Two Legends Co-Exist

I purchased Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (Gold Edition) as part of a pre-Black Friday sale and--unsurprisingly, given the utter insane size of recent AC titles--Eivor's adventures STILL don't look close to being over.  I've guided Eivor through the various demands and dramas of regional leaders around Dark Ages England as I cobble together alliances for the Raven Clan.  Heck, I've even managed to rescue the wayward Sigurd from his harrowing experience of being kidnapped and tortured by a semi-loony member of the Order of Ancients (Valhalla's group of conspirators who need some light killing).  Even 100+ hours in, there's still much left to do.  (*The real question--is it too much?)

Kassandra and Eivor in the same place!

This week there was a huge update that required players to re-download the new version of the game (80G worth...which is down from the whopping 130G initial download)--this new update has promised better optimization (including shorter load times--something I have noticed) and has also added in some new story content in the form of crossover missions that bridge Odyssey and Valhalla.  There's a fun cinematic fight sequence when Eivor and Kassandra initially meet and it's great to see both characters together.  One thing I did notice--Kassandra's voice is different!  Guess they couldn't get the OG voice actor to come back, which is too bad.

Disappointingly, the update doesn't seem to have fixed the random crashing issue that I've experienced with Valhalla.  I had no problems with Odyssey, but am almost guaranteed to get at least one crash per session (which is a minor annoyance as the autosave works well--but can be more annoying if it occurs during a raid or set story mission that then requires you to start all the way over from the beginning).  I really wish the crashing would be fixed.

There was also an announcement this week for another DLC for Valhalla that is called Dawn of Ragnarok.  It looks to be centered around Eivor's activities in the mythical realm of Asgard and boasts of new enemies, weapons, armors, skills...and EVEN MORE FREAKIN' VALLHALLA!  I don't know exactly what to think about this announcement--in general, I like the content that is set in mythical zones (the Elysium/Hades content in Odyssey was cool) but am boggled by just how much more time I want to spend on my monumental Viking adventure.  The good news is that the DLC doesn't drop until March, so maybe by then I will be done and in the mood to pummel more enemies.

Just how much Valhalla is too much?  I've seen some discussion around the Ubisoft formula (and the fact that the most recent FarCry game--a franchise I've never played--hasn't received positive reviews) and if their games are becoming too bloated.  I'm trying to wrap my own mind around this question as I continue to chase down all those glowy dots and complete every objective placed before me.