Though this is only a week after Forspoken’s launch, president Yosuke Matsuda (who is stepping down in June) revealed that reviews “have been challenging.” “However, the game has also received positive feedback on its action features, including its parkour and combat capabilities, so it has yielded results that will lead to improvement of our development capabilities of other games in the future.

“That said, its sales have been lackluster, and while the performance of new titles with February and March release dates will be the ultimate determinant, we see considerable downside risk to our FY2023/3 earnings.”

Matsuda also spoke about a decline in net sales year-on-year in the HD Games sub-segment. While the “release of major titles a year earlier had created a challenging” hurdle, he revealed that “many of the new small and mid-sized titles we launched this year did not perform as well as we had expected.” Though not specified, some titles that fall into that category include The DioField Chronicle, Valkyrie Elysium, Harvestella, Star Ocean: The Divine Force, Dragon Quest Treasures, and more.

Octopath Traveler 2 and Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line were released last month, and it remains to be seen if they can balance out the underwhelming year-on-year performance.

Combat is real-time, with elemental attacks used to weaken and break enemies. Like the older games, the Valkyrie can recruit different Einherjar to fight by her side. Summoning them into combat confers elemental properties to one’s weapons, and they’re also helpful for bypassing obstructions in the world.

The PC release also comes with “Hilde’s Vengeance,” a free post-launch update that adds a new story with Hilde as the protagonist. You can also enter the Seraphic Gate and fight in time attack battles, earning different rewards. “Very Hard” and “Valkyrie” difficulties are also available in the story, presenting tougher challenges.

For more details on Valkyrie Elysium, check out our review of the PS5 version here.

As part of Hilde’s Vengeance, players will be put in the shoes of the titular character as she sets out on a mission to get revenge against All-Father Odin. Hilde’s Vengeance can be accessed through Valkyrie Elysium‘s main menu.

Hilde’s Vengeance features quite a few unique features, including a unique skill tree for Hilde, as well as her signature halberd and hard-hitting attacks. Hilde can also summon four Shadow Servants to help her in combat.

Seraphic Gate is the new endgame content available in the update. In the mode, players will ascend floor by floor as they take on waves of numerous enemies while trying to beat the clock. Moving up floors changes your loadouts, encouraging players to experiment and improvise with what they get.

And finally, Valkyrie Elysium now has two new difficulty modes: Very Hard, and Valkyrie. As their names might imply, the new difficulties will challenge all players, and the Valkyrie mode is set to be a true test of the player’s skills, strategies, and reflexes.

The update is available for free for Valkyrie Elysium on PS4 and PS5.

We’ve released a free update for Valkyrie Elysium on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 today! Learn more here: https://t.co/n5fOUBGs6L

Become Hilde and master another style of combat in Hilde’s Vengeance, or take on new challenges and try your hand at the fiendish Seraphic Gate. pic.twitter.com/VclwsaFrW9

— Valkyrie Elysium (@ValkyrieGame) November 8, 2022

The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki 2 -CREIMSON SiN- launched last week, and it saw steady sales out the gate, with its PS4 and PS4 versions occupying the second and seventh spots, selling over 36,000 units and over 14,000 units respectively, for a total of over 50,000 units. Another new release grabbing a couple of spots in the top 10 is Square Enix’s Valkyrie Elysium, with over 40,000 units sold in total, over 23,000 of which came on the PS4 (No. 3), and over 17,000 on the PS5 (No. 5).

Then there’s FIFA 23, yet another new launch, which also figures in the top 10. The PS4 version of the game sold over 21,000 units, taking the No. 4 spot. Meanwhile, even the Legacy Edition on the Nintendo Switch (which is essentially just a roster update) has slotted in at No. 8, with over 11,000 units sold.

On the hardware front, the Nintendo Switch continues to lead the way, with all of its models collectively selling over 70,000 units. The PS5 follows behind with over 18,000 units sold, while the Xbox Series X and Series S collectively sold over 13,000 units.

You can check out the full software and hardware charts for the week ending October 2 below.

Software sales (followed by lifetime sales):

1. [NSW] Splatoon 3 – 157,348 (2,900,483)
2. [PS4] The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki II -CRIMSON SiN- – 36,261 (New)
3. [PS4] Valkyrie Elysium – 23,295 (New)
4. [PS4] FIFA 23 – 21,721 (New)
5. [PS5] Valkyrie Elysium – 17,067 (New)
6. [NSW] Dragon Quest X: Rise of the Five Tribes Offline – 14,484 (166,874)
7. [PS5] The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki II -CRIMSON SiN- – 14,446 (New)
8. [NSW] FIFA 23 Legacy Edition – 11,783 (New)
9. [NSW] Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival – 7,911 (39,996)
10. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – 8,126 (4,855,158)

Hardware sales (followed by last week’s sales):

