Assassin's Creed Valhalla: The Siege of Paris Review – Solid, but Inessential
Assassin's Creed has a history of getting really weird with its DLCs. Syndicate's Jack the Ripper DLC saw us hunting down the infamous titular serial killer, Origins' The Curse of the Pharaohs expansion took players into the fantastical afterlife, while Odyssey's The Fate of Atlantis expansion was a rollercoaster ride through gorgeous locations from Greek mythology. Assassin's Creed Valhalla has been significantly more reserved with its expansions, surprisingly enough. Wrath of the Druids had some mystical elements thrown in, but largely felt like an extension of the base game without anything meaningfully unique to add, as good as it was. The Siege of Paris follows a similar ideology. It doesn't advance the plot forward in any way, and in many ways, it feels like just another episode of Valhalla– but if you're looking for a solid chunk of enjoyable content regardless of how unique it is or isn't, there's a lot to like here.
As its name suggests, The Siege of Paris takes Eivor across the channel to the kingdom of Francia. Two visitors from the Elgring clan of Norsemen in Francia arrive in Ravensthorpe, hoping to recruit Eivor to their cause as they prepare to ransack Paris. Eivor agrees to travel with them, but for entirely different reasons, knowing that if Charles the Fat, the king of Francia, continues his bloody conquest of the kingdom and culls out all the Northerners there, he might very well eventually turn his attention to England next- which would be bad news for the Raven clan.
"The Siege of Paris doesn't advance the plot forward in any way, and in many ways, it feels like just another episode of Valhalla– but if you're looking for a solid chunk of enjoyable content regardless of how unique it is or isn't, there's a lot to like here."
Much of The Siege of Paris plays out like any number of the arcs in Valhalla's base game did- there's negotiations, attempts at parley, rulers butting heads with each other, talk of war, political intrigue, all that stuff. There are some good characters in there, with the likes of the vengeance-driven Sigfred, his more level-headed niece Toka, and the unhinged King Charles being standouts (and all very well voiced), but the story itself isn't very special. It plays out the way you would think, doesn't do anything too surprising, and doesn't really make much of a mark. It's not bad by any means, but after how essential something like The Fate of Atlantis felt for Odyssey's story (and really, to the story of Assassin's Creed as a whole), this much more self-contained and low-flying expansion feels a bit too subdued.
Another area where The Siege of Paris doesn't set itself apart from the base game too much is Francia itself. Where the craggy landscapes of Ireland in Wrath of the Druids felt fresh and unique, Francia is hard to differentiate from England for the most part, with most of the map (which is surprisingly small- smaller even than Ireland) being characterized by rolling country interspersed with dense urban locations. Exploring it and tacking world events and optional activities is still fun, as it was in Valhalla itself, but it's disappointing The Siege of Paris doesn't grab the opportunity to take players to a different and memorable location.
Thankfully, the one area where the expansion does set itself apart from anything Valhalla has done is its mission structure. The Hitman-style sandbox stealth-focused missions of Assassin's Creed Unity are back. Now called Infiltration Missions instead of Black Box Missions, these offer choices and missable content, emphasize stealth and exploration, and reward curiosity, experimentation, and replay value. Not nearly as much as something like Hitman, of course, but quite enough to stand out nonetheless. Wearing disguises to get access to restricted areas, following unique mini-stories to unlock several ways of getting into locations or killing targets, encouraging exploration of areas that lie off the beaten path to learn new information that might help you later on- these set-piece missions (of which there's plenty in The Siege of Paris) are characterized by all of this and more.
Stealth has become increasingly de-emphasized in Assassin's Creed game ever since it switch to the action RPG formula with Origins, much to the dismay of series fans, but the Infiltration Missions in this expansion put it front and center once again, and they feel like a breath of fresh air. They're smartly designed and avoid a reliance on following waypoint markers, instead encouraging player agency and exploration, and never fail to be immensely engaging and satisfying. Without a doubt, these missions are the highlight of the expansion, and prove that Assassin's Creed can still successfully strike a balance between its two distinct eras- if it cares enough to do that.
