*This article is compiled from IGN US and is not reproduced without authorization.
I really try to like the "dawn of doom". Theoretically, this DLC will continue to dig deeper into Norse mythology, starting with one of the most interesting suspense in the plot of Assassin's Creed: The Temple of Heroes and empowering the gods of Evol. Unfortunately, the reality is bone-chilling, and the gameplay has not changed, just put on a layer of "Nine Realms Magic Adventure".
Even replacing the lords of Europe with giant and dwarfs with red and blue skins doesn't change the fact that all the adventures, looting, and battles in the DLC are exactly the same as the experience of about 150 hours in the previous ontology game. How did they manage to maintain the exact same gameplay after adding a whole new set of supernatural skills? As with the first two DLCs, while the asgardian part portrayed in this game is not disappointing, it is still below expectations overall.
As the game's third DLC, Dawn of Doom references the concept of Christopher Nolan's Inception. The protagonist, Elvo, is an ancient Viking recreated through Animus who, out of fear of illusion, uses hallucinogens to experience the past life of his ancestral deity in the form of a soul crossing.
This concept of "assassin space" is a clever metaphor in the game itself, and whenever a strange new revelation about the truth of the protagonist's world appears, Odin will whisper some increasingly paranoid advice to Aylvo. However, the story in this DLC is far less poetic, and its plot is straightforward, that is, a story about the Supreme God (i.e., Odin) saving his son Badr from the fire giant Surut.
The story is basically up to the average standard of the series, and the character portrayal is meticulous and vivid. Surut, as well as his wife and children, will be the protagonist's enemies on his adventures. They have their own motivations and complex relationships with each other, which makes them more contagious than the usual laughing, uninspired villains.
The natives of Watt Aalheim were dwarves, and their lands were occupied by colonial giants of two factions, so their actions and views were also different, some of them wanted to fight, while others just wanted to keep a low profile and continue to live. As for what the appearance of the King of the Gods means to them, everyone has their own ideas, and it is interesting for players to chat more with these local people and fully understand their ideas.
Walter Aalheim has a geographical setting that is ideal for writing ancient legends, where much of the landscape looks as verdant as the landscape of England, Norway or many parts of Ireland, and is very close to the atmosphere of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films, most of which are as beautiful as postcards of some natural attractions in the real world (such as New Zealand), and from time to time you can see huge statues of dwarf kings or majestic peaks made of pure gold. In addition, you will see strange sights, such as boulders floating in the air, or burning red roots that "stretch" into the sky. Overall, there is chaos lurking in the tranquility of this place, and Evol's journey will be a unique sight.
Unfortunately, in the various regions of Watt Aalheim, you still have to do things that you've done countless times in the ontology game. Even as king of the gods, Odin still does the same as the protagonist in finding treasures and dealing with mysterious landmarks on the map; new beam puzzles appear little and scattered; and the DLC continues to use the world events in the body, but they are still just short branches, with uneven design levels and the quality of rewards for completing missions. Although there will be some new collections and new enemies in this game, my process of completing these tasks is much the same as in the past.
Dawn of Doom's most popular feature is the Soul Reaper Wristband, a magic bracelet that can steal abilities from specific enemies for yourself. These abilities include gaining elemental resistance to fire giants or ice giants within the time limit, such as the protagonist's ability to flow lava without shedding blood after transforming into a fire giant, or allowing you to disguise as an enemy and infiltrate enemy camps.
However, the novelty of this ability will soon disappear, because only the main lines that require you to use specific divine powers are a little fun, and it is a troublesome task to use these abilities for your usual exploration and collection. My favorite ability to draw from the raven is that the raven's divine power allows Aver to fly high into the air as a bird, analyze the battlefield in advance and take a vantage point, and no longer have to squat in the grass and creep like before. Moreover, the flight ability can also effectively shorten the rush time.
Restricting divine powers is a very disappointing design, the player can only carry two divine powers at any time, and they are not free to choose which one they want to equip. If you want to change the ability, you must first find the enemy who has the skill, kill the opponent, and then get it. Although there are many enemies with camouflage abilities and are widely distributed, some types of abilities are more difficult to find. So, while it sounds cool to create an army of the living dead to fight for you, in actual combat, I rarely kill enemies with that skill, just so that I can use it in the future.
I rarely mention the word "challenge" because there is basically no challenge in "the dawn of doom." Although bosses will be a little harder to fight than normal enemies, it's mainly because the game limits the player's ability to use. After 20 hours of play, you can basically see all the enemy types in this DLC, and there are not many mainline battles that can maximize the advantages of these enemies. They are much the same as the enemies in the body, but they have been replaced by red and blue skins. A few truly new enemies, such as the Flame Guardians who can bring fallen comrades back to life, are also easy to deal with.
Towards the end of the game, players can head to the Valkyrie Arena, which offers encounters that will be enough to be the trials that Berserker fans have longed for. In addition to waves of normal and epic enemies, you can also use the Bragging skill to earn more points. These skills can add some extra restrictions to battles, such as melee leading to debuffs or healing causing drunkenness, among others. Unfortunately, this challenge came a little late.
The DLC's new weapon, the Spear, also adds a lot of combat fun, players can customize the combination of light and heavy hits to trigger different combos, and use large-scale attacks to perfectly control the group, but I can't feel the freedom of fighting like the Devil May Cry series from this process of rubbing the handle. Although this weapon is not as subversive as the scythe in the previous DLC Siege of Paris, it is still worth collecting. In addition, players can upgrade equipment to a divine level, allowing them to embed a new type of rune. However, just like the equipment management in the game itself, I could hardly feel the changes brought about by these runes throughout the game.
summary
If you put aside the new god-level settings, Dawn of Doom has not been able to upgrade the existing gameplay mode of Assassin's Creed: Valiant to any new heights. The design of the Soul Catcher wristband and the ability to absorb may add a little fun, but their practicality is too low, and the sense of presence is not strong. This 20-hour adventure experienced by the divine version of Aylvo gave me the feeling that it was not much different from the 100+ hours I experienced in the ontology game 15 months ago.
Admittedly, this series is still very interesting, but I am eager to see a truly innovative gameplay in the new game, and repeating the old routine will only make the old players more disappointed and bored. At the moment, my biggest hope is that Ubisoft will be able to redefine the system we have already played, reorganizing it and building it into a new theme and setting. Such a mediocre and immutable gameplay design is really not worthy of this magnificent mythological scene and plot.
merit
A grand mythological story backdrop
Inherited from assassin's creed: Temple of Heroes, the system and gameplay
shortcoming
There is almost no improvement in the experience compared to the main body game
The new system is neither practical nor much of a presence