The Assassin’s Creed series has been running almost 15 years now at an almost annual release pace (some years had more than one title even). While that has changed somewhat, with some break years being put in-between entries now, for a franchise that has ran that long and with so many entries, a big shakeup was inevitable. Assassin’s Creed Origins was such a shake up, seeing some radical departures in more RPG-like areas than previous titles, something Odyssey ran with. The newest game, Valhalla, is still in that same vein (though will some needed adjustments), so that’s sticking around for the time being.
However, one thing even people who are fans of the new style generally agree on is that the actual narrative of the games has moved well beyond the Assassin/Templar dynamic that defined the series for most of its existence. Origins was a prequel, so we didn’t see the traditional set up as the plot built to the beginnings of the Assassins, and Odyssey took place long before any of those groups formed in the canon. Valhalla similarly takes place before those groups came to form as we knew them in pre-Origins stories, but it does seem as if it will try to bridge a gap between the two.
In an interview with Official PlayStation Magazine (issue 176), Narrative Director Darby McDevitt discussed how the game will connect the two narrative paths the series has found itself on. While it doesn’t seem like Valhalla will have that old school Assassins vs Templars feel exactly, he says you will see the “bridge” between The Hidden Order and The Order of the Ancients and their modern day equivalents. He says that fans will be a lot of narrative connections throughout.
“It really feels like there’s not a wasted moment in this game where you just really feel like every discovery, every narrative discovery, has a kind of grand purpose. Really like [it] tickles you if you’re an Assassin’s Creed fan. Hopefully, there’s quite a number of moments where your jaw drops because you’re like ‘Oh, that’s how that connects to that. Okay, that’s cool.'”
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla launches this holiday season for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PC and Stadia.