The new abilities introduced with The Siege of Paris also favour stealth over out-and-out combat. One ability summons a swarm of plague rats on enemies, another lets you stick a bomb in a foe's chest, while another yet lets you shoot an arrow at foes to make them sick, start throwing up, and eventually die. For those who favour ranged builds and a slower, stealth-driven approach (as I do), these are great new additions to Eivor's ability pool, and can be quite effective (even more so once they're upgraded).
"Stealth has become increasingly de-emphasized in Assassin's Creed game ever since it switch to the action RPG formula with Origins, much to the dismay of series fans, but the Infiltration Missions in this expansion put it front and center once again, and they feel like a breath of fresh air."
Speaking of plague rats- their inclusion in The Siege of Paris is kind of… unnecessary? They're given quite a bit of the limelight as a part of the world, but they're always just there in the background, with not much else to do other than adding flavour to the setting. Maybe it's just the A Plague Tale fan in me that was disappointed at how they've been utilized. In terms of gameplay, there are a few sections here and there where you have to shepherd them into open grates and then block those grates with objects, but these sections, too, are infrequent, and hardly anything more than an annoying nuisance. Rats in general just feel haphazardly bolted on to an experience like an entirely unnecessary afterthought.
Meanwhile, there's other more granular additions as well, for those who're looking to keep building their character in what might be one of the most gargantuan action RPGs in recent memory. New skills have been added to Valhalla's ever-growing skill tree, while there's also a couple of new weapon types and gear pieces to hunt down and equip. One of those new weapons is a two-handed scythe, which feels like an appropriately brutal and satisfying-to-use addition to Valhalla's collection of combat tools. None of these are headlining additions, by any means, but they're definitely a nice bonus.
My final thoughts on The Siege of Paris are, in the end, quite similar to my final thoughts on the previous expansion, Wrath of the Druids. For those who've enjoyed Assassin's Creed Valhalla, this expansion offers 7-8 hours of more, similarly solid content (or 14-15 hours, if you don't just stick to the main story), but if you're looking for a unique experience that will instantly etch itself into your memory, this is not that. The Infiltration Missions definitely make this very easy to recommend to Assassin's Creed fans who miss the series' older era of games, but this is still an inessential piece of content. As enjoyable as it is, as an expansion to a game that's already a whopping 80 hours long, it needs to be something more than "more of the same."
With more support having been confirmed for Valhalla in 2022, we'll hopefully get some of that next year. As things stand right now, both of its expansions have been good- but unremarkable.
This game was reviewed on the Xbox Series X.
Castlevania: Grimoire Of Souls Will Return And Launch On Apple Arcade Soon
Like many of Konami's classic IPs, the Castlevania series seems forever dormant. Even after a successful anime series that played on Netflix for several years, there is no signs of a new game coming anytime soon. At the very least, Konami has allowed access to the franchise's storied past with the fantastic Anniversary Collection and a potential other upcoming collection that will bring together some of the handheld entries. But that isn't the only return we'll be getting, as another unexpected entry will be coming back via Apple.
Konami announced that Grimoire of Souls would see its return via Apple Arcade. If you're unfamiliar, this was an original 2019 iOS game where you played as Alucard and could unlock other heroes from the series. It took place after Dracula had been sealed away, and new evil has arisen, with 60 levels. If you're scratching your head, don't feel too bad. The title never had a worldwide release, and only released officially in Canada before being delisted shortly after with no explanation.
There is no timeframe for when to expect the game to put up on Apple Arcade, only that it will be soon. The listing is already up for the title, which you can see through here. We'll let you know when Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls goes live.
Hades is Now Available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and PS5
After launching last year for PC and Switch to exceptional praise, Supergiant Games' roguelite Hades is out now for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One. It's also available on Xbox Game Pass. Check out the release trailer below which sees protagonist Zagreus battling the Hydra along with some gameplay.
The story follows Zagreus as he attempts to escape the underworld which his father, Hades, lords over. This means venturing through different realms like Asphodel, Elysium and more, battling various foes and bosses along the way. To help Zagreus in his endeavor are Boons from the Olympian gods, bestowing abilities like Zeus's lightning, Ares's Doom procs and Athena's deflection.