• Nintendo Switch – 70,565 (86,572)
• PS5 – 18,076 (29,522)
• Xbox Series X/S – 13,064 (12,179)

Caught between a weakened Odin, and an army of the undead threatening to bring about the end of the world, the Valkyrie accepts her mission of purifying the world and paving the way for Odin to regain control. That’s basically it story-wise for the first few of hours. As you hack away at the same handful of enemy types and even take down some massive Naglfars, some new characters are revealed that thicken the plot a bit, but little happens with the narrative to bring you anywhere near the edge of your seat until you’re much further in. This does give Valkyrie Elysium a slow start, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does take its sweet time compared to most of its contemporaries in the hack ‘n slash genre. In that, it sometimes feels like the remnants of its hardcore JRPG roots are still lingering around in there somewhere, but as the game rolls on, that notion fades away considerably. I’ll never fault a series for trying to genuinely reinvent itself, but I was a little disappointed to see Elysium reel itself in so much with the narrative considering its rich and complex history.

"While long-time Valkyrie Profile fans may balk at the brash stylistic shift and clear insistence on catering to a wider audience, for what it’s worth, Valkyrie Elysium does a great job of it."

Gameplay for Valkyrie Elysium is very strict about following the hack ‘n slash action RPG playbook, which, for many, will be totally fine. It certainly was for me. Mixing light and heavy attacks, upgrading abilities, and adapting to new enemy types are front and center. Similarly, to the story, the combat and move set take their time opening up, but even before they do, it’s pretty apparent that you have a really solid action game here. Attacks are impactful and fun to master, especially as you mix in dodges and parries to pull off different moves that make you quite nimble. Learning the different weapons is also fun, even though they aren’t as different as I’d like them to be, but executing a powerful combo and landing it on an enemy just right is accentuated with compelling, stylish animations that don’t overload your screen with nonsense, but still keep things cooking nicely.

The automatic soft-lock that keeps Valkyrie always attacking towards some enemy as long as it’s in range, and the soul chain that quickly closes large gaps can keep the action as aggressive as you want, while the hard lock that you activate with R3, her swift dodges and blocks facilitate more tactical and defensive approaches. All of which you’ll need to be familiar with. You’ll also need to get familiar with which art attacks work best on which enemies, and selecting the best weapon for each fight. Keeping two weapons and two elixirs equipped to the d-pad at all times keeps the player out of the menu screens in and in the action a bit more than other Japanese action RPGs, which I came to appreciate quite a bit. There is a good amount of flexibility here too, as most weapons or arts can be used in most situations, despite there clearly being favorable combinations that are very much worth leaning into.

Overall, I enjoy the combat quite a bit. The automatic soft lock might trip you up sometimes if you aren’t paying close attention to it, and I found myself babying the camera a little more than I would’ve liked, but the kinetic, weighty moment-to-moment action outweighed those gripes for me. Defeating enemies and smashing objects in the environment will yield different types of gems and other resources, and these are spent on upgrades to your abilities and weapons. These weapons can be upgraded further with runes which you’ll also come across here and there, and like most of the rest of the game, there’s really nothing in Valkyrie Elysium’s RPG mechanics that you haven’t seen before, which again, considering how finely tuned it all is, is perfectly acceptable.

"I enjoy the combat quite a bit. The automatic soft lock might trip you up sometimes if you aren’t paying close attention to it, and I found myself babying the camera a little more than I would’ve liked, but the kinetic, weighty moment-to-moment action outweighed those gripes for me."

At the same time though, I often found myself waiting for the other shoe to drop. Hoping the game to throw some sort of monkey wrench into the mix to spice things up and surprise me, but sadly it never really did. Valkyrie Elysium does make a modest effort in this regard though, with the einherjars, which are spirits that Valkyrie meets and can summon later throughout the game to help in combat and aid you with accessing new areas. With the latter, einherjars don’t inject as much variety as they could have, as the handful of situations where they are required are immediately telegraphed to you as such, thus, not really eliciting much of the sense of discovery they could’ve. Despite that being their more prominent contextual purpose, unleashing them in battle fares much better, as mixing them with corresponding arts can produce powerful results.

Valkyrie Elysium’s levels are very linear, with little more than the occasional deviating path that leads to a dead end, a chest, and sometimes a short fight. The game does have sub quests, but they need to be selected from the hub world and pursued on their own instead of being integrated into the main chapters, which is a bit odd considering that the sub quests seem to share the same maps as main chapters anyway. Levels are also highly similar to each other thematically, with a lot of the same washed-out stone structures and pale fields hosting your gameplay. That’s not to say they look bad, in fact, the almost misty look to them does make sense with the ethereal tone of the game albeit at the cost of feeling a bit drab at times. The art direction is clearly defined though, and does show off some fairly high production values with lots of soft lighting and making the more colorful foreground action pop off the screen in comparison.

