This holiday season, Assassin’s Creed is going the viking way with Valhalla, and it’s going to be big in more ways than one. With that in mind, you’ll be wanting to sharpen those axes, grow those beards and… uh, get ready to sit at the table and talk some politics, I guess. It seems as if this entry in the franchise may be looking to be a bit different with how conflicts can be handled. And well, it may not be what you expect.
In an interview with Kotaku, creative director Ashraf Ismail talked about Valhalla, saying that it would have a “very different” structure than previous games. He didn’t go into detail about exactly what that meant, but that the game’s home base will now be something you have to defend by forging alliances and peace between various factions. That means you’ll have to get political, apparently, and he says that diplomacy will be an option more than ever.
“When you set out into the world, to go after whatever that is, you get embroiled into politics,” Ismail said. “You get caught up into a journey. We give options within that. So sometimes, yes, it means that you can, let’s say, negotiate to resolve something.”
“The history of the invasion itself in this time period is, of course, a critical part of the journey,” he continued. “What did it mean for the Vikings of the Norse to land in England and to cohabitate?”
I imagine most people probably didn’t think the first title in the franchise to explore the mighty legend of vikings to take this direction, but it could be interesting. Odyssey did have a few times when you could resolve a conflict without combat, but those instances were few and far between. What kind of issues will we have to put our axes away to chat about? We’ll have to wait and see when Assassin’s Creed Valhalla releases at the end of this year- most likely in October.