There’s one thing distinctly old-fashioned about Valkyrie Elysium, and we do not imply as a result of it is a part of a long-running franchise; a sequence that began with the turn-based JRPG Valkyrie Profile approach again in 1999. This is a sport with an nearly PlayStation 2 model design philosophy, for higher and worse, and what you are right here for will decide whether or not that dated method is interesting or not.

Set within the midst of Ragnorok — the tip of the world in Norse mythology — the dashing king Odin has created beings often called Valkyries to do his bidding within the aftermath of his apocalyptic battle in opposition to an enormous dangerous wolf named Fenrir. You play as one in every of these Valkyries, and Odin’s bidding includes smashing up quite a lot of monsters with quite a lot of weapons throughout 9 ranges set in numerous completely different, however usually aesthetically comparable areas.

The story is an entire lotta nothing, and when you’re right here for a ripping yarn about gods and kings and legendary beings then there’s not a lot to sink your enamel into. It solely turns into mildly attention-grabbing about 4 minutes earlier than the credit begin rolling. Your Valkyrie is chilly and one-note for a lot of the sport, and Odin may as nicely be carrying a tee shirt with “I’m truly evil” printed throughout the chest. There’s a soft-spoken villain that is enjoyable, and a few of your companions add a bit seasoning to the proceedings, however Valkyrie Elysium is a principally charmless affair.

The lack of flavour extends to degree design, too, with the locations you may go to being principally massive empty areas like in lots of early 3D video games; synthetic, drab, and lifeless, like they exist purely so that you can battle in. We know it is the apocalypse but it surely would not really feel like anybody exists or has ever existed on this world past the handful of characters you meet in your journey, and whereas there are scant collectibles to seek out and menial side-quests to unlock, exploration is mainly non-existent.

And then there’s the graphics. There’s simply one thing disconcerting about Valkyrie Elysium visually. The characters and sure components within the setting are accentuated with thick black outlines which could work in a extra visually adventurous title, however right here it simply implies that the Valkyrie and her get together members appear like they do not belong in the identical world because the locales they go to. It’s like dangerous CGI in a stay motion film, protruding like a sore thumb, and it may be fairly disagreeable to take a look at generally.

If that wasn’t sufficient, cutscenes are hampered by dodgy lip-synching and some absurd animations. There’s some pop-in as you are wandering around the globe, and really sometimes the body price dips a bit throughout notably hectic battles. If you instructed us that Valkyrie Elysium was a PlayStation 3 sport remastered for PS5, we might imagine you.

All of that stuff we simply mentioned in all probability sounds fairly off-putting, and make no mistake that this sport is definitely flawed. But when you do not care about any of the fluff, any of the accoutrements, and all you need is a hackin’ an’ slashin’ motion RPG that gives satisfying fight and attention-grabbing mechanics, then we expect that Valkyrie Elysium delivers in the primary.

You’ve acquired the entire traditional quick and heavy assaults and magic spells and dodges that you simply’d count on in a sport of this ilk, however you can even summon Einherjar — warrior apparitions — to assist you in battle. You’ll recruit the spirits of troopers all through your journey after which as soon as they’ve joined your get together you possibly can summon them by holding R1 and tapping a face button. You can customise how lengthy your summoned pal will keep by your aspect in battle with the offset being that the longer they keep the much less usually you’ll name upon them.

Each summon comes with an added bonus in that whenever you summon an Einherjar your weapon turns into imbued with the factor related to that warrior. So when you’re in battle in opposition to a fireplace monster and that fireplace monster hates ice, summoning your ice Einherjar implies that your ghost pal will do large harm in opposition to the creature with its assaults, however you too may have bonus harm utilized to your weapon.

Enemies all have a weak point, and when you constantly inflict the harm that they are weak to, ultimately they will enter “crushed” state, which mainly implies that they’re immobilised for a brief period of time permitting you to wail on them till they snap out of it. You can summon any two Einherjar at a time, and realizing which to name upon at what time so as to exploit the weaknesses of your foes is a part of the enjoyment of battle.

Another impressed alternative relating to the fight is the Soul Chain, or in layman’s phrases, your magical grappling hook. Tapping L2 when you’ve gotten an enemy focused permits you to hook onto them and instantly zip to their place. The vary of the Soul Chain is kind of beneficiant, and so battles change into a ballet of attacking and dodging after which zipping to a different enemy on the opposite aspect of the room, dispatching them, zipping over to the boss and unleashing your Einherjar, after which whenever you see an enormous assault coming from the boss utilizing your Soul Chain to zip to a different distant enemy to keep away from the blast.

Levels are fairly brief and should not take far more than an hour or so to see by means of, and we had the entire sport polished off in sixteen hours. Brevity, right here, is a advantage. Aside from the superfluous feeling aspect quests there’s not likely any padding. It’s only a sequence of battles in opposition to more and more tough enemies after which it is over. Combat is the sport’s strongest hand to play by far, however with a restricted pool of enemies to face it was a smart resolution to maintain the journey brief and candy, and finish it earlier than it may change into stale.

Conclusion

Valkyrie Elysium is a sport of two halves. The degree design and aims really feel no less than two generations previous and the characters and storyline are extra like placeholders than the completed article. There’s no capital F emotions right here or a lot in the way in which of narrative justification, however when you’re okay with that and also you simply need fifteen to twenty hours of quick, frantic, fluid fight then we are able to nearly suggest this one.