Also, snuggly fitting into the game’s larger tone nicely is the soundtrack, that superbly mixes the chord structures and themes that are to be expected in RPGs with many distinct drums, woodwinds and other instruments along with choir ensembles that feature a lot of range. From rumbling baritone voices to the far sweeter tenors and sopranos, I was a bit shocked to see such compositional breadth being applied to an action game’s soundtrack that didn’t necessarily need it, but of course is only enhanced by it. I highly suspect with all the talk about the genre shift for this game surely dominating discussions around it, the outstanding music in Valkyrie Elysium will almost certainly go down as its most underappreciated element.

"Valkyrie Elysium is definitely not your classic Valkyrie game. It’s completely reinvented for better and for worse. I have my gripes, and you probably will too, but ultimately the game works out quite nicely for what it’s trying to be."

If you haven’t picked up on it yet, Valkyrie Elysium is definitely not your classic Valkyrie game. It’s completely reinvented for better and for worse. I have my gripes, and you probably will too, but ultimately the game works out quite nicely for what it’s trying to be. Tonally, old fans might notice some whispers of Valkyrie Profile’s spirit here and there, but for the most part it’s going to require a completely different mindset. For those that are willing to take that leap of faith, you’ll be rewarded more often than not. And for those who just love a good hack ‘n slash action RPG, Valkyrie Elysium delivers a lively, appealing, and engaging one that doesn’t require a deep understanding of the previous games to enjoy. Hopefully Square Enix will support this new direction for the IP further with a sequel that tells a deeper story and gives us more elaborate levels to explore, but until then, this is a damn fine example of the genre and easily one of 2022’s best action games.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

The story focuses on a Valkyrie called upon by Odin, the All-Father, to prevent Ragnarok. Along with different magical weapons, she can also recruit and summon various warriors to fight as the Einherjar. It boasts real-time combat focused on exploiting elemental weaknesses and breaking foes. You can also use the Einherjar to traverse environmental obstacles and use a grapple for platforming and attacking enemies.

Valkyrie Elysium currently has a free demo for PlayStation platforms (with progress carrying over to the full game) and releases on November 11th for PC via Steam. A free update goes live on November 8th, which adds Seraphic Gate time attack fights, new difficulty options, and “Hilde’s Vengeance”, a new mode featuring Hilde as a playable character.

Along with other Einherjar, the Valkyrie uses different weapons and skills, including one that throws the spear in a spinning motion. Some exploration is also showcased, though it involves summoning a specific Einherjar to dispel an obstacle, along with a brief look at the Skill Trees.

The boss fights look decent, though Hilde, who seemingly opposes Valkyrie and Odin, appears somewhat easy to knock into the air. Of course, we’ll probably have a chance to see Hilde’s perspective when the new mode featuring her arrives post-launch. The same update also offers new difficulty options, including Very Hard, and Time Attack Trials for different rewards.

Valkyrie Elysium launches on September 29th for PS4 and PS5, with the PC version out on November 11th. A free demo is currently available on consoles.

They note that there are also subquests, having completed the game in about 18 hours while completing a “reasonable” number of subquests. Another interesting detail is that there are multiple endings, much like in Valkyrie Profile. Though spoilers weren’t provided, players will apparently feel “uneasy” as the story progresses. What choices could emerge to lead to different endings remains to be seen.

Stay tuned for more details in the coming days. Valkyrie Elysium is also coming to Steam on November 11th. A free update, which adds a new mode with Hilde, along with difficulty options and time attack battles, will be available when the PC version launches.

In a message published on Twitter, Square Enix has announced that the PS5 and PS4 port of Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth has been delayed to December 22. If you purchase the aforementioned Digital Deluxe Edition, that’s when you’ll receive the port. Square Enix says it needs a bit more time to “improve the quality of the title.”

Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth was, of course, itself an enhanced port of the original Valkyrie Profile. It remains to be seen how significant of an upgrade it will be on PS5 and PS4 over the PSP release.

Valkyrie Elysium launches for PS5 and PS4 on September 29, with a PC version following on November 11. A PlayStation demo of the game is also currently available.

We have an update regarding #ValkyrieProfile: Lenneth.

If you have any enquiries please visit: https://t.co/vAv9CeCKPx pic.twitter.com/vt72ixbgGR

— Valkyrie Elysium (@ValkyrieGame) September 22, 2022

It includes “Hilde’s Vengeance,” which features Hilde as a playable character. In addition to a unique skill tree, she has a different play style, utilizing shadow attacks. Those who clear the story can also partake in time attack battles via the Seraphic Gate. There are multiple tiers with different restrictions on weapons and skills, but clearing each provides unique rewards.

Finally, those who want to re-experience the story at higher difficulties will have “Very Hard” and “Valkyrie” settings. Valkyrie Elysium is out on September 29th for PS4 and PS5, followed by PC on November 11th. Stay tuned for more details on the free update in the coming weeks.