Assassin's Creed Valhalla

This is my third attempt at finishing the game. I know I will never make it if I give up now. But what a chore. The game starts well enough, but don't get fooled. The narrative gets quickly derailed, the characters initially likeable become quickly ball-busting strangers. All you have to do is go to a new region, meet new, barely memorable people and complete the map while you're at it. There is no proper level encounter design, forget about assassination. Just brute force your way in; you'll just waste your time trying to play an AC game. Some systems are just an afterthought. They were in previous titles, so they are back here. An order of bad guys ? We've got it. Following the clues and finding the areas on the stupid map are a pain, but we've got it. Treasure maps ? Not really a pirate game, but we got them (see comments about stupid map above). Crafting ? It's here, and more frustrating than ever. You are flooded by loot but constantly gated by special resources. You'll be able to buy some, but that means going back to the shop for it's refresh every single level up. Speaking of which, while pretty cool at first glance, the skill tree becomes annoying pretty fast. You move through it at a snail pace even though it feels like you spend your life allocating points to it. It's a joyless product, and I'm mad at myself for giving it so many chances (previously on uplay). I guess Black Flag Resynced reignited my love of the series. Let's hope the recent shake up at Ubi will be able to the company mojo back.