Ubisoft has revealed Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, the latest installment in the extremely popular video game franchise.
One of the few benefits of being forced to stay at home during the COVID-19 pandemic is the ability to spend more time playing video games. It stands to reason that many players are going back and enjoying some past favorites, such as the Assassin’s Creed series (when they’re not playing Animal Crossing). Players don’t have to wait that long for the next installment in the franchise to arrive. Ubisoft just announced that Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will arrive in time for the 2020 holiday season.
Fury of the Northmen
Vikings take center stage in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. The video game focuses on the Vikings arriving in England and the inevitable conflict that occurs between the native people and the new arrivals.
What is intriguing is that the game will depict a nuanced view of Vikings. Pop culture has long proclaimed Vikings to be nothing more than bloodthirsty berserkers only looking to pillage, rape, and plunder. The reality is a lot more complex.
It is true that Vikings did pillage and plunder. Hence, the reason for the lament by Christian monks, “From the fury of the Northmen, O Lord deliver us.” However, the Vikings were also traders and settlers. Many of the main cities in Ireland began as Viking trading centers. The Normans that would eventually conquer England were actually descendants of Vikings that had settled in France.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is bringing a true historical perspective of Vikings settling in foreign lands, although the amount of fighting in the video game is sure to be ramped up considerably to entertain gamers. The game’s trailer shows Vikings peacefully interacting with family members, as well as not indiscriminately slaughtering innocents while raiding. The trailer also shows a great and bloody battle scene that is sure to get gamers pumped for the eventual release.
The Village is the Center of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
The key aspect of the upcoming video game is the player’s village. This is the main hub for the player, and the decisions they will make will be played out in the village’s development.
Lead producer Julien Laferrière told Eurogamer:
It’s your own Viking village you’ll see prosper and grow, and which your clan mates will live in. It’s at the center of our quests and the center of the decisions you make. We want players to see the consequences of their actions.
Of the focus on the village, Laferrière added:
It really changed the shape of the game we were making. Instead of exploring one territory, then moving on to another and having no real opportunity or reason to return, the settlement changes the structure. So you’ll go on an adventure and then be encouraged to come back to your settlement. It changes the way we’re playing the game we’re making – at least, that’s the bet we’re making.
Details on the main character, Eivor, have been non-existent, but Laferrière says Assassin’s Creed Valhalla focuses on the campaign between the Vikings and Alfred the Great, the English ruler who eventually pushed the Vikings out and unified large areas of England.
Images courtesy of Ubisoft and YouTube/Ubisoft North America.
