Valkyrie Elysium

Developer: Soleil
Publisher: Square Enix
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 (Reviewed)
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $59.99 USD – Available Here $99.95 AUD – Available Here

Overview

When it comes to classic RPG franchises that many may not remember but those who do would love to see more of, the Valkyrie Profile series is near the top of that list. This Norse mythology based RPG started in 1999 and saw some levels of success with a few releases over the years but now fans of the game haven’t seen a new release since 2008 and even then it was for the DS. So now that Square Enix has dusted the series off with a different developer and different genre from what fans have been used to, is Valkyrie Elysium a worthwhile revival?

Story

The world is in the midst of Ragnarök as Odin’s battle with Fenrir has led to a stalemate where neither managed to land a killing blow but instead heavily wounded each other. As such, the world is continuing to fall apart with undead roaming the land and almost no humans left alive. Odin has retreated to Asgard and while trying to recover from his wounds, he brings forth the Valkyrie to return to the world of man and purify the souls of the undead in an attempt to stave off the end of the world.

As the Valkyrie continues in her quest to slay powerful undead forces she meets a handful of Einherjar that she recruits to her side after facing down their corrupted elements as well as a mysterious enemy that speaks in mysteries that hint that Odin’s motives are not as pure as the Valkyrie was led to believe. Valkyrie Elysium feels nearly as lifeless as the world itself is. The storyline is incredibly simple and far too predictable for its own good, especially if fans remember how the original Valkyrie Profile played out, with the only noteworthy twist happening right at the end of the game. The player character of the Valkyrie has almost no personality and even when she begins to develop one it is still rather cold and seperate from the events happening around her.

There are some extra bits of story here and there with Valkyrie Elysium though they are not the most obvious to find. Players will be able to learn the backstories of the Einherjar that they can summon in fights and these characters are a bit more fleshed out but most of these details are only shown as collectables and not presented in the story. Along these same lines players can locate Hollow Blossom collectables scattered around every level that serve as voices from the dead but more often than not they do nothing to actually make players interested in what the world used to be. In similar fashion, side-quests received from various lingering spirits are dull kill quests that retread familiar ground and offer no actual development beyond providing the player with various upgrades.

Gameplay

One of the most immediate things that longtime fans of the Valkyrie Profile series will note when beginning Valkyrie Elysium is that it is now an action RPG rather than a turn based or strategy RPG. Instead players will enter combat as the sole Valkyrie who will gain the ability to summon up to two Einherjar to fight alongside her at a time. The combat is quite fluid as it makes use of the standard action offerings of light and heavy attacks, blocks/parries, dodges, and magic. Combat feels fast paced right out of the gate thanks to some solid starting equipment and the immediate unlocking of “Soul Chain.”

Outside of combat Soul Chain is used to grapple to pre-selected locations that often contain hidden treasure but in combat it allows players to zip right over to an enemy. This allows players to quickly zip from foe to foe without breaking stride and thanks to some exceptionally long reach the entire combat area is almost always in range. Eventually the Valkyrie will gain the ability to summon Einherjar to fight alongside her for a limited time in battle. 

As mentioned before players can summon two Einherjar at a time spending part of their “Soul Gauge” to do so and it is possible to modify how long an Einherjar will stay out on the field by expending more of the gauge though it is also entirely possible to resummon them immediately instead. Valkyrie Elysium offers something of a limited backtracking mechanic as certain Einherjar have unique interactions with various objects on each level but not only are they almost always not worth it, they rarely are available without having to run through a level again. As players summon Einherjar they will also imbue the Valkyrie’s weaponry with their specific element that, in turn, buffs magical attacks that use that same element to deal extra damage and if players are keeping an eye on enemies, it can also be used to target their weaknesses.

Every enemy, including bosses, have various elemental and even weapon type weaknesses and when struck enough by something they are weak to, an enemy will enter a “Crushed” state. Crushed enemies are stunned and drop extra resources and boss enemies can be even further locked down by targeting them with a magical spell of the same element and triggering an “Immobilized.” state. This flow of combat and some weighty feeling blows that sound and feel great thanks to the PlayStation 5’s haptic feedback makes fighting easily the best part of Valkyrie Elysium. 

While fighting against enemies and exploring a level players will obtain various crystals that are used to power up their Valkyrie. In odd fashion, Valkyrie Elysium uses these crystals to both power up weaponry that players can equip as well as to unlock skills along three skill trees that do things such as increase player health, add extra dodges, auto summon on Einherjar at a cheaper cost when certain actions happen, and more. Oddly enough, the title also features a point limit on how many skills players can have equipped at one time but it is impossible to actually go over this limit and considering there is no New Game+ the inclusion of such a nonfunctional limitation is strange.

It is worth noting that, should players want something more of a challenge, they should play Valkyrie Elysium on the harder difficulty as normal feels far too easy. This is especially the case once players begin to strengthen their Valkyrie and raise their proficiency with certain weapons. Unfortunately there is no way to actually adjust the difficulty once the game begins so players will be locked in for the game’s nearly twenty hour campaign.

Visuals & Audio

Valkyrie Elysium is a mixed bag as far as graphics go as the character models are nicely detailed, especially the bosses that players will face off against and the combat effects are outstanding, with special moves including the signature Nibelung Valesti looking amazing. Unfortunately the world itself is rather bland looking and while levels that players explore have some variety they often feel quite bland. It is also worth noting that most of the cutscenes are incredibly awkward looking due to poor character animations and lip sync issues.

Thankfully the voice work provided with the game, that offers both the original Japanese track and a solid English dub, is quite fitting. As far as the soundtrack goes, players will be pleased that the music accompanying the game is a perfect fit for the themes and tone of the title and offer a wide variety of tracks between combat, exploration, and story sequences.

Overall

Valkyrie Elysium feels dated when it comes to its world and storyline that barely offers anything new even to longtime fans of the franchise but it just so happens to shine when it comes to combat. The fast paced fluid fighting mechanics make almost every enemy encounter a flashy one that players will enjoy, especially when it comes to facing off against bosses. This results in a solid action RPG that may not be the type of game that Valkyrie Profile fans were hoping for but at least one that holds up well enough despite its lackluster storyline.

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