The Assassin’s Creed games never have just the one story within each entry. In its place, there are dozens of plotlines that make up the game. These can either be subplots or those that focus on game-changing scenarios. There are also stories that are centered around particular characters and how they are shaped out.
Valhalla brought more than a few in this area, with the game being over sixty hours long just for the campaign mode. Not all storylines can be a hit, though, and Valhalla is no exception as some just fell flat. The strong ones deserve special mention as well.
Updated by Saim Cheeda on 30th March 2021: Due to the massive size of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, quite a lot of fans still haven’t gotten around to finishing it even months after the game's release. Some have managed to get quite far while the most dedicated ones have finished it. Regardless of all that, every fan has their own storylines that they liked or didn’t, although a few angles are such that it’s easy to assess if they’re good or bad. Since there are so many of these plotlines, this list has been updated to reflect more entries that fall on either side between good and bad.
14 BEST: Halfdan's Growing Paranoia
Halfdan was meant to be the reincarnation of Thor but got his own arc of self-doubt as he began getting paranoid about his people attempting to usurp his position. When it turned out his friend Faravid did indeed attempt to kill him, Halfdan became even more unsettled.
His eventual realization that he would need to step up on his own rather than hope people respected him was a good bit of character development. This arc saw Halfdan go from a generic character to a flawed character who wanted to do better.
13 WORST: Birstan And Estrid's Unhappy Marriage
This plotline saw Eivor stuck in the middle of Birstan and Estrid as the two wanted to end their marriage but had to keep it up until Birstand was reunited with his former flame. Most of it is needless comic relief, which isn’t a good fit for the game.
Not to mention how Estrid can then be romanced by Eivor as well, which turns her into another one of the interchangeable love interests. Birstan and Estrid also spend the entire time onscreen bickering, turning this plot into one that gets better when the two are separated and not seen again.
12 BEST: Tewdwr's Change Into A Tolerant Leader
Upon introduction, Tewdwr seemed similar to the many characters that end up betraying Eivor due to his dislike of her pagan nature. However, his arc sees Tewdwr mellow down and eventually, he realizes that he needs to respect people of all walks of life.
The story sees him getting kidnapped, redeeming himself, and taking on the role of his clan’s leader. It also makes him Eivor’s friend, which is heartwarming to see since the beginning of this story places the two at odds.
11 WORST: Loki's Plotting Against Odin
The issue with this angle is how predictable it is from the get-go. Odin, known as Havi here, tries his best to change his fate but is thwarted time and again by Loki. Loki’s arc is basically to show up and claim to Havi that he can help him, only to betray him one way or another.
While his overall plot is to keep his monstrous children safe, Loki’s main story becomes his traitorous nature, as he constantly plots against Havi and hopes to dispose of him. It’s an altogether tedious and repetitive thing to follow as it’s too obvious that Loki will betray Havi but the latter never sees it.
10 BEST: Desmond's Inner Conflict As An Assassin
This arc wasn’t presented as a main one in the game but was a fascinating subplot that could be found through Layla’s laptop. Desmond’s recordings showed how, in his final days, he reflected on the life of an assassin and how fighting for free will wasn’t a choice, meaning there actually wasn’t free will.
These recordings give a better look into the mind of the former protagonist, with more characterization carved out for Desmond. It showed how he was handling his status as the foretold savior, and mapped out how the assassins weren’t strictly the good guys.
9 WORST: Eivor's Bid For Revenge Against Kjotve
The erratic mannerisms of the main character have led to several memes at Eivor’s expense. The initial storyline for Eivor -- who is canonically female -- had to do with gaining revenge on Kjotve, the man responsible for the deaths of her parents.
The reason why this ends up as among the worst storylines is the fact that the angle wasn’t given time to develop. While it was set up as Eivor’s true motivations, Kjotve was killed like any run of the mill villain would, thereby wasting the investment in this arc the player would have put in.