Of course, the other hook for Hades is its story and dialogue which sees new additions and developments in each run, whether it's hearing NPCs remark on your failings or opening up more about their past. For more details on the game, check out our review here. It's sold over one million copies as of September 2020 so it should be interesting to see what the updated sales numbers are this year.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice Xbox One X vs Xbox Series X Graphical Comparison and Frame-Rate Test
Ninja Theory's Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice has recently been patched for Xbox Series X/S, which enables greater visual fidelity and frame-rates on the upgraded console. Our latest video highlights many of these differences, check it out below.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice on Xbox Series X runs at a dynamic 4K with a framerate target of 60 fps in the FPS Resolution mode. The enriched visuals mode targets dynamic 4K with a frame cap of 30 fps with ray-tracing reflections. Both modes stick pretty close to the performance targets in our suite of tests. This is a stark difference from the Xbox One X version, which remains locked to a 30 fps target regardless of FPS Resolution or Enriched Visuals mode.
There are improvements to the load times as well. In our tests, the Xbox Series X was able to load into the game in just over 10 seconds, while the Xbox One X took 26 seconds for the same. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice still looks gorgeous with all of its graphical bells and whistles, and we can only imagine the level of visual fidelity that Ninja Theory could achieve with Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2.
Back 4 Blood Developer Looking Into FOV Option for Xbox Series X, PS5
With the open beta of Back 4 Blood being available to all players until August 16th, VG247 spoke to lead producer Matt O'Driscoll on a few key issues and what the team is working on. This includes field of view (FOV) options for players on Xbox Series X and PS5, and though there's no real confirmation on whether it's coming, O'Driscoll said that it's a "popular request" and Turtle Rock Studios is looking into it.
One feature that players can expect at launch is bot AI. The AI in the open beta left a lot to be desired but O'Driscoll notes that they'll be a lot smarter when the game launches (it's currently one of the big projects that the team is handling). Game balance is also being tuned with Survivor and Nightmare seeing changes based on feedback from the beta.
It was also confirmed that despite a lower target frame rate on last gen consoles, the abilities and number of zombies along with the underlying code was the same on all platforms. Back 4 Blood recently went gold and is out on October 12th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and PC. It will also launch day one on Xbox Game Pass. Stay tuned for more details en route to its release.
Phil Spencer Isn't Looking To Copy Sony's Strategy of Blockbuster Exclusives
In a recent interview with Gamesradar, head of Xbox Phil Spencer talked about the future of Xbox Game Pass on other platforms alongside a number of other things including his strategy for Xbox exclusives. During the interview, he revealed that the brand isn't looking to copy successful strategies of competitors.
Phil Spencer prefaces by paying respects to other platforms – presumably Sony and Nintendo, and talks about how the team wants to do its own thing. He goes in length about creativity being an integral part of the strategy, which certainly seems tantalizing right now.
"Our strategy is not to just go be like someone else. I get a push sometimes of 'where's your version of this or that game?'. I've been in this industry for a long time, I have a ton of respect for creators on all platforms, and I know many, many of them. But it's good if we're doing something different than what other platforms are doing. We're not in the business of just trying to create a green version of somebody else's blue or red coloured platform. That's not the example of creativity that I want to see in the games industry."
Xbox has almost 2 dozen studios under its belt, and almost each studio is a master of its own craft – for example: 343 Industries with first-person-shooters, The Coalition with third-person shooters and the like. It seems that Microsoft's drought of exclusives is ending soon, and Phil's decision to give freedom to its studios to make the games they want is certainly a great move.
Humankind Video Details Gameplay and System Changes in Late Game
Anyone who's played a Civilization-style game will tell you that the late game is often as important, if not more so, than the beginning or middle. Amplitude Studios' Humankind is no different and in a new video, the development team talks about how it's introducing new systems in the Industrial and Contemporary eras while disrupting older ones to provide new challenges.
