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Over the past few years, the Assassin’s Creed series has passed the fine line between history and mythology, and Origins and Odyssey have their own fantastic touches. When Ubisoft officially unveiled Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla on the Viking theme earlier this week, many gamers immediately remembered the latest God of War, which led to some empty assumptions that Valhalla would focus even more on mythology.
It doesn’t seem like that. In a recent interview, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla narrative director Darby McDevitt admitted that the team had heard comparisons with God of War, but was not worried about it, as their game would be more thorough for the history of Norway and the UK.
God of War is great – yes, I played it. It is fantastic. I would not say that we are too worried, because most games that touch on this topic are actually very prone to mythology. This is one of the main features – you play God of War, so you can hit Balder in the face, meet all these characters and go into a fantastic environment.
Very few games actually consider the Norwegian Viking experience to be historically sound. We really want you to feel that you live in the dark centuries of England, that you are exploring the Roman ruins that were left 400-500 years ago by the Romans and the remnants of the British tribes before that and even Saxon pagans before they all converted to Christianity.
Speaking of validity, McDevitt also hinted at exactly where the action of Valhalla will occur. The game will allow you to explore much of 9th century England, including four different kingdoms, as well as part of the Norwegian coast.
At that time, England itself was rather fragmented, and many different kings dominated in its different parts. Alfred is the king of Wessex, the southernmost kingdom in England at that time. There are also three others – Mercia, Northumbria and East Anglia.
Early English and Scandinavian history is something that most people really know little about, so it will be interesting to see how they are presented from a historical point of view.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is set to launch on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4 and PS5 at the end of 2020.
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