After a lengthy teaser on stream yesterday, Ubisoft has fully unveiled Assassin's Creed Valhalla.
Valhalla takes players to the era of Alfred the Great, otherwise known as Aelfred of Wessex, who ruled over the Anglo-Saxons in the late 800s. But players won't be taking control of him, or course. This is Assassin's Creed, a series where the historical leaders are often the villains. Instead, players take the role of Eivor, a viking warrior who, along with his people, are unwelcome in the land of Aelfred of Wessex. I wonder how that will end up.
In Assassin's Creed Valhalla, there is a stronger emphasis on RPG elements than even 2018's Assassin's Creed Odyssey, which itself took things quite far in that direction. Valhalla introduces a new settlement mechanic where players can grow and customize their own community by adding soldiers, building barracks, create crafting areas, and more. Story beats will play out often in the settlement as well, with Ubisoft giving one example of a wedding taking place to merge armies in the vikings' struggle for freedom.
Players will also be able to create their own mercenaries, which act as secondary characters that can be recruited online by other players to fight as NPCs in their wars. Whereas the previous mercenary system played like the Nemesis System from Monolith's Middle-earth series, this time it sounds more like the Dragon's Dogma pawn system.
Side activities will include hunting, fishing, dice, drinking games, and even viking rap battles, so to speak, which in their day were called "flyting." As for the main quest, Ubisoft promises more ways to craft your own story and make big decisions like Odyssey and Origins have flirted with before Valhalla. Players can also go on raids with their viking crews. Contrary to some rumors, there's no confirmation just yet on any co-op elements.
The game is due out this fall for all the usual suspects, and will also be a cross-generational release. In total, that's PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, PS5, and Stadia.