Some of those new systems include railway connections and cargo planes which, on top of leveraging trade, can also be used to make armies more mobile. Various civilizations can also invest in different things depending on their specializations. Those good with Research can benefit from advanced technologies for strong gains in fame.
Industry-focused civilizations can invest in national projects like the space program, which are bigger than Cultural Wonders and have multiple stages (each providing fame and bonuses, like satellite launches providing more vision). As gunpowder is introduced, battles shift from melee to ranged weapons as cover and high ground become more important. Eventually, artillery, aircraft and tanks will also come in to shift the warfare meta even more.
Humankind is out on August 17th for PC and launches day one on Xbox Game Pass. For more details on its scope and scale, check out the last trailer here.
Halo Infinite's Bots Aren't Teabagging Players On Purpose, 343 Industries Confirms
During the recent Halo Infinite flight test, a number of players noticed bots teabagging players after their death. Many videos pertaining to the matter went viral, but it seems the bots weren't deliberately taunting players on losing a battle. In a statement issued to Kotaku, 343 Industries reported that this is a glitch in the AI systems.
Once the player is dead, a "pathing hiccup" seems to trigger which causes movements that look strikingly similar to Halo's signature taunts. This does happen due to the corpse presenting a navigation challenge, and 343 has no intentions to discourage or taunt players who aren't doing so good.
"We don't have explicit programming that tells the bots to teabag or taunt you in any way," the statement reads. "The bots are meant to be welcoming and fun for players of all skill levels, and a feature designed to taunt a player would oppose that goal. If that happened to be observed shortly after a kill, or near a player's body, it can definitely feel like an intentional behaviour. In reality, the bot was just struggling to go up the stairs."
While Halo Infinite's flight test seems to have garnered mostly positive reception, it hasn't been without issues. Many gamers recently got disappointed with the game's fruit destruction physics, and 343 Industries issued a hilarious statement in response to the uncalled outrage.
We Desperately Need a GTA: Vice City Remake
It's no secret that the Grand Theft Auto series is full of fantastic classic games that still have plenty of juice left in them. That said, Rockstar does seem laser focused on churning out new entries of their flagship franchises – not really going back to old ones. This is both a curse and a blessing, as it's nice to see these new entries continue to come out and raise the bar for their respective genres, but it's also a bit of a shame that we have little reason to expect Rockstar to ever revitalize their older games. At best, we do seem to get occasional ports of some of their more popular older games, especially those from the PS2 era. This is certainly appreciated, as the older hardware needed to run original versions of these games is more often than not incompatible with modern TVs and PS2's themselves are getting pretty old, and less of them maintain their ability to properly function with every passing day. Still yet, an optimized port of a classic game will never quite have the tantalizing appeal of a full-on remake.
Remakes can update a game in ways that make it feel more like it belongs in the current generation with completely updated graphics, improved gameplay, and a host of other things that breathe completely new life into a game. As such, with Rockstar's ever-growing catalogue of great games that still hold up incredibly well on a conceptual level, the idea of some of these games getting a proper remake is very alluring. Games like Manhunt, Red Dead Revolver, and Bully would absolutely sell themselves while single-handedly reviving the franchises to which they belong. But today, the Rockstar classic that we want to call attention to is Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – and why a remake of it would make all the sense in the world to everybody involved. While Rockstar has not announced any official plans to do this, nor are there any substantial rumors alluding to it, who knows, maybe if we talk about it enough we can help move the needle in the right direction.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is a game like no other in its respective franchise. It's got a stylized tone – heavily inspired by movies like Scarface and Goodfellas – that permeates every faucet of its design and really makes it stand out in the series, and for that alone it's many GTA fans' favorite entry. It's also a big part of why Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is an excellent candidate for the remake treatment.
