 17, 2023