Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is massive, filled with a content base most will never fully get through.

But we already knew there was much more to come with a Season Pass announced at launch, so it should be no surprise to hear Wrath of the Druids is a healthy, jam-packed sized expansion.

As to whether it adds much of value to what’s already available is more of an arguable point.

How to Play

You should be a minimum level 55 power level (but we would highly recommend being somewhere closer to 100) – Once the content has been installed, if you’ve reached England and ‘completed at least one of the first regional arcs’ you should get a prompt to speak to Azar at the docks in Ravensthorpe. This will begin the questline for Wrath of the Druids.

Wrath of the Druids is very much a self-contained tale that even takes you away to a self-contained area, Dublin.

It’s a welcome diversion from the world you’re already used to and that’s the first – and most important – thing I took away from this DLC. In 4K, Dublin is gorgeous. The fruitful, flamboyant forests, steadily flowing waters, hilly waysides, and glorious, far-reaching views.

I still hold that Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is one of the most stunning games on Xbox Series X and Wrath of the Druids completely cemented that for me. I gawped and gazed time after time and never get bored of it.

But what also quickly became apparent is that familiar Assassin’s Creed formula. Which is to be expected and certainly isn’t a bad thing. DLC more often than not is an extension of a game you already loved and want more of, and I can definitely think of worse things to be doing than getting to spend time with Eivor again.

What I mean by that is, even though the DLC does try some new things, it still ends up feeling like a lite version of a game you’ve probably already played for eighty hours. Which should make the decision easy as to whether you want to play Wrath of the Druids or not.

So, apart from the synchronizations, raiding and plundering, this time Eivor is in the midst of an atmospheric, cultish setting that brings the unimaginable to life and gives it soul and meaning through harmonious ballads and deadly encounters.

The druids within Dublin – known as the Children of Danu – are at odds with those who rule, and at the heart of the cult is a wider problem that threatens an already very delicate balance.

At the request of their cousin, Eivor once again is thrust into a political struggle that sees Gaelic Kings try to restore order and men of the cloth spreading their influence far and wide.

The story is slow to start, but does really pick up momentum in its second half once the Children of Danu are fully introduced and your encounters veer from mere footsoldiers, to werewolves. Yeah, really…

Mission structure also gradually evolves over the course of the content, starting with you building the reputation of Dublin by collecting clothing, tablets and other resources and donating them to a worthier cause. As you fulfil more orders, so the XP bar fills and the renown of the area increases, also providing you some neat rewards.

Kings Favours are also acquired in certain territories by visiting a pigeon coop, and picking out decrees which end up being standard missions with optional objectives like remain undetected or don’t take any damage. These are nice little challenges to keep yourself occupied and earn more of a favourability boost, though have little impact beyond that.

The game revisits these new mechanics throughout the content, splicing them in with familiar activities, and giving us a cool boss battle or two for good measure. There’s one section in particular that gave me some strong Dragon Age / Flemeth’s hut vibes which was also a pretty strong highlight for me.

Verdict

Apart from being one of the most stunning, atmospheric depictions of Dublin in recent memory, Wrath of the Druids adds another 10-15 hours of content to a game that’s already loaded with it. For the most part, that content is good, I like the focus on building up Dublin’s reputation by supplying resources, and performing Kings Requests with sub-categories, but the DLC goes back to these mission types a bit too often over the course of the campaign, and ultimately feels a bit stale and not quite varied enough for it.