Visually, the Miami 80's aesthetic is just a timeless one to say the least. The Neon lights and loud pastel color palettes of characters' clothes, decor, and vehicles is a look that will never get old, but even more importantly it's kind of "in" right now and has been for a while. Today we're seeing all sorts of movies, tv shows, and video games apply this aesthetic to great effect as it is appealing to just about everybody. Younger folks seem to like it for its brazen and audacious tone, while folks aged in their mid-thirties and up often have legitimate nostalgia for the era and just enjoy seeing many of its components honored today through replication. So long story short; it's just a good look to have if you're trying to move units. While San Andreas and Grand Theft Auto 3 and 4, all have their strong points, they don't stand out thematically like Vice City does. It's true that you could absolutely give any of the Grand Theft Auto games the remake treatment and expect it to sell well, given the general popularity of the series, but I think it's fair to say that even a conservative remake of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City would sell better than the others, if for nothing else the fact that it looks like what a lot of other modern games are attempting to. It would almost fit in with modern games in a way that a remake of other PS2-era GTA games would not.
Secondly, it's also fair to say that Grand Theft Auto: Vice City still has one of the better stories of the entire series. This is a bit subjective admittedly, but the drug kingpin story arc with revenge and redemption thrown in is one that always works, especially with the old-school mafia twist. Even today it's a setting that works well in movies and TV shows, and we also see evidence of it selling relatively well with the Mafia 1 remake and Mafia 2 remaster that were released not too long ago for modern consoles. Despite that remaster perhaps not being the best, the interest it received is undeniable, and thus, the power of that setting and genre is evident. Vice City's story is certainly a bit on the predictable side, as most crime stories are, but it also does a great job of standing out with outstandingly well-written and extremely memorable characters like Ken Rosenburg, Sonny Forelli, and of course Tommy Vercetti, the twists and turns of the plot never cease to entertain despite being visible from miles away.
Especially in one in a series that didn't even give its main character much of anything to say at all in the previous entry. It's rudimentary by today's standards, and there isn't much a remake can do about that without making it feel too different, but the charm of its characters and surprisingly tight execution makes it stick with you just as well as anything else the genre has to offer. The fact that the voice cast is made up of absolute legends like Ray Liotta, Danny Trejo, and Dennis Hopper also helps with the appeal, as those actors are still totally revered today just as much – if not more so – than they were when the game was made.
The sun-kissed Miami-inspired setting of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is the one that still retains the most of its appeal despite its age in my humble opinion. Maybe it's the bright colors, maybe it's the more welcoming, simplistic layout that avoids feeling overwhelming so much better than later entries, but whatever it is, Vice City is still GTA's most enticing setting to date, and for that reason alone many long-time GTA fans still call it their favorite after 5, if not their all-time favorite overall.
So while it's certainly true that, in a perfect world, Rockstar would just give their GTA series a similar treatment to what the Yakuza series got, by just remaking all of the games and celebrating the franchise's history in a more full-throated way, but as it stands, with Rockstar showing no real interest in doing this at all, advocating for what is perhaps the franchise's strongest PS2-era entry to get the remake treatment makes a lot of sense. Not only because it would sell well but because that is the game that deserves it the most. Despite having extremely dated visuals and a comparatively rudimentary set of controls compared to its successors, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is still the game that more than deserves a fundamental update because gamers today who might not be so inclined to play its current form deserve to experience it nonetheless.
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.
Remedy and Epic Games' AAA Game, Rumoured to be Alan Wake 2, Enters Full Production
A little over a year ago, Remedy Entertainment entered into a publishing agreement with Epic Games for two games, one of which was going to be a full-blown AAA project. Earlier this year, reports emerged that the game in question was going to be Alan Wake 2, fully funded by Epic. Now, that game's development has started.
In their recent fiscal report, the developer confirmed that the AAA project funded by Epic Games has now finally moved into full production. Meanwhile, the second project being made in partnership with Epic Games, continues to make good progress in development.
Remedy also says that the development of CrossfireX is progressing well, with the game set to launch some time this year. Meanwhile, Vanguard – Remedy's upcoming free-to-play co-op title – is also "progressing at a good pace" and has had "selected internal and external closed gameplay tests."
All in all, Remedy says its headcount of employees has grown to nearly 300 people (293, to be exact, as of the end of June)- which makes sense, seeing as they have multiple major games in the works. A 4-player PvE co-op spinoff of Control called Condor is also in the works, while a full-blown sequel has also entered early pre-production.