Assassin's Creed Valhalla's English countryside makes for a lovely three hour walk
A Norse trod
How Big Is The Map is my new favourite website and YouTube channel. The answers to the question the site poses are given in the time it takes to cross a game's map, not the physical size of the world. That’s an important distinction because each game has different methods of traversal. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, for instance, not only lets you parkour, run, and walk, but you can adjust the character’s walking speed as well. I didn’t know that.
The site's journey across Valhalla's England is a three-hour stroll across the green and pleasant land, starting in the south east and ending in the north west. Come watch.
He starts off talking, then spends the rest of the video strolling amiably along in contemplative silence. This isn’t a bot. He pulls up his cloak in distrust areas, and focuses the camera on interesting sights. He befriends a cow, sneaks through camps, and has to fend off the odd wolf.
Watching this video encouraged me to slow down in my own playthrough of Valhalla. There were bunnies scampering through the undergrowth, fields of flowers being gently brushed by the wind, and poets wandering the roads, yet all I had been seeing was loot and hiding spots. I wasn’t stopping to smell the roses; I was looting them for health. The video above was a gentle reminder to slow down and explore more.
If you're here three hours after clicking start on that video, hello weary traveller! What a lovely thing that was, eh? My highlight was the waterfall at 2:59:08. What was yours?