While the development team at tri-Ace were most well known for their Star Ocean franchise which spanned multiple five (soon six) major releases across a myriad of platforms, for those in the know, their somewhat underappreciated Valkyrie Profile series were enjoyable go-to’s on the PlayStation 1-2. More than a decade since the last mainline installment, and with a different development team (Soleil) in tow, Square Enix has relaunched the Norse mythology-inspired franchise with Valkyrie Elysium. Transitioning from a pure RPG gameplay system to a 3D action hack’n’slash experience, is Valkyrie Elysium the return of a former cult-classic franchise, or something that shall be forgotten to the annals of time soon enough? Read my review to perhaps find out.
I think the biggest issue holding Valkyrie Elysium back from the heights of its predecessors was the change in genre. The 3D action hack’n’slash experience has been done so many times in the past, while the JRPG is where their loyal fanbase lies. The gameplay is competent. The experience is complemented by some complex dungeon designs, challenging bosses and an interesting enough support summon system. However, the game doesn’t do enough to set itself apart from other games in the genre and is lacking in the variety of side-missions and weapon/character development side of things. Especially since there are monoliths of the genre such as Bayonetta 3 and others snapping at its heels, even if they aren’t directly competing with them, more could have been done to set it apart. As it stands, the gameplay experience feels as if it were designed for a portable gaming console, and there was neither the capacity nor the audience to justify going all-out. Finding a better fusion between the original or new genres, or otherwise embracing the less technologically impressive but challenging style of earlier titles, could have made this a much-needed JRPG classic on the newest generation of gaming consoles.
Furthermore, in another case of “it’s fine, but not reaching the heights of the series once was”, we have the narrative. Its storyline is reasonably enjoyable and well plotted out, effectively drawing from its Norse mythology roots and having some intriguing ideas mingled within both the main scenario and side-quests you encounter while progressing through the tale. However, the experience is hampered by slow pacing, mediocre character development, and regularly having the gameplay feel like a greater focus than the story.
With a soundtrack featuring the works of Motoi Sakuraba, Valkyrie Elysium is for the most part a treat for the ears, with many hits that perhaps are not that memorable, and suit the tone and scenarios of the game world more than adequately. Additionally, the English voice acting is also pretty good, featuring a small but dynamic cast who appear to be mostly new to the video game voice acting scene. In terms of aesthetic design, I feel like Valkyrie Elysium falls into the category of not having the best design quality, but does have that attention to detail that makes none of the areas you traverse throughout Midgard feel overly bland or copy-pasted. I would, somewhat, compare it to NieR in that sense. Just don’t expect it to be the most visually pleasing game in your newest-gen console library.
Valkyrie Elysium is an enjoyable experience overall that offers solid concepts, gameplay and difficulty, supported by an incredible soundtrack. Especially for fans of the series’ storytelling, nordic-influence or the action hack-n-slash genre, you will find an enjoyable albeit slower-paced experience awaits. But while it may be worth a playthrough, it is probably not the installment that will see the long-term resurgence of the Valkyrie Profile series, which deserves future love and attention.
Developed by Soleil Ltd and published by Square Enix, Valkyrie Elysium is now available to purchase on the PC, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
This review was based on a PlayStation 5 (digital) review code.
