Should I Finish AC Odyssey Before Playing Valhalla?

As an Assassin‘s Creed expert, my recommendation is that finishing AC Odyssey is not required before playing Valhalla, but can provide some useful background that enriches the experience. With over 100 hours of content in Odyssey, trying to complete everything can be a huge time commitment before diving into the massive world of Valhalla. However, if you‘re invested in the AC universe and lore, putting in the time to finish Kassandra or Alexios‘ journey first will make certain elements of Valhalla more meaningful.

A Direct Sequel? How Odyssey and Valhalla Connect

While Valhalla does not directly continue the story and characters from Odyssey, there are some small connections between the games for AC lore buffs:

• Layla Hassan, the modern day protagonist, returns from Origins and Odyssey as a throughline across the RPG trilogy. Her actions influence the historical story.
• The Isu artifacts and Precursor civilization mythology continues, with Valhalla revealing more lore.
• Eivor encounters the reincarnated ancient hero Kassandra from Odyssey in a crossover DLC quest.

However, these connections mainly provide background for hardcore fans. You can absolutely enjoy the 150+ hour saga of Valhalla without finishing Odyssey first. Eivor‘s Viking struggle stands alone as a complete narrative, and the modern day elements play a minor role overall.

Comparing the Gameplay and Worlds of Odyssey and Valhalla

Despite their different settings, Odyssey and Valhalla share similar RPG-infused open world gameplay:

• Huge open worlds – Odyssey‘s Greece is 45 sq miles vs Valhalla‘s England/Norway at 38.5 sq miles [Source].
• Naval exploration and combat – Triremes in Odyssey, longships in Valhalla.
• Mythic abilities and gear – Spears, staves, and armor with special perks.
• Dialog choices that impact quests and stories.
• Romance options for the protagonists.
• Mercenary bounty hunts/Daughter of Lerion hunts.
• Range of side activities like fort assaults, artifact puzzles, arena battles etc.

However, both also have unique flavors:

• Valhalla has more grounded combat vs Odyssey‘s damage sponge enemies.
• Odyssey has a beautiful vibrant Greek setting vs Valhalla‘s cold England.
• Valhalla has settlement building and Viking raids.
• Odyssey has branching story endings based on choices.

Overall, if you enjoyed the vast exploration and progression of Odyssey, Valhalla delivers a similar experience in a distinct Dark Ages setting with its own twists.

Critical and Fan Reception for Odyssey vs Valhalla

Both Assassin‘s Creed Odyssey and Valhalla received generally favorable reviews from critics and fans:

• Odyssey – Avg critic score of 84/100 on OpenCritic. User score of 8.3/10 on Metacritic.
• Valhalla – Avg critic score of 86/100. User score of 8.1/10.

However, while both were praised, some key differences emerged:

• Valhalla was seen as a bit more grounded after Odyssey went deeper into full RPG territory.
• Odyssey was praised for its beautiful world and characters like Kassandra.
• Valhalla won points for its gritty Dark Ages setting and Viking themes.
• Fans debate which had better combat, story, world design etc.

But overall, both delivered on being huge RPG-infused AC experiences. If you enjoyed one, chances are you‘ll like the other as well!

The Setting and History Behind Each Game

The wildly different historical settings of each game provide unique flavors:

Odyssey

• Ancient Greece during the Peloponnesian War in c.400s BCE.
• Play as the Spartan mercenary Kassandra or Alexios.
• Influenced by Greek mythology and architecture.

Valhalla

• 9th century CE England during the Viking invasion and settlement.
• Play as Eivor leading Norse clans.
• Raids, Anglo-Saxon culture, and Norse mythos.

I personally find both settings incredibly rich and immersive to explore. The pinnacle of Greek civilization and the raw wilderness of England each have their own appeal. And I always appreciate how AC takes key eras like this and makes history come alive in an interactive world.

Comparing the Length and Replayability

Both Odyssey and Valhalla are absolutely massive open world games that can suck up 100+ hours each:

• Odyssey main story takes ~42 hours. Completionists have logged over 200 hours.
• Valhalla main story takes ~60 hours. 100% completion can go up to 140 hours.

So trying to complete everything in both games could add up to over 300+ hours! That‘s a huge time investment.

However, their expansive worlds also provide tons of replay value. With so many choices, quests, builds, and outcomes, you can revisit these worlds and not experience everything on one playthrough.

So while they don‘t have to be played back-to-back, these are both games you could pour countless hours into if their worlds draw you in.

My Expert Recommendation

As someone who has gotten deep into every AC game, I don‘t think finishing Odyssey first is absolutely required to enjoy and understand Valhalla. The stories are mostly standalone. You‘ll recognize some lore connections, but nothing major is lost playing them out of order.

However, Odyssey is a phenomenal game in its own right. If you love Greek history and mythology, play as the memorable Kassandra, and want to complete every quest, it‘s worth seeing through before Valhalla. The experience will only deepen your appreciation for this era of AC games and their vast interconnected worlds.

But if you want to dive right into raiding England as a Viking with Eivor, I say go for it! Valhalla is an incredible saga on its own. Just make sure to go back later and give Kassandra or Alexios the epic journey they deserve in ancient Greece.

There‘s no fundamentally right or wrong order. Hopefully this guide gave some useful perspective on how the games compare. Let me know if you have any other questions!