8 BEST: Ivar's Growing Bloodlust
Introduced as one of Eivor’s allies, Ivar was shown to be a savage personality right from the start who reveled at the idea of murder as he considered it a form of valor. His increasing bloodlust is Ivar’s main arc, with the character slowly but surely becoming more brutal.
We’re not given much reason to like this guy as it is, meaning the eventual conflict that forms between him and Eivor is a storyline that is very much welcome. Ivar’s growing unhinged nature is also validated when he believes himself to be in the good graces of the gods.
7 WORST: Repeat Of The Calamity Angle
The reason for the constant issues with the sun and the disasters to come is one of the unresolved questions in the series. Unfortunately, Valhalla placed this again as the main storyline, along with replicating earlier games’ knack for barely handing out an answer.
Mainly, it’s the repetition with this arc that’s gotten so stale, as Layla had to do exactly what Desmond did by racing against time to avert the calamity somehow. Not only was this an unoriginal angle, but it was also a repeat of a plotline that fans didn’t really like in the first place.
6 BEST: Layla's Difficulty To Cope
By now, there have been enough facts known about Isu objects like the Pieces of Eden or the Shards, among other artifacts. Layla was shown to be suffering from the effects of too much time in the Animus, along with the toll her trials take on her.
Her story had to do with her struggling to cope with the death of her friends and the burden of responsibility to carry on as the next Eagle-bearer. It was a good arc that firmly placed Layla as the main protagonist rather than keep her strictly as the framing device.
5 WORST: Sigurd's Tensions With Styrbjorn
Earlier on in the story, Sigurd was introduced as having ambitions to claim the land from his father, only for the latter to pledge his loyalty elsewhere and effectively estrange himself from his son. These tensions didn’t amount to anything in the end.
It was only used as a way to get Eivor and Sigurd away from their native lands and enter into new areas by expanding the game’s map. The issue between Styrbjorn and Sigurd was far too melodramatic to be engaging, with Sigurd acting like an entitled brat.
4 BEST: The Fall Of Sigurd
Eivor and Sigurd’s relationship was one of the highlights of the story. This then took a turn when Sigurd started believing himself to be a god due to the influence of the Saga Stone, ushering in his fall from grace as he became too righteous for his own good.
However, this arc was presented with certain character development, as Sigurd was shown wrestling with his feelings to give in to his state of mind. It wasn’t the usual friend turned foe scenario, as the bond between Eivor and Sigurd remain and the latter ended up growing as a person.
3 WORST: Basim's Evil Scheme
As if there wasn’t enough stuff that didn’t make sense about the Templars, Basim’s reveal as one of the Hidden Ones but also an Isu reincarnation turns things even crazier. His storyline started off pretty strong, as it was implied we might be seeing the beginning of the creed.
Eventually, though, Basim was revealed to be the bad guy all along who wanted revenge on Eivor for his past wrongs as Odin during the First Civilization. This evil scheme turned Basim into a hammy villain, also being too “out there” to fall in line with his characterization.
2 BEST: Desmond And Layla's Plans
This was a story that one wouldn’t even have known was in the making until it happened. It can be considered as the epilogue of Desmond and Layla’s arcs. The plot will also be carried forward into the next game, so the hook that comes along with it goes without saying.
As it happened, Layla was trapped in the Isu temple by Basim whereupon she encountered Desmond -- appearing as a being known as the Reader -- and the two agreed to work together to find a way to stop the next calamity from happening. Both characters’ plotlines had been building up towards this one, and the payoff was certainly well done.
1 WORST: The Reincarnation Backstory
There have been times where the Assassin’s Creed series has outright thrown historical accuracy out the window. While the mythological aspect isn’t strictly historical, the storyline of Eivor, Basim, and Sigurd being reincarnations of Nordic figures is on the fence of jumping the shark.
The story frequently flashed over to Eivor’s visions of Odin, before explaining that she used to be Odin in her past life. We’ve seen crazy storylines before like the Sage arc, and this reincarnation angle falls under that category of being too ludicrous to be taken seriously.