Valkyrie Elysium Review (DukeRed)
I'm on the fence with Valkyrie Elysium, but I'd give it a recommend.
TL;DR
Valkyrie Elysium holds up for the most part. The gameplay is clunky at times and has unusually short terrain pop up. The story is in line with the previous franchise entries and the graphics are acceptable, although there are stylistic choices some people may not like.
More Detailed Review and
I have played previous Valkyrie games (Lenneth, Sylmeria, and Covenant of the Plum), so I'd say I'm familiar with the franchise.
Story
Without spoiling the story, you take on the role of a Valkyrie in order to help Odin regain his power after a previous fight with Fenrir. Obvious Norse mythology stuff in line with other Valkyrie games.
Gameplay
Similar as with previous entries, you use a map to go to different regions to progress the story. You encounter spirits on maps to unlock side quests which, when completed, offer different rewards such as spells and things. You help souls, called einherjar, which are NPC party members, that can be summoned to assist you in battle. They draw aggro, battle and perform skills. One of the important parts of einherjar is they also imbue your weapon with their element while summoned. This is important because enemies have an element they're weak against. Fully depleting their "elemental weakness" bar breaks an enemy which stuns them for a short period of time which allow you to deal damage without repercussions.
There are different weapons you can equip. There are light and heavy attacks, with all mostly use the same combo inputs but with different animations and timings. The basic weapon is a sword with other weapons being a "heavy" sword, spear, and a light spear.
For defense, you have a blocking and dodge mechanic. Each has their own use but I found myself using the dodge mechanic more. There are skills that allow you to perform attacks after "perfect" block or dodge to help your damage output.
Graphics
In my opinion, the graphics are alright. I think the disappointing part is the graphics could, at first glance, date the game to something made in the mid-2010s, not 2022. Also, there is a black outline on everything as well as a film grain overlay. It's not apparent up close in regards to the film grain, but for terrain in the distance, it can be seen. Unfortunately, neither of these can be turned off.
What bothered me is the very short view distance and bad terrain pop up. In the very beginning of the game, you're in a field of flowers. The field isn't very big, but the pop up is very noticeable. It's not as noticeable in most other parts of the game, because everything is in ruins so it's all rubble and stuff. Very odd that the view distance isn't adjustable in-game.
Bad Parts
The controls for the Valkyrie aren't fast or smooth enough for combat, especially as you progress. Also, there are some weird nuances that aren't fun that I've listed below.
When enemies glow red, their attack is unblockable. The frustrating part is once you start a combo animation, it can't be cancelled. I've been in plenty of boss situations where this happens and it's extremely frustrating.
Consumable healing items cannot be bought, but only found on maps. Furthermore, you only carry at most 3 healing items, per slot. You technically carry 9, because you have small, medium and large sized healing items, but the point is that healing items can't be bought.
The "perfect" block or dodge is incredibly nuanced, that I can't even perform them on a consistent basis. You have to block and then press the light or heavy attack. I think what makes it difficult is the indicator isn't apparent at all. It's difficult to tell if you actually did it.
There are different weapons, but they all have the same attack strength. There's no point in using the slower spear because the sword is much faster. There should've been an obvious increase in damage for slower attacking weapons to offset this.
End Points
In my opinion, Valkyrie Elysium is a first generation Stellar Blade. The gameplay is alright for the most part but would certainly benefit from faster animation from your character. Fans of the Valkyrie franchise will like this game, but I think for casual players, definitely wait for a sale...$59.99 is way